Strategies From A Board Game To The Board Room, History's Shortest War, 2 Killer Apps, Ice Baths & More

We all have our favourite games or sports that we love to play, but how often do you look at the skills you can transfer from them in to the real world?

Author

Matt Haycox
September 01, 2023

MATT’S CHATS: One of my favourite games, and what it teaches you about life and business.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Get all the latest business news fresh from the Matt Haycox Daily website, including all you need to know on the acquisition by Rolex of watch retailer Bucherer, Barbie’s record-breaking success, what’s next for Wilko, and predictions for the US by 2030!

SEXY STAT:  Some of your favourite games and war have more in common than you think!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: This could be the reason you aren’t getting what you want in life.

PODCAST: Discovering life beyond the final whistle: From a successful footballing career, transitioning from the pitch to prison, to playing in the Champions League Final. Tune in for a whirlwind interview with ex-footballer Jermaine Pennant.

COOL TOOLS: 2 killer tools that my team and I are using in our businesses that you should take a look at now!

YOU SAID IT: We asked you what you want more of - so some health and fitness tips it is! If you have followed me for a while then you know how much I love an ice bath…..

Want more Matt? Matt Haycox Daily is now available as a podcast. From getting this Friday newsletter in audio form, to hearing quick daily tips or the latest news stories, make sure you check it out and subscribe. (PS. It's a different podcast to The Matt Haycox Show so make sure you have both!)

I love a good board game. My personal favourite is backgammon - I could play for hours and hours. In fact there was a time, a few years back, when I used to play for money every night! I was obsessed! I’m pretty good, not the world’s best player, but I pick my battles carefully to make sure I am usually the better player in the game - I want to be a winner, not a gambler!

But I haven’t had time for backgammon lately, in fact I haven’t really had time for any games. But I did get introduced to Monopoly Deal, a playing card version of the famous classic, by my old PA Charlie. Every time I jumped off a zoom call she seemed to think it was ok to ask for a quick game before my next call! As if working from home doesn’t provide enough distractions, I also had to dodge card games when I am in the office!

But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a fan of the game and it did bring back memories of some all night sessions with the board game version.

In most games there are parallels for life and lessons for business, and in Monopoly there are dozens of them.

Here are my favourite and most important ones:

You Need Money To Succeed

Just like in real life. You can downplay the importance of money all you want but it is the key to getting so much of what you want. In Monopoly you can’t buy properties without it, starting you journey to be a landlord, take over the board and win the game.

In life even if you aren’t looking to start a business or become a landlord, money is still essential to be able to invest in your education, take care of your family, get the best healthcare, support your favourite charities, choose the most convenient options…… the list goes on. Money gets a bad name and, especially in today’s woke world, is made out to be something evil. I am not saying everyone should strive to be a billionaire, but without an adequate amount you just can’t play the game properly.

You Need To Make Smart Investments

Buying certain properties in Monopoly allows you to have a higher chance of winning the game by having the chance to make more money. Not choosing your property purchases wisely and just buying anything you get offered leaves you in a position of weakness and not able to have any control or progress.

Just like in real life, not all investments are made equally. There are good ones and bad ones. Ones that will help move you towards financial security and passive income. And ones that will at best do very little for you, leaving you financially struggling, and at worse bankrupt you.

You Need To Be Willing To Take Risks

There are calculated risks you can take in Monopoly that can pay off big for you in the long term. Building houses and hotels on your properties when you don’t have much cash can put you at risk of bankruptcy, if your opponents start landing on your properties it can pay off big time.

Life and business are just the same. If you take no risks, you may not lose anything, but you will always be treading water watching others pass you by.

This isn’t a license to go wild though - there is a big difference between a calculated risk and a total gamble.

You Need To Be Prepared To Deal With Setbacks

In Monopoly you can be flying along doing great, and then BANG. You keeping landing on Chance or Community Card and getting bad card after bad card, or you get stuck in jail.

Sometimes you get bad luck, the game doesn’t feel fair, and you get knocked from your top position. Life is no different. Things go wrong. Deals go bad. Relationships break down. Bad people get good luck.

You can’t control that, but what you can control is HOW YOU REACT. You may be down, but you are not out!

In 2008 I went bankrupt almost overnight. I had an 8 figure business and a 7 figure lifestyle - and I lost it in a matter of weeks if not days. I could have sat at home feeling sorry for myself but that wasn’t going to provide for my 1 year old daughter and make me a success again. Yes, I had lost my money but I hadn’t lost my education, my contacts, my skills.

As well as having many similarities between the game and real life, there are also some winning strategies in Monopoly that are also winning strategies in business and life too. Some of my favourites are:

Buy As Many Properties As You Can, As Early As You Can.

In Monopoly, the more properties you own the more rent you can collect from other players, making yourself richer and possibly even putting them out of the game.

As well as this also applying in real life, the great benefit of buying property as early as you can is that you get more time to take advantage of the benefits of compounding. Compounding is where the real gains in life are seen. Invisible for many years and then snowballing in to fortunes as time goes on.

It is never too late to start acquiring properties, but the earlier you can start the greater your long term benefits will be.

Focus On Acquiring Complete Sets Of Properties

When you have a complete set of properties on a street in Monopoly it allows you to charge the highest rents possible. The parallel in real life is that having a greater number of properties in a single area, rather than spreading yourself thin, allows for control and economies of scale that can allow you to charge more, and have lower costs. Far too often I see people trying to invest in property buying a single property in 5 different towns, rather than buying 5 properties in the 1 town they are already in. This is not sensible diversification. It is simply adding to headaches and running costs.

