Outside Activity - EA Sports: Jason Ostresh

            Jason Ostresh is the Project Manager for the Madden videogame series at EA Sports and Tiburon.  He came in to speak to a few Full Sail classes on May 18^th 2011 about project management specifically.  Obviously as a Logistics Coordinator who just finished my internship as a Project Manager, this event was of extreme interest to me.  Now that I have been a so-called “leader” of students, I have seen the good and the bad that comes with that position.  There are many things I have yet to learn, so any advice I am able to gain from experienced leaders in a similar industry is an opportunity I will jump at in a heartbeat.  Jason Ostresh was in fact a true professional and I would consider him a very effective leader based on hearing his presentation.  I probably asked more questions than anyone else in the room, trying to figure out how he handles disputes, keeps team morale high, deals with clients asking for too much, and the list goes on and on.  I also went up to Jason after the presentation as he was conveniently talking to a few of the students who work under me.  I was able to get his business card and ask if I would be able to shadow him one day at EA Sports to see how he manages his team and his duties on a regular day.

            What I enjoyed about Jason’s presentation was how he went through project management methods that work and don’t work, and then explained his reasoning.  He also gave detailed information as to how he keeps everything and everyone organized on big projects with quick turnarounds.  I learned a great deal from Jason in his hour-long speech and I look forward to connecting with him at some point in the near future to follow up on my request to shadow him for a day at work.  If there’s one way to become a better leader, it is to follow and learn from other great leaders.  Jason is considered one of the best at EA Sports.  His team is the hardest working in the company.  They work the longest hours and deal with the tightest deadlines.  Since his responsibilities are so similar to mine, I aspire to learn more about keeping my team’s morale as highly motivated as his.