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Working with us

Custom-fit collaboration.

I believe that true transformation comes from a deep understanding of your unique situation. Forget generic programs; I focus on working with you and your team to unlock your full potential in video game production.

Here’s how we can collaborate:

  • Training for Impact: I’ll train you and your people on how to significantly improve effectiveness in video game production.
  • On-the-Ground Process Enhancement: I’m keen to work hand-in-hand with your team to improve your existing processes: budgeting, hiring plans, your mix of Agile and Waterfall into a unified approach… whatever you need.
  • Cultivating Leaders: Through my real-life experience and the Liberated Leadership model, I’ll help you and your teams cultivate powerful leadership skills.
  • Strategic Studio Guidance: Consider me for fractional studio leadership roles where my experience can provide strategic direction.
  • Cross-Industry Leadership Development: My leadership principles extend beyond gaming. I can train leaders in various industries, drawing on my extensive experience.

Ready to explore how I can bring tangible improvements to your business?

Steve Cuss High 18
Charity Joy, Execution Producer, Electronic Arts

Colleague

Charity Joy
Executive Producer, Electronic Arts

"We could all learn a thing or two from Steve. He is thoughtful and generous. He shares his thoughts, insights, frameworks, wisdom, research, and personal experiences generously to create and inspire positive change in leaders, teams, cultures, and ultimately the success of the business. I had the pleasure of crossing paths with Steve as I transitioned into the Criterion studio and he was an incredibly supportive, informative, and insightful guide to have by my side. The team deeply respected his ways of being, the effort and care he had put into shifting and maintaining the studio culture, and the genuine empathy he showed for everyone around him. The results are visible to this day."

Colleague

Bill Lane
Game Director, Fuse Games

“In well over a decade of working with Steve, I have come to appreciate him as a truly inspirational leader and world-class talent. Steve leads with integrity and humility, living his values every day and treating his colleagues with warmth and respect. He also practices what he preaches: he is the model of a servant leader, always striving to empower his teams through a combination of deep process expertise and heartfelt compassion. He was instrumental in changing Criterion's culture and working practice, a cutting-edge transformation that empowered the team to do their best work in a healthy way. As someone who had risking burning out in the old, crunch-driven way of working, I experienced first-hand the impact of this change: I was able to do the best work of my career while maintaining a healthy work-life balance, something for which I will be forever grateful…”

Colleague

Bill Lane
Game Director, Fuse Games

“...I'm also fortunate enough to have been managed by Steve. He is a wonderful coach and mentor, someone who works to understand an individual's strengths and weaknesses, listens attentively and imparts wisdom where it is needed; as a manager myself I am always striving to follow his example! I look forward to seeing Steve continue to make a transformational impact, at Criterion and beyond.”

Mentorship

Jennifer Yoe
Senior Manager, Employee Experience - New Ways of Working April

"In my short time working with Steve, he set himself apart with the warmth, kindness and care he displayed right from the start. He is a natural leader with a deep desire to see others succeed, with a commitment to helping his team and colleagues achieve their full potential.

Keynote Speaking

Samantha Jones PhD
Sr. Director Talent Development, IDEXX

"Steve has been a keynote speaker for our senior leadership program for several years. He is credible and authentic, blending his considerable business experience with a focus on the human aspects of leadership and change. He made a deep and lasting impression on our leaders, not only because he understands their reality and the pressures of an intense and fast-paced business environment but because he has also experienced the personal impact of those pressures."

Mentorship

Beatriz Ronda
Manager Localization Content Management and Linguistic Experts at Electronic Arts

"Steve is an immensely inspiring leader. His mentorship has been invaluable to me, as he has shared profound insights on transformational and compassionate leadership, games development culture, and has coached me in a diverse range of leadership topics that will stay with me for a lifetime."

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