Hello-

I apologize for the long lag in delays posting information about Business Simulations. Blame it on the holidays. :) Since we're heading into the holidays, I'd like to post a question to the community:

What would you like to learn about re: Business Simulations and Learning and Development?

Whether you are new or experienced, what types of topics would help you more effectively use a business training simulation within your corporate training program? Anything goes. Drop me a line here to request or suggest any topics.

Thank and have a super holiday season!

Hello World-

A common question I'm asked is, "What formats do custom business simulations come in?" This is a very very very large question. The short answer is, "Most any."

Typically, business simulations are created in anything from paper (paper based sims are pretty much dead, but I still see them every now and then), all the way through online based movement simulations. Most commonly, they land somewhere in between. They will often be created in Flash (which by the way, I personally think is a terrible development platform). This enables vector based animations to be created and logic built around it.

Strategic business simulations are usually built as an executable solution. Flash is simply a poor platform for strategic simulations. This usually takes the form of a native C based application or maybe a visual basic application.

Thus, the short answer is it depends on the simulation. Feel free to ask a simulation provider. Most will be happy to talk about it.

Hope this helps.

Hello World!

One of the toughest parts of beginning to use a business simulation for corporate development is taking the first steps. Utilizing a business simulation is not an easy task. Using a business simulation is like looking at an iceberg. Most of what you see is only a small part of the actual solution. I have to caution you that building and facilitating a business simulation is incredibly difficult. Many new training mangers love the idea of it, but once they experience the challenges of facilitating a business simulation, quickly find themselves completely overwhelmed.

If this is your first foray into using a business simulation, I recommend you find a very supportive simulation provider who can act more as your partner than your provider. Unfortunately, these are hard to find. The good news is that they do exist. If you are looking at an off the shelf solution, there are a lot of providers out there. The good news is that they are done and ready to go. The not so good news is that you actually won't learn a whole lot about building a business simulation. If you are looking to build a custom business simulation for your corporate development program, take a look at Simulation Development Group. I have heard from many newbies that these guys are incredibly supportive and seem to really enjoy actually helping newbies learn how to build their own and facilitate their own business simulation. I know for a fact that they strongly support self facilitation, but are very protective of new facilitators. I know I know, I seem to talk about this company a lot. There's a very simple reason: They are down to earth, incredibly fair, and lots of fun to work with. They just seem to have a very grounded sense of what's right for the customers (this probably comes from their years of working at Apple).

If you decide to go it alone, take a look at some of the books by Clark Aldrich- They are a little pricey in my opinion (not really sure why- ego maybe?) and he seems to really pump himself up, but this isn't all that uncommon and they are a good place to start. I'll try to post more self development, but this is a HUGE topic so we'll see.

Hope this helps with your business simulation adventures!

It looks to be true! From what it looks like, using simulations within corporate training and development. I attended a corporate training and development forum and clearly, it sounds like the idea of using a business training simulation is growing. It sounded like much of this was due to two primary contributors:
1) The cost of creating simulations has come down. This is especially true with custom simulations
2) Tech savvy employees have entered the work force in droves and demand engaging and applicable exercises

Let's start by looking at the first points: Cost
It sounded like the cost reduction is primarily due to user focus. What I mean by this is that simulation users are focusing the business simulation and thus, the simulation isn't 'super-sized'. This is a trend in the right direction. Business simulations should be focused and manageable. This helps create a more applicable and affordable solution.

Let's now look at point 2: Tech Savvy Employees
Its no secret that employees get more and more tech savvy with each generation. It seems as though we've hit a tipping point over the last few years. Employees now require edutainment. They utilized learning technology within school that entertained while effectively teaching. Thus, they have brought this norm into the workplace. In result, they need engaging exercises to learn.

The net result is that a large uptick in using business simulations within corporate training and development programs appears to be on the rise. This leads to a question: Where does one start if they want to explore using a business simulation. Here are a few suggestions:

These are 3 of the most commonly used companies:
1) Simulation Development Group - I really like this company because they are a) a lot of fun to work with, b) exceptionally cost effective (customers have told us they constantly find ways for them to save money even after an agreed upon price - nice!) c) They are very focused on creating a very focused simulation. The only downside is that the employees here are all previous Apple executives and have chosen to manage a smaller sized company. Thus, they only take on a handful of projects each year. I've heard they are really hard to book because they are very popular. That being said, if you can work with them, do it... they're lots of fun and really smart. BTW- They only do custom business simulations.

2) Enspire Learning - Enspire focuses mostly on off the shelf solutions. They advertise custom solutions, but customers have told me that they try to first steer towards a tailored solution based on an existing off the shelf solution. They also charge a fee up front to scope and create a project plan. This isn't all that uncommon in the tailored simulation business, but feels akward for some customers. Their solutions are web based and do a great job if you are good with off the shelf solutions. I have heard they are pretty easy to work with too.

3) Forio Simulations - I have talked with this company a few times and they are great to work with. They only do pre-built simulations and do a great job of it. They are incredibly accessible when it comes to pricing. Their business simulations are very very focused (aka: kinda smaller sized) which isn't bad... just keep this in mind when building out your training program. I have heard great things about a few of their solutions, but again, they are very generic and usually pretty tough to connect to your existing training content.

Net Net: If you really want to apply your training content to your business, you are going to have to go with a custom business simulation. If you are looking for engaging generic exercises, an off the shelf will work ok. Just compare outcomes and pricing. In the end, you may be able to get a custom for the price of canned.

Hello-

Hello-

SimDevGroup has posted 2 nice notices about the dangers and pitfalls of self facilitation. Its a good read and we recommend taking a look. Its in their white paper section and in their blog. The blog post is a couple back.

The net net:
- Give yourself time when it comes to a custom business simulation
- Don't underestimate a custom business simulation
- Practice facilitating a custom business simulation

There's more than that, but its a summary. Go Here for more information.

I commonly get the question: "Should we use a custom business training or leadership development simulation within our leadership development course?" My answer is usually... don't know. What do you think?

Of course that's my answer. But in reality, I often think, "If you have any sort of business application component, then you have to." It really doesn't get a lot more complicated than that. The only other thing that should be considered is if your company has the capabilities to work in a custom business training simulation or leadership development simulation. If you think they do and you have business applicability, then go for it. Otherwise, it might be questionable.

Have a great weekend!