During strategic execution, companies invest considerable resources and leadership time towards building alignment, mindset and capability. However, PowerPoint presentations and off-site events often fail to make the expected impact, as messaging gets lost in the crowd. Traditional methods rely heavily on one-way communication and create missed engagement at a deep visceral level. Discover how customized business simulations and experiential learning tools can be used to engage people more deeply in the strategy, accelerate implementation, and deliver business results.

1. Achieving Exceptional Strategy
Execution with Business
Simulations and Experiential
Learning

2. Why?
2
Are business simulations
and experiential learning
better suited than
traditional learning
methodologies to facilitate
the behavioural change
that it is needed to support
Strategy Execution

3. Why the need for Strategy Execution?
An alarming 57% of firms failed to efficiently execute
strategic initiatives over the past three years *
Companies on average deliver only 63%
of the financial performance their strategy promised **
It’s no surprise that today’s CEOs identify strategy execution as their most pressing concern.***
* Economist Survey
** Harvard Business Review
*** Conference Board Survey
3

4. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
4
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

5. Business Simulations are powerful tools to
drive behavioural change!
5

6. What is a business simulation?
Industry or competitive market place
Company
Department

9. Models, MSRP,
Invoice, and Price
are customized to
the region.

15. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
15
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning priciples
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

16. Retention is low
Average
Retention Rate
Lecture
5%
Reading
10%
Audio-Visual
20%
Demonstration
30%
Discussion Group
50%
Practice by Doing
75%
Teach Others / Immediate Use
From Corporate Universities, Jeanne Meister
16
80%
Competitive,
simulation-based
action-learning

17. Fortune magazine - Michael Schrage
“successful adults
typically need to
persuade themselves
through their own
experience”

18. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
18
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning priciples
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

19. Information is not enough – adults want to be persuaded
Change in information
i +
i
=
simulation
b
=
Change in behavior
b
Experiential learning allows individuals to persuade themselves
*Michael Schrage - Serious Play
19

20. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
20
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

21. Chris Argyris

22. “Argyris & Schön (1978)
Distinguished between single-loop and double-loop
learning.
In single-loop learning, individuals, groups, or
organizations modify their actions according to the
difference between expected and obtained
outcomes.

23. Double-loop learning
……question the values, assumptions and
policies that led to the actions in the first place;
if they are able to view and modify those, then
second-order or double-loop learning has taken
place….

26. SINGLE LOOP LEARNING
Action
The simulation
Result
Financials and
KPIs
Compare
Group
comparison

27. Double-loop learning
……question the values, assumptions and
policies that led to the actions in the first place;
if they are able to view and modify those, then
second-order or double-loop learning has taken
place….

28. Learning Loops
DOUBLE LOOP LEARNING
COGNITIVE
Assumptions/
Paradigms
Action
Result
Compare
Inputs
INTUITIVE
T RANSFERENCE TO REALITY

29. The A-Ha loop!

30. A typical simulation experience
Do
Strategic
Planning
Simulation Rounds
2
Pre-Work
3
1
6
5
Know-How Sessions
Apply
3-4 Decision
Rounds
4
Feedback Sessions
Reflect
Application
Session

31. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
31
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

32. What we learned

33. E = AMC

34. ActivitiEs

35. Strategy
Executions

36. E : Alignment

38. 3 Questions

39. Alignment
1.Can you summarize your strategy, and
what makes it distinctive, in 30 words or
less?
2.Would your direct reports say the same
thing?
3.Do lower levels know where and how they
contribute to driving the business?

40. E : Alignment
the right actions and decisions at
all levels

41. E:A
Where?

42. E : A + Capabilities
Where?

43. E : A + Capabilities
» Business Acumen
» Leadership Acumen
» Functional Acumen
+
Systems
Processes
Structure

44. E:A*C
the right actions, faster

46. Discretionary Effort
Emotional Commitment
Employee Engagement

47. High Leverage
Behaviors
Experience the need and impact
of high leverage behaviors

48. E = AMC

49. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
49
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

50. We are in a VUCA World
Volatility:
Uncertainty:
Complexity:
Ambiguity:
50
15-Oct-13

51. We are in a VUCA World
 Volatility: The nature, dynamics and speed of change and
change forces; lack of predictability, potential for surprise
 Uncertainty: Incomplete knowledge about the current
situation. Cause and effect relationships are not evident. Lack
of predictability and potential for surprise
 Complexity: The multiplex of forces, the confounding of issues
and the chaos and that surrounds an organization.
 Ambiguity: The haziness of reality, the potential for misreads,
and the mixed meanings of conditions; cause-and-effect
confusion
51
15-Oct-13

52. Knowledge
Assumption

53. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
53
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

55. Traditional
3
Reasons:
Why not?
Buss Sims
3
Reasons:
Why ?
55
• Retention is low
• Information is not enough
• Adults want to be persuaded
• Adult based learning principles
• Critical elements needed for
execution
• VUCA world

56. If you had to remember one thing
from this presentation!
Business Simulations are powerful tools to drive
behavioural change!
56

57. Thank you and please visit the
BTS stand
alex.kock@bts.com