Fantasy Football, Company Formation and Forecasting

Fantasy Football has taken over our nation’s offices. Ours, like many others is awash with talk of transfers, injuries and captains. Friday afternoons are dedicated to picking the perfect team, Monday mornings are all about picking apart the carcass that is your teams performance. Yes, we spend far too much time dedicated to it but is it all just a waste of time or can some serious lessons be learnt from all this online tinkering?

How about using your tried and tested fantasy football techniques but in the business world? In essence playing fantasy football is all about forecasting. While there will always be tales of fluke there is no doubt that those who put the most effort into their team will reap the rewards come May.

Now in a business sense this is obviously true. Business forecasting involves a number of different theories and tools all aimed at giving you and your business the optimal insight into your business’ future. Similar avenues are used when picking your ideal team.

It is generally perceived that most business forecasting models involve both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative is all about opinions and judgements. These are the foundations of Football. The Spurs fan may rave about Lennon being the best English right-winger in the premiership but the Arsenal fan naturally thinks Walcott is a far better choice to fill Becks’ boots. As adamant as both may be, these opinions are both valid (although in this case the Spurs fan is right). Mates down the pub, fans in the terrace or panellists on the TV can all offer valuable insight.

So would you ask your work colleague their opinions on a new business venture? Maybe not as readily as you would ask them about football but the more opinions gathered, the better your judgement.

For further depth you then look into the quantitative. Statistics are vital to find different trends and variations, be it cyclical or random. The definitive look at what has come before and the certainties that lie ahead. Who do you pick to play upfront? Well the top scorer would be a good bet as he has scored more goals than anyone else. But who is his team playing? Are they at home or away? These are questions that have answers.

In business this is the obvious source. Business is so stat based it simply can’t be ignored.

Be it banter or hard statistics all this information is useless if you do nothing with it. The skill is in using your research and implementing it. Whether you use it to make your first million or pick the ultimate fantasy football team is up to you.