If there were ever a Methodology to Munchkin...

...I guess Six Sigma would be it.
Science and Gaming = Something Like Six Sigma.

I've begun my self-study, I picked up and spent my bday gift checks on the McGraw-Hill 36-hour course for Six Sigma.

Its a lot of measuring and understanding of statistics. It can appear heavy but after all the hype it is a idiot proof process of min-maxing for regular people, like me. Formulas, Graphs, Notes and the Internet are all there to make understanding all these things easier. Its mastery of those tools: good note taking, framing problems some other way, and being able to use the "expanded memory" of writing thoughts down and drawing relations that makes all this confusing symbols something understandable.

Its not Magic, well it a kind of magic.

Its a 36 hour course... but realistically I bet I will need to spend x3.5 more hours, based on the metrics and rules of thumb on learning I've read. I also have to find ways to apply what I have just learned.

To think this in GURPS 126 hours isn't worth even 1cp, but in reality it can mean a success in a project.

I'm having more time to write... but not as much about games.

Well here I am trying to hit two birds with one stone. I'm trying to write about work and about RPGs, but basically by the way my brain works I'm always in an RPG even though I'm at work.

In its definition of success, its not about awesome leadership, strategies, opportunities or all the sorts of razzle dazzle that become central in a story. It is the subtlety of discipline that makes winners, according to the book I'm reading. The winning qualities are those that get subtle reference and not the Spot light like Heroism, sacrifice and all the key imagery that gets an audience's attention.

Right now I'm trying to figure out what to write about without so much boring topics about min-maxing in business. BPOs and biz opportunities in the Philippines is an expertise I'm surprised to be learning rather quickly.

It makes me aware of how Current Affairs (business) is a skill naturally part of any professional template. Heck, it basically means understanding the current situation, essential in figuring out what to do. The freaking skill means understanding context.

I have a much greater understanding of income generation, particularly how it relates to competence. Particulary, many of the most competent don't just get CASH, they get a ton social norms and unquantifiable advantages. Also the most elite begin with trust and leadership that gives them resources to level up.

Right now we are doing several skill captures designed to replicate into our IT all the necessary and normally protected skills. Protectionism, protected skills, make jobs stagnant little strongholds where ignorance rules. We want to break up all that monopoly and unnecessary overhead.

In breaking monopolies and protectionism we found allies in Open-Source Communities. We want to break away from the increasing overhead costs licensed products and hack ourselves a effective solution. We are migrating away from licenses that take us away from our core business and the politics of the major corporations. We are moving towards contributing freely to the open source community and focusing in our service delivery.

Real World Career Paths.
A useful artifact of DnD is the prestige classes and leveled classes mindset. In a way their is some truism in the concept. My view of professional classes have been greatly broadened beyond my art backgrounds staples, which tends to be more related to manufacturing as there is a "churning" out of art that has some of it recycled heavily. Now I tend to see these as: Finance, Entrepreneurs, Managers and Technicians/Experts.

They differ heavily in their core philosophies and skills. Any of these classes can have strengths in Process, Analytics, Social, and Technical. Consider these 4 a set of skill categories, not absolute and with many skills that fall in between of 2 or 3 of these. They also have circumstantial advantages like: Status, Wealth, Network, and Backgrounds.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of cognitive biases exerts a very strong influence over objectivity as to what advantages or strategies are best.

My Opinion, and feel free to comment or make your own classification, is that Finance are the Magic Users as they make money with "Instruments" and by playing with non-physical forces. Clerics: which are bureaucracy and organization can be found in the management. The Front line: Technicians are the Fighters, like the many kinds and forms of engineers and experts. then there are the Entrepreneurs who exploit any opportunity or look for a situation that can become an opportunity.

Battle Mages are the Finance people who can be in the thick of the fighting. Process expertise is a skill tree of a Cleric, but does a great amount of puissance as it would to a Mage.

Rangers are the entrepreneurial technical experts (rogue and fighter), who take analytics skill tree. They process a lot of information and kind find opportunities, weaknesses and strengths given time and resources.

Fighters have a lot of flavors as there are kinds of engineers and technicians. Although, given this day and age, there appears to be more kinds of technicians than ever.

Marketing are a kind of Rogue. One that use persuasion, manipulation, or simple skullduggery (alluding to the marketing scripts that intentionally deceive).

I got carried away with the work to play comparisons. Oh well, gotta go back to work.