Community

Romancing the N00b
Recruitment and Retention of Life-long Guild Members
By Ganesha, Circle of the Ronin, Malygos-US

"Romancing the N00b", also know by many as "zerg recruiting", is a tactic that worked very well for us
here in CotR. However, if you're shooting for a stream-lined raiding guild or if you don't have a
tremendous amount of patience with which to help others, Romancing the N00b may not be for you.
Yet again, we've built a progressing raiding core in our guild by starting with this concept. It may be
something you want to consider especially if you're looking to start a guild from scratch with motives
ranging from social all the way to hard-core raiding.

At first blush, this may seem like a simple concept. You arrive as a ‘lite toon at your game server’s
Noob area and proceed to suck up any and all new arrivals with visions of sugar plumbs dancing in your
head. Indeed, this is the basic idea. The real question is, however, what are your motives? Do you
hope that they will sheepishly join your guild, develop their character, and serve your guild, more or less
on their own, the end of which will be your own glory? Or do you genuinely want to help the person
behind that character experience and enjoy the game and your community? If your motivation is the
latter, terrific, lets get started! If it is the former, check and change your motives, for they certainly are a
sure formula for disaster.

At this point in your guild’s development, “sucking up any and all new arrivals” is a viable and effective
tactic. The dilemma persists – are you willing to develop them, hold their hand, do research, and see to
it they experience the content of the game and your community to its maximum level? Utility of this
method of recruitment will be a genuine test of your willingness to be an effective guild leader. This
activity demonstrates clearly your ability to inspire and motivate people. And it is an arduous task.
Make no mistake. Out of the literally dozens of new players I have “romanced”, only a select few have
ripened into the players, members, and, indeed, leaders that I’d hoped. That said, those that have
blossomed are guildies that have become the backbone of our community. Indeed, if you are able to
recruit two or three members in this manner, consider yourself a success!

As you begin this process, you’ll find essentially three types of people: 1) those who join, level, and
become leaders, 2) those who join and are dependable, but are limited in contributing to the community,
and 3) those who join and leave quickly or become leeches to the community. This is a concept of
casting a wide net and having the leadership capabilities of managing all three types of recruits. For the
leeches, you will simply cope with rejection and, to be sure, not allow these self-centered individuals to
poison your community. You will invest in and cultivate those who demonstrate themselves to be
dependable and worthy members. For those precious few in the rare, first group, you will sacrifice all
you are able to see them through. As you enter into this type of guild development and you are
committed to seeing these people through to higher levels of the game, you will begin to foster this kind
of attitude among all your leaders and members. Soon, you won’t be alone in “romancing noobs”. It
will be a regular practice of your guild. The three leaders and committed members you find will emulate
your attitude toward helping others and this is where your guild begins to really find momentum.
Congratulations! You have just developed a rare trait present in few organizations: “A Positive
Culture”. (see next article, "Developing a Cult-like Culture")

As stated, this is perhaps the first real test of whether you will survive as a guild leader. Perhaps you
started your guild with visions of grandeur. Put quickly away those visions. Being a guild leader is
about service. Your primary passion must be to serve others. The minute it becomes about you or
even about the standing of your guild in comparison with others, you’re finished. In the forefront of your
mind must always be, “What am I doing to serve my community?” Are you committed to helping a low
level or undergeared toon with potential become all they can be?

At this point in your guild’s development, virtually your entire game time will be spent recruiting, training,
and helping these members. For those who love to help others, this will be erotically gratifying. For
those of us who struggle with it, it hopefully will at least be therapeutic!

Our best as you "Romance those N00bs"!

Developing a “Cult-like” Culture
Rules, Culture, and Why You’ll Never Have Time to Develop Enough Rules!

Unless you’ve got time to compose a rulebook comparable to the United States Code, your
guild needs to build, develop, and identify its “culture”. Nordstrom, arguably the most
successful high-end retail clothing chain, has one rule for its employees:

1) Use your good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.

Indeed their “handbook” consists of a five-by-eight inch card that includes a welcome, this
one rule, and who to contact with questions. Seems like a formula for anarchy right?
Nope! Their core of employees are governed and driven by culture of professionalism and
customer service. Our guild, like Nordstrom, has two rules:

1) Any behavior that lowers the game experience for any member will be dealt with harshly.
2) See rule #1.

