KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Officer Selection: Putting the Right Pieces in Place A General's Thoughts I view KSI the way Tyler Durden looked at Project Mayhem: You decide your own level of involvement. If there’s one feeling I have that I’ll ever have the liberty of extending to KSI as a whole it’s probably going to be this one. Gaming is my hobby. Xbox Live is the place I go to forget about challenges at work, bills, girlfriend problems. More than an escape though, it’s the place I go to have fun. We all have friends we hang out with in the proverbial “Real Worldâ€, but I choose to spend the majority of my free time with the friends I’ve made right here in the gaming community. I’ve discovered a wonderful organization in KSI that brings people together and creates relationships between people who likely never would have met anywhere else. I see value here and I do take the family task preached in KSI to heart. I’ve experienced the rise from Recruit all the way up to General of my very own squad for which I am now responsible. One of the most crucial tasks a General has before them (other than ensuring that “1†in your Gamer Tag isn’t an “I†on KSIAccess Denied) is picking the cast of officers who will not only support him but one day lead the family the General has established. Now, a General might ask, “how do I identify those people? And what does Fight Club have to do with any of this?†That’s where a member’s ideal level of involvement comes in. Identifying that level for each member is the difference between making KSI fun or turning it into a chore. Involvement likely means different things for different people. KSI has members who enjoy simply being in a group and everything that comes with it: joking around and having a large pool of like-minded individuals to fill up their friends list. In addition, KSI has members who enjoy reaching out and finding new people to grow their squad. Others enjoy the feeling of productivity they gain by instructing new members on how the clan works and giving them their first promotion. Then you have those members who become emotionally linked to the idea of KSI and truly embrace the family aspect hinted at in our Code of Conduct. I don't believe any one of those types of members sees their role in KSI as a job... provided they are not pressured into accepting a more in-depth role than the one to which they are naturally predisposed. When I say pressured, I mean this in two different senses of the word. First example: a leader approaches a member who is moderately active and asking them to step up for the sake of filling a rank. While a leader's intentions are honorable in such cases, the danger here lies in a member making a knee-jerk acceptance of a role solely out of the desire to please someone they hold in high esteem. The other more passive form of pressure occurs when a member sees their friends and squad-mates being promoted around them. The member may then take an interest in advancing for advancement’s sake and not the betterment of the squad or a passion to expand their role. It’s up to each General and their supporting cast to determine who is right and wrong for leading each squad. It’s also their job to inspire an appetite for greatness in those members who aren’t ready for leadership just now but demonstrate potential for it, all while carefully walking the line between encouragement and pressure. Easier said than done, right? After all, a General might point out that it’s also our responsibility to keep our members from getting bored in their ranks; to keep the squad excited by moving people up. In other words, to keep things from getting stale. These are all valid points. I would counter that a General has many other motivational tools at his or her disposal to keep up squad morale. We all know we can create Head Hunter teams; however that doesn’t preclude us from having Quick Scoping/Sniping teams, organizing a CQB shotgun/SMG team, or holding our own mini-tournaments from time to time. For Modern Warfare 3, I ran a trivia-challenge-tournament lobby and gave away Double XP to winners of specific challenges. It was off the cuff, on the fly and fun. What keeps us from spending $10 on our squad from time to time and doing the same with some Microsoft Points? With a little thought, a General can examine their available resources and develop strategies to make a squad exciting without sacrificing the integrity of their officer staff. This sort of flexibility also gives the General an important tool for choosing officers: the ability to reach out to the squad and find help in managing these extra activities. Who voluntarily decides to lead a special team, or assists in helping score lobbies? And more importantly, who does these tasks well and has fun with it? For me, a sense of enjoyment is just as important as the ability of an individual to perform a task well. Why? Because there are moments of frustration for all of us who care enough about this group, and a sense of humor and fun sometimes makes all the difference. OK, so I found someone who volunteers of their own accord and helps make squad lobbies fun. What then? Does that mean I found my next officer? Not necessarily. Sure, that person may be a blast to game with and have a personality that other squad mates naturally gravitate to, and even loves having a prominent role in special events. However, that in itself may not be enough. It’s time now to examine that member’s contributions to the squad on a daily level. Has this individual taken the time to convert their Gamertag? If not, have they expressed a desire to do so but are limited by funds? Are they doing what they can in the meantime, such as referring? If they are a Sergeant, have they taken the time to master Recruiting or do they require constant correction to their work? Has that member expressed interest or displayed a desire to learn the responsibilities assigned to the next position in the rank structure? It's my belief that if a General is patient and ensures a candidate meets or exceeds expectations for all of the above characteristics, they will be rewarded with a solid staff of officers on whom not only they can depend, but is also trusted by the rest of their squad. A cast who, when the time to split the squad comes, is so capable of running a squad that we find ourselves mulling over which of these various amazing, hardworking individuals we choose to lead the old and new teams. Now wouldn’t that be a nice problem to have? Author: VL6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hey News Team, did I post this incorrectly or am I doing something wrong? This was my news piece from last Monday and I just wanted to make sure that its getting edited and that I have the process right. I have yet to receive an invite to a meeting for either Monday so I'm unclear what's next for getting this piece posted. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Jaygo 14 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 wowza okay i never even saw this.. Do you have an account on ksiglobal.org? also do you have msn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 LOL I was wondering... I don't have an account on ksiglobal.org, no matter what I enter when I try to register I get a "only lowercase letters and numbers are allowed" message. That's no matter what I enter... eliminating spaces, CAPS, numbers, etc does no good. I do not have an MSN, but that I should be able to acquire easily enough this evening if it's necessary. VL6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Jaygo 14 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 ill talk to paco about ur problem.. do you use any instant messengers? msn is just what i use most of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Jaygo 14 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 okay just send apoc ( http://www.ksiforums.org/index.php?/user/66-apocawaka/ ) a pm with the username n shizz you want, he'll make u an account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 OK, will do that now and send the PM to Apoc. Nah, I don't really use any instant messengers. But again, I can if it helps out. I'm glad to see some movement, I've been all gung-ho about writing but this one kind of came to a standstill lol. I'm anxious to get more articles on their way once I get the process down from this first one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Jaygo 14 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 okay once you get your account and ur signed in just hover your mouse over the top where it says "dashboard" then "new post" Article is wonderfully written btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 Thank you Jaygo, I'm still working on the log in thing with Apoc... so far no dice after several attempts to redo my account. If we can get stuff resolved, I'll have a new article over the weekend for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 OK... article has been posted! I hope everything looks good. Got another one coming this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Jaygo 14 Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 I love you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
KSI VEILSIX 7 30 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 i like peanut butter cups but no flowers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Recommended Posts