by Laura Sherman

Created on: June 30, 2009   Last Updated: July 04, 2009

How to Be a Grandmaster in the Business World!

Have you ever sat there with your head in your hands wondering what went wrong in your business? Could it be that you just missed "the right move"?

In business, as in chess, you must plan and create a winning strategy. Tactics are short term and important, but without an overall strategy you cannot succeed.

When you play many games of chess you learn to look ahead into the future and plan several moves deep. You learn to predict outcomes. Yes, the over-the-board lessons do translate to life.

I learned to play chess when I was a little girl. I loved the game, but hated losing. I was usually the youngest person at any tournament or club event I entered and was often the only girl there. As a result other participants would gather around my table and watch my games, interested to see what I could do.

Because of the added attention I played every game to the best of my ability, treating each battle as if everything was on the line. I spent a lot of energy on each move, making sure it was the best possible move I could make in the time allotted (learning to use a clock in tournaments also helped me to learn how to budget my time properly. This skill helps me on a daily basis today).

If I made a mistake in one game, you'd better believe I did everything I could to learn from that error, making sure I didn't make it again. Learning to learn from one's mistakes is a vital skill in business. As the expression goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

Over the chessboard I developed intricate plans and strategies, which had back-up plans in case I had missed something. Each move I made had more than one idea behind it, more than one tactic to ensure success and ultimately victory.

Now you might think with all this caution that I was a timid player. Not so! I was actually very aggressive, attacking my opponent's king with gusto each game. I wasn't afraid to sacrifice a couple of pawns or even a piece to get a glorious attack.

Through those games I learned which sacrifices worked and which did not lead to a win, but I enjoyed the living-on-the-edge type games the most.

Today I love a challenge and will take on mammoth tasks, but will think through every step carefully. I create back-up plans for my back-up plans and even some of those will have back-up plans. When it comes to business and marketing you can't be shy. You absolutely must put yourself out there aggressively, living on the edge.

And it isn't that I never make mistakes, but when I do, you'd better believe that I learn from them!

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