If you love gaming as much as I do, then you’re probably looking for ways to justify your time dedicated to pillaging villages and completing epic quests. Well fear not, my game loving friends, there actually happen to be extremely beneficial lessons to be learned from the online realms of adventure.
The spirit behind most multiplayer online games is in community. The more you interact with each other, the richer your experience with the game is. Through my time spent in these alternate worlds, I’ve discovered a few key correlations that can be applied to the business world. So if you’re ready to level up your Intelligence, read on…
Lesson #1: Be Where The People Are
Often times in games you need the help of others for a variety of reasons. You might need an item they have, help finishing a quest, or guidance in finding a particular location. In all these instances, you have a greater chance of connecting with someone who can help if you are in one of the major cities, simply because that’s where the greatest number of people are. In real life, when you want to make connections with like-minded individuals, you need to be where they are. In the social media realm, those “cities” are places like Twitter or Facebook. Where are your people? Do some research and find out where your peers and customers are. That’s where you need to be making connections.
Lesson #2: Have a Quest or Mission Others Can Get Behind
Once you’ve found where you should be most visible, you need to give people a reason to befriend you. In gaming, it’s usually an invitation to join in a battle to the death over the destiny of the online world. In real life, your mission may not be quite as epic, but it should still be something that inspires and motivates. What is your quest? What is it that you are trying to achieve? Use that as your base and find creative ways to spread your message so you’ll pick up helpers and followers.
Lesson #3: Reward People for Networking with You
Loot is a powerful motivator in online games. Everyone wants their just rewards for helping out. In real life, it’s not much different. People want to know that you appreciate their efforts and gifts of time. Make sure to leave no doubt of your gratitude. The more you can give back and reward contributors, the closer your connection will be with them. They’ll also consider you a valuable ally for future business adventures.
Lesson #4: Keep In Frequent Contact
When you’re faced with the possibility of connecting with over eleven million players, it’s easy to forget about someone. If you’ve made a valuable connection, keep the momentum going with frequent communication. Drop a line to see how they are doing, take them out to lunch, or connect with a quick chat or message via Twitter or Facebook. If you stay on a person’s radar, you’ll never be far from their mind.
Lesson #5: Join or Create a Guild (Tribe)
When you find people you want to connect with on a daily basis, or when you’re looking for a group to help you level up and complete quests, you usually join a guild. The guild then becomes your online family, the place you go for help and friendly banter. In the real world, finding a like-minded group or tribe is essential to growing and getting support in your field of choice. Now that online communities are so prevalent, it’s even easier to find a group willing to accept you into their fold. With the right group, you’ll find an amazing support system ready and able to help you achieve your goals of a true epic destiny.
While the online world is a great break from the stresses of your daily life, nothing quite compares to the feeling of real life achievement. If you use these tips, you may find the adventure of your real life even more rewarding then your latest online achievement.
Do you have a passion for gaming? In what ways has gaming helped or hindered your business goals?