Everyone has a certain set of interests and requirements they attempt to fulfill whenever they seek or accept offers of employment: subject matter, product type(s), reuniting with former colleagues, upward mobility, financial growth, health benefits, commissions, bonuses, and (whenever possible) better quality of life. Some people – in business – may have the focus and abilities of a worker bee . . . while others are wired for operational oversight and big picture responsibilities. Some people – in life – are only responsible for themselves, monthly rent, and a pet . . . while others may have several dependents, a mortgage, school loans, and multiple car payments.

While I was raised to approach the activities and events of business and life through the creation of a solid foundation – with an equal focus on broad strokes and fine details – I still face challenges similar to most within the greater games industry. I have gone from one career extreme to the other. I have gone from traditional artist to Art Director to Executive Producer to Product Manager to Operational Development Consultant – participating in the development and leading in the creation of numerous initiatives for many products, both domestic and international. I have gone from single guy (with no pets) to married man to family man (with adorable kids who often act like pets).

The greater games industry continues to operate with a decades-old business model that – on a company to company basis – yearns to be retrofitted for sustainable long-term goals. Absent a brave, forward-thinking publisher, developer, or tweener willing to embrace requisite change . . . that yearning historically (but not entirely) gives way to short-term results (for both products and the personnel who give those products life).

Long-term opportunities no longer mean or involve the same things for everyone, regardless of industry and especially in the current economy. This fact should only encourage people to revisit their personal / professional goals, explore their full potential, expand their skill sets, and become better equipped to pursue previously unavailable roles in potential new areas of interest.

This is the same diversified pathway upon which I have built my near 19 years of games industry experience, resulting in my current status as a multipurpose, managerial Mr. Fix It who is considered for an ever-increasing range of opportunities . . . both within and beyond the games industry.

More than ever before, mere interest in such opportunities is not enough to really discover such possibilities. Confidence in the source of those opportunities (following your due diligence) should be the deal maker, and the lack of it should be a deal breaker . . . even if you are (almost) in desperate need (as being set up by an employer – or yourself – to fail only serves to compound those circumstances).

Business, like life, can be a complete tossup, but every potential step of your career – whenever you can help it – deserves reasonable research and maximum curiosity. The sheer volume of growing competition for those coveted career steps demands no less.

The same rule applies whether from an employer or employee perspective. You can only perform so much due diligence on each other and – if an agreement is hatched – hope you have identified most of the critical gotchas within that arrangement . . . and reasonable success metrics for each.

Circumstances are unique for (almost) everyone. My own conditions require me to maintain a (oftentimes unrealistic) balance between my young family's willingness to relocate for the next great brass ring opportunity versus their desire to plant roots in one place and become part of a community . . . for as long as I choose to remain a member of the games industry or other similarly creative career paths.

Striking such a balance requires me to lean heavily on my Mr. Fix It expertise and be able to apply myself (again) to a much wider selection of opportunities: new projects, in-progress initiatives, enhancements for aging-but-sturdy products, new teams in need of a new production methodology, old teams seeking a new mission statement to follow, and entire studios pursuing better operational oversight . . . all within an equal variety of durations (from one week to multiple years and every range in-between).

Among that mix of opportunities, I have been asked to stare down more reclamation projects than I care to remember, but those Mr. Fix It challenges have been absolutely critical to my continued and ever-expanding ability to diversify for my family, in order to maintain a spot within my choice of industry. More diversity means more opportunities, which translates into a more transferrable skill set towards more industries . . . whenever my preferred industry goes through historic down cycles (which it does, indeed).

The Mr. Fix It ability to be drop-shipped into almost any given project – relative to digital creative / entertainment software – also means an unequaled determination to leave no stone unturned . . . to ensure you parachute (somewhat) safely onto the surface of that project. Interviewing every available team member for those projects – past and present – is critical to unearthing obstacles not readily apparent through available documentation (if that documentation is even exists). Being able to put at least a few faces to a project is also key to (more) successful identification and (better) understanding of original or current business requirements . . . from massive to minute, from obvious to oddball, and from one discipline to all disciplines.

Please take it from a career clean-up expert, when you join the "Fix It Fellowship" – in order to grow your opportunities – your dedication to detail must be maintained and reasonably grown. It does not matter if your hired focus is on an entire project puzzle or one assigned piece. You know those pieces all eventually fit together. The "Fix It Philosophy (FIP)" demands your eyes be up and open . . . in preparation for the next item you may receive before it is officially broken.

Be curious, avoid being spurious . . . and a wider range of opportunities may no longer seem luxurious.