Corporate lessons from chess: If you play well you win, says Viswanathan Anand
by Sulekha Nair Apr 15, 2015 12:27 IST
Chasing Passion is a four-part series distilling lessons from acclaimed masters across genres. In the second part of the series, chess champion Viswanathan Anand talks about the psychological and physical moves in chess that can be used in the boardroom.
There are chess players and there is Viswanathan Anand – India’s first Grandmaster and talent extraordinaire. As a 6 year-old, he was fascinated by chess watching his older brother and sister at the chessboard and nagged his mother to teach him. It wasn’t a sport that was popular in India when Anand began learning it. Chess can be viewed as a synonym for life with triumphs and pain points in every move. It is a silent warfare between opponents to seize on the other’s weakness. So then, can the chessboard be seen as a motif for the corporate boardroom? Anand was game to consider it and pick the pieces to win in corporate corridors.
Known for his meticulousness, Anand spells out what he does and follows to excel in his chosen profession. To begin with, he says, “Have ambition, focus and equanimity.”
How to become a leader
If the ambition at the outset is to do well, one of the ways to achieve it says Anand, is to have a method and stick to it. Have a routine, or, in corporate parlance, a business plan. “I constantly try and better what I do. If the method followed has not yielded optimum results, tweak it,” he suggests.
Unlike the knight on the chessboard who can move in any direction, it is essential to stick to work ethics and be focused in your work. “Stick to your principles. I think your work ethics have to be water tight compartments and non-negotiable,” he reiterates.
What would Anand’s advice be to corporates on how to succeed in business? “I’d say, be willing to take risks. No matter how well prepared you are, you still cannot cover all areas. So have the confidence to take risks. Have conviction and stand by it.”
There is the dangerous turf of controversies that comes with being in the top league. What comes to mind is the Kasparov-Karpov famous semantics to avoid calling each a liar when that is what both meant. Anand says, “I try not to get dragged into controversies or verbal spats. I think it is important to play a sport with dedication and respect. I am quite proud that has been one of my biggest successes.”
Even if the grandmaster has been able to avoid controversies, surely there must be something that gets his goat. “I detest any kind of politicking and bias in my area of play. Another irritant is unsolicited criticism from people who are hardly knowledgeable,” says he.
In other words, let the naysayers shout. The businessman should carry on without letting that change his plans.
Respect your opponent
In a game or in business, the aim is to attack the weakness of the opponent. Then, should the rival be seen as Viktor Korchnoi once said of Anatoly Karpov: I must hate my opponent? Anand does not think so. On the contrary, he believes respect must be accorded to the opponent.
“You should always respect your rival and understand his DNA. I do not like to belittle or be disrespectful. I find such things just a distraction and unethical. If you play well, you win. It is as simple as that. You have a USP. You try to make it heard.”
When the stakes are loaded in a match where both the players are champions at the game or in the business arena, Anand says it is important to forget one’s popularity. This is when equanimity comes into play.
“Your achievements give you an assurance, but if you believed in your own PR or kept reading your own press release, it can blind you. It is important to learn from competition as they are the ones who are going to test you in your weakest areas. In that race your reputation may help, but it never wins the game.”
In other words, constantly evolve and do not rest on your laurels.
Full article here.