Three things Chutes and Ladders reminds us about running a business

Recently I’ve found myself playing a lot of board games. It’s a great way to pass the time when you can’t leave the house and need to entertain a toddler. It didn’t take many rounds of Chutes and Ladders to see how the game mimics running a business. The valleys and peaks of running a business align with the chutes and ladders that send you backward and fling you forward while trying to reach your goal.

For those who do not recall the game of their childhood, Chutes and Ladders players move one to six spots on a turn. If you land on a spot that has a ladder, you get to climb up to the top of the ladder, reaching higher points on the game board faster. If you happen to land on a spot with a chute, you slide backward and land further away from the endpoint. The first player to reach the top is the winner.

We’ve all had those experiences in business: We are marching forward and feeling good, and then just like that we find ourselves moving backward or losing ground. We’ve also had those moments when, after making consistent progress, we are suddenly catapulted forward and land much closer to our goal than expected.

As you map out goals for your business, keep in mind these three good reminders from Chutes and Ladders:

Set a goal that requires effort to achieve

When a game is over quickly, you question whether playing was worth it, especially with a three-year-old. There is a lot of time spent setting up the game and reviewing the rules, and then it’s over in a few minutes. On the flip side, if the endpoint takes too long to achieve, it’s easy to get distracted and never finish the game. You need to have an endpoint worth playing for.

Your business goals should be lofty enough that they aren’t a given, but also not so far out that you lose motivation halfway there. The 100 squares on Chutes and Ladders move quickly, but it’s enough to give players something to work toward.

Having a goal that requires significant extra effort from you and your team to achieve will likely result in distraction and loss of motivation along the way. And if your business goal can be achieved by doing the bare minimum, you will be finished so fast that you likely will have spent more time determining the goal than working toward it. As you look at your goals, how many spots do you have to move to achieve them?

Build resilience against setbacks

The devastation of landing on a spot with a chute and sliding back, whether it’s three spots or 63, keeps the game interesting. No one is immune from landing on a spot with a chute. It’s all part of the process. As my three-year-old is learning, you can’t throw a tantrum when you land on a chute. You must be resilient and continue to play the game if you want to win.

Identify potential chutes or setbacks that might occur in your business as you work toward your goal. Create plans for different scenarios, and you’ll be better prepared to deal with the challenges, even those you can’t predict. Knowing that you will periodically move backward will help you build resilience for yourself and your business and allow you to return to forward progress faster.

Take advantage of the small victories along the way

You never know when you are going to land on a ladder during the game. You can see them up ahead, but you are reliant on the spinner to determine how far you move in each turn. When you land on a spot with a ladder, there is often much celebration — it’s a small victory worth cheering about as you move closer to the goal. The simple enjoyment will help make the next chute you land on easier to handle.

At times when you are tired or frustrated with the progress you are making on your goal, remember that there will be ladders. While not as obvious as on the game board, they will present themselves if you are looking for them. Work toward your goal as if there are no ladders, and when they appear and you find yourself closer to your goal, celebrate. Enjoy the victory of being catapulted ahead. It will help you continue your forward progress when you hit the next chute.

Chutes and Ladders is teaching my three-year-old many lessons. As I help her work through the emotions of devastation at hitting a chute and the elation of a ladder, it’s a good reminder that we all need to work through these emotions in our businesses. As business leaders, it’s key to set a goal that will require concerted effort and work toward it, one spot at a time, even as you are forced down chutes and pushed up ladders.

**Originally published on Puget Sound Business Journal, April 2020