What Kids' Games Can Teach Us about Business Success

We can learn a lot about running a business by watching kids play games. Remember these favorites from your childhood?

Hide-and-Seek

Tag! You’re it! You search for clients, but can’t find them. Or worse yet, prospective customers look for you, but can’t find you. Still think your advertising is working?

Capture the Flag

The guy who stays close to his home base doesn’t win. See, in order to win, you have to actually capture the flag! Sure, you risk being “tagged,” but success comes from daring to reach into new territory, not from staying close to home.

Dodgeball

Ah, yes, you know the sort. They practice the 5 D’s of Customer Evasion: “Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge.” Customers call and call, but nobody answers. Remind me again, when is avoiding your customers a good idea?

H-O-R-S-E

Remember this old basketball game? Player #1 takes a shot from anywhere on the court. Player #2 has to duplicate the shot, which is often impossible, or get a letter. First to spell H-O-R-S-E loses.

The lesson here: Save the mimicry for the basketball court. Be an original. Imitation is for losers.

Musical Chairs

Five chairs, six kids. Sums up competition nicely, doesn’t it?

Winning musical chairs is all about positioning. Good marketing is about how and where you position yourself. Have you positioned your company to win?

Mother May I?

Have you asked prospects for their business? Have you asked your customers if you may contact them about future specials?

My mother usually denied my requests (I’m convinced she liked my brother better). And, yes, your customers and prospects will deny you, too. But you still have to ask for their business…they can’t say yes if you don’t ask.

Other Games

Okay, guys…help me out. What do these games tell us about business and marketing?

Red Rover
Hop Scotch
Freeze Tag
Cops and Robbers
Duck Duck Goose
Kick the Can
Rock Paper Scissors

http://www.paragonmoon.com Kristine Putt

Good article, Scott.

Your post didn’t mention video games, but here’s something to consider:

Imagine discovering that, when you die (virtually, that is), it’s perfectly acceptable – even encouraged! – to get back up and start all over again. Pretty powerful, isn’t it?

That’s one of the lessons a video game teaches its player. Hence, it’s my prediction that the generation(s) that grew up playing video games is/are likely to be the most successful breed of entrepreneurs the world has ever seen. Why?

1. As gamers we’ve learned that although failure is more than likely probable the first time or two around, we have the option to begin again.

2. We’ve learned that with each “round” we get stronger, better, faster.

3. Each “round” strengthens our ability, raises our confidence level and increases our tenacity.

Now, if these aren’t the makings of successful business owners…well, I think you get the point.
http://www.peacockcarter.co.uk Richard, Peacock Carter

Rock, paper, scissors: only a few combinations make for success!
http://www.goodparenting.co.in good parenting

Cops and Robbers helps u out in every phase of life. The good guy bad guy routine is essential in every business and that ensures a better understanding of how to deal with different people associated with the business.
http://prstore.typepad.com Scott Hepburn

Great suggestions, guys. Sounds like the makings of a niche book! “Everything I Need to Know I Learned on the Playground!”
http://budesigns.com Ben

Speaking of video games, how many times have you jumped off that cliff, or let the bad guy catch you, just to see what happens? I sometimes get a bad feeling if I explore too far and too successfully into new territory. There is much confidence to be gained by knowing what a failure consists of.

Fail early and often in order to succeed sooner.
mallorykydd

Hop Scotch

This game looks easy but it is proves to be a lot more challenging then it looks. This childhood game is about accuracy, balance, and speed. All 3 key elements are present when starting (and maintaining) a business. You want to execute each business step, each “hop”, as accurately as you can. If you step over the lines figuratively or in the professional world- you lose. Balance; Your staring a new business your left and right and in all sorts of directions but you have to focus on what is in front of you at the time being. The path and how you will hop is going to change as you keep going. Take one hop at a time and keep your balance. Were you ever lucky enough to have two hop scotchs next to each other one the play ground? I was! This was a very competitive game between my girlfriends and I back in 4th grade. We had to keep our balance and make sure to land inside the lines but go as fast as we can, because the first girl done wins! This translates perfectly into an analogy for starting business. When you are first getting your name out there you have to make sure everything is correct and accurate but at the same time you have to put it out there as fast as you can.
mallorykydd

Hop Scotch

This game looks easy but it is proves to be a lot more challenging then it looks. This childhood game is about accuracy, balance, and speed. All 3 key elements are present when starting (and maintaining) a business. You want to execute each business step, each “hop”, as accurately as you can. If you step over the lines figuratively or in the professional world- you lose. Balance; You're staring a new business you're left and right and in all sorts of directions but you have to focus on what is in front of you at the time being. The path and how you will hop is going to change as you keep going. Take one hop at a time and keep your balance. Were you ever lucky enough to have two hop scotchs next to each other one the play ground? I was! This was a very competitive game between my girlfriends and I back in 4th grade. We had to keep our balance and make sure to land inside the lines but go as fast as we can, because the first girl done wins! This translates perfectly into an analogy for starting business. When you are first getting your name out there you have to make sure everything is correct and accurate but at the same time you have to put it out there as fast as you can.
mallorykydd

Hop Scotch

This game looks easy but it is proves to be a lot more challenging then it looks. This childhood game is about accuracy, balance, and speed. All 3 key elements are present when starting (and maintaining) a business. You want to execute each business step, each “hop”, as accurately as you can. If you step over the lines figuratively or in the professional world- you lose. Balance; You're staring a new business you're left and right and in all sorts of directions but you have to focus on what is in front of you at the time being. The path and how you will hop is going to change as you keep going. Take one hop at a time and keep your balance. Were you ever lucky enough to have two hop scotchs next to each other one the play ground? I was! This was a very competitive game between my girlfriends and I back in 4th grade. We had to keep our balance and make sure to land inside the lines but go as fast as we can, because the first girl done wins! This translates perfectly into an analogy for starting business. When you are first getting your name out there you have to make sure everything is correct and accurate but at the same time you have to put it out there as fast as you can.