Build Houses & Hotels On Your Properties As Soon As You Can Afford To

Just like acquiring complete sets of properties, adding houses and hotels to them allows you to charge higher rents.

In real life, when you own properties or businesses, adding value to them by building extra rooms, refurbishments or equipment upgrades allows you to increase your income and improve your return on investment.

Don’t Be Afraid To Mortgage Your Properties

In Monopoly this can give you the cash you need to make strategic moves or to avoid going bankrupt. It is exactly the same in real life. Having equity tied up in properties when you don’t have adequate cash to make moves is dangerous. People are often scared to go in to debt as the concept of debt gets a bad name. But there is good debt and bad debt - and sensibly priced, long term property debt is definitely good debt that can be used to help you make more money.

These aren’t by any stretch the only strategies and comparisons between the famous board game, and real life & business - but they are certainly some of my favourites.

You will find most games and sports have similarities, comparisons and analogies that you can learn from and study to be more successful in other areas of your life.

Keep an open mind, and you will never look at that deck of cards the same again the next time you are playing Rummy!

What is your favourite game? Anything it has taught you? Send me a message and tell me, and maybe I can include it in a future newsletter.

In 1896, an incredibly short 38-minute war took place between Britain and Zanzibar. This quirky history lesson reminds us how unexpectedly things can shift. Just like in Monopoly, Zanzibar's quick surrender underlines the power of smart choices. It teaches us that thinking fast matters more than just having resources, whether in games or real life. Being adaptable and strategic can turn quickly into success.

As the saying goes, "Every battle is won before it's ever fought”. My time as a semi-professional poker player underscored the significance of choosing opponents wisely well before the cards were dealt. This mirrors Zanzibar's strategic surrender, showing how picking battles in the short-term can secure long-term victory!

Take inspiration from Mark Mason, self-help author and blogger who wrote ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck & How to be F*cking Awesome’ - books that everyone should read!

To standout on the road to success, you've got to be up for doing what most won’t. Success often means diving into uncharted waters and tackling challenges others dodge. It also means doing simple or shitty jobs that people’s ego makes them think are beneath them. Your "can-do" attitude not only sets you apart but also opens doors to new opportunities.

In this week's episode, I sit down with former footballer, Jermaine Pennant. Join me as I dive into his extraordinary journey that stretches from the pitch to prison and beyond. Get ready for an honest conversation about triumphs, challenges, and the invaluable lessons he's learned along the way.

Get ready for:

🏆 Jermaine’s incredible journey beyond the game!

🌟 Triumphs, challenges, and the remarkable rise of a football star.

🚓 From Pitch to Prison: Candid reflections on life after football, including overcoming personal hurdles.

⚽ Unveiling the inner workings of professional sports – a rare insider perspective.

💡 Resilience, success, and invaluable life lessons from Jermaine Pennant's story.

And much more. Watch now!

If you haven’t subscribed yet then please do and leave a 5* review. The better your reviews the better the future guests. Win : Win!

This week, we're unveiling two awesome apps that both my team and I are using in the businesses every day to save time and increase productivity.

Senja is your go-to platform for streamlining testimonial collection and management. Effortlessly gather, organise, and share customer endorsements across various channels, boosting your credibility and conversions. When I started using it I collected over 10 new testimonials in the first day! Oh, that reminds me….. If we've worked together, you like my podcast or content, or your just think I’m a great guy then, your testimonial would mean the world – please leave one here.

Joiin, This affordable, cloud based solution which integrates with your existing accounts software is perfect to save time and money for any large business that needs to consolidate multiple group companies. Anyone trying to reconcile and consolidate group accounts knows what a time consuming task this is - it can take days every month!

While I haven't personally needed to use Joiin, my finance team has been all over it. As one of them put it……

"We operate 22 Huddle companies and have previously had to manually download 22 balance sheets and 22 profit and loss accounts. Then spend hours arranging them manually in Excel. We then compare data and go and look at any variances. Then we think, 'These are fixed,' we do the process again – days of work.

The app allows you to press a button and voila! 22 balance sheets and profit and loss accounts are there in a few minutes."

Stef Thomson, Financial Controller at Huddle

Loud and clear, your virtual voices have spoken, and we've got the poll results to prove it! Health & Fitness is the winner here. So, let's dive right in and chat about something that's been grabbing my attention for a while: ice baths! I love them! Brace yourselves for a refreshing read about something that should be firmly cemented in your well-being routine.

I’ve done plenty of ice baths before and have regular cryotherapy sessions but recently I took a full day course on Wim Hoff breathing techniques and ice bath methodology.

I was taught about your internal acidity and alkalinity plus breathing techniques that helped me hit a whole new state of relaxation and clarity. Something that is usually very tough for me. These are so powerful even if you don’t want to go in the ice.

But when it came to going in the ice, had it not been for the breathing I would have been fucked in seconds. You can see in the video I have a mini breathing panic attack in the first few seconds. But my amazing instructor and the techniques helped me get my head back together and see the session out.

Bottom line? Breathing techniques are a game-changer. Go and try an ice bath today – they can boost both your physical endurance, mental composure, and really make you feel a million bucks!

P.S…… I know some of you a big fans of this newsletter because you email me and tell me about it. But you still aren’t sharing it with your friends! So use the link below to spread the word and you’ll qualify for some goodies soon!

P.P.S…… If this week’s letter inspires you to get in an ice bath then tell me about it….. or better still send me a video of you doing it and i’ll include it in a future issue or our social channels.