Business War Games: Business Simulations for Strategy Testing

Business War Games: Business Simulations for Strategy Testing

Using Business War Games

What: What is a Business War Game? Business War Games are a tool that is used to test and 'play' with a potential future strategy. These don't necessarily have to be a simulation, but they often share the same characteristics with a business simulation. Business War Games also don't have to be computer based either. In many cases, these can be simple paper based solutions. This helps save money. But what these tools are is effective. They are also complex to create. There are a lot of moving parts to a business war game. The same is true for a business strategy simulation as well. Business War Games let executives test their strategy before they commit to it 100%.How: How is a business war game used? Business War Games are used like this: Traditionally, you'll bring in a few executives that are involved in creating the strategy. You don't need many. Just a few. You'll have each person take on the role of a different company that only includes 1 ‘version’ of your actual company. You'll actually begin competing against each other testing your strategy. You can see why it's similar to a business strategy simulation.Why: Why use a Business War Game? This is to enable you to squeeze out strategic elements you hadn't considered while creating the strategy. Most importantly, this includes the human reaction to a new strategy. This is often the least thought of during strategy development.As you can see, a Business War Game is very similar to a Business Strategy Simulation or a Business Training Simulation.Hope this helps!