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(Perfect) Practice Makes Perfect: The Value of Custom Business Simulations

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Published on: December 2016

Legendary football coach and player Vince Lombardi famously said, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

In other words, not all practice is the same. Over the past 30 years, as we’ve partnered with clients facing a variety of challenges, we’ve come to know that context is the critical differentiator between practice and perfect practice. We believe that people learn best by doing, and have seen that the most powerful practice is done within the context of one’s business model, strategy, role expectations and culture. Practice what GREAT performance looks like in your company in the critical moments, practice the inherent tensions in your company’s strategy, practice being a high performing team at the beginning of a new initiative.

A recent article in First Round Review, titled “Less Work, More Play: Change the Game with Simulations,” highlights the power of business simulations to help in major pivotal moments in a company’s history: from single-product to suite, from SMB customers to Enterprise, from local to global, in quickly driving alignment, mindset and the new capabilities needed for success in the next phase of growth. In particular, the article speaks to the impact of BTS’ custom business simulations, through the stories of VMWare and New Relic. As the article states, “Simulations are great ways for companies to deal with controversy and change because they are a low-risk way to let someone be CEO for a day. ‘Who would say no to that?’ asks Yvonne Wassenaar, former VP at VMWare and CIO at New Relic, ‘And it’s incredible because people get to learn through play and practice in real time. The experience of wearing someone else’s hat is hugely empowering for people. With management simulations we are free to see the bigger playing field, test our ideas and learn in a lower-risk environment than real life.’”

To learn more about business simulations, visit “Navigating Strategy Execution: The Case for Custom Business Simulations.”

For more information on BTS’ work with VMWare, visit this page.

Read the Full First Round Article Here

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