How to make a CEO's life easier?

[Primzi]

Hello,

today I have paid a visit to a very successful small computer game company of 50 people. I got there after talking to it's CEO at some conference and later following up with him. I was pretty astonished by how the company works - if I had a company of my own, I would want it to be exactly like that. Even before going there, I was thinking about asking them for a non-paid internship in order to learn from them as much as possible and make their life easier. It is pretty much a dream job for anyone at my age to work in a company like that. Making video games, what else would you want?!

But when I got there, after having a long chat with the technical director, they actually offered me a job on the spot - they said that they could always use someone like me in their company, but they did not specify what exactly they would need me to do.

So I have been thinking of taking that job and saving some money while I'm at it, while finishing college so that I have some money saved up for after I'm done with college. I would also like to get some experience in how it is to lead a company, how to pitch ideas and sell products, etc. But I do not currently have any idea of what I would actually be doing in a job like that. Since I do not have any knowledge of game design etc., I do not see how I could be of any use there.

The CEO told me that I should tell them what I wanted to do in our next meeting. So if you were/are a CEO, what could a young future entrepreneur help you with? What are the problems that he could solve for you and therefore help you save time and make more money?

I guess I could tell them that I could help them with research, presentations, contacts with publishers, organization and project management, but would a CEO really trust someone he barely knows with all that stuff?

Thank you in advance for your answers,

Primoz

 

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[ZDS]

Hello,

today I have paid a visit to a very successful small computer game company of 50 people. I got there after talking to it's CEO at some conference and later following up with him. I was pretty astonished by how the company works - if I had a company of my own, I would want it to be exactly like that. Even before going there, I was thinking about asking them for a non-paid internship in order to learn from them as much as possible and make their life easier. It is pretty much a dream job for anyone at my age to work in a company like that. Making video games, what else would you want?!

But when I got there, after having a long chat with the technical director, they actually offered me a job on the spot - they said that they could always use someone like me in their company, but they did not specify what exactly they would need me to do.

So I have been thinking of taking that job and saving some money while I'm at it, while finishing college so that I have some money saved up for after I'm done with college. I would also like to get some experience in how it is to lead a company, how to pitch ideas and sell products, etc. But I do not currently have any idea of what I would actually be doing in a job like that. Since I do not have any knowledge of game design etc., I do not see how I could be of any use there.

The CEO told me that I should tell them what I wanted to do in our next meeting. So if you were/are a CEO, what could a young future entrepreneur help you with? What are the problems that he could solve for you and therefore help you save time and make more money?

I guess I could tell them that I could help them with research, presentations, contacts with publishers, organization and project management, but would a CEO really trust someone he barely knows with all that stuff?

Thank you in advance for your answers,

Primoz

1. Research the company / Industry. Figure out how it works specifically. From idea to production. You should be able to find something you want to do by doing this.

2. When you meet up with him, have some ideas in mind(incase he asks you for something right at the start), but also have questions. You want to figure out what their needs are then how you can solve them. <<<<You're selling yourself, this is real sales.

3. Figure out what compliments your skill set. You want to kick major a$$ at whatever you do. Go there and out perform everyone. These early jobs are a great place to develop contacts. Being mediocre will only help you develop mediocre contacts!

4. Test and improve processes. When your there if you see something out of wack, improve upon it. Remember, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

 

[CPisHere]

Research & Project Management may be useful. If I were you, I would first ask him "What's your primary pain point?" to get a sense of what he sees as a need in the company.

Something I believe that few businesses are good at is Data Analytics - identifying and fixing issues, optimizing sales funnels, calculating & maximizing customer lifetime value, etc.

If you could get a job doing something like that, you would develop an incredible skill set that is in high demand, which you could parlay into a consulting business.

 

[Primzi]

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely do extensive research on the company and industry during the weekend. There is a slight problem with sales and marketing positions because the company develops for a publisher, who does all the marketing etc. But since there is still the need to pitch games to publishers, I will try to somehow help with that.

Project management/production and optimization of processes within the company seems good as well, along with research and perhaps eventually some contact/cooperation with publishers.

 

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[healthstatus]

Tell them you want to solve their biggest problems. You will interview the entire staff from top to bottom and start working on solving the problems that are keeping people from being more productive.

 

[Primzi]

That is actually a really good idea, thanks!

 

[healthstatus]

In the interview with each person, ask "What are the three things that need to be changed for you to be more productive than you are today?", "Which one of the three is killing more of your productivity?", "How much more productive would you be if that problem was solved?", ask them all face to face, don't ask them to prepare ideas ahead of time.

 

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