Squid Game, a series by brilliant multitasker Hwang Dong-Hyuk, is hitting the top charts on Netflix. The name of the show sounds kind of boring, but as per the old saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’, this old saying rings true here. Squid Game is one of the best Netflix Originals. The show has something for everyone; it’s not only for people who like suspense and thrillers, but also for people who love to watch emotional, dramatic, and comedic times to enjoy. And that is why we think, the hype this show is receiving at the moment is very much deserved, and it is the perfect show for someone who wants something new to binge on. Before beginning any further, Spoiler Alertguys!
If you have not watched the series yet, you should save this blog for later, for now. As the name suggests, the series is based on some of the most popular games of the 1970s that children used to play in South Korea. The games get reinvented as a mysterious survival game with a cash prize for the winner. Simple? No, there is a plot twist. The losers must pay with their lives. Anyway, it’s not just a series for lovers of Netflix and thrillers. It is a series for people related to business too. From action to business? Didn’t understand? Let us help you to fix the broken pieces on how this series is also related to business strategies.
Today, we are talking about 7 business lessons that you can learn from Squid Game. The number 1 trending series on Netflix. Before we dive deep into it, don’t forget to hit the shiny subscribe button so that you never miss any video from us.
- Targeting the right audience
Yes, that’s the first step towards a flourishing business. You must have learned it in your business class too. In your business, it isn’t you that plays the major role, but the audience. The audience is the game-changer, they decide your success or your failure. We can see this in the series when a suited person approaches the main character Seong Gi-Hun when he was struggling with debts. Of course, wealthy people are in no need of money and will not accept the offer. But someone who is in a battle against loans and poverty would easily agree to all the terms and conditions irrespective of all the risks involved. Similarly, your schemes can also fail if you do not target the right audience. And soon your dreams will fall heavy on you. You surely don’t need to go and find with a scope in your hands. Some research and graphs would help you a lot to find the people who you are looking for. So, if you are planning to start a business, or finding solutions to why your business is falling, this could be of great benefit.
- Communication is the key
Hey, can you understand what your boss is thinking without him uttering a single word? Possibly no. That is why communication is necessary for the proper functioning of your organization. But the question uprises, whom to communicate with? Is this for the staff? Yes, but only 50%. The other 50% still belongs to the audience. The more you connect to the audience, the more they will trust you and get attracted to you. Word-of-mouth is the most influential tool to be known in the business world. This should be done in the best and simplest possible way. This way, both sides feel connected. Also, never fail to express yourself and put forward the objectives of your group, this will help you to get the empathy of the customers. But also communicating with your staff is also necessary. These are the people who support you to achieve your dreams. In the show, the same scene represents that communication is the key to attracting your audience. Yes, their way of statement is unethical and quite dangerous, but it was a success for the game master to obtain the audience in his favor.
- Stay calm in the worst situations and you can still win the race: Red Light-Green Light
Let’s now move to the games shown in the series. The first game ‘Red Light-Green Light’ is the turning point of the series when the true story and plot take place. As the scene shows, a man who failed to follow the rule of the game is shot dead, other 455 players panic in the situation. This led to a massive gun-firing in the first few minutes of the scene. Goosebumps? But yes, this is shown in the show. Taking it into seriously account, finding others’ failures makes us less confident in our work which somehow leads to our failure too. Isn’t it true? But looking at the other side, if you stay calm and patient, and look around to understand the scenarios, you will find out that your situation is different from others. Stepping into others’ shoes is not always the right thing, but learning from their torn shoes with the uttermost patience can surely help you to thrive in your business.
- Finishing last is not equal to failure
Do you think of yourself as a failure because you came last in the race? If yes, then you are not well-suited for the business world. Business isn’t about who came first or who came last, it’s about who still managed to stay in the race after various falls. Maybe we will fall in the first few attempts, just like Seong Gi-Hun in the Red Light Green Light game, but he hindered all the barriers with his will to reach the finish line, and he succeeded. When we enter the competition of business, we find hundreds of firms carrying the same ideas as ours. But that shouldn’t break us or our aim to achieve our dreams. Remember the sack races in the school? We never used to give up even after falling various times just to reach the finish line and get our trophy. The same is the case in the business world. If you know how to get back onto your feet after a hundred falls, you Smart work winning.
- Smart work over Hard Work with a pinch of carefulness: Honeycomb
The next game gives us the perfect example of doing smart work. It’s not true that hard work is not required, but only hard work can cause your failure. But if we can manage both spheres with a little carefulness, we can face a Win-Win situation. Hark Work makes your muscles tiring and gains more experience, but Smart Work makes you more intelligent, enables you to think out of the box, achieve your goals in less time, and gaining experience is the plus point. The scene shows people working with a metal pin to carve out a shape from a box. While many were struggling with their sticks, the main actor starts to lick the sugar to melt so he can get the shape of an umbrella perfected and carved out. But not only this, another actress is seen to take the help of a lighter to complete the task in much less time. And here comes the twist, in the same scene, the people who are trying to get the shape out of the container even after copying the main actor fail to get the perfect shape because they lack proper attention. This proves that if we are not paying proper care and attention to our work, it will eventually fail even after our exhaustion of brain or tiring of muscles.
- Strategy and Planning: Tug Of War
Even if you are on the losing side of the game, but you have better planning and strategies than your opponents, you have already won the battle. Yes, many people look for the brains and muscles but forget to make a proper plan of action to achieve their goals. Once a wise man said, ‘ A wise man without proper planning is a loser in front of a loser with proper planning’ and yes that is true. The Tug of War game filmed in the show depicts the same circumstances. On the first hand is the team of all muscular men, whereas on the other side is a team with women and an oldie. Seems like the other team will lose, but it’s not the case here. The oldie lays down a plan and strategy against all the powerful men to win the war and saves his life from getting crushed. Strategy and Planning are the two pillars of a business organization. Only tells you the graphs while the other tells you how to reach the top point of the graph.
- Changing the strategy even at the last moment can help you win the game: Marble Game
Do you remember the scene when Jang Deok-Suswitched from an Odd-Even game to a Marble Throwing game? What if he wouldn’t have done that? Of course, he would have died, but he didn’t lose his temper and decided to switch the game and look at the brighter side. This scene made him look less confident in the first half, but later he turned to a strong personality. The same happens in real situations. We are sometimes trapped with wrong decisions and strategies but are way too afraid to step into other games. But just ask yourself, failing or winning with a different method? Of course, winning with a different method. So it’s better to be late in adopting new strategies than sticking to the old ones and failing continuously.
So, we hope that you found the information helpful, and you can keep these points in mind for your future business planning. As we mentioned earlier, it’s not just a series of thrill and bloodshed, but a series of many business lessons; the only thing that differs is perspective. Do let us know your views on squid games in the comments section below.
