What do you do to relax? One of my favourite things to reach for to clear my mind is a Sudoku puzzle. Why am I telling you this? As we’re nearing the end of the year, this is a good time to take a step back and reflect on what has worked well for your startup, what could have gone better, and how you’re going to tackle 2024. When it comes to business planning, Sudoku has a few lessons to teach us.
In this blog, I invite you to explore this idea with me. You don’t need to be a Sudoku aficionado to understand the benefits. Read on and consider applying them to your (business) plans for the coming year. You might be surprised to see how puzzles can help clarify things and help you grow your business.
What If I Dislike Sudoku?
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a Sudoku fan or even a master to follow this blog along. If you love crosswords, jigsaws, or any other form of puzzle, you’re just as well equipped. Why do I love Sudoku? Good question. I guess, part of the attraction lies in arranging numbers in a way that makes sense. You see, I truly am a Numbersmith at heart.
Being a fan of numbers, I tend not to reach for just any Sudoku puzzle. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my favourites are those pitched at what I would call the fiendish or super-fiendish level, also known as Killer Sudoku. But enough about me – here is a closer look at how Sudoku and other puzzles can inform your business planning and help you find solutions when there seems to be only chaos.
Lesson #1: Start Here
Whether you’re picking up a crossword, Sudoku, or a jigsaw puzzle, you’ll find that there is more than one place to start solving the riddle. The same applies to business planning. You can start with the big goal – going public in five years, for example. You can also start by describing your current situation.
Either choice is perfectly valid. The important point is to start. Don’t allow your doubts to stop you from making a start. It’s perfectly okay to scribble your initial thoughts on the back of a napkin, but you may need more than that to convince an investor.
Lesson #2: Complete the Easy Parts
There is nothing wrong with completing the sections of your business plan that you find easier than others. In Sudoku, there are always a few easy pieces: the number 17 in two digits is always 9 and 8, for example. The number ten in four digits is 1, 2, 3 and 4, for instance.
When writing a business plan, too many startup founders let their desire for a perfect solution get in the way of a perfectly workable business plan. What does that mean in practice? Let’s assume you’re using a business plan template and have completed the first section. Now, you’ve been stuck on section two for an hour, although you know that you have the information for sections three and four.
Complete those and see where they lead you. You may just discover that putting the information on paper will give you everything you need to fill in the blanks. At the very least, you’re moving forward.
Lesson #3: Reduce Uncertainties
Wouldn’t it be great if you could remove all the uncertainties from your business plan? If you could accurately predict how the global economic situation will shake out, which products consumers will buy next, and which service people in your area simply can’t live without. Unfortunately, that’s wishful thinking rather than business planning.
However, you can usually reduce uncertainties by limiting the number of potential outcomes. In Sudoku, the number nine in two digits could be any one of four pairs of numbers. Without additional information from elsewhere in the puzzle, you can’t choose the correct pair. But as soon as you have confirmed one of the numbers from another piece of information, you can make a choice.
Let’s say you’re trying to choose between five potential services. Competitor analysis shows you that there is a gap in your local market for two of those services, giving you a great steer on which direction to pursue.
Lesson #4: Make Assumptions
Most of us will have heard the saying that ‘assumptions make an a@& out of you and me.’ That saying is just as funny as it’s often false. Assumptions are a part of everyday life. Don’t take my word for it but instead take a look at this article that explains the necessity of assumptions. The article comes from the area of scuba diving, but the concept applies to business just the same.
To get started and to complete your business plan, let alone start your business, you will need to operate on partial information. You’ll need to do your best to draw conclusions based on the facts you have rather than hoping to have every last piece of information before making a decision. Granted, you will get something wrong from time to time, but that’s still better than a standstill.
Lesson #5: Think About the Impossible
Sometimes, rather than making decisions based on what you know, you may need to make decisions based on what the answer can’t be.
I think of this as reverse engineering the next step on a Sudoku puzzle. If you’re looking at planning ahead for your business, it may become overwhelming to continue to think of what the next step should be. How about eliminating unsuitable next steps and whittling down options according to which are least likely to succeed?
Lesson #6: Things Will Get Easier
Founding a startup can seem overwhelming. You wouldn’t be the first founder who gets caught in the maelstrom of trying to do everything by yourself all at once.
Do your best not to get caught in that, and instead deal with your startup one step at a time. As you’re populating your business plan and finding more answers to a seemingly limitless list of questions, it will become easier to find the missing answers.
The more pairs of a Sudoku riddle you work out, or the more pieces of a jigsaw you place, the easier it becomes to complete the rest. Remember this when you feel overwhelmed. The key to getting your business plan goes all the way back to step one – find a place to start and get going.
Lesson #7: Identify the Most Critical Element
In every puzzle, there is usually one critical piece. Cracking that part or placing that jigsaw will make all the other pieces fall into place.
The same is often true for business planning. Getting the answer to one crucial question can help you put the other pieces in place. If you notice that you’re getting stuck, try looking for the one piece that helps you make sense of everything else. I admit, this may sound a little out of this world, but hear me out.
As a startup founder, you become extremely involved in your business. It’s easy to miss the proverbial forest for the trees and keep coming up against the same obstacles. When that happens, it might be time to look for a bit of external support. If you already have a mentor or a board of directors, don’t hesitate to ask them for advice. They may just have that one piece of information you need to help your company thrive.
Final Thoughts
Are you ready to take your Sudoku or even Killer Sudoku game to the next level? Or your startup?
Business planning is effectively a process of answering questions, limiting uncertainties and putting pieces of information into a meaningful context. Looking at this process from a different vantage point can help you see solutions where you used to see obstacles and take the next step toward building your business. And if you need help in the process, don’t think twice about reaching out to us.