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The First Business Simulation
I’m guessing you will be as surprised as I am to learn that one of the first text games with “back-and-forth natural language interaction between a human and computer” was Top Management Decision Simulation[1], the first business simulation. Top Management Decision Simulation was developed in 1957 by the American Management Association (AMA). Its goal was…
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You Know the Game! Actually, You Might Not…
Leaders sometimes feel they need to go “to infinity and beyond” to win at the game of business (all due respect to Buzz Lightyear). But best-selling author Simon Sinek says that most leaders actually think they’re playing a “finite” game when they really are playing an “infinite” game”. Finite games have specific players, defined rules,…
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Spiraling Out of Control – Wages and Prices
Unless you’ve been hiding in your basement for the last couple of months (understandable if you were), you’ve probably heard about the dreaded Wage-Price Spiral (WPS) that many economists are predicting. A WPS can occur when prices rise, causing workers to demand higher wages. Companies then raise prices again to cover their now-higher wage expense…
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Decision (and Consequence)
There are many types of business simulations: behavioral, board games, computer-based. At PriSim, we focus on computer-based “whole-business” simulations. Frequently, we will augment the core learning experience with board game style simulations (to better drive detailed financial acumen). There are pros and cons of each style of “business simulation”. One of the benefits of computer-based…
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New CEOs – Do Only the Things Only You Can Do
Being a CEO is tough. But…what do they actually do, anyway? Aren’t all of the other people at the company doing all of the actual work? Maybe so, but we still need CEOs. According to a McKinsey study, the things that CEOs do create 45 percent – almost half – of a company’s performance results….
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Sim Tips Videos – Seeing (a business simulation) is Believing
When you have a question about PowerPoint or Excel, or even about how to change the oil in your car, where do you go to get the answer – YouTube, or to the 100-page user manual in 8-point font sitting on your bookshelf? If you’re like most people, you’re a visual learner and you go…
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Shokunin – Values and Purpose (Mission)
Reading Bob Igers’ book “The Ride of a Lifetime”, I came across an interesting concept, Shokunin – the “endless pursuit of perfection for a greater good”. According to Wikipedia the Shokunin “has an obligation to work his best for the general welfare of people”[2]. This concept resonated with me as it is a good reminder…
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This Blog Post Is Taxing. It’s About Taxes
Economist John Maynard Keynes said that avoiding taxes was “…the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.” But in the case of book income vs. tax income, all rewarding things must come to an end. A minimum corporate tax in the US has been proposed that would be based on the book income of large…
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Does your Company Deliver an Experience – or an Ordeal?
Is the customer experience at your company uplifting, or is it more like a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles? It’s an important question for business leaders, because experiences have become a critical part of what people buy. In fact, experiences are now such a valuable part of the economy that some observers say…
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Housing, Humans, and Algorithms…
Echoing the past, it seems Zillow has re-experienced some of the business dynamics that brought down the hedge fund LTCM, as was famously described in the book When Genius Failed. Zillow announced in November of last year that it would close its house flipping business, Zillow Offers, and write off over $500 million in losses….