Leadership Lessons from Candy Crush

Julie Weaver:

Okay! So, today we’re going to talk about what Candy Crush is, we’re going to talk about some leadership lessons that I’ve learned from Candy Crush. And then we’re going to go through a checklist and see how these leadership lessons help. How are you using them in your life in review? So, first of all, let’s take a quick poll with our small group here. How many of you play Candy Crush? We got one! All right. Well whether you play or not you’re going to find some value in this session.

So first of all about Candy Crush. What is it and why is it so popular? Well, it’s a basic three-match game. So you’re matching three candies in a row of the same color and popping jellies under them. There are thousands of levels. I’m on level one thousand five twenty-four which means I’ve played at least one thousand five twenty-three times and I don’t even know how far it goes you’re at a level three thousand you said.

Audience:

Three thousand nine hundred.

Julie Weaver:

So there are many many levels and there are limits to lives which is a good thing. And why is it so popular? Well, it’s simple. You can sit down. It’s on your phone. You just can start playing and it’s a stress reliever. So it’s a simple thing. You don’t have to plan. You just do it. It’s addictive. It’s kind of like gambling in a way because you’re challenged. You almost made it through this level so you don’t want to give up now so that you can make it next time. So it’s addictive. It’s competitive too. So you’re not only competing against yourself.

But you’re also. As you’ll see later in the presentation and you’re competing against others that play the game. So here are some interesting facts about Candy Crush. There are ninety-two point three million active players. There are more than one trillion Candies Crushed each day. And it’s played across all seven continents. So as you can see it’s very popular and very international. So what could you learn about leadership from Candy Crush?

Julie Weaver:

Here’s some. Here are the eight lessons that we’re going to talk about today. First of all, it’s counter-intuitive as the game seems. It’s more similar to chess. Than any other kids game. Settles in Candy Crush. It’s not just luck. It also takes strategy and leadership in this thing. So you’re looking at many factors in the game you’re analyzing mom and you’re making strategic moves to move to the next, more complex level. Some of the crucial skills that you need at both the game and as a good leader are patience, persistence and a risk-taking attitude. Now patience while going through those first two seems a little bit opposite. But I’ll explain. So patience in the game. There are a couple of times where patience really pays off.

First of all, if you are starting a level starting in-game you get an opportunity to watch an ad which is how they make their money. And of course, this takes patience to sit through the 30 seconds and watch the ad but you get that special candy when you do. And that special candy can give you more advantages to make in the game. So, another thing with patience is when you see four candies in a row or five candies in a row those you can click and they will give you special candy striped candy or sporting candy which are much more powerful than your regular candy. Now, it’s human nature when you see those. Just click them. Because you see that opportunity. You just take it. So, a couple of times I’ve done that and then I regretted it. Because I just did it just instantaneously and then and then I saw that there were some better opportunities if I would not have done that. So, those are a couple of times in the game or patience pays off. And how does this relate to maybe your situation at work where you’re a leader. Well, first of all, a couple of things that I can think of is the credit card meeting that was last week. So we sat and listened to how our volume last year compared to our volume this year. Interesting but not really helping me meet my objective at the moment.

Julie Weaver:

But by sitting there and listening I’m able to build a relationship with that credit card representative that later will help me meet my objective. Another example in the workplace is training. So training takes a lot of your time and effort. But you have to do it right. Give all your knowledge and improve really in the long run. You’re going to be better off that person will be able to do their job without questions without making errors that you might later have to fix. So, there are a couple of examples of patience.

Persistence. Master Candy Crush players never give up. So, there are some of the levels that are very hard. They’re called nightmarishly hard levels and these levels you might be on those for a couple of weeks. But every time you play you learn tricks you learn ways to pass that level and eventually there’ll be a breakthrough. And every time you do a breakthrough. So’ persistence at work too. Always learn from your failures I guess you would call it a failure when you don’t pass the level the first time or the second time or the third time or the 15th time. But, you’re learning every time that you’re playing in the same work. If you really if you’re doing something and it’s. Not working outright. Don’t give up, take a break. Try again. You’re learning something every time you’re getting back to them becoming better and you go and you’ll have a breakthrough. The risk-taking attitude I think there’s a whole slide on that. So we will talk about that on this page.

Julie Weaver:

So the next slide. We’ll just keep it simple and stay focused on the objective. In Candy Crush always up there at the top, it’s your objective for that level and most of the time it’s the first one it’s popping jellies that are under the candies. Sometimes I’ve got time and I just instinctively start popping jellies. Just to find out. That I’m halfway through and that’s not my objective this time. My objective is to get so many start colors of candies or matching the striped candies together. So I’ve wasted all these moves and I’m not even helping me get to the objective of that level. So the same at work. Focus on your objective. Know what it is and make all of your steps in the things that you’re doing. These steps are moving you toward meeting that objective. Next is diffuse distractions and I’ll also add in here to eliminate silos. So from the game. There are sometimes bombs. And you have so many moves before the bombs explode. And you can also see that sometimes there’s what I think is similar to silos where you’ve got your candies kind of sectioned off.

