Here’s a second helping of business advice for readers who didn’t get their fill from my recent column, “11 innovation lessons from creators of World of Warcraft.”

In his Personal MBA blog, author Josh Kaufamn writes that “Everything I Know About Business I Learned from World of Warcraft.”

He presents a further 11 business lessons he found in the online game created by Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment. Among them, “Price vs. Value”:

In both real and virtual worlds, it makes sense to invest in the best tools you can afford. At first, items like high-capacity bags seem expensive, but they give you such huge benefits over time that they end up being very good purchases. The same goes for buying mounts: they’re pricey, but the 60-100% increase in your movement speed is worth every penny.

There are many examples of this principle in the real world, like the value of purchasing a newer computer and professional-grade software vs. using old technology. There’s also a substantial amount of research that indicates using large / multiple computer monitors substantially increases your productivity, making the increased price tag almost inconsequentially low over time.

In the immortal words of Warren Buffett: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” Don’t hesitate to spend money on the items that will make the biggest difference in your effectiveness, even if they cost a lot.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 11:00 am and is filed under Blizzard Entertainment, Business plans, Games and gaming companies, Tips for innovators. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.