diymy 080 What does "managing upwards" mean?
080 What does "managing upwards" mean?
On Saturday morning, the autumn sun shone through the sparse clouds and fell on the glass curtain wall of the Shanghai-Hong Kong University Science Park.
This is an incubation base specifically set up by the school to support student entrepreneurship. Although the name sounds impressive, for startup teams, it's actually just a slightly newer office building, divided into countless honeycomb-like cubicles.
The office of "Xiangxueshan Technology" is located at the end of the third floor.
Although it's called an office, it's actually more like a slightly more spacious study room.
The space is about 20 square meters, with four white walls and no unnecessary decorations. In the middle of the room is a simple long conference table, surrounded by six fairly comfortable office chairs.
At this moment, five brand-new laptops were neatly arranged on the table. They were all Lenovo laptops; although not top-of-the-line, they were sufficient for running Unity or Cocos2d.
"This is our base."
Zhu Qi was dressed casually in jeans today, twirling a key in her hand, looking quite like a boss. "The rent is a discounted rate from the school, very cheap. But I paid for these computers myself, so they're considered office supplies for everyone. However, there's a rule: for safety reasons, the computers can't be taken out of this office, and they have to be locked in the cabinet after get off work."
"Impressive!" Zhang Hao, the chubby programmer, stroked the matte finish of his new computer, clearly delighted. "It's way better than the old machine in my dorm."
Everyone took their seats.
The seating arrangement was chosen naturally to facilitate communication.
Wang Zhe, as the chief planner and core strategist, sat in the middle of one side of the long table.
As the lead artist, Su Xiaocheng sat to his left, making it convenient for her to review the project proposal and draw sketches at any time.
Zhu Qi, as the boss, sat to Wang Zhe's right by the window.
The best view spot is naturally occupied by whoever pays for it.
Zhang Hao and Li Wenjie, the two technical experts, sat opposite Wang Zhe.
The small office was filled with the sounds of mouse and keyboard clicks, and work quickly got on track.
The two senior students opposite them opened Wang Zhe's design document and began building the game's underlying framework.
"How about we stick with Cocos2d-x as the engine? Unity is good, but this game is 2D, and Cocos is more lightweight," Li Wenjie suggested.
"Okay. I'll build a demo of the scene scrolling first. According to the design document, the speed of the avalanche is a dynamic variable, so I need to write an algorithm..."
The two quickly entered an encrypted call mode that only programmers could understand.
Wang Zhe then turned to Su Xiaocheng and began to discuss the art requirements with her.
"Xiao Cheng, you don't need to overcomplicate the art style."
As Wang Zhe spoke, he picked up a piece of white paper and casually drew a few stick figure sketches. "What we want is not the heavy feel of an oil painting, but a simple cartoon style. The lines should be simple and strong, and the colors should be bright and cheerful. The main character doesn't need to be drawn too beautifully, but it should be funny, like having a big nose or a square chin."
Su Xiaocheng held the pressure-sensitive pen on her graphics tablet, her brows slightly furrowed as she listened attentively, occasionally sketching a few lines on the computer screen.
"I roughly understand the character design. It's kind of chibi-style, like something out of an American comic book, right? I can try to draw that. But..."
She paused, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Those things written in the proposal, like UI interface design, particle effects for avalanches, and even animation feedback when you get coins, I really haven't studied any of that."
Wang Zhe comforted him, "It's okay, those are things for later. You'll have time to learn them slowly. Right now, the most important thing is to get the basics right. Focus on the character design first: the protagonist, the penguin, the snowman, and the eagle. Make these creatures look lively and cute. As for the UI and special effects, we can find materials or have them teach you some simple techniques."
"Okay! Then I'll draw a penguin first!" Su Xiaocheng's eyes lit up immediately at the mention of drawing small animals, and she lowered her head to start unleashing her inspiration on the graphics tablet.
