A War Gaming workshop can be powerful tool when used in the right scenarios. When no amount of analysis can provide the right answer, Wargaming can shed valuable light on the range of possibilities that executives should be considering. In fact, the sweet spot for Wargames is some moderate level of uncertainty.
For those not familiar with War gaming, it is a conducted within a company among various departments and teams. Participants are typically divided into group representing various competitors. The role of Wargaming is to play out every possible scenario and establish the best course of action.
What do you get from War gaming?
• Identify competitive risks and opportunities
• Refine current strategies and contingency plans
• Provide a realistic assessment of your plan
• Better market performance thanks to enriched understanding of competitors
• An agile, actionable, and outcomes oriented competitive strategy
Having conducted numerous workshops over the years, I will tell you that the sweet spot for War gaming is a moderate level of uncertainty. It can be daunting at first, and at times require a crystal ball, but allows for the teams to come up with numerous strategic contingent plans that mirror possible outcomes.
In fact some of the best War games are the ones that do not divide the teams up by competitors, but rather, by uncertainties. For example, an uncertainty can be government legislation and its impact on a given industry. In lieu of dividing up participants by competitors, one can divide them up by 4 potential outcomes of legislation and have the teams “battle it out”. In return, the company will have 4 different contingent plans in place should one of the 4 paths need to be taken.