7 Advantages of Fantasy Sports at Work

I discovered the rise of fantasy sports in Quirks magazine, of all publications. For those of you who are not familiar with Quirks, it is a monthly journal that reviews marketing studies. The article addressed how improvements in mobile technology have helped fantasy sports gain popularity by making statistics and data more easily accessible to users. In 2013, an increase of 12% from 2012, more than 10 million consumers of fantasy sports used their smartphones to acquire information. Mobile technology is developing throughout all global industries, not just for market research.

I enjoy playing fantasy sports very much, therefore I like to think that my background in market research makes me a better player. However, perhaps my enthusiasm for fantasy sports actually makes me a better market researcher. In any case, I’ve persuaded myself that the two are connected in some way (I have to justify it to my wife). Both should be able to gain from the large number of fantasy sports players who also work in professional and business capacities inside their businesses. In other words, even if you might find it challenging to convince your boss, the time you spend managing your fantasy sports teams should actually be spent practicing for your profession.

Benefit 1: Playing fantasy sports improves your teamwork

You can’t assemble a winning squad of quarterbacks or base-stealers who do little else but steal bases. Balance is necessary. Ultimately, you need a balanced team or at least a few areas where you thrive to make up for other weaknesses.

Second advantage: Playing fantasy sports improves your decision-making skills.

A decision-making game is fantasy sports. Successful fantasy sports players analyze their teams on a regular basis to identify strengths and shortcomings and how they might improve. Daily decisions are made, and they are analogous to business decisions in that you win some and lose some. Many times, bad decisions from the past are regretted and not forgotten. Your ability to learn from your mistakes will help you avoid repeating them.

Benefit 3: Fantasy sports improve your time management skills.

Fantasy sports force you to make snap judgments on players, whether it’s rushing to make a trade before the deadline, adding a player with one day left in your match-up, or selecting a player with just a few seconds left in a live draft. You learn when to add a player right away and when to put other research needs first and come back to that player in a week.

Benefit 4: Fantasy sports improve your ability to interpret data.

Research in fantasy sports is advantageous, including research on draft tactics, professional teams, prospects, and competitors. In many situations, you can devise a plan to figure out what number of HRs, RBIs, and ERA you’ll need to prevail. You essentially turn into a statistician for the common guy. It also aids in the realization that data is merely a tool for information interpretation, insight generation, and less risky decision-making. (Sorry, this is a shameless advertisement for the use of market research in your company.)

Benefit 5: Playing fantasy sports improves your short- and long-term planning skills.

Do I sign a player now in the hopes that he would aid me in two months when he returns from injury? Do I give up on the long-term advantages that a younger potential offers in exchange for a senior player in order to win now? You are continuously forced to choose between the present and the future in fantasy sports. very reminiscent to a stock trader.

Benefit 6: Fantasy sports improve your sales skills

Trades occur frequently in fantasy sports. It entails persuading a different owner to trade something for something else that is important to them (thanks @DanielPink). The dialogues between the two owners might be compelling at times. Both parties involved in a deal feel like they have won at the end of the day. Fantasy sports trading is primarily a sales operation.

Benefit 7: Fantasy sports help you concentrate on outcomes

Businesses thrive in the end based on performance, not on promises. A prospect will eventually need to be dropped, a player with a poor season will need to be dropped, a spot starter will need to be added temporarily during the stretch run, or a trade for a specialist will need to be made. Results are what a firm is driven by and, in the end, what matters.

Please feel free to copy and paste my content into an email to your supervisor to ask for a pay hike. I wish you luck! Syracuse, New York-based Drive Research does market research. Learn more about our marketing research services, which include surveys and focus groups, for more details.