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Somehow all I can think of here is Business Secrets of the Pharoahs, from the comedy Peep Show, which begins: > The first thing to note when discussing the bus
by j4yav 5y ago
Somehow all I can think of here is Business Secrets of the Pharoahs, from the comedy Peep Show, which begins:
> The first thing to note when discussing the business secrets of the Pharaohs is an acknowledgement that their era was so completely different from our own that almost all cultural, political and, particularly, business parallels we draw between the two eras are bound, by their very nature, to be wrong.
> So then, as the critics and the nay sayers and the tall-poppy-chopper-downers ask with their probing questions and their knowing sneers and unfriendly voices: "Why use the Pharaohs as the basis for a business manual?"
> "Well," I would answer, "I think any 'business' that lasted for more than three thousand years, as did that of ancient Egypt, is probably worth studying!" (Even if in a strict, or indeed even vague sense, it wasn't really a business at all but a civilization, with no comparable notion of "business".)
- WJW 5y agoThere are some strategic elements that are important for both chess and business but they are so incredibly high-level (like "think ahead" and "control vital resources") that it becomes almost a joke. I am reminded of [this article](https://nongaap.substack.com/p/shopify-a-starcraft-inspired-business https://nongaap.substack.com/p/shopify-a-starcraft-inspired-...) which tries to claim a link between starcraft and shopify strategy. Any links presented in the article are present between any two activities involving strategic thinking and so both SC2 and Shopify are completely incidental.
- LanceH 5y agoWhile nothing to do with chess strategy, learning the game does provide lessons. Relying on yourself and your analysis. Playing the board and not the player. Playing the player when the board doesn't favor you. Playing solid principles that may not pay off now, but leave open the possibility later. Controlling your thoughts, ego and fear in tense situations.
- beaconstudios 5y agoGames are just bounded microcosms of reality, so it would make sense that learning a strategy game would teach you about areas where strategy applies in reality.
- jerf 5y agoI think the big lesson chess in particular teaches is the duality of offense and defense. A naive player sees them as different things, a skilled player sees them as a unified whole. This insight applies to plenty of things in real life as well. It is also something that demonstrably many people don't understand and don't even see as something they should understand, in contrast to "plan ahead" which of course everyone will agree is important, even if they don't do it.
- LanceH 5y agoI guess the other big lesson beginners get is that the other person has a plan, too. Since everyone has all the information available, it lends itself to what you describe -- attack without weakening yourself. Or eventually allow weakness if it reaches victory conditions. Generally the chess strats/tactics relating to business are more metaphor. "go for their king" may be fine as a metaphor to imply "win it outright". As a strategy, though, it's not possible to just castle in response. Unless you create another metaphor for castling. Keep repeating that and you're just describing your own domain coded into chess terms, with any cross-domain applications being by definition or coincidental.
- jsjsbdkj 5y agoIME the success of shopify is less tobi being some kind of genius than luck, timing and protectionism from the canadian government. He's very eager to point to specific things he thinks make him successful, but it's all post-hoc. Ultimately being profitable forgives all manner of sins, just like how google has Ads and consequently can fail 99% of the time but still print money.
- maest 5y agoAlso, the hypermodern chess style actually involves letting the opponent occupy the centre and then applying pressure from long range with pieces, looking for weaknesses in the opponent's defence. https://www.chess.com/terms/hypermodern-chess https://www.chess.com/terms/hypermodern-chess