I had an odd thought in the shower this morning… I like playing board games. I’m not obsessed with them, but I still find them an appealing diversion from time to time. It hit me that being successful in the workplace is very similar to winning in a strategy board game.
Any given day is like a turn in the game. You have a fixed number of hours to invest, and you must choose wisely how you do so. I can envision a series of gauges, that measure where I stand at any given point. These gauges could represent items like “Manage current business”, “Invest in Future Business”, “Network with Others”, “Increase Knowledge”, “Focus on Employee Morale” etc. Each gauge could have a bright red line that indicates a dangerously low level, meaning that if your score in that area drops below a certain number, there will be dire consequences. On any given day, it’s impossible to invest an ample amount of time in each category, but over the course of multiple days (turns), it is critical that no area be ignored.
Like any good game, life throws unexpected twists at us. “Your project manager has appendicitis and will be out of the office for two weeks”, or “Your newest client just had their budget slashed, and is forced to cancel their current contract with you”. The impact these events have on you are directly affected by your scores e.g. “Because your networking score is high, the cancelled contract has minimal effect on your long term cash flow”, or “Your Future Business Investment score is too low, the cancelled contract will force you to lay off two employees”. Ignore other areas of your life, and you’ll also suffer consequences. “Due to your excessive number of hours spent at the office, your wife has expressed high frustration with your marriage. Take an unplanned four-day weekend to patch things up.” Inevitably, there will be those that play this game as if everyone is an opponent, and there will be those that take a team-based approach. Going it alone? That’s a high-risk/high rewards path. You might win, but watch your back. Playing as a team? Your progress might be a bit slower, but your odds of making it to the end are much greater.
We play this game every day. How many of us are watching to ensure we have some semblance of balance? How often do we strive to win in one area only to find that we’ve sacrificed in others? I think I’m going to build some gauges and put on my wall.
