Hi

Ever played chess, cricket, or football? Clear objectives, known players, and fixed rules – you know what you're up against.

Many "business experts/evangelists" want you to believe that these games teach you how to play the game of business.

But in the wild world of business, we're in a never ending game, where the rules change constantly, you can make up your own rules, and there's no final whistle to signal an end to the game.

The objective of business is to continue levelling up (like we do in video games), don't let the game end. You get to level up as per your wishes. And you can give yourself trophies whenever you wish.

In this game, cooperation is one of the keys to level up faster. When you cooperate, you play better. It's like playing a video game where you and your buddies team up to conquer levels together – much more fun and way more effective.

But unlike a video game, you can chose to cooperate with the competition, the clients, and even your team members. Seeking win-win situations is the fastest way to play at the next level.

It's a bit like the evolution of cooperation in nature – we survive and thrive when we work together. Symbiotic relationships let entire ecosystems thrive. Parasitic behaviours destroy thriving colonies. (This leads to factory vs forest perspectives of running companies. More about that in another newsletter)

Let me give you a couple of examples.

1. Communication: Regular communication reports what's already happened. Whereas, communication that levels up uses words to build a narrative. A story, that can be retold and transformed as it is retold. Next time you have to report out to your client, try using storytelling principles, and observe the magic unfold.
2. Lead Generation : You can be the hungry hunter, hunting anything you can see, or be the Pied Piper, targeted and attracting the target in masses. Think of gamification for lead generation. Level up your lead quality, lead nurturing, Mastery over new channels, etc,. its a never ending game.

What's the point?

So, here's the deal: When something in your agency stresses you out, look at it through the lens of a game. Reframe it, abstract it, and turn it into an opportunity.

Remember its just life, no one gets out alive. Stop taking it so seriously.

It's about evolving, adapting, and having a blast along the way.

Best

Anoop

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PS: this newsletter got delayed in reaching your inbox because i wanted to base this on a leadership development trainers book, i started reading. That book should have been a blog post. Specially considering it is a derivative work of another book published in 1987, which was itself a flimsy attempt by a religious historian to simplify game theory.

This newsletter was saved because I referred the books, (given below) written by experts who know their subject well. Its all about Game Theory at the end of the day.

Read old books, written by experts. The older the better.

Books

1. Evolution of Cooperation
2. Prisoners Dilemma