Fantasy Football, like business, is a strategic endeavor. There are always moving parts to keep aligned and under control, and its vital that you keep an active role in either of these projects. In both regards, you’ve got to do your research, have the ability to be flexible and adapt, and make sure you have the right players on your side. You can’t make blind decisions, you’ve got yo analyze real data, and use it to make informed decisions. There are a ton of parallels between fantasy football, and business. Here are a few:

Timing is everything

Timing is an underlying theme in most aspects of life. And for fantasy football, the same applies. You’ve got to know when to play certain players, when to pick them up, when to drop them, and so on. Even the timing of the preseason draft can be crucial in terms of the sustainability of your team. If you drafted too early this year, your team may include players like Kelvin Benjamin or Jordy Nelson, neither of whom will play a snap of football this year due to injury.

In business, timing is arguably THE most important factor no matter what stage you’re in. From the timing of your launch, to the time of day an email campaign gets sent, to the timing of your first hire, timing can make or break a company at a variety of stages in the lifecycle. While timing isn’t always the easiest thing to analyze and predict, having a basic awareness of the different possible outcomes can be a life saver for your business. Be prepared for anything!

Know Your Matchups

DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you have 3 Running Backs on your fantasy team, and one of them is playing against the top-rated rushing defense in the league, it might be a good idea not to start them for the week. On a similar note, if one of your weaker Running Backs is playing against a terrible defense, even if they haven’t been producing as of late, it would be a good idea to leverage that matchup and let that player shine. Same goes for the positions across the board, it doesn’t always matter what a player has done in the past, its about the week at hand.

Knowing your matchups in business can be taken in a variety of ways.

1. Know what you’re good at, and outsource the rest. If you know you’re not good at writing an enticing email, get someone else to do that. There’s no point wasting your time and energy on something you’re simply not good at. We don’t mean to say never to learn a new skill, but if you’re on a time crunch, or are just trying to work as efficiently as possible, outsource what you’re not good at.

2. Know what and who you’re up against. Know your competition. Know where you’re better than your competition and use that as leverage. If you don’t have something that will differentiate yourself from the competition, you may need to step back and rethink your business model.

3. Know who your customer is. Your product/service is for a specific customer. Know who isn’t your customer so you can avoid wasting your time on them. Someone may completely dismantle your idea and tell you how terrible it is, but if they aren’t your customer then their feedback carries no merit.

You Need To Have the Right Players

And its not always just about the best resume. Take DeMarco Murray for example. Last year he was the league’s leading rusher, and this year he’s not even in the top 10. So its not always about having the biggest names in the game, its about having the right player to fit your scheme. If your team is filled with high risk high reward type players, you could have weeks that you put up the most points in the league, but you’ll also have weeks where you put up the fewest. So, you’ve got to find balance, and you’ve got to have some guys that will produce solid numbers week to week.

In business, you also need a team of the right people. Find employees that believe the same things you believe and are invested in your company. Not just someone that has done cool things in the past, but someone that can help you and your team achieve its goals.

Maintain An Active Role

You can’t expect to set your lineup on the first week, and be able to sustain success by not touching it again for the rest of the year. You’ve got to be in there every day, analyzing your matchups, stalking the waiver wire, and constantly looking for updates about your players. You need to be adjusting and adapting on a week to week basis, and changing constantly to sustain your success.

Same goes for business. You won’t be successful if you just sit back and wait for things to happen, or expect one email or social media campaign to spark a huge growth cycle for you. You’ve got to spend hours and days and weeks and months analyzing and staying proactive. The better you can adjust and adapt to new circumstances, the better off you’ll be.