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Hi friends,

Long time no see, and umm… that’s on me.

For a while now, I’d been on the fence about an important choice: do I keep writing for a broad creative industries public, or do I narrow my focus down to videogames? The broader creative category theoretically lets me help more people, but focusing on videogames would let me get much more specific. The more time I took to think about this, the more it undermined my own creative process. The result was, unfortunately, a couple of unsent editions of Bi-Weekly Bits.

But I figured it out! After talking to some industry friends, I’ve decided to double down on videogames. It’s where I have the most experience, where most of my network is. It’s what I know and do best. It’s what I love doing most. As a result, I’ll be overhauling my website and this newsletter, both in form and in content, to better fit the wants, needs and expectations of videogame companies.

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At the very least, this means you can expect more concrete examples from the videogames industry in my articles, and more videogame related content in each edition of this newsletter–which I will resume publishing every two weeks on Tuesday. Of course, I will still be taking a broader perspective on the videogame industry, drawing in insights and best practices from various fields.

Next to this, I’m also working on opening up consulting hours, but I’ll share more on that when it’s ready.

Thanks for being patient while I figured this out, and let’s get right back into it!

Here’s what I want to share with you today:

​Why you shouldn't hire with your gut: Hiring new people is way too important (and costly) a decision to make on a gut feeling alone. And yet, small companies do it all the time. This article briefly explores the risks, and suggests practical tips for improvement.

The Best Bits

​Crypto Games Culture War: I’m skeptical about all things crypto and NFT, but I’ve been trying to keep up on the discourse in the hopes of understanding the space better. As this article rightly calls out, the space has been fairly divided, and I appreciate the more neutral, analytical tone taken here in arguing that crypto and NFT in gaming isn’t much different from more established business models.

​The five stages of small business growth: If you’ve read anything about business growth, you’re likely familiar with the Greiner growth curve. This article argues that the Greiner curve is too linear and one-dimensional to be of much use to small and medium sized companies. Instead, they propose a more nuanced five-phased model much that makes it easier for smaller companies to determine and make sense of their growth phase.

​A mental model of business: This article argues that all great business people share a common mental model for making sense of business. It’s a fascinating piece, which purports to make sense of the tacit knowledge that allows experts to recognize each other.

See you in two weeks!

Martijn

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