One of our values is “team mentality”. We’ve developed this value because of our “cult-
like” culture. Anyone who say demands a drop that would be a slight upgrade to them over
someone for whom it would be a major upgrade even if they have more DKP points, quickly
finds himself outside of our culture. Those new to our community who do this, (or attempt
to do it), quickly receive a barrage of tells instructing them to allow the one with the greatest
need to have the drop. Why? We know our team will be better if they have it. People who
can’t get their arms around this concept usually leave our guild. We rarely have to boot
people or even ask them to leave. They find our culture so abrasive they exit on their own.
Put simply we don’t need to establish a plethora of rules, our culture takes care of it.

So how do you establish culture in the context of your guild? As stated in the article On
Vision and Values, it develops as your guild grows. This is a concept that depends greatly
on the leader. Leaders, in particular, attract other leaders who have similar values. (Another
reason why establishing vision and values at the inception of a guild is not necessary; they
WILL come out!) You as the GM are the guiding force for your guild’s culture. In a simple,
cursory examination of the “guild relations” forum on our particular MMORPG, many are
starting guilds for their own purposes. If you are beginning a guild to accomplish you own
goals, beware! You are certain to attract others who only have in mind their own needs and
your culture will be one of cutthroat greed. Honestly, the bottom line for “culture” is that it
is a barometer of the values and vision your guild holds. A certain culture cannot be
attained in a formulaic fashion. Culture is something to be evaluated. A better question to
ask is, “What is our guild’s culture?” If it is one you and your leadership are pleased with,
soldier on! If not, you will need to begin a process of attitudinal change beginning with the
GM and long process of instilling a new culture in your community. The bottom line for a
“cult-like culture” is that it ejects, like a virus, anyone who does not conform to it. “We don’t
need no stinking rules!”

Portions adapted from James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last, The Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, “Chapter 8: Cult-Like
Cultures”, HarperCollins, New York, NY, 1997, pg. 115 ff.

What Behavioral Values Are Irreplaceable and Fundamental?
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

The key to answering this question lies in avoiding the tendency to adopt every positive
value that exists. Many companies I've worked with want to claim that they are equally
committed to quality, innovation, teamwork, ethics, integrity, customer satisfaction, member
development, financial results, and community involvement. Although all of these qualities
are certainly desirable and might even exists in a single guild at a given time, the search for
fundamental values requires a significant level of focus and introspection, and a willingness
to acknowledge that all things good are not necessarily essential to the guild.

In fact, the healthiest guilds identify a small set of values that are particularly fundamental
to their culture, and adhere to those values without exception. It is not that they reject all
other values, but rather that they know which qualities lie at the heart of whom they are.
This knowledge makes decision-making easier and gives members, and recruits an
accurate picture of what the guild represents.

In Build to Last, Porras and Collins provide many examples of how companies identify and
use core values to guide the decisions they make. They make a point that I believe is worth
repeating here: fundamental values are not chosen from thin air based on the desires of the
officers; They are discovered within what already exists in an guild.

One way that I help leadership teams identify their fundamental values is by asking them to
think about the two or three members whom they believe best embody what is good about
the guild. These would be people whom they would gladly clone again and again,
regardless of their responsibility or level of experience. Then I ask them to write down one or
two adjectives that describe the members they selected. Usually a relatively short list of
common or related terms surfaces. To help them solidify their thinking, I then ask them to
identify the one or two members who have left the guild, or should leave the guild, because
of their behavior or performance. Coming up with these names never seems to take long.
Again, I ask them to write down one or two adjectives that describe the people they are
chose. Almost without fail, the same adjectives appear on most team members' lists, and
often embody the antithesis of the guild's fundamental values.

Another approach to identifying values involves focusing on the common behavioral values
of the people who founded the guild. This can be particularly useful in relatively new guilds
where there is little opportunity to reflect on the past and current members.

Now, the wrong way to determine a guild's values is to survey the member population. This
may seem to be a useful way to test a hypothesis, but it is not a replacement for the
introspection and discussion of the officer team. More important, it can lead to the adoption
of a values set that officers are not willing to support.

These are just a few ways that a leadership team can go about identifying its values.
Whatever method is used, it is important to remember that the process should not be
hurried, and initial answers should be tested and reality-checked before being
communicated to the guild at large.-

Next, See - What Business Are We in, and Against Whom Do We Compete? AND How
Does Our Approach Differ from That of Our Competition?

.....the
coalescence of
people.....

Featured Articles

1) Romancing the N00b

2) Developing a Cult-like
Culture

3) What Behavioral Values Are
Irreplaceable and
Fundamental?

