Business Simulations
Gamified, experiential programmes where your teams run virtual companies, make real decisions, and learn by playing, turning training hours into measurable business impact.
Serious business lessons, brought to life as a game
Each programme is built around an immersive simulation. Working in teams, your people step into the role of executives and compete to make the strategic, operational and financial decisions that shape their company's future, applying course concepts in a memorable, interactive and enjoyable way.
The evidence behind game-based learning
Statistics show the effectiveness of gamified training in transferring skills and knowledge. We help you assess your development needs, design your own corporate academy, and build the tools to evaluate it.
Browse the programmes
Search by name or topic, filter by type, and tap any programme to open its full objectives and day-by-day outline.
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HR Analytics
Simulation: The HRians Challenge
Gives HR practitioners working financial knowledge and the ability to use financial statements to evaluate organisational performance, connecting HR functions to the company's financial results. Built around the HRians Challenge simulation, where teams build the strongest team for OPTIMA through a headhunting race under a limited budget.
What you'll achieve
- Understand how the HR team's performance influences overall company financial results
- Analyse the financial performance of the HR department
- Connect recruitment efficiency with the company's financial performance
- Assess the effectiveness of compensation and benefits practices
- Measure and analyse the productivity of human capital
- Develop accurate cost estimations for different HR functions
- Evaluate the return on investment of learning and development initiatives
- Design and apply solid KPIs that drive functional and financial success
- Build, manage, and analyse HR departmental budgets
- Create data-driven HR plans aligned with organisational strategy
Programme outline
- Financial numbers, statements, profitability analysis and results metrics
- HR Dashboard: linking HR functions to financial results and turning HR metrics into KPIs
- HR function efficiency metrics: HR cost-FTE ratio, cost per employee, cost per FTE
- Recruitment metrics: financial impact of late hiring, vacancy rate, 1st-year resignation, time-to-fill
- Retention metrics: turnover and its financial consequences, redundancy, involuntary turnover, retirement
- Productivity metrics: revenue per FTE, profit per FTE, human-capital ROI
- HR operations & compliance: operating costs, automation ROI, cost and risk of non-compliance
- Recruitment & onboarding: cost-per-hire, vacancy cost, early-turnover loss, efficiency indicators
- Learning & development ROI: budget justification, training ROI models, upskilling vs. skill-gap cost
Business Acumen
Simulation: Business Acumen: Finance for Non-Financiers
Equips professionals from any background with essential financial knowledge and practical skills to make smarter business decisions. Using the gamified Business Acumen simulation, participants act as executives leading a manufacturing company, analysing financial statements, planning budgets, allocating resources, and making strategic choices under real-world constraints.
What you'll achieve
- Develop a practical understanding of core financial concepts and the language of business
- Interpret and analyse financial statements to assess company performance
- Make informed strategic, operational, marketing, and financial decisions in a simulated business
- Understand the impact of cross-functional decisions on profitability, cash flow, and long-term growth
- Strengthen business acumen by linking day-to-day actions with overall organisational success
- Enhance teamwork, critical thinking, and decision-making through a competitive, gamified experience
Programme outline
- Transactions analysis; current and fixed assets; revenue and expense recognition; adjustments
- Constructing the income statement (P&L), owner's equity statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
- Profitability, activity, financial-leverage and liquidity ratios; cash-flow statement analysis
- Budgeting techniques: full costing, connecting budgets to financial goals, control and performance management
- Cost-benefit analysis and the time value of money
- Investment opportunity evaluation, loan amortisation, and the discounted cash flow model
Strategic Management
Simulation: Strategizer
A dynamic, practical approach to strategy combining key frameworks with the immersive Strategizer simulation. Participants take the role of executives managing their own virtual companies, competing on strategic, operational, and financial decisions, analysing market dynamics, and experiencing the real impact of their choices.
