Training

Invite people to think like business owners – so they can base their future decisions on sound business thinking.  Apples & Oranges™ brings financial statements to life through its simple, profound model of a company. Participants form the incoming management team of A&O Inc. – an established company that is facing some tough challenges. The company is losing market share and there are increasing demands from suppliers and customers. A&O Inc. needs a new, disciplined financial strategy. Teams learn how to monitor cash flow, make resource utilization improvements, and measure results in the balance sheet and income statement. Participants of all experience levels are able to gain new skills or build on prior experience to:

• read and interpret financial statements;
• identify critical elements affecting profitability;
• analyze financial ratios and key performance indicators, and make priorities accordingly.

Participants will explore the cause-and-effect relationships that govern a company’s financial statements – and develop an intrinsic business sense that will govern their future decisions in every day work.

A company has just completed a large project and, in hindsight, it did not deliver as much business value as was originally expected. There were budget and time overruns, and neither the project sponsors nor end users seem too satisfied with the result. Participants are asked to go back in time to see if they can identify the hot buttons and deliver a better result. Participants diagnose signs and symptoms of potential problems, and mitigate them using limited resources. The storyline loosely follows a typical IT implementation of a new business system.

However, the challenges are universal and easily recognized, such as:

• key stakeholders are not engaged… get their attention or trust your own judgment?
• new insights arise… revise the scope or stick to the plan?
• project team is overloaded… take quick action or make systematic changes?
• actuals are not in line with budget and timeline… adjust figures or adjust ambitions?

Participants quickly recognize that you cannot please everybody all of the time. The art to project work is to balance the needs of key stakeholders – sponsors and steering committee, the project delivery team, and the end users of the organization – in order to create maximum business value.

Six capital-intensive companies are competing for customers in a highly competitive, rapidly changing marketplace. Participants take on the role of the management team – comprised of finance, production, marketing and corporate intelligence. Their challenge is to make the right investments at the right time – and to get the required return. Teams manage the strategic, operational and financial variables that will help lower costs and penetrate new markets. Tough investment decisions lie ahead:

• invest now…or later?
• pursue all markets… or just a few?
• take the lead… or be an early follower?
• build efficient assembly lines… or flexible flow shops?
• borrow money… or earn it first?
• stick to the basics… or pursue the cutting edge?

Teams learn to better utilize financial statements and financial ratios as planning tools to boost productivity and profitability over a 10-year period. Working together, they increase their awareness of the complex nature of inter-departmental financial relationships. And in the process, they understand what it takes to pull in the same direction – as well as how to bring their new skills and insights into reality.

Success is a moving target. How do you get all your people behind your strategy in a marketplace that is rapidly changing? In the Enterprise™ business simulation, six companies compete for the same customers in a dynamic marketplace. Participants take on the roles of the management team – comprised of Marketing and Sales, Development and Services, Planning and Delivery, Finance and Control. The main challenge is to build, and successfully execute a strategy that leads to winning results. Teams embark on a business adventure with promises of risks and rewards where they have to be on their toes and think strategically to succeed.
Enterprise™ challenges participants to deal with uncertainties and balance short-term results with long-term value. The teams need to:

• decide on a desired market position;
• target and sell to preferred customers;
• meet customer demands by developing an attractive and profitable product portfolio;
• deliver with excellence by getting the most out of people and processes;
• create strong, sustainable brand value;
• keep track of financial results – both short and long term.

Four retailers are in tough competition for the same customers in a growing market. The overriding challenge is to build and retain a profitable customer base. Who will emerge as the market leader?  At the start, the four retailers are "all over the place". They soon learn that their company cannot be everything to everyone, and that competitive positioning is critical. Which current customers should they keep? Which prospective customers should they target?
"To be successful means to build a strong market position and develop the ability to defend it". The management team needs to decide on a desired market position and capture it in the most cost-effective way.