4) Building a Cohesive Lea

5) Assessing Team
Cohesiveness

6) Creating Organizational
Clarity

7) Sustaining Organizational
Clarity via Human Systems

8) Over-Communicating

.....helping guild masters become better leaders in-game and in-life.....

Building a Cohesive Leadership Team
Assessing Team Cohesiveness
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

How Do You Assess Your Team for Cohesiveness?

Ask yourself these questions:

     Are meetings compelling? Are the important issues being discussed during meetings?

Every guild has interesting, difficult issues to wrestle with, and a lack of interest during
meetings is a pretty good indicator that the team may be avoiding issues because they are
uncomfortable with one another. Remember, there is no excuse for having continually boring
meetings.

     Do team members engage on unguarded debate? Do they honestly confront one another?

Every leadership team should be engaged and passionate about what it does, regardless of
its focus. Even teams that get along well together should be experiencing regular conflict and
intense debate during meetings. If this is not the case, it is likely that there is a lack of trust,
and an unwillingness to confront one another. Even the best teams have moments when
members need to hold one another accountable for their attitudes or actions. Holding back
during these times is a sure sign of future problems for the team.

     Do team members apologize if they get out of line? Do they ever get out of line?

When people confront one another, discomfort inevitably occurs. Sometimes people get
emotional; sometimes they say things they don't mean. When this happens, it is key that they
are comfortable apologizing to one another. As soft as it may seem, teams that can genuinely
forgive and ask forgiveness develop powerful levels of trust.

     Do team members understand one another?

Members of cohesive teams know one another's strengths and weaknesses and don't hesitate
to point them out. They also know something about one another's backgrounds, which helps
them to understand why officers think and act the way they do. (See How to Build a Cohesive
Leadership Team)

     Do team members avoid gossiping about one another?

Talking about a colleague who is not present is not gossip. Gossip requires the intent to hurt
someone, and it is almost always accompanied but an unwillingness to confront a person
directly with the information being discussed. Ironically, members of cohesive teams are not
overly concerned about the prospect of their colleagues' discussing them in their absence
because they know it is in the best interest of the team. They trust each other, and know that
true gossip will not be tolerated.

If you answered no to any of these questions, you man have identified an opportunity to make
your team more cohesive. The best way to begin this process is to discuss the questions
presented here with the members of your team and ask them what their answers would be.
Getting member to agree on which of these issues is most challenging for the team is the first
step toward addressing it.-

See Next Article – Does Your Guild Have Organizational Clarity?

Does Your Guild Have Organizational Clarity?
Creating Organizational Clarity
By RazaiThe Four Disciplines of a Healthy Guildl, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

How Do You assess Your Guild for Clarity?

This is pretty simple. Ask your team members to individually answer the questions set out in
this and other articles on Clarity. It is useful to have them write their answers down. Then go
around the table and have everyone report their answers to the rest of the team. Fundamental
differences will be painfully apparent. Keep in mind that it is okay for people to use slightly
different language when they answer the various questions. What you are looking for is
conceptual agreement.

One of the best ways to achieve clarity is to answer, in no uncertain term, a series of basic
questions pertaining to the guild:

Why does our Guild exist, and what difference does it make in the world?

What behavioral values are irreplaceable and fundamental?

What is our focus, and against whom do we compete?

How does our approach differ from that or our competition?

What are our goals this month, this quarter, this year, next year, five years from now?

While some of these questions might seem esoteric and others tactical, all of them are
important. The key is that at any given point in time, a healthy guild can point to an
unambiguous answer for each question. Without those answers, confusion and hesitation
begin to invade a guild.

One key to achieving organizational clarity is focusing on the essence of each question and
not getting bogged down bay the temptation to word smith the answers. Leadership teams
often lapse into “marketing mode” while discussing clarity, and start thinking about creating
external marketing messages and tag lines rather than getting agreement around the basic
concepts themselves. In addition to this general distraction, each of the questions carries its
own unique challenges, which are explored in detail in this section. -

Next, See - Why Does the Guild Exist, and What Difference Does It Make in the World?

Reinforcing Organizational Clarity
Through Human Systems
Assessment of Clarity Through Human Systems
By Razail, Order of the Ancients, Malygos-US

Answering the following questions is a good start:

Is there a process for interviewing candidates and debriefing those interviews as a team?
Are there consistent behavioral interview questions that are asked across every
department?
Is there a consistent process for managing the performance of members across the guild?
Do we spend time evaluating members' behavior versus the organization's values and
goals?
Do officers and members willingly participate in the system?
Is there a consistent process for determining rewards and recognition for members?
Is there a consistent process for evaluating promotion candidates against organizational
values?
Are there consistent criteria for removing members from the guild?
Are members ever asked to leave because they are a poor fit within the organization's
values?

