Build Your Business Like a Wargamer: Growing Beyond Solopreneurship
Authored by: Dirk Vander Noot
When you spend time on tasks that drive growth, is work piling up behind the scenes? Recently, I rediscovered my enjoyment of real-time strategy (RTS) games, particularly Age of Empires. Playing this classic has been more than a nostalgic trip—it’s made apparent to me two critical roles we take on as business owners.
The first role is building your processes, workflows, and automations to ensure your business runs smoothly without constant oversight—what gamers call MACRO and business coaches call “working on your business”. The second is being ready to jump into key areas where your personal expertise is needed—what gamers call MICRO and we call “Working in your business". Balancing both is the key to sustainable business growth.
In RTS games, we measure Actions Per Minute (APM)—the number of tasks you can complete in a set time. As your business grows, tasks will exceed your personal APM. To continue scaling, you need systems (MACRO) which allow us to focus our personal efforts (MICRO). Let’s explore how to apply these principles.
Building a Strong MACRO Foundation
Whether in business or Age of Empires, your operational infrastructure is the backbone of your strategy. In the game, this means creating a hands-off system that generates resources to field armies and build defenses. In business, it’s about developing systems, processes, and automations that keep things running while you focus on high-impact work. Before I built macro systems, every time I switched to work on a high impact task it felt like busy work was piling up just waiting for me. This made it hard to focus on the most important things.
To create a MACRO foundation, systems need to be:
Repeatable: Processes should be so clear that anyone on your team can execute them.
Resistant: Systems must withstand challenges like turnover, market shifts, or your absence.
Hands-Off: Automations reduce time spent on routine tasks, freeing you for strategic work.
Early in my business, I was bogged down by routine tasks such as monitoring new leads and adding them to my CRM, sending reminder emails for upcoming meetings and then note taking and summarizing those meetings, and bookkeeping as well as drafting and following up on invoices. By integrating automations that filtered leads from my Website to my CRM, sent reminder emails for me and summarized my meetings, and integrating bookkeeping and invoice drafting automations, I saved multiple hours each week, allowing me to focus on growth strategies.
To start, I prioritized my tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks by urgency and importance.
Eliminate unnecessary tasks.
Delegate routine work to a virtual assistant or automation.
Focus your time on what’s important and cannot wait.
With a MACRO framework in place, you can shift your focus to the MICRO tasks that truly move the needle.
Where MICRO Matters
In RTS games, MICRO involves micromanaging units to win battles. In business, it means handling critical actions like:
Closing a major deal.
Solving a unique client problem.
Innovating strategies for growth.
Recently I have been able to spend my time building stronger professional partnerships as well as completing more high quality work for my clients (which typically involves building their own MACRO systems). Because my MACRO systems were running smoothly, I can be where I am most needed and not worry about work piling up behind the scenes.
Investing time in these high-value activities maximizes your impact, just like a well-timed maneuver in a game can turn the tide of battle.
Lessons from the Battlefield
Playing Age of Empires again has been a powerful reminder: the key to winning—whether in games or business—is having both MACRO systems to keep the engine running and MICRO efforts to make high-impact moves.
Winning in games and business isn’t just about immediate success—it’s about creating a sustainable strategy that frees you to focus on what matters most. By building reliable systems and channeling your efforts where they’ll have the greatest impact, you’re setting yourself up for long-term growth.
Take 10 minutes today to map out your MACRO systems and MICRO priorities using the Eisenhower Matrix. What tasks can you automate or delegate? I’d love to hear how you’re setting your business up to win in the long term.
