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This article identifies the preparation
necessary for a war game. Examples of candidate companies that might be
preparing for a war game are listed below. In addition, at the bottom
of the article is a concise list titled "Ten Steps of Business War
Gaming."
Like military war games, business war games are exercises that anticipate activities under specific situations or conditions in order to help an organization devise strategies, develop courses of action, plan initiatives and test ideas. Companies often conduct war games when facing a new or high-stakes situation, decision or event; when they are seeking fresh ideas or perspectives, or when they want to build consensus, cohesion or focus in their strategy, planning or decision-making. Games Companies Play In its simplest form, a war game involves establishing two teams: one representing a competitor, client, market or other business factor and the other representing the "home" company, another competitor, client, market or business factor. Teams are formed around a question or issue, like a company's or its rival's impending product launch. In the first instance, one team representing the "home" company may take specific actions toward its product launch, testing them against their competitor's actions and reactions. As participants progress through the war game exercise, the "home" team and the "competitor" team may move through phases or rounds of actions and responses, exploring various perspectives, factors and courses of action. Prior to engaging in a war game exercise, each team must be sufficiently briefed regarding the nature and purpose of the game, the rules of play, role(s) and assignment(s) for each participant. Participants should be supplied relevant research and analysis that will help inform their role-play. This may include company, unit, management and/or market profiles, recent actions taken, external influencing factors, etc. Each team begins the exercise using information or tools that are supplied to them; however, with each round, an opposing team or the facilitator may introduce new factors, tasks, or even surprises that each team needs to consider for its next course of action. After each round, the game may pause for participants to analyze the outcomes of each phase. This continues until the objectives of the war game exercise are achieved. As the war game concludes, each team identifies likely strategies and actions that its company is likely to or should take, taking into account key information and intelligence gaps, and presents its findings to fellow participants and other relevant personnel. Teams should also outline key lessons regarding their companies and the war game exercise. Finally, the product of the war game effort should inform any formal strategy, plan(s), contingencies and/or courses of action. War games can range widely in scope and complexity. Each exercise should be designed to accommodate an organization's specific situation. There are cases in which multiple teams of various types are employed, each representing a different competitor, your market(s), business issue(s) or other key factor(s). Given the significance of a war game exercise, the number and functions of participants, and the degree of planning, coordination and design required, it is vital to involve a knowledgeable and experienced coordinator and facilitator. Facilitators also ensure the integrity of the process, including the avoidance of assumptions, blind spots and other factors that may unduly affect the outcome. In addition to facilitators, the war game needs leaders. Since war games often consider strategic or other key issues, and its results are intended to inform management's decisions and actions, these exercises are best conducted with the support and direct participation of senior managers, who often assume the roles of team leaders, and occasionally, umpires or referees. It is also ideal to involve the direct participation of an organization's war game sponsor. And just as military generals or field marshals rely on their officers and various experts or specialists in their planning or decision-making, the composition of business war game teams is critical to the success of the exercise. Teams comprise a mix of middle managers and key functional staff, who can offer a range of perspectives about the competitor and the specific issue(s) and factor(s) under examination. A war game session may last from one to a few days, depending on the competitive/business issue(s), gaming model, resources and urgency of the situation. Likewise, preparation for a war game varies. Typically, a three-day war game takes roughly one month to prepare. This includes time for planning, defining the competitive issue(s), team construction, team briefings, research, preliminary analysis and materials processing. Costs for a war game can also vary, ranging from $20,000 to over $500,000. These fees can include research, analysis, game design and/or facilitation services, and are dependent on the complexity of the issue(s) involved and magnitude of the war game effort. More than a Game From the above discussion, we can see that war gaming can support an organization's strategy development, planning, and decision-making by helping to
Author's Note: For further background on competitive intelligence, see Competitive Intelligence: A Practical Primer for Location Intelligence also by Cynthia Cheng Correia, Directions Magazine/Location Intelligence, February 21, 2006 Ten Steps of Business War Gaming
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