So you can just click next to them and eliminate them. So as a manager or a leader. Really you need to know that these bombs in these silos exist and prioritize them. And be proactive in diffusing them. So that you’re not surprised and they blow up. What are some things that are bombs in your workplace? There could be conflicting or unclear communication or lack of training, misinformation or rumors or people with bad attitudes. So these things we need to recognize they’re there and we need to do something about them. And we can address them with communication being fair and also bringing the team together.

Julie Weaver:

The silos. So, what are silos? These silos are detached sections with detached attitudes and they don’t share knowledge with each other. You might see this is typically departmental. So you might see that your department is a silo and the sales department is the silo and accounting. You know and it’s not good for the organization overall to have these silos. And again communication being there bringing the teams together so that knowledge is shared and the whole company.

So the next lesson from Candy Crush – Identify people and resources who can help you. So in the game, as we mentioned before there are some special candies, there are your spotting candies, your striped candies. And these can be likened to people. So your strength candies may be people who have positive attitudes, your wrapped candies might be people who take initiative. Your spotted candies could be people with the gift of communication. So, as a leader, these people recognize their strengths and set tasks accordingly. Use them when they’re using them from the skills that they’re good at. And additionally, in Candy Crush, there are at the bottom you’ll see their special resources that are given to you. To fight against and to meet your objective. The lollipop hammer down there is one of my favorites because if you have one, one cell left you can use it to pop it and meet your objective. And so these in the workplace can be like your work consultants and your work relationships like the credit card woman and the example before where it can be your banker or you know it can be your special resources. So let them know they’re there and use them when you need to get to achieve the objectives.

Julie Weaver:

A risk-taking attitude. So in the game some cells are covered you don’t know what’s under them and they can be good or bad. Now to meet the objectives, you have to cover these. So you have to take the risk. Just like in the workplace there are unknowns. The unknowns can be new technology expansion of the department expansion of your company new responsibilities or process changes but you need to venture into these unknowns or you’ll stagnate and you won’t reach your objectives. And like in the game sometimes it’s your only way to win.

All right! The next lesson learned achievements at your workplace should be recognized and rewarded. So, in Candy Crush, there are all kinds of rewards and special candy you can earn in the treasure chest and different things. And these things keep you engaged and keep playing. Some of the examples here we’ve got a leaderboard. And so when you’re playing you can see kind of where you are on the leaderboard. I happened to screenshot one more. I’m number one. That doesn’t happen very often. But let me tell you this too is at first when I saw this I thought well that’s kind of silly. I don’t have a dad. That as you play I started looking at it and you just feel a sense of excitement when you’re in the top three or are those kinds of things. So at work even people who don’t say they need rewards or like recognition, they really do. So that’s one thing that you can learn from the game and that I’ve learned. And this recognition can be simple, a thank you, good job. Just some words that go a long way and it could be something a little more like gift cards or an appreciation lunch. But, employees if you want them to be engaged and you want them to put forth all of the efforts that they have. They need to be recognized and rewarded.

Julie Weaver:

All right. Next. The lesson learned is to keep your eye on the deadlines. So in the game, there’s only a certain number of moves that you can make before your time’s up to the level it is. So make sure that you know that deadline and make sure that you’re moving. Making your move accordingly. So, sometimes I’ve been playing a lot in the game unexpectedly. I didn’t watch the deadline and I didn’t win that level. Okay! So, then the last lesson learned to encourage teamwork and fun. So, for Candy Crush slave players, there are all kinds of teamwork. Even though you’re playing independently, for example, you’re paired up with a fictional buddy. In this example, And again I thought it was sort of silly but. Then I found it. I was cheering for Dorothy. I do not know who Dorothy is but you know it’s just fun. There’s something psychological about being part of a group and the game makes you part of a group. So workgroups can spur more productivity than individuals working alone. Because they can help each other and share their expertise. Another thing that I want to mention in the game we saw the leaderboard on the previous slide. I started recognizing some of those names. So, I’m on there may be and there are others on there and I sort of recognize some of those names.

Julie Weaver:

So I felt like part of this group because we’re all looking across at the same time. All right. The last line. Well, the things that we talked about today. Think about your position as a leader. And you can be a leader at work, regardless of your position or at home or in any situation really. So a leader doesn’t necessarily have to be a manager. Are you and your team focused on the right objectives? Are you rewarding recognizing and molding employees to be positive, take initiative and communicate? Do you recognize and diffuse arms and solar signposts quickly? Are you motivated yourself? What kind of candy are you? Do you encourage teamwork and fun? Do you take time to analyze your choices, listen to others but ultimately make your own, timely decision? Are you using your resources to maximize your impact and win? Okay! So, next time if someone later labels you as a Candy Crush addict don’t forget to tell them that the game can actually elevate career advancement. Thank you for attending. Alright. So anybody has any questions? Or did this presentation make you think of any situation that is going on in your department and in the company? Somewhat like that. There are no questions. Alright.