Next station "Hope"

 "The most powerful weapon in Chess is to have the next move" (David Bronstein)

   Among the many similarities we can find between business and chess, today I want to talk about one that humanizes both worlds, is the error of "hope".

   Many times, when we are thinking about a move, we start  the calculation of "if you do this, I answer and then you have to answer so ..."

   The error "Hope" is the time that we focus on the responses of the opponent that "I would like"  him to do and do not value all possible answers. In this way we are convinced of the "goodness" of our play based on the answers that we want the other to do, and of course, "the other" can do that or might not.

    This seems a truism, but  it is an error that occurs also in professional life.

   I have participated in brainstorming product launch where the type arguments wielded "if competition does this or that, we are benefited in this regard ..." and coincidentally or not all possible "moves" of competition we were driving us as winners. Not to sound great Guru, but I can say that in real life competitive market, not all possible answers always given to us as winners.

   Both in chess as in the analysis of market impact of the launch of a new product, like almost any other area of the business which involves a third player, the solution to this type of error is the objectivity the realistic assessment of your position and possibilities, as in get " being on the shoes" of the other, think like you "your opponent" looking his best choice, and once you find it, think an antidote to it.

   When you play a lot of games, at the end you understand that the rivals are determined to do what they consider best for them, so you have to learn to think as if you were them, you learn to look critically, objectively evaluating your options, without overestimate (or under-estimate, that it is also a big mistake)

   On this particular point, the improvement as a player comes when you are able to apply a filter of realism to your options, playing Based on the quality of your decisions and not in  errors of your rival

   From the point of view of a marketing department is the same approach: the best product is one that meets a need, it is in a cost-benefit proportionality and also competition, doing his best, takes long to replicate (or no can do). A product that is based on competition do what suits us, we will waste time, effort and money for minimal product life to be quickly offset by a better product (the best move)