“Atari always was a technology-driven company, and we were very keen on keeping the technological edge on everything. There's a whole bunch of things that we innovated. We made the first computer that did stamps or sprites, we did screen-mapping for the very first time, and a lot of stuff like that. We had some of the most sophisticated sound-creating systems, and were instrumental in MIDI.” FirstsMadeWholeStuffSoundCompanyTechnologyComputerCreatingFirst TimeEdgesDrivenScreensBunchSophisticatedTechnologicalStampsMappingAtariMidi Author:Nolan Bushnell
“Creativity is every company's first driver. It's where everything starts, where energy and forward motion originate. Without that first charge of creativity, nothing else can take place.” FirstsEnergyCompanyCreativityDriversForward Motion Book:Finding the Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent Source: Finding the Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent
“Every company needs to have a skunkworks, to try things that have a high probability of failing. You try to minimize failure, but at the same time, if you're not willing to try things that are inherently risky, you're not going to make progress.” IfsNeedsTryingCompanyProgressFailingWillingProbabilityWilling To Try Author:Nolan Bushnell
“Everybody copied Atari products. So we started messing with them and it was fun. We bought enough chips that we could get them mislabeled. So we bankrupted at least two companies which copied our boards, and bought all the parts but they were the wrong parts, so they're sitting on all this inventory they can't sell because the games don't work.” TwoEnoughGamesFunCompanyProductsSittingSellsBoardsChipsInventoryAtari Author:Nolan Bushnell
“In 1980, business at my company, Chuck E. Cheese's, was thriving and I was feeling flush. So I bought a very large house on the Champ de Mars in Paris, right between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire. The home was quite amazing: At six stories, it spanned 15,000 square feet and featured marble staircases and a swimming pool in the basement.” StoriesFeelingsHomeHouseCompanyFeetSixParisSwimmingSquaresPoolCheeseTowersMarsMarbleBasementsChuckSwimming PoolStaircasesEiffel TowerEiffelChuck E Cheese Author:Nolan Bushnell
“One of the big concerns I have is that most of the HR departments in a lot of companies are hiring away from creativity and they don't know it. For instance, they are requiring everybody to have a college degree. The most creative people I know couldn't deal with college.” PeopleKnowsBigsDealsCompanyCreativityCreativeCollegeDegreesConcernInstanceDepartmentCreative PeopleHiringCollege Degree Author:Nolan Bushnell
“Today, companies have to radically revolutionize themselves every few years just to stay relevant. That's because technology and the Internet have transformed the business landscape forever. The fast-paced digital age has accelerated the need for companies to become agile.” NeedsYearsAgeTodayCompanyTechnologyForeverInternetLandscapeDigitalRelevantTransformedFast PacedDigital Age Author:Nolan Bushnell