Teams analyze baseline market research to help them make tactical choices:

go for the high end of the market… or the low end?pursue a unique niche… or attack a competitor’s stronghold?build capacity in advance… or wait for the demand to grow?compete on differentiation… or on price?defend your achieved position at all costs… or move to another?

Through this, teams learn what it takes to be "glocal" – to adopt a global framework of a corporate strategy and make it successful in local market conditions.

This can be a serious challenge, if people in your organization tend to view the glass as half empty rather than half full. So how can you encourage people to see the opportunities, rather than focusing on the limitations? In Performance™, teams of four participants exercise their business minds by following the case story of Fenix Inc. In three chapters, they help Fenix Inc. to get the basics right, create a competitive advantage, and finally to win the business. Throughout the workshop, participants draw parallels to their own reality, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities for their own company.

Participants from all levels and functions can come together for a constructive dialogue about a broad range of strategically important issues, such as:

• product life cycles;
• disruptive technologies;
• supply chain efficiency;
• value-added services;
• customer segmentation;
• short-term vs. long-term profitability.

Sales Endeavour™ will help your team increase sales, improve close rates, reduce cycle times, and give management greater insight into the organization’s sales pipeline.

This is an exciting combination of real-life sales application and an interactive learning simulation that gives sales professionals a chance to work through existing sales opportunities methodically and strategically in an engaging and competitive atmosphere.
During the simulation, participants navigate their way through a challenging sales opportunity filled with risks, unexpected detours, "rat holes", competitive informants, changing organizations, hidden agendas, shifting buying preferences, unreasonable expectations, strong competition, and customer uncertainty. In other words, real life!

By the end of the program, participants leave with a fully developed sales plan for one of their own prospects as well as the skills and insight needed to win more sales in the future. The best part: the process is repeatable!
Sales Endeavour™ ultimately saves sales professionals valuable time and resources by helping them think through strategic considerations, such as buyers and competition, so they choose only the most productive and profitable opportunities to pursue.

If you are in the business of selling knowledge and expertise, the value of your company extends well beyond financial measures. Likely, your most valuable asset is your people, and that means you must overcome unique challenges:

• How do you attract and retain the right people in fast moving industries?
• How do you get the most out of employees while still remaining an "employer of choice"?
• How do you ensure that your people align with your growth strategy and ability to acquire and retain profitable customers? 

In the Tango™ business simulation, participants develop the skills required to fully leverage their people as a source of competitive advantage, and execute a successful business strategy.
The challenge is to attract and retain the right clients and employees in order to create short-term profits and long-term value.
As a result of the Tango experience, your employees will be equipped to:

gain a competitive edge – to attract the right employees and client;strategically plan and staff projects for optimal capacity utilization;maximize cash flow and profitability – to provide for flexibility and growth;grow your company’s know-how – not just the competence of the employees;retain and develop your people in line with their goals and your company’s strategic vision.

What do goat’s milk, spiders, and fishing line have in common? Music records and airlines? Ant behavior and telecommunications routing? Most of us would assume nothing. But out of each of these seemingly random combinations have come radical innovations that have created whole new fields. 

Participants take a fascinating journey to the Intersection – a place where ideas from different fields and cultures meet and collide, ultimately igniting an explosion of extraordinary new innovations. Based on the bestselling book “The Medici Effect” by Frans Johansson.

During the seminar, teams discuss and explore:

• What is a breakthrough innovation and how does it occur?
• What type of conditions foster – or obstruct – innovation? Are we working with the right assumptions?
• How well do we leverage our diversity to explore, find and capitalize on new growth opportunities?
• How will we make it happen?

A positive, yet realistic vision on the business situation is invaluable for achieving success. This is what the teams of 4 members who will take part to the Performance Workshop will get. In three stages, they will simulate the Fenix Inc. case, getting familiarized step by step with the basic elements, creating competitive edge and achieving success. The teams will eventually have a common, overall picture on the key elements that influence the business, paying increased attention to the clients’ needs and the decisive factors in difficult situations.