Looks like this is the Loser's Game essay he mentioned, btw. Also looks like in that essay, it's less about tennis and more about basically doing what the OP did, but applying the metaphor to investing: https://www.trendfollowing.com/whitepaper/the_losers_game.pd...
The hard part in all of these is finding the right "hooks" in these pursuits that tend to be more obvious in competitive games. How do you "record your performance" when programming or holding meetings about business strategy? How do you review that recording after the fact? What criteria do you use to evaluate success and failure?
It's certainly not as easy to do this with "games" that lack a clear scope like startups, but I've found regularly reviewing your performance ("Did this meeting have a clear agenda before starting?") and building checklists for what practices lead to success is immensely helpful.