For almost a century, families have gathered around the classic game of monopoly. Although playing the board game is a lot of fun for leisure, entrepreneurs and business leaders can learn valuable lessons from it.
Here are 11 lessons business leaders can learn by playing Monopoly:
Make decisions quickly
A skilled business owner can use both due diligence and instinct when making decisions in terms of timing. Playing Monopoly teaches you to spot opportunities and take swift action in a cutthroat market. Not every opportunity is the greatest for your business just because it is available. On the other hand, if there is a good chance, you need to seize it before your rivals do. You may become ready for decisions like this in real life by teaching your brain ways for reducing reaction times, while at the same time getting – your brain used to the feeling of winning.
Utilise time-outs wisely
Even though being sent out of the game by the Chance card or landing on the Go To Jail square could make you cringe, but there is a significant benefit to your time-out, especially if you have capital or assets on the board. Players are still moving about the board, so there’s still a potential that one of them will settle on your property and start paying you rent. As long as you remain where you are, your risk of experiencing the same outcome is zero. This allows you the chance to make smart offers on real estate that you don’t own, or it provides you with the money you need to expand your hotel and real estate holdings.
Business owners routinely change their spending in response to market changes. A time-out in the real world could be just what you need to realign your business strategy for a stronger comeback.
Don't compare yourself to others
Your objective is to win the game – not to make the other players lose. So it make sense that it can be tempting to focus more on your opponents’ cards than your own. However, if you constantly think about other people and their activities, you’ll pass up opportunities that are there in front of you.
All you need are three full sets of properties to win the game. No matter how much money, property, or power your opponents possess, as long as you accomplish the goal first, it doesn’t matter. Choose the right strategy, don’t compare yourself to others, and focus on what matters most to you. While it’s always a good idea to anticipate everyone’s next movements, spending too much time worrying about what your rivals are doing will prevent you from expanding your own empire. Refocus on your own objectives, aspirations, and possibilities if you notice that you are losing sight of them.
Count the cost
Due to their high prizes, places like Eloff Street and Strand Street are some of the most popular monopoly locations. However, they also cost the most to maintain. Because they focus primarily on cash flow and ignore costs, many players who own the most expensive pieces end up losing at Monopoly. Focusing just on the cash flow while ignoring the costs used to generate those cash flows is like to playing the game while wearing blinders.
Those that succeed at Monopoly, and in business, instead emphasize the value received for the cost incurred. The best time to go into a new business is when it’s badly run by others.
Monopoly is a game where the player who makes the most money wins, not the player who owns Eloff Street and Strand Street. Buying low and selling high is the key to having a successful business. It’s likely that you are overpaying and putting yourself up for losses when you concentrate on the most expensive assets.
The ability to negotiate and persuade is crucial.
In Monopoly, there are instances when making a transaction is vital to advance. However, you can encounter a property owner who is profiting from it and is reluctant to part with it. The next step is for you to persuade the owner that what you have to provide in exchange will somehow be more advantageous. In many commercial environments, it is necessary to be able to see things from both parties’ perspectives and to work around the desires and demands of the other party. The art of sales and negotiation is important in the real world – in more instances than we’d like to admit.
Create strategic partnerships
Everyone is out for themselves when playing Monopoly. However, there are occasions when you need to make a number of trade and purchase bids in order to advance. You might own two properties in a given colour group and the third one a rival needs to finish their own. In business as in board games, leveraging factors like time, money, and rival greed can be the difference between winning and losing. Business owners frequently possess valuable assets while seeking out resources that will benefit them. Your company can advance by mastering aspects of knowing your numbers, timing, and a fantastic financial offer with the proper partner. Likewise, partnering with the right accounting firm, giving you the best financial guidance, can take your business to the next level.
Use loans responsibly
Usage of loans on items that will boost revenue is a general norm to follow. Depending on the expected return on investment from the new property, savvy Monopoly players may be able to justify mortgaging a property as a winning strategy. In the business world, loans are sometimes necessary to expand your business, so it’s important to use that debt responsibly.
Recognise potential where others can't
You can quickly acquire and develop the less desirable properties while other players race to the luxury side of the board to buy Eloff Street and Strand Street. These locations produce a modest return on investment, which can eventually force the sale of the same luxury properties at a steep discount. You’ll have the fortitude to wait out the competition until you’re prepared to hit your home run if you understand that small opportunities lay the groundwork for bigger ones.
Prioritise income before luxury
Having the greatest tools and services for a better user and customer experience may be tempting for business owners. Best-in-class equipment, however, are not inexpensive. You can eventually purchase luxury by purchasing squares with guaranteed income, such as railroads and utilities, as you won’t be as reliant on colour sets and successfully completing the GO! square for R200. When used effectively, dependable income streams can propel your company forward and free you up to indulge in luxury later.
Increase your sources of income
If you spend the entire game circling the board and collecting R200 without ever pausing to buy an asset, you will surely lose Monopoly. A person who successfully diversifies their sources of revenue is a winner in both the game and as a business owner. As a business owner, it is crucial to find strategies to diversify your income because relying just on one source of income can be risky if that income stream is disrupted. Your main income stream can be interrupted in cases of a new market player or a new alternative. Constantly innovate and build out from your foundations in order to have a more balanced, diversified portfolio. Whether it’s a product line, a supplier, or, in some cases, employees – the more variety, the better.
Budgeting
To play Monopoly well, you must learn to budget and plan your purchases so that you can determine how much money you currently have and how much you will need to go across the board once again. Monopoly budgeting can also educate you to be watchful with your own finances because if you just spent all of your cash, you will have to wait until you pass Go while treading water.
The success or failure of a business may depend on having accurate budgets and forecasts. Accurate financials play an essential role in these plans. Well-structured accounting processes most appropriately provide historical financial data as it helps keep your operations profitable.