What you'll achieve
- Understand the fundamentals of strategic management and its role in organisational success
- Apply key strategic analysis tools (SWOT, PESTEL, Five Forces) to evaluate business environments
- Formulate and implement competitive strategies under resource and market constraints
- Link corporate, business, and functional strategies to financial and operational performance
- Experience the challenges of decision-making in dynamic, competitive markets
- Strengthen teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills through simulation-based learning
Programme outline
- Vision, mission and core values; levels of strategy (corporate, business, functional)
- External analysis (PESTEL, Porter's Five Forces) and internal analysis (value chain, core competencies)
- SWOT: linking internal and external factors
- Strategy formulation and strategic fit; generic competitive strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, focus)
- Blue Ocean vs. Red Ocean; growth strategies; strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions
- Evaluating and selecting options; aligning business and functional strategies
- Strategic change and adaptation; innovation as a driver of competitive advantage
- Implementation challenges (structure and culture); the role of leadership in execution
- Measuring strategic performance; lessons learned and application to real contexts
Sales Management Analytics
Simulation: SalesGen
Equips participants with the tools and frameworks to analyse sales performance, forecast trends, and optimise strategies. In the SalesGen simulation, teams analyse market opportunities, manage customer accounts, and decide on pricing, coverage, and channel management, with every move impacting revenue, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
What you'll achieve
- Understand the role of analytics in modern sales management and decision-making
- Identify and apply key sales metrics and performance indicators
- Use analytical tools to evaluate sales pipelines, territories, and customer segments
- Develop accurate sales forecasts using quantitative and qualitative methods
- Assess sales productivity, efficiency, and profitability through data-driven insights
- Design and implement data-driven sales strategies aligned with organisational goals
Programme outline
- Linking sales analytics to business strategy and growth
- Sales metrics (revenue, volume, profitability) and KPIs for sales teams
- Customer segmentation and targeting; sales funnel and pipeline analysis; data sources
- Forecasting methods (qualitative and quantitative); regression and trend analysis
- Territory and account analysis; evaluating sales productivity and efficiency
- Advanced metrics: customer lifetime value (CLV) and churn analysis
- Sales-force effectiveness and compensation models; designing data-driven strategies
- Aligning sales analytics with financial performance; best practices and case studies
Retail Chain Management
Simulation: Retailiology
Equips participants to oversee multi-store operations, streamline supply and distribution, optimise inventory, and strengthen customer satisfaction. In the Retailiology simulation, teams run their own retail company, making strategic, financial, and marketing decisions to maximise profitability, expand reach, and ensure long-term competitiveness.
What you'll achieve
- Understand the key drivers of success in managing multi-store retail chains
- Apply strategic, financial, and marketing decision-making to improve retail performance
- Analyse the impact of pricing, promotions, and customer behaviour on profitability
- Optimise resource allocation across stores, channels, and functions
- Strengthen teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving in a competitive environment
Programme outline
- Retail strategy and operations; business models and value propositions
- Customer segmentation and buying behaviour; store operations and performance metrics
- Supply chain and inventory fundamentals; Retailiology kick-off (company setup)
- Strategic pricing and promotion; merchandising and category management
- Financial analysis for retail decisions; multi- and omni-channel strategies
- Retail productivity and efficiency measures; Retailiology round 2 (competitive decisions)
- Customer experience and loyalty; strategic resource allocation across stores and markets
- Measuring and monitoring retail performance; best practices and case studies
- Retailiology final round and debrief (lessons learned and applications)
Project Time Management
Simulation: Projecto
Equips project managers and professionals with the frameworks, tools, and techniques to plan, prioritise, and control project timelines. The Projecto simulation immerses participants in managing timelines where time is limited, resources are constrained, and multiple tasks compete for attention.
What you'll achieve
- Understand the principles and importance of time management in project success
- Develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and schedules using Gantt charts and network diagrams
- Apply effective estimation techniques to plan realistic timelines and allocate resources
- Use prioritisation and delegation methods to manage tasks efficiently within teams
- Identify and mitigate schedule risks through buffers and risk-analysis tools
- Explore and practise digital project-management tools for scheduling and tracking
Programme outline
- The triple constraint (scope, time, cost); common causes of time overruns
- Parkinson's Law, Student Syndrome, the 80/20 rule and the Eisenhower matrix
- Work Breakdown Structures, Gantt charts, milestones and the critical path; Projecto kick-off
- Estimation approaches (top-down, bottom-up, three-point); balancing resources with timelines
- Prioritisation frameworks (MoSCoW, Kanban, agile); delegation and accountability
- Digital tools (MS Project, Asana, Trello); Projecto round 2 (competitive scheduling)
- Identifying and managing schedule risks; buffering techniques
- Monte Carlo simulation (introductory); time-risk analysis and contingency planning
- Best practices and case studies; Projecto final round and debrief
Financial Analysis and Budgeting
A comprehensive understanding of financial analysis techniques and budgeting processes essential for organisational planning and control, evaluating financial performance, interpreting key ratios, forecasting cash flows, and designing budgets that align with strategic objectives.
