Frequently Asked Questions

To help an organisation that needed a much more effective way of bringing the next generation of managers up to speed on how a business actually works. With their background in the aviation industry, the designers recognised that the best way to achieve this was to emulate the methods and techniques used by professional airline pilots. The need to train decision-makers in business to perform well and solve unexpected problems under pressure is uncannily similar to that of the airlines.

The increasing pace of technological change means that more people need to absorb more knowledge, more thoroughly, in less time. During the learning process, people need to be able to experiment with different strategies and even make mistakes, without putting real human or financial assets at risk. Simulations allow us to deliver realistic experiential learning in dramatically compressed timescales.

Based on timeless business principles, Business Games reveal how a decision intended to improve one aspect of performance may cause serious, unintended consequences elsewhere. They can also help to break down barriers - or the "silo mentality" - because the desire to win stimulates a need for collaboration. This in turn provides those from different disciplines or with personality types to communicate better and become more effective team players. When a better understanding of how the "whole" business works is acquired in an accelerated experiential learning environment, competence and confidence grow remarkably quickly.

Event facilitators quickly realise that there’s a deeply embedded competitive gene in everyone - young or old, male or female, introvert or extrovert, sensory or intuitive, people or task oriented. Business Games nurture this faculty in the most constructive way possible. The overall winner is the team which accumulates the most successses but the others may well have learned more - about what didn't work ... and why!

Definitely! The greater the pace of change, the greater the need for adaptability. The pace of change in business has been accelerating relentlessly for decades and shows no sign of levelling off. Students of Moore's Law know why! The more turbulent and uncertain the economic climate, the more urgent and important the search for "best practice" becomes. Implementing change may be uncomfortable in the short term but the other option - procrastination - is invariably far worse.

Anyone responsible for making business decisions involving Business Development, Customer Service, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Quality, Operations, Research & Development or Sales.

When decision-makers are given an opportunity to see the bigger picture, they gain a broader perspective of how companies work. This helps them to perform more effectively as individuals and as members of a team. Above all, Business Games provide a risk-free opportunity to challenge assumptions, particularly when an "inherited" policy appears hard to justify.

Just as pilots use flight simulators for safe accelerated learning, running a virtual company provides a realistic, effective, rewarding and memorable experience. By temporarily removing the risk element, participants stretch their comfort-zones, deepen their understanding, identify opportunities for improvement and build confidence, all in a fraction of the time.

Normally as part of a team, you take over responsibility for a virtual company which is under-performing. Your role is to set priorities and objectives before deciding and implementing a strategy to increase the value of the business over successive trading periods. The simulation is neutral. It is also fully-interactive; policy decisions from each team influence the outcomes for their competitors as well as their own company. Success depends less on the choice of strategy and more on implementing it well, while balancing the interests of shareholders, customers, employees and suppliers. The simulation uses a virtual country and currency in a dynamic economy, with annual changes to market growth rate (GDP), interest rates and corporation tax levels. Economic forecasts are no more or less accurate than those from the relevant authorities in real life! After every round, the simulation produces a range of reports and charts covering eight market indicators, including quality, customer satisfaction, staff morale, value-for-money and credit rating. Events can include role-play interventions from bank managers, suppliers, consumer watchdog organisations, trades union leaders or others, at the discretion of the facilitator. The flexible format allows for a wide range of options, from an intensive on-site workshop to a combined on-site/on-line event run over several weeks or months.

As it may appear harsh to "eject" a paying client from a learning event, the insolvent team is usually allowed to continue trading, just as a faltering business can declare "Chapter 11" in the USA. While this is fairly unusual occurrence, most bankrupt teams recover, particularly with six-round versions of the Business Game.