In the office, the sounds of keyboards and paintbrushes mingled together, creating an atmosphere full of the energy unique to the early stages of a startup.
However, in this lively atmosphere, one person seemed out of place.
That was Zhu Qi, who was sitting by the window.
She watched as the two programmers opposite her discussed "memory leaks" and "object pools," completely bewildered and unable to join the conversation.
She turned to look at Wang Zhe and Su Xiaocheng beside her. One was talking about character silhouettes, and the other was drawing a penguin's belly. It seemed that she couldn't help much.
As the initiator, investor, and CEO, he now seems like a superfluous mascot.
Zhu Qi twirled the pen in her hand with some frustration, her gaze shifting between the computer screen and the view outside the window, appearing somewhat at a loss.
This scene naturally did not escape Wang Zhe's eyes.
He knew that if he didn't give his boss something to do, making her feel like she wasn't involved, it would be a threat to the team's stability. Besides, someone like Zhu Qi wouldn't be content to just be an ATM.
After explaining a detail to Su Xiaocheng, Wang Zhe turned around and faced Zhu Qi.
"Senior."
"Huh? What's wrong?" Zhu Qi suddenly came to her senses.
Wang Zhe said with a serious expression, "The technology and art sides are both in motion, but there is a very important area that is still unfinished. And you are the best person to do this job."
"What kind of job?" Zhu Qi sat up straight.
"Market research and commercialization strategy. Games are made to make money. But the current mobile phone market is very complex. Senior, you need to help us figure out a few things."
Wang Zhe held up his fingers and listed them one by one:
"First, distribution channels. The domestic Android market is currently fragmented, with platforms like 91 Assistant, Wandoujia, and 360 Mobile Assistant... Which channels should we use? What are their revenue sharing rates? What qualifications are required?"
"Second, system differences. What are the differences in user habits between Apple and Android? What pitfalls exist in the review mechanism?"
"Thirdly, and most importantly, is the profit model. Although we've set up in-app purchases, how exactly will we sell? Will we sell skins? Sell resurrections? Or join GG? If it's GG, which GG affiliate network will generate the most revenue?"
A barrage of questions came crashing down on her, but instead of finding them tedious, Zhu Qi felt a surge of energy.
These questions sound very high-level, befitting her role as CEO, and are indeed matters of life and death for the company!
Zhu Qi nodded emphatically, the confusion in her eyes instantly vanishing: "Understood! Leave these to me, I'll look them up right away!"
After saying that, she immediately opened her browser and started searching for keywords such as "mobile game channel revenue sharing ratio" and "Apple review guidelines," typing away rapidly, her demeanor even more imposing than that of the programmer opposite her.
Seeing Zhu Qi instantly energized, Wang Zhe's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
This is called managing upwards.
It both soothed the boss's anxiety and got rid of the tedious research work that I was too lazy to do—it was perfect.
Time flies.
Before we knew it, it was already noon.
Zhu Qi stretched and looked at the few pages of documents she had compiled. Although they were still rough, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.
She glanced at the group still working diligently and clapped her hands: "Alright, everyone, stop for a moment. It's lunchtime, time to eat. Today is the first official day of work, so lunch is on me. What would you like to eat? I'll call and order takeout."
Upon hearing the word "eat," everyone looked up.
"Anything is fine! As long as there's meat!" Zhang Hao shouted.
"I want to eat mala tang!" Su Xiaocheng raised her hand.
Zhu Qi said thoughtfully, "How about... we order some stir-fries? I saw a place nearby with good reviews..."
Wang Zhe suddenly looked up: "Anything is fine, as long as it's not local Shanghai cuisine. If you really have to order local Shanghai cuisine, can you choose something inauthentic?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qi glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh.
Looking at her smile, Wang Zhe suddenly realized a fact—when Senior Zhu had a cold face, she might be mistaken for a handsome guy, but when she smiled, no boy with eyes could ignore her bright charm.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.