What you'll achieve
- Analyse financial statements to assess organisational performance and identify strengths and weaknesses
- Apply key financial ratios to evaluate profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency
- Develop accurate budgets that reflect organisational goals and resource constraints
- Forecast and monitor cash flows to ensure financial stability and support strategic decisions
- Integrate financial analysis and budgeting to enhance planning, control, and performance evaluation
Programme outline
- Financial statement structure: income statement, owner's equity, balance sheet, cash flow
- Economic, profitability, financing-structure, activity and cash-flow analysis
- Setting organisational financial goals
- Budgeting process: incremental, activity-based and zero-based budgeting
- Costing: cost types, full costing and cost-volume-profit analysis
- Master budget construction: sales forecasting, forecasted income statement, cash-flow budget
- Budget control and analysis: variance analysis, static vs. flexible budgets, root-cause analysis
- Departmental budgeting: aligning operational budgets to strategy, defining activities and resources
- Budget editing, execution and evaluation
Story Telling with Numbers
Designed for senior specialists and leads across Sales, Marketing, and HR, this intensive programme bridges the gap between raw data and persuasive narrative, transforming complex figures into clear, actionable insights that resonate with stakeholders and move beyond reporting to strategic influence.
What you'll achieve
- Identify the narrative "hook" within complex data sets to capture attention instantly
- Apply data-visualisation best practices to reduce cognitive load and highlight key trends
- Structure analytical presentations using a storytelling arc that leads to logical conclusions
- Translate technical financial and operational metrics into plain terms for cross-functional impact
- Use micro-learning techniques to deliver high-impact insights in time-constrained settings
- Master the executive summary to influence senior-leadership decision-making
Programme outline
- The psychology of numbers: why the brain prioritises narrative, and cognitive-load theory
- Defining the "big idea": distilling massive data sets into a single high-impact message
- Strategic chart selection (heatmaps, scatterplots, waterfall); table vs. graph
- The art of de-cluttering: removing chart junk and using pre-attentive attributes to direct focus
- The 3-act structure for data (context, conflict, resolution); transitioning with purpose
- The executive-summary masterclass and handling "data interrogation" without losing the story
Trends Forecasting & Market Anticipation
Master the art of seeing around corners. Designed for senior marketing and enterprise leads to move from reactive to proactive, decoding signals, analysing behavioural patterns, and using statistical models to predict industry shifts, then translating global trends into product, pricing, and long-term business strategy.
What you'll achieve
- Grasp the principles of trend analysis using qualitative and quantitative forecasting methods
- Identify emerging market signals and cultural shifts to detect early indicators of change
- Apply analytical tools, including scenario planning and data visualisation, to project future trends
- Integrate diverse data sources such as social-media insights and economic indicators
- Evaluate the accuracy and reliability of forecasting models to reduce uncertainty and risk
- Translate trend insights into actionable strategies and communicate forecasts persuasively
Programme outline
- Distinguishing fads from sustainable trends; qualitative vs. quantitative methods; the trend lifecycle
- Signal detection: weak signals, cultural shifts, and environmental scanning
- Analytical tools: statistical modelling, regression, and data visualisation for foresight
- Data synthesis: combining market research with social and economic indicators for robust forecasts
- Turning insights into strategy: product roadmaps, pricing, and long-term planning
- Communicating the future: storytelling and facilitating strategic workshops
Bring a simulation to your team
Tell us about your people and goals, and we'll tailor a gamified simulation, or a full corporate academy, around your organisation.
Enquire about corporate training