Starting and maintaining a successful business is rarely perfect upward trajectory. As a business leader, you will face many situations that test the core of your vision, your tenacity and your motivation on the journey to success. When these challenging events occur, it's often helpful to think of the experience as parallel to playing a strategy game. Here are five rules for winning when you face tough times in business.

Related: 6 Principles for Overcoming Entrepreneurial Difficulties

1. Be resourceful

In any business endeavor, you can reach a point of overconfidenceonly to suddenly plunge into disappointment. Games may be about winning and losing, but winning is about strategy.

One method of dealing with adversity can be called “reversing the game.” Instead of seeing a setback as “something that happened to me,” I become resourceful. People move forward; business partners leave. Being resourceful means planning for inevitability. I am always looking for new talent. I don't usually hire in a crisis; I hire people who can handle a crisis. This way of thinking is different from so many leaders who find themselves managing disaster after disaster. Think of strategy as a way to manage wins – and losses.

2. Be proactive

I have implemented procedures to address some of them worst case scenarios. You need to ask uncomfortable questions, such as, “What would happen if an employee committed identity theft and stole money from the company?” or “What if a remote worker left and kept company equipment?” I also use training manuals with helpful links and create resources to help employees with the onboarding process and the day-to-day information they need – to keep their frustration to a minimum. Avoiding duplicate requests and making sure your staff has what they need is a big part of planning for the inevitable.

Another tool I use is making good use of downtime. I plan my entire day so that I wake up early when I'm at my peak and everyone is still asleep. I read email, do research, and check my to-do list. You can turn back the day – and the game – so that you are in control of events.

Related: How to embrace the motivating power of fear and achieve your highest goals

3. Look for the invisible

The game of chess may seem simple. On the surface, there is no hidden information. All parts are on the table. However, you're not just looking at the pieces on the playing field. Instead, you're looking at all the possible moves—the ones that will put you at risk and the actions that can beat the competition.

It's tempting to react to anything from market trends to economic forecasts. Many leaders abandon their plans when things don't go as expected. But with chess, you move purposefully based on a specific strategy. Staying on the attack is key.

While developing a game plan may seem too structured for you, it is a vital first step in living your life and running a business. Your plan becomes your philosophy. It's how you react to crises and who you are, in good times and bad, that matters. Your consistency creates your brand, even more than a great marketing campaign.

4. Learn to let go

I have learned to rest in difficult times and observe, listen and wait. Patience is key during a crisis. Like long chess discussions, I take time to process the information without reacting too quickly.

There will be times when employees will betray you. You may realize that your trust in someone important has been misplaced. It is vital that you step back and develop a plan to move forward in the situation instead of overreacting and adding to everyone's stress level.

It's easy to let pressures, even from individual people, rush you, manipulate you, or pressure you into making decisions. When I film a TV show, I often feel like everyone is trying to direct me, but I've learned to stay focused and slow things down so I can hit the mark.

Related: How to develop the best leadership mindset to execute your strategy

5. Let others make you better

Some of mine the best mentors it challenged me in the best of ways. Now I look for people who “ruffle my feathers” and refuse to tell me what I want to hear. Surrounding yourself with people who please you is dangerous. I've learned the hard way that not every idea I have is great. Sometimes, I just have the rudiments of an idea and need my network of business associates, partners and employees to help me develop it into something worth pursuing.

In the game of poker, you rely on every other player to provide something you need. You learn to “read the room” or “read the board” to determine who has the corner market for what you need to know. Someone's “hand” may look better than yours, but the truth is they were only using the resources they had. It's also possible that they were bluffing to get you to back off. The difference is patience, the gift of observation and learning when to say no to opportunities as well as when to say yes.

In business, I've learned that it's not the cards you're dealt that matter most, but what you do with them. Throwing is how you play the game. Knowing when to walk away from a program that isn't delivering results is a good example. On the other hand, folding too soon can be devastating to a company. Being patient enough to let your company overcome growing pains can take you from a place of instability to a solid foundation for exponential growth.

Winning in business means knowing how to use the right strategy to play the game well. Sometimes, all you can do is stay in the game. Everyone around you is looking for an edge. The stakes are high, but if you slow down and figure out the right strategy ahead of time, you'll discover the moves that get you to the top.