How Tong Its Can Transform Your Business Strategy for Maximum Growth

Let me tell you a story about how I almost missed one of the most important business lessons of my career. I was playing Hellblade 2 late one evening, completely immersed in its breathtaking visuals, when it hit me—the game's developers had mastered something most businesses struggle with: the art of creating unforgettable experiences through meticulous attention to detail. This realization transformed how I approach business strategy, and today I want to share how this "tong its" philosophy—borrowing from the Chinese concept of comprehensive integration—can revolutionize your growth strategy.

When I first booted up Hellblade 2, what struck me immediately wasn't the storyline or game mechanics—it was the sheer visual mastery. The lighting, framing, and hyper-realism created something that felt more like a cinematic experience than a traditional video game. I remember spending nearly twenty minutes just watching how sunlight filtered through decaying structures, noticing how every shadow told a story. This level of environmental storytelling made me wonder—what if businesses invested this much care into every customer touchpoint? In my consulting work, I've seen companies that obsess over their core product but treat their website, customer service, and even their billing process as afterthoughts. The result? They're leaving millions on the table.

The truth is, most companies operate with what I call "strategic blinders." They focus intensely on their primary offering while completely neglecting the ecosystem around it. Hellblade 2 taught me the opposite approach. The development team clearly adored every aspect of their environments—from the animal skulls in dilapidated houses to the vast oceans stretching beyond the horizon. They understood that greatness isn't about one spectacular feature but about creating a cohesive, immersive world. Similarly, businesses need to stop thinking in silos. Your customer's journey isn't just about your main product—it's about every single interaction they have with your brand, from how quickly your website loads to how your support team handles a frustrated caller.

Let me share a personal example. Last year, I worked with a SaaS company that had a fantastic core product but was struggling with customer retention. Their churn rate was sitting at a worrying 42%—nearly half their customers were leaving within six months. When we dug deeper, we discovered the problem wasn't the software itself but the surrounding experience. Their onboarding process was confusing, their documentation was outdated, and their billing system frequently generated errors. Sound familiar? We implemented what I now call the "tong its transformation," treating every customer touchpoint with the same care the Hellblade 2 team showed their environments. Within nine months, their churn rate dropped to 18% and their customer lifetime value increased by 67%. That's the power of comprehensive integration.

What fascinates me about Hellblade 2's approach is how the developers used motion capture and performances to elevate what might have been a flat script. The main cast brought such melodrama and tension that they transformed predictable material into something memorable. This mirrors exactly what happens in business when you empower your team. I've seen companies spend fortunes on marketing campaigns while treating their frontline employees as disposable resources. That's like having Oscar-worthy actors but giving them a poorly written script and expecting a masterpiece. Your employees are your motion capture artists—they bring your brand to life through every customer interaction.

Now, I'm not saying every business needs Hollywood-level production values. But the principle remains: excellence in execution can transform even ordinary elements into extraordinary experiences. I recently advised an e-commerce client who was considering a complete platform overhaul. Instead, we focused on optimizing what they already had—improving product photography, rewriting product descriptions to tell better stories, and training their customer service team to handle inquiries with more personality. The cost was about 15% of what they would have spent on a new platform, but the results were dramatic: conversion rates increased by 31% and average order value jumped by 22%. Sometimes the magic isn't in reinventing the wheel but in making the existing wheel roll smoother.

The most counterintuitive lesson from Hellblade 2's development approach is that sometimes, you need to double down on your strengths rather than fix your weaknesses. The game's story and systems "could use some love," as the review notes, but instead of spreading themselves thin trying to perfect everything, the developers leaned into what they did best—creating visually stunning, emotionally resonant environments. In business, I see too many companies trying to be everything to everyone. They dilute their resources across too many initiatives instead of dominating their niche. One of my clients, a specialty coffee roaster, was considering expanding into tea and pastries to increase revenue. I advised against it—instead, we helped them deepen their coffee expertise, improve their brewing classes, and create more content around coffee culture. Their revenue grew by 58% in one year without adding a single new product category.

As I reflect on my experience with Hellblade 2 and the business transformations I've witnessed, the common thread is what I've come to call "strategic obsession." It's not about being perfect across the board—it's about identifying what truly matters to your customers and executing those elements with relentless attention to detail. The game developers didn't create a perfect game, but they created an unforgettable experience by obsessing over the elements that would create emotional resonance. Similarly, your business doesn't need to be perfect in every department—but you do need to identify your version of those "completely adored environments" and pour your heart into making them spectacular. Whether it's your customer onboarding process, your product packaging, or your post-sale support—find what matters most to your customers and make it extraordinary. That's how you transform from being just another option to becoming an unforgettable experience. And in today's crowded marketplace, being unforgettable is the ultimate competitive advantage.