Every successful business leader understands that the journey to success is seldom swift and rarely direct. Like navigating a complex labyrinth, it often requires both the ability to patiently wait for the right opportunities and the persistence to push forward despite obstacles and setbacks. In this article, we explore how these twin virtues of patience and persistence can be harnessed to facilitate business success, drawing parallels from the realm of strategy games.
Patience: The Secret Ingredient of Success
In business, as in life, patience is often touted as a virtue, and for good reason. It allows leaders to make thoughtful decisions, letting short-term fluctuations pass without causing panic or rash actions. For instance, a business leader waiting for a market to mature before launching a product or a service is a demonstration of patience. Instead of rushing to the forefront, they bide their time, refining their offering, assessing competition, aligning resources, and waiting for the perfect moment to make their move.
Such an approach not only mitigates unnecessary decisions but also prepares the ground for a more successful market entry. It helps leaders develop a deeper understanding of market dynamics, enabling them to make more informed decisions when the time is right.
A prime example of an activity that embodies the virtue of patience is chess. In chess, hasty moves can lead to devastating losses. Instead, each decision must be carefully weighed, taking into consideration not just the immediate move but the many potential counter-moves that might follow. This measured, deliberate approach closely mirrors the thoughtfulness and foresight required in business strategy. Just as a grandmaster plans several moves ahead, anticipating their opponent’s responses, a patient business leader anticipates future market trends, competitor actions, and customer needs, thereby gaining a strategic advantage.
Persistence: The Fuel that Drives Progress
While patience provides the composure needed to plan effectively, persistence is the fuel that drives us to keep moving forward. Business landscapes are rife with challenges – economic downturns, competitive pressures, evolving consumer preferences, and more. In the face of these obstacles, it’s the relentless determination to persist that often makes the difference between businesses that fold and those that flourish.
Analogously, a game that exemplifies the need for the persistent endeavour is the popular online game of strategy, poker. Here, people across the globe engage in poker sessions that test their mental agility, patience, and persistence. With easy access to funds and safe, segregated accounts, players have access to a variety of games, from Hold’em tournaments and No Limit Hold’em to cash games.
Regardless of a player’s current hand, the game continues, and the players must persist, adapting their strategy based on new information and changing circumstances. Importantly, it’s not about short-term wins or losses but about the larger game at play, similar to the long-term view that successful businesses must take.
Building Patience and Persistence: Strategy Games as a Training Ground
As we’ve seen, both patience and persistence are indispensable traits for business success, and what better way to hone these skills than through strategy games? Playing games like Go can serve as an excellent training ground for cultivating these traits. Each move in this game requires thoughtful deliberation, and each round demands a high level of persistence.
To clarify, the suggestion here is not to spend your workday playing games. Rather, these games can serve as mental exercises, strengthening your ability to think critically, stay focused, and remain undeterred in the face of adversity. The parallels between the challenges faced in these games and the ones in the business world can provide invaluable lessons and insights.
In summary, by cultivating patience and persistence, business leaders can equip themselves with the mindset needed to navigate the turbulent waters of the business world. Whether it’s waiting for the opportune moment to launch a new venture or persisting through a challenging business cycle, these traits can serve as guiding stars, illuminating the path to long-lasting business success.