While even the best guild may not be able to answer yes to each of these questions, more
than a few no answers is probably an indication that better systems are needed to reinforce
the organization's clarity. Guilds should continually strive to create exactly the amount of
structure that is required - no more and no less. -

How To Reinforce Clarity Through Human Systems
By Razail, Order of Ancients, Malygos-US
Adapted from Patrick Lencioni’s The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

Recruiting Profiles. One system is an interviewing and recruiting profile, which is based largely
on the fundamental values of an organization. Healthy guilds look for qualities in member
candidates that match the values of the guild. They ask behavioral questions of interviewees
and probe for evidence that the candidate has the potential to fit within the organization.

After interviews have taken place, interviewers debrief with one another, paying special
attention to the assessments of colleagues regarding the candidate's alignment with
fundamental values. This group consultation helps organizations avoid making costly
recruiting mistakes, which take months and sometimes years to correct.

Contrast this to most guilds where recruiting is done in a “Did you like him?” manner.
Interviewers make decisions based on their gut-level reactions to candidates, and with
relatively little objective criteria about whether the employee matches the organization's
culture. Instead, they rely on gear and perceived skill, which alone are poor indicators of
future success.

Performance management. Another system that serves to reinforce an organization's clarity is
its performance management process. This is the structure around which leaders
communicate with and direct the work of their people. It serves to help members identify their
opportunities for growth and development, and to constantly realign their play and their
behaviors around the direction and values of the guild at large.

Unfortunately, most organizations place the wrong kind of emphasis on performance
management, and in the process they lose the true essence of what performance
management is about: communication and alignment. (here is that communication theme
again)

There are two common misapplications that cause this to happen. Many guilds make their
systems too complex, requiring officers and members to complete endless and complicated
forms (read as quests). Too often, any sense of real management communication and
coaching is lost among the instructions and requirements.

Another common problem has to do with the generic nature of many performance
management systems. Too many organizations try to use off the shelf systems that do not fit
their group. It’s little wonder that officers and members alike find little value in taking time to
complete them. The best performance management systems include only essential
information, and allow officers/coaches and their members to focus on the work that must be
done to ensure success.

There is little emphasis on legal issues and quantitative evaluations, which often distract
members from the critical messages their coaches are trying to communicate. What is more,
these systems are customized to provoke meaningful discussion between coaches and
members about relevant issues that they are dealing with on a daily basis.

Finally, performance management is not just about communication during member review
cycles. It is about ongoing dialog around how members can align their behaviors around the
guilds clarity.

Rewards and Recognition. This system has to do with the manner in which organizations
reinforce behavior. Healthy organizations eliminate as much subjectivity and capriciousness as
possible for the reward process by using consistent criteria for rewarding, recognizing, and
promoting members.

Decisions about rewards and other compensations are based on the same criteria used in
recruiting and managing performance. This helps members understand that the best way to
maximize their personal rewards is to act in a way that contributes to the guild's success, as
defined by organizational clarity.

In addition to rewards, recognition of members is designed around the guild's values. These
not only provide incentives for members to emulate the right behaviors, but also serve as a
high-profile means of promoting the value themselves.

Finally, no one is promoted in healthy guilds unless they represent the behavioral values of
the community. Officers discuss candidates for promotion not only in regard to their
contribution to the bottom line but also in terms of their impact on reinforcing the clarity of the
organization.

Dismissal. Healthy organizations use their values and other issues related to organizational
clarity to guide their decisions about moving members out of the guild. Not only does this
provide an effective means for identifying problems before they become too costly, it helps
guilds avoid making arbitrary decisions about a member’s suitability for remaining within the
guild.-

See Next Article - Assessment of Clarity Through Human Systems

Assessment of Clarity Through Human Systems
By Razail, Order of the Ancients, Malygos-US

Answer the following questions is a good start:

Is there a process for interviewing candidates and debriefing those interviews as a team?
Are there consistent behavioral interview questions that are asked across every
department?
Is there a consistent process for managing the performance of members across the guild?
Do we spend time evaluating members' behavior versus the organization's values and
goals?
Do officers and members willingly participate in the system?
Is there a consistent process for determining rewards and recognition for members?
Is there a consistent process for evaluating promotion candidates against organizational
values?
Are there consistent criteria for removing members from the guild?
Are members ever asked to leave because they are a poor fit within the organization's
values?