About Simulation Studios

Learn a little about Simulation Studios

What We Do, Who We Are

This two-minute video provides a basic introduction to what Simulation Studios does and who we are.

Testimonials

"The Business Simulation courses developed for our organization have been extremely well received by leaders across our organization - driving financial learning across, down and through the organization."
Large US Equipment Manufacturer

"Working with bill was an outstanding experience from start to finish, very supportive, developing a world class business simulation for MacDonald's UK..."
Lucy Clough, CLO, UK

"...absolutely knocked it out of the park. We couldn't have been more happy with the end results."
The Boeing Company

"I’d rate Bill a 10 out of 10 for the ease of working with him in responsiveness, intelligence, flexibility and trustworthiness."
Eric Nuss, Large US Based Dental Supply Company

"For just a basic simulation, the prices were pretty comparable. But when you talk about modifying to our language and customizing and just being more customer focused, really the other providers that we looked at had add-ons for everything, so that would have cost us extra. But Bill said; “Here's what you're going to pay for the experience and the customization.” With Bill, there was an expectation that he was going to make sure [the business simulation was] right for [us] and align it for what [we were] doing as part of his normal service."
Heather Hess, Former Head of Leadership Development at Caterpillar

The Simulation Studios Story

Bill Hall comes from the upper ranks of high-tech turnarounds. He spent many years working with top tech companies, including Apple, Nortel, AOL, and Skype. During his corporate-turnaround years, Bill learned that a company might have a great strategy, but without effective leadership and employee alignment, the strategy was as good as dead. Bill also realized that leadership development concepts aren’t helpful unless participants understand how leadership works. His efforts to create an effective corporate learning environment eventually led to Simulation Studios, where he built a team of likeminded former executives.

Since 2003, Simulation Studios has partnered with many of the most successful global companies to craft business simulations. We create experiences that apply leadership-development programs and strategic-change initiatives in a compelling learning environment. By design, we’re boutique and easy to work with, providing an exceptionally high degree of personal attention.

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A Few More Public Endorsements

"I’d rate Bill a 10 out of 10 for the ease of working with him in responsiveness, intelligence, flexibility and trustworthiness."
Shaan Pruden, Apple, Inc.

"Bill is one of my favorite vendors to work with. He always has the big picture in mind when developing learning; focusing on the program objectives!"
Kelly Funke, Caterpillar, Inc.

"Bill and Simulation Studios absolutely knocked it out of the park. The level of customization, responsiveness, and quality that went into the development and launch of our simulation was far beyond expectations. We couldn't have been more happy with the end results."
Drew Faster, Boeing Company

"Bill was fantastic to work with in customizing the SIM to our Core Competencies. The process is seamless and the SIM was extremely well received by our Senior Managers (to quote them: "More of this please! The SIM was very relevant to what we do everyday!")."
Colette Harper, BDO LLP

"Creative, smart, personable and able to flex to the client needs. These are just a few of the reason, I highly recommend Bill Hall. He was a terrific strategic partner for us in developing a leadership development course that engaged our participants and resulted in high impact learning. His ability to work with stakeholders and master the nuances of our culture made it a standout experience for all involved."
Heather Bock, Hogan Lovells

"After much review, our company decided to partner with Simulation Studios for our initial business simulation, and we are so glad we did. Simulation Studios projects professionalism, excellence, and teamwork in every action they take ... what an impact they have had."
Kevin Candler, Express Scripts

"Bill is a strategic partner with whom it is a pleasure to collaborate. His brilliance and charismatic personality allow you to co-create solutions that are relevant and meaningful to the desired learning outcomes. During conversations, his intuition allowed him to probe further when ideas were not clearly expressed, which gave us time for deeper thought and greater clarity. He remained agile during the process, resulting in an iterative process that allowed us to create a leadership development experience that was even more comprehensive than originally planned."
Michelle Nash, Hogan Lovells US LLP

"Bill helps innovate new ideas. I think he's a great business partner. Some people are very transactional, but this [experience working] with Bill feels like a business partner."
Colette Harper, BDO USA

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What is a business simulation?

Business simulations are learning-reinforcement tools. They are often used by corporations for manager training and leadership development. In most cases, these tools combine behavioral and financial attributes similar to a real company. These tools often have various names such as company simulator, business simulator, corporate simulator, and a lot more. In general, most call them business simulation(s).
Business simulations are powerful tools that give corporate training participants a hands-on learning experience. Trainees work through complex topics such as leadership development, leadership effectiveness, business acumen training, strategic thinking, teamwork, and innovative thinking. In the past, business training simulations were available only to the top global companies. However, due to advancements in development tools, these corporate training simulations are now available to companies of almost any size and at any stage of growth.

How do business simulations work?

Business simulations for corporate training and development create an immersive experience. Participants are presented with a simulated company and must decide where and how to allocate resources to achieve a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). Business simulators range from ready-to-go packages to highly advanced custom corporate simulations that require many months of development. Due to the nature of these advanced learning tools, most business training simulations are facilitated by a leader. This simulation facilitation helps connect the training content to the action within the corporate training program, and then back to the participants’ jobs. Training that takes advantage of business training simulations has some of the highest learner-engagement scores of any training support tools available. Simulation Studios both creates and facilitates corporate training simulations for use within leadership development, business acumen training, and a lot more.

Top 5 Tips and Tricks to Successfully Use a Business Simulation Within Leadership Development

Think Simple: Business simulations should not be complicated. Small, focused, closely aligned solutions lead to the highest training-content retention.
Talk to Others: Talk to those who have successfully used business simulations within leadership development. Feel free to contact us. We can put you in touch with companies that have successfully implemented training simulations. They’ll be delighted to assist you.
Grab Some Paper: When most people think of Leadership Development Simulations, they automatically imagine they have to be computer based. However, paper-based business simulations can be highly effective and are easier to manage.
Stay Focused: Ensure the leadership-development business simulation doesn’t stray from your training goals and objectives. Scope creep is the enemy. Write out your learning objectives ahead of time and ensure the business simulation stays aligned with those.
Partner Up: If you find yourself wanting to build something but expertise isn’t available within your organization, find a partner! You might look for a counterpart within another organization that has done this before and can assist. Alternatively, hire a firm that can assist. Ensure you partner with a firm you have full trust in and that has a great track record of partnering with customers.