Member Exclusive: Chess Concepts Applied to Business

The opening game is the first seven to thirteen moves that set up the rest of the game. There are certain guidelines that many players follow to give themselves the best chances for success later. These rules are as follows:

Develop your Pieces: Put your pieces in positions where they will have the opportunity to excel in the future. You don’t need a clear shot at the final goal at this stage, but rather a strategic position that will create opportunities in the future.

Control the Center: The market has limited space for pieces, so establish yourself in the center to create a stable position, both good for offense and defense. A good example of this can be found in Nintendo’s market share. While its competitors focus on hardcore gamers, Nintendo established itself early as a family-friendly and casual gaming company and has enjoyed a sustainable, global market share.

Open Up Space for Your King: The head of the company is strong yet vulnerable. The company wins or loses when they do. If this is you, give yourself space to make bigger moves and protect yourself, while developing those around you into highly advantageous positions. This is known as castling in chess, it could be known as delegation in business. Delegating protects you from being bogged down in day-to-day operations while giving you time to ponder big-picture ideas.

Don’t Move the Same Piece Twice: In the beginning, be patient and make your moves consciously and with intention. When moves are made with haste, you may have to backtrack, losing valuable time and market share.

This is when the game starts to unfold. The overall goal in this stage is to win pieces without losing your own. If executed carefully, you’ll have a significant advantage for the end game stage. The following rules work to make this happen.

Don’t Leave Pieces Unprotected: If you develop a piece, make sure that they’re not left out in the open without support or protection. Experts can break this rule if they see a particularly good opportunity and the piece is not in immediate danger. Sometimes even a strategic sacrifice is possible. Alternatively, you may want to protect this piece if it gets challenged, move it again to safety, or an even better position.

Look for Open Lanes: When there are no clear opportunities to attack, find areas where you’re breaking through (called open files, in chess). Strategically position your pieces to capitalize on those openings should they reveal themselves fully. An example of this can be seen in Netflix’s transition from a DVD rental service to an online streaming service. They had already built a subscription model but recognized the convenience of emerging technology and on-demand movie rentals. They capitalized on this opening and became the pioneers of the online subscription business model.

Defend with Offense: Sometimes, there’s no other option but to lose a piece, but it can be done with grace. If you apply pressure in another area, then you will come out of the situation net zero, at least softening the loss, or even a net gain. For example, if R&D projects aren’t panning out, it might be worth switching priorities to different products or directions.

Continue Collecting Pieces: By going for the win too soon, you’ll leave yourself spread thin and open to attacks. It’s better to slowly progress and collect the opposition’s pieces gradually, leaving yourself in an advantageous position in the end game. A slow, sustainable growth with a long-term focus, in business, and chess, is the best approach for ensured success and longevity.

The final moves are played in this stage, to pin the king and win the game. The board will be wide open so big pieces can make big moves. Similarly, in business, when you reach the top and have attained plenty of market share, you’ll likely have the opportunity to make big moves. These moves require extreme attention to detail and the culmination of learned experience from all previous stages.

Stay the Course: The same rules from previous stages still apply here. You need to find the fine balance between offense and defense, especially if the game is neck and neck. In business, this could mean reinforcing certain departments, while simultaneously building up R&D, or receiving education yourself to become better equipped for the future.

Don’t Underestimate your Small Pieces: Sometimes the game comes down to pawns. If you can get one to the end, it transforms into one of your most powerful pieces. Keep an eye on the up-and-coming assets in your organization, they could bring huge potential when progressed slowly but surely. For example, Amazon’s AWS platform was not previously one of its core offerings, now it is a huge contributor to the company’s revenue.

Sacrifices Might be Necessary: When going for the final prize, a strategic sacrifice can be all you need to seal the deal. This is for advanced players only, but if you’ve looked far enough ahead and it’s the surest way to victory, it’s the right move. For example, reallocate time and resources from one department to another, or completely dissolve one asset to focus all your attention on another.

Keep them Running: After all the hard work you’ve done, it’d be terrible to have to call a tie (stalemate) because of a simple mistake. When you’re ahead, force the opponent into a corner, and keep them running until you’ve got them where you want them.

Other Useful Tips and Tricks

Stack your Pieces: By lining up your pieces before a move, especially along an open file, they’ll still be covered when they do eventually move forward. This could be advancing an employee and training another to take over the role ahead of time, or if you’re looking to sell an asset, have a plan for reallocating the capital gain.

Every Move Counts: Take your time with every move, weigh all your options, and then move confidently, assured that you made the best possible choice.