I believe that playing games, rather than being a waste of time, can actually teach us valuable lessons in running our business.

Business is serious business, yes? So many things to think about: sales, marketing, revenue, employees, taxes, legal issues, the list goes on! We can become so immersed in the serious side of business that we lose sight of the time needed to play, which creates balance in our lives.

We can achieve this balance in many different ways: taking a walk, spending time with our family and friends, and one of my favorites in particular, playing online games. Whenever I find myself overloaded, I unplug and play a game. Now, I have to admit that I am not a serious gamer; if it was, I doubt it would ever do any work because it can be extremely addictive. However, what I have found so enlightening is that by playing these games, I have learned a lot about myself and the ways I deal with situations, and it has subtly changed my approach to my business.

These are the lessons I learned along the way.

Lesson One – Perspective

Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. We get overwhelmed and can’t find a solution. I found that doing puzzles gave me the extra dimension that I needed. For example, how many times have we looked at a puzzle piece and from a distance thought: that’s never going to fit there, it’s the wrong color and shape, but the closer we get the pieces together, the more we see it somehow merge together, and we just have Flip it over and voila, perfect fit. So I’ve learned not to rule out any solution, to look at things from all angles and not reject it until I’ve actually tried it.

Lesson Two: Focus

I don’t know about you, but my mind wanders all the time. One thought leads to another thought and before I know it I am miles from where I started. My imagination has taken over and it’s very nice, but it doesn’t get the job done. I found hidden object games particularly useful with this. Some are extraordinarily difficult and require an enormous amount of focus to see the object. However, once he finds it, he often wonders how he missed it for so long; it seems to be obvious. We invariably see what we expect to see, and our minds can block things out. For example, I know that I can read the same paragraph many times and still miss an obvious mistake, simply because my eyes have become accustomed to seeing it and no longer consider it out of place. So learning to focus on one area at a time and not letting my eyes wander has helped me hone my focusing skills on various elements within my business.

Lesson Three: Strategy

This particular lesson has often had me pulling my hair out. Games where there are deadlines and you have particular tasks to complete. There are a variety of options here, whether it’s running an airport, a supermarket, or building a village. If you don’t plan your strategy, you can cause customers to leave and products to go to waste. These games really help you sort out your priorities and procrastination is not an option. These are especially useful related to business as they made me see what is really important at any given time and be adaptable as priorities change all the time.

Lesson Four – Memory

I found hidden object games really helpful in this regard as well. Some of these games repeat certain objects, and remembering where you were last time prevents you from having to repeat that stage of the game again, due to running out of time. The focus required to find the object in the first place helps fix the information in your mind for the next time. I found that even when I hadn’t played a game for a while, when I came back to it, I could still remember where some of the objects were. So memory can be one of the benefits of learning to concentrate.

Lesson Five – Concentration

People who play, or know people who do, come to understand the total concentration that is part of it. The outside world ceases to exist and every fiber of your being is focused on the game. This is a valuable lesson when running a business: being able to fully focus on the task at hand and not giving in to distractions. It is also very important to love what you do, because concentration is difficult to maintain when the subject is of little interest. So distractions are sought instead of being a nuisance.

Lesson Six – Courage

I remember reading these words a few years ago and they have always stuck with me ‘What would you achieve if you lived your life like a video game?’ Anyone who has played a video game knows that the characters often jump over ravines, scale cliffs, and fight large ferocious monsters, all without fear of consequences. Now, I’m not for a minute suggesting risking life and limb, but I’m sure you get my point. What if we ran our businesses without fear and just focused on making what we feel is the right move at the moment? All the while knowing in our hearts that we are protected and nothing can harm us. This doesn’t mean that a business that is no longer functional or needed would necessarily survive, but we would know that another direction was coming our way, and that something bigger and better was ahead. Wouldn’t that be liberating?

Lesson seven: live in the now

I found that even with strategy games, the focus was more on the present moment, and maybe just a little further down the line. There is no one year or five year plan in evidence! Focusing on the present moment impacted the next move in the game, and so on. He just needed to be aware of a step or two ahead, and then the game itself would dictate what the next move should be. I know projections and business plans are useful tools, but ultimately they are little more than an educated guess about where our business is headed. If strictly adhered to, unexpected opportunities could pass you by. This lesson has taught me to reevaluate my business from month to month and not to think too much about the future. If I keep my finger on the pulse of my business as it is happening right now, then take the necessary beneficial steps, the future will take care of itself.

Lesson Eight – Delegation

Last but not least, I learned the art of delegating. In some games I’ve played, there is more than one character, and you can switch between them based on their abilities. We don’t all have the same tools, gifts, or talents, and some are more appropriate at a given time than others. There is no ego in the game, no feeling of ‘I know better and it has to be done my way and my way only’. If the character involved is inappropriate for the situation, then it will most likely end somehow: game over! Translated into real life, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, so why not let everyone in the business play to their strengths? That way, everyone is happy and no one is forced to do jobs they’re not good at or don’t care about, ultimately undermining their confidence and self-esteem. Not to mention the negative impact on morale and the company itself.

In conclusion

I believe that, in moderation, games are a useful tool for us to gain self-knowledge and skills. However, they should never replace human interaction, and I think the type of gameplay is of paramount importance.

A few years ago an experiment was carried out to test the effects of video games on schoolchildren. I think the kids were around their early teens. They were divided into two groups: one group played a sports game and the other group played a war game. An actor played the role of a teacher, and throughout the session all the children in both groups were called individually to his office. He had a container of pencils on his desk and every time he “accidentally” knocked it over. The results were quite dramatic: the children who had been playing the sport automatically went to help pick them up. However, the children who had been playing the war game ignored the pencils and offered no help.

There are definitely games that destroy sensitivity and connection with others, but there are also games that can be of great benefit to learning.