War Game

Overview:

War Game is a session that will test your teams’ strategic planning abilities and encourage out-of-the box thinking. This exercise is a fantastic way to kick-off your next leadership meeting or yearly planning meeting. Challenge your team to imagine a worst-case scenario. A business competitor has brought a revolutionary change to your industry. This industry innovation has made your product/service obsolete and you are no longer able to compete in the marketplace. Challenge the team to work together to see what competitor could bring such a demise? What technology would make their efforts obsolete? What environmental or industry standards could lead to such demise? After the teams have had 10-30 minutes to dissect and document the situation, ask them to create an action plan to rise back from the ashes to success. What would their product look like? What would their technology look like? What changes would need to happen? Give the teams 15-30 minutes to develop their solutions. Time permitting, have each of the teams present their findings and facilitate a thorough debrief.

Equipment Required: Flip Chart. Markers. Paper. Pens.

Space Required: Small

Group Size: 5 to 80 people.

Total Time: 90 – 120 Minutes.

10 minutes to brief the activity.
45 – 60 minutes to complete the activity.
20 – 50 minutes to debrief the activity.

Instructions:

If working with a large group (15 and above) separate the group into team of 4-5 people. If working with a smaller group, everyone can work on the activity together.
Brief the activity. Challenge your teams to imagine a worst-case scenario. Explain that a business competitor has brought a revolutionary change to their industry. This industry innovation has made their product/service obsolete and they are no longer able to compete with their current initiatives. Challenge them to work together to see what competitor could bring such a demise? What technology would make their efforts obsolete? What environmental, regulatory, or industry standards could lead to their demise? Give the teams 10-30 minutes to dissect and document the situation.
After the specified time has passed, bring the group back together as a whole and facilitate a discussion. Ask each team to share some information about their findings and document key information on a flip chart.
Have the group break back off into teams and give them 15-30 minutes to create an action plan to rise back from the ashes to success. What would their product look like? What would their technology look like? What changes would need to happen?
After the specified time has passed, bring the group back together as a whole and facilitate a second discussion. Ask the teams to share their solutions and continue to document them on a flip chart.
Debrief the activity.

Learning Outcomes

Communication
Strategic Planning
Time Management
Creative Thinking
Leadership
Team Development

Suggested Review Questions

Discussion #1

What competitor could bring such a demise?
What technology would make their efforts obsolete?
What environmental, regulatory, or industry standards could lead to their demise?

Discussion #2

What would their product look like?
What would their technology look like?
What changes would need to happen?
What solutions did you create?
What is your action plan?

Activity Debrief

How can we apply this to our everyday work life?
How well did you work as a team? How could you have improved?
How well did your team communicate during this activity? Was everyone’s voice heard?
How can you apply the first portion of this activity to your current company strategic plan?
Could any of the ideas you created pose an actual threat?
If so, how can you combat them?
Could any of these ideas be turned into a competitive advantage?
If so, how could you take advantage of them?
How can you apply the second portion of this activity to your current strategic plan?
Could any of these solutions/ action plans be beneficial?
How could we implement them?
What is one thing that you can take away from this activity?