Who says playing a video game is a waste of time and will turn your brain to mush? Turns out that there are some valuable business lessons to learn when you play the very popular (and free) online video game Fortnite: Battle Royale.
About the Game: Fortnite: Battle Royale
The wildly popular video gameFortnite: Battle Royale can be played on a PC/Mac, Xbox, PlayStation and even on your iPhone. Your first decision in the game is when to be air-dropped from a flying bus. Ninety-nine other players will be making the same calculation on when and where to jump onto an island that has monsters, unpredictable storms and a cache of weapons dispersed throughout. You want a place that has abundant resources and not be overrun with other players whose main priority is to kill you. The goal is to be the last one standing and you build shelters to protect yourself from storms and defend against other players, find resources and kill off other players to become the sole survivor. After a few minutes of play, a circle will appear on the map and you need to get within the circle because you will be vulnerable to the storms that take place outside the circle. If you’re caught in the storm, it will deplete your health and if your health score gets too low, you’ll perish. As the game continues, the circle will get smaller and move locations.
Business Lessons from Fortnite
Believe it or not, there are a lot of business and life lessons offered from Fortnite. Here are just a few:
Even though you don’t start off with much, resources are available
The only tool you have when you are dropped from the sky is a pickaxe. In the game, you have to gather up resources including first aid, ammo, weapons and more in order to have a chance of success. Your first priority is to get resources. Similarly, when you start in business, you likely won’t have many resources but the longer you’re in the game, the more resources and insight you will have.
Take care of yourself
Shield potions should be consumed the minute you find them so that your health stays strong. In order to be effective as a business professional, you must take care of your body and mind first or you’ll have nothing left to give. The priority in both the game and in business is to take care of yourself first, so you are prepared to take care of others.
Learn to adapt
Change is the only constant—in the game and in life. Conditions and environments are shifting, so the better you are able to adapt to change the more resilient you’ll be. There will be things out of your control—weather, competitors. The only thing you can control is your reaction to the circumstances.
Always build, even when under fire
In the game, building shelters even when under fire can be very beneficial to your survival. Even when the market is tough or revenues are low, good business leaders know they must keep growing in some way so they are prepared when conditions change. That could mean training, updating processes and other initiatives to build your company even if it is experiencing a difficult situation. The better you are at building under pressure, the easier it will be to build when you have more favorable conditions.
Use the right tools
As a competitor in Fortnite, you have the ability to swap out weapons for more effective ones when you come across them. It’s important to learn the benefits of each weapon and use the right weapon at the right time. In business, using the right technology and tools to get the job done helps you gain a competitive advantage.
Luck sometimes wins over skill
Success in business is a mix of skill, luck and opportunity. Whether luck is on your side in the game or in business is not in your control. So, when luck isn’t on your side, you need to accept the situation and continue on. When you’re in luck, be grateful for your good fortune and make the best of it.
Don’t become complacent
Use the momentum you get after a success (acquiring a good resource, defending your position or closing a big deal) to catapult you forward. You become incredibly vulnerable when you let the success diminish your attention to detail or cloud your judgment.
Put yourself out there (don’t hide)
You only get better playing Fortnite when you actually engage with other competitors. If your sole strategy is to hide out, you might survive for a while but you won’t learn the fundamentals of the game. In business, mistakes are an essential step to learning. So, you have to put yourself out there to make progress. Even if you fail, you are learning to become better for the next business opportunity that comes your way.
Have you played the game? What business lessons would you add?
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that reaches millions of readers.
