Do you know that pilots, to keep their certification, must go through emergency procedures every six months? The pilots of the big airlines practice on sophisticated simulators. But even pilots of the smaller aircrafts have to go through dry run exercises. Without passing them, they cannot operate.
How about your company? How often do you run “What if?” simulations?
The companies – like Jumbo Jets – often are run on autopilots. – They are programmed to fly from the point A to the point B, every crew member knows what tasks to perform, and the pilot controls all the flight parameters (like KPIs). However, during the flight always something can happen. Then the skills and experience from simulations are very indispensable.
Every well-managed company should be run based on plans. They help to allocate available resources and coordinate activities properly. In theory, everyone should know what to do and all works like in the Swiss clockwork… In theory … but in practice? We all know how it is …
In the competitive environment, we often experience events that are not in the original plans, and they do have an impact on the delivery of the objectives.
For example, our competitor reduces the price of its flagship product. Or: as the result of the regulatory changes we adapt our activities, but it seems that our competitors made bolder decisions compared versus our initial interpretations …
Internal discussions focus more on budgets, deadlines or execution, but what other players may do is not considered with such attention.
If we don’t have emergency contingencies, our reactions become more nervous and chaotic… But if you go through the simulation exercise (even through a dry run) then, when the real threat emerges, you know what to do, and your decisions are more effective.
The last months of the year are usually spent on planning for the coming year or years. In the times dominated by the over-optimism, perhaps it is worth considering emergency plans and to go through the various scenarios?
So in your company – how often do you ask ”What if?” questions?
—–
WarGaming workshop is a role-playing exercise. It aims to identify the strategic goals of your key competitors and their key initiatives planned for the next 1-2 years, as well as potential reactions to your company’s plans. They can help your company to understand better what are the real Competitors’ main goals. Moreover, as a result, they contribute to your strategic planning process and support in the development of competitive advantages.
If it sounds interesting, you can contact us anytime, and we will be able to provide you with more information about the methodology.
There is always a good time to run the simulations!