Candy Crush was ranked as one of the top gaming apps for 2013. The game yields an estimated $771,238 in daily revenue and is installed 33,061 times, on average, per day. On subways, trains, coffee houses, waiting in line (waiting anywhere!) we see people with their phones or tablets and hear the telltale music.
The game’s popularity also yielded a number of posts describing “Life Lessons Learned from Candy Crush” and, especially surprising, tips on how to play the game in surprising places like Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/candy-crush-strategy-tips-and-help-2013-7#make-sure-your-phone-is-well-charged-before-you-play-candy-crush-is-a-giant-battery-suck-but-it-can-be-played-even-when-you-have-no-cell-service-1 Clearly, smart, successful people from all walks of life reduce stress and unwind with the game.
Which got us thinking… What takeaways from Candy Crush can help you work with your virtual accounting team for greater business success? Here are 5 we came up with.
1. Reaching out for help from those who are doing better than you helps you advance faster.
Part of the appeal of Candy Crush is the sense of community it creates. You can help friends by gifting them with lives or extra moves, and also receive help from others. But there’s a catch. You can only receive help from those who are on the same board as you, or beyond it. And, while lives and extra moves are sometimes doled out for no reason, when you need a “ticket” to advance to the next board, you have to ask for it.
In business, we’re almost always better off asking for help from those who are doing better than we are, at least in a particular area. You wouldn’t take accounting advice from your marketing consultant (we hope). If you’re looking for accounting advice, you’ll turn to a professional virtual accounting firm with years of experience and the knowledge of many companies under their collective belts.
2. Being patient pays off.
The key to many candy crush levels is breaking “combinations” of special candies. But to create not just special candies, but special candies next to one another, requires patience. You have to wait for the right time to make your move.
Similarly, in business, timing is everything. If you make a move too soon, you could lose a great opportunity later on. A financial controller can help you analyze market conditions and your own company’s financial state to help you make the right move at the right time.
3. When you see an opportunity, you have to take it.
Waiting for optimal conditions to make a move is often sound business advice, but other times, you have to take an opportunity when you see it, even if conditions aren’t optimal. This is especially true in Candy Crush levels in the 100s, where you should take care of time bomb candies immediately, before they explode.
Accurate bookkeeping can help you see if there’s a “ticking time bomb” in your industry or your organization that you have to defuse before you can focus on growth.
4. Being tops in your field expands your options and resources.
When you reach the Candy Crush leaderboard with a score in the Top 3 amongst your peers, your name appears at the bottom of the screen, and friends have the opportunity to give you gifts or lives.
In business, you simply have more choices when you’re the best in your industry. You’ll have better talent to choose from, more cash flow to work with, and more connections so you can make the best choices in any situation.
5. Evaluating all your options could reveal a smarter move.
We already mentioned how important patience is in candy crush – and in business. But have you ever been in a situation where you thought you saw a great opportunity, until further evaluation revealed an even better option?
Often, those “better options” are hidden with your financial accounting statements. A virtual accounting department, including a financial controller, can help you spot those smart moves and take the right action at the right time.
