"Despite more than 70 years of substantial efforts by learning professionals the overall success by organizations to grow leaders remains dismal." - Deloitte How can we find the next generation of leaders when the current structures and tools remain ineffective and baby boomers are retiring. Like IBM when turning to online gaming in the mid 2000s, we turn to e-sports to find a competitive environment that is highly effective at capturing leaders within the younger generation.

1. Learning from E-Sports
Inventing Next Generation Leadership

2. WHERE DO TOMMOROW’S LEADERS COME
FROM?

3. WHERE THE SEARCH STARTED
10 years ago, IBM started looking to Online
Games – especially MMORPGs –
for new ways to evolve their business.

4. “Online games, and specifically massively
multiplayer online role-playing games
(MMORPGs), offer a glimpse at
how leaders develop and operate in
environments that are highly distributed,
global, hyper-competitive, and virtual.”
“Many of the qualities of online game
environments facilitate leadership, and
speed up the process of identifying
leaders.”
IMB Global Innovative Outlook, 2007
A COMPETITIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

5. “Leaders emerge that are capable of recruiting,
organizing, motivating, and directing large groups
of players toward a common goal. And decisions
are made quickly, with ample, but imperfect,
information.”
“Gaming leaders are more comfortable with risk,
accepting failure, and the resulting iterative
improvement, as part of their reality.”
NATURAL LEADERSHIP IN ONLINE GAMES
“In the online gaming world, risk-taking is
encouraged. It is even considered a necessary
precursor to success.”
IMB Global Innovative Outlook, 2007

6. NEW RULES FOR LEADERSHIP
TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIPNEXT GEN LEADERSHIP
Leaders rise through the hierarchy based on
various factors
Only leaders are given responsibilities based
on their pre-determined role in the group
Risks and failure must be avoided at all costs
Decisions are taken slowly and with majority
consensus [silo]
Leaders emerge naturally based on their
skill alone
Anyone can rise to the occasion and take on
responsibilities based on their skills
Taking risks is required so you can learn
from failure
Decisions are taken quickly in order to react
to any given situation [horizontal]
E-Sports Strategy
The shift from
traditional
leadership to next
gen leadership
competencies

7. TODAY’S COMPETITIVE ECOSYSTEM

8. WHAT ARE E-SPORTS?
E-sports are digital sports in which highly
competitive professional teams compete in
front of millions of viewers for victory.

9. Revenue Estimates Audience Estimates
E-SPORTS ARE RELEVANT

10. A NEXT-GENERATION COMPETITION
E-sports offer the perfect ecosystem for developing Next
Generation Leadership skills.
They Are:
• Highly Competitive
• Skill-Driven
• Team Oriented
• Online & Worldwide
They Provide:
• A High-Risk High-Reward Environment
• Clear Goals and Objectives (Leaderboards)
• Immediate Feedback & Skill Assessment
• A Structure for Teams to Naturally Form &
Evolve

11. WHAT WE LEARNED FROM E-SPORTS

12. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
1) Always going through the front door:

13. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
2) Always picking the main route:

14. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
3) Always attacking the strongest/biggest character:

15. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
4) Picking a character they like, not one the team needs:

16. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
5) Not talking to team members:

17. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
“I think there is a world market for maybe five
computers.”
Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943
“There is no reason anyone would want a
computer in their home.”
Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment
Corporation, 1977

18. COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
“Almost all of the many predictions now being made about 1996 hinge on the
Internet's continuing exponential growth. But I predict the Internet will soon go
spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.”
Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com, 1995
“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.”
Maréchal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, École Supérieure de Guerre
“With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese
auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S.
market.”
Business Week, August 2, 1968
“The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We
have plenty of messenger boys.”
Sir William Preece, chief engineer of the British Post Office, 1876

19. REDEFINING LEADERSHIP TRAINING

20. BRINGING THINGS TOGETHER
HIGHLY COMPETITIVE E-
SPORTS ENVIRONMENT
NEXT
GENERATION
ONLINE LEADERSHIP
TEAMWORK
& INNOVATION
CULTURE
CONQUEST
E-Sports
leadership
for Business

21. NEXT GEN LEADERSHIP E-SPORT
• ORGANISE LEADERSHIP AND TEAM TOURNAMENTS
• Develop your next gen leaders through e-sport competitive leadership
and teamwork scenarios.
• Allow leadership and teamwork skills to emerge, completely shaped
and owned by the interaction of the people in the competitive training
scenario. These skills are immediately transferable to the workplace
Breakout of passive mindsets, experiment with ideas,
learn to take risks, experience the impact of decisions.

22. Learn more at conquest-esport.com