Cheat at Battleship

Posted by Jason Markow on Jun 23, 2010 in tips | 0 comments

Think of business as a game of battleship. You take shots, more or less, in the dark (based on assumptions, theories, strategies) waiting for a HIT.  Once you have a hit, it is usually much easier to find a string of hits, but until you do, you are pretty much shooting blind, right?

Not necessarily… I would argue there are three things you can do to find that first hit.  These tips are built on the foundation that you have already taken the leap into your first venture (whatever it may be):

Learn from the Past (of Others)

It may be your first game (read: business), but that does not mean thousands have not attempted exactly what you are about to undertake.  Study strategy, trends, history. Learn from it.

Peek at the Other Board

Though there is no one competitor, there are certainly leaders in your industry.  Use tools like Google Alerts, search.twitter, and spyfu to see how the successful players are playing the game right now.  Once you have an idea… don’t reinvent the wheel, imitate, emulate, copy.

Fire At Will!

In Battleship individuals go turn by turn, one by one. The game of business? Go nuts! Fire at will, fire multiple shots at once, don’t put all your eggs into one basket.  A coordinated attack doesn’t have to be a slow process.  Attempt, learn, adapt… as quickly as possible.

Have any other tips to land that first hit?  Take a shot in the comments below.

t(h)ink on.