Battleship!

“You sunk my battleship!” was a phrase repeated in millions of households throughout the United States in the 1970’s – 1990’s. Hearing this phrase immediately brings many of us back to early childhood, stretched out on a bright blue, or green shag carpet in the living room. We would play with a friend, an older brother or younger sister, or anyone we could find with half an hour free. It was marketed as “A game of Naval Strategy”… but it was actually just a guessing game.

When i think of Battleship, it makes me cringe. Before each game, I would carefully plan where to place my ships, and how I would organize my attack on the enemy fleet. I determined a pattern to strategically eliminate my competitor with my red plastic pins: “A1, B2, C3, D4, E5… “, for example. I would then experience utter frustration as I repeatedly missed my invisible targets, yet by complete dumb-luck my precious ships were destroyed one by one. I don’t remember actually ever winning a game of Battleship. If I did happen to ever win, the victory would be quickly erased by the inevitable loss of a “2 out of 3” series. Exasperation is what I associate with that “beloved” childhood game.

Randomly guessing was one of the most effective strategies in Battleship. Not so in the world of business. Where would we end up if we selected employees at random? How would we fare if we determined a sales strategy by randomly guessing who we should approach with a proposal? Having a plan and a strategy backed by research and experience is critical in moving forward successfully and reaching goals.

As a counter point… if our strategies for success are too rigid and programmed, we may experience disappointment similar to what I found as a child playing Battleship. Spending time developing  a strategy that does not allow for fluctuations in the market or unique opportunities may cause you to miss out on valuable leads and changes that may drastically affect the success of your business in the short-term or long-term.

Whatever type of system, strategy,or business model you implement for your division or assignment, be sure that you can react and change when needed. Like in the game of Battleship, once you discover that you have made a solid lead, or broken into a new market, it is time to change your focus from “finding ships” to “attack and destroy” the target you have located.

“You sunk my Battleship!”