A small group or group business simulation for leadership development.

Strategic Thinking^sm is a learning experience that simulates many real-world situations that leaders experience every day on the job. By simplifying those situations and focusing on the crucial elements involved in coordinating strategy within an organization, Strategic Thinking^sm helps leaders develop skills and instincts key to success in the real world.

The simulation uses a modified version of chess, the classic strategy game, but knowing the rules of chess is not a prerequisite.

Strategic Thinking^smequips leaders to:

• Describe the relationship of cash flow to business operations
• Negotiate the challenges faced by the juxtaposition of short-and long-term objectives
• Plan a budget based on resource allocation and cost/benefit analysis
• Create a strategy that encompasses tactical activities
• Identify and evaluate business opportunities
• Describe the cause and effect relationship between immediate actions and long-term consequences
  
  

Overview

Each participant takes the role of a managing director of a company’s major business unit. As director, each makes final decisions about how to allocate resources and spend the budget.

In the exercise, three other business units from the same company operate in the same market region, and the company can operate in as many as nine other regions worldwide in order to simulate a complex organizational structure.

Each market region is represented in the simulation by a chess board, which is itself further subdivided into 64 market segments represented by the black and white squares on the chess board. Each market segment square in a market region has a value associated with it. That value, in millions of dollars, is printed on the square. These values represent the maximum amount of revenue that can be generated by that market segment in a given business cycle. The talent, technical capabilities and real capital managed in the market are represented by the chess pieces on the chess board. The managing director generates revenue by occupying market segment squares on the board with the pawn chess pieces. The other chess pieces simulate overhead. Each has expenses associated with its movement but cannot generate revenue. Their role is to support the pawns’ positioning in the market place.

The simulation includes cycles designed to echo the business cycles in a typical organization. Each cycle includes three phases of activity:

Phase I: Planning & Distribution - Directors meet as part of regional and corporate planning groups to determine the amount of cash to be distributed from corporate level accounts to each region in the company based on strategic need. Once regional budgets are set, each regional level planning group must determine the amount of cash to be distributed from regional accounts to each Business Unit account within the region.

Phase II: Deployment & Expenses - Each director takes a turn deploying his or her resources in accord with a strategy and in response to their opponent’s movement in the marketplace. Each incurs expenses that must be accounted for in their budget.

Phase III: Accounting - Each director calculates his or her business unit’s revenue and balances their business unit, regional, and corporate accounting sheets.

Logistics and Options

The Strategic Thinking^sm experience typically requires at least six hours, which provides for a minimum of six 45-minute cycles of play with opportunities for debrief and reflection. This simulation is easily integrated into a leadership conference or other event, or can be offered as a stand-alone learning experience. The materials for the simulation are provided in kits that can be purchased or rented for one-time or limited use. Each kit contains materials for eight participants divided into two regional teams of directors with four directors per company.

Each kit includes a chess board and chess pieces, a timer, laminated rule cards and an instructional CD. A facilitator’s manual describes the role of the facilitator and directions for managing the learning experience. Accounting sheets can be bought separately or licensed to reproduce as needed.

This simulation can be facilitated by IRI facilitators or by client facilitators certified to manage the learning experience.

For more information about Strategic Thinking^sm, contact IRI Consultants at info@iriconsultants.com or by calling (313) 965-0350.

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