They can be a powerful business tool—but only if you get the
design right.
As the global downturn kicked in, a been anticipating. Moreover, while
high-tech company’s senior there would probably be industry executives decided to run a war mergers and acquisitions, as the game to prepare themselves for the company had expected, the deals uncertainties of the post-crisis were unlikely to kick off a wave of landscape. After two days of M&A or to have a material impact on simulations—when teams the company’s share of any market. representing competitors and stakeholders role-played against a These insights made a difference. “company” team—the executives When actual deal making began and understood that a strong competitor the player on the sidelines on the sidelines was likely to enter announced its intention to become a the market aggressively. The market leader, the high-tech executives also realized that the low company didn’t leap into the M&A end of the product range would face fray or otherwise lose focus. Instead, more price pressure than they had it concentrated on protecting its 2
core business, minimizing low-end two or three outcomes seem
losses, and investing in a major plausible along each of several growth opportunity that required dimensions. When no amount of new technology and a long analysis will provide the right incubation period—and has since answer, the results of gaming can proved valuable. shed valuable light on the range of possibilities that executives should For a variety of reasons, many be considering. companies don’t learn as much from war games. Some misjudge when In addition, there must be some they are appropriate. Others foul up meaningful competitive dynamics the game’s design by not including between the company and various the right participants. Still others stakeholders—a game to be played, take a cookie-cutter approach and in other words—and a clear way of rely on standardized game design representing the most relevant software or apply to operational players. Often this presents little problems the same approach they challenge: the high-tech company, previously used for strategic or for example, ran its game against organizational ones. current and potential competitors and included consumer teams in To avoid these pitfalls—and the some rounds. But it can be tricky to wasted time, money, and poor portray certain stakeholders, such strategic decisions that go with as the US Congress, which one them—CEOs and other senior aerospace and defense contractor executives should ask tough realized it had to include for its questions when contemplating war game to yield valuable insights. games or answering proposals to use them. Four questions, drawn Consider other approaches if the from our experience with more than level of uncertainty, competitive 100 war games at scores of dynamics, or stakeholder realities companies around the world, can seem problematic. Scenario greatly increase the chances that planning can help with decision your managers will use war gaming making if there is too much to make better decisions in the uncertainty. Cost curves, profit pool real world. analyses, or other standard frameworks are effective when complex competitive dynamics Can a war game help are absent.2 with our problem? A final word of caution: be wary of The sweet spot for games is some the argument that war games are moderate level of uncertainty.1 If the primarily about generating new uncertainty is too great—say, the ideas. Companies following this impact of robotic nanotechnology approach often find participants on manufacturing industries—game taking an “I’m going to prove how planners can’t offer enough clever I am” posture, leading to guidance for the players to make unrealistic, impractical ideas. We reasoned decisions. More suitable is suggest conducting idea generation an industry environment where, say, workshops instead (for more, see 3 March 2011
our upcoming article “Seven funding, moves by competitors, and
steps to better brainstorming,” outcomes of technology to be published in March, investments—would not have on mckinseyquarterly.com). justified the executive time spent on the exercise.
What kind of game Instead, the company designed a
should we play? game to answer the more strategic question: how can we win market Let’s say a consumer goods share given the budget pressures on company is considering a narrow the Department of Defense and the problem—raise prices 5 percent or moves of competitors? The game keep them constant—and wants to tested levers such as pricing, know how its biggest competitor contracting, operational might respond. Given the tactical improvements, and partnerships. objective, the consumer goods The outcome wasn’t a tactical maker might run two separate playbook—a list of things to execute games: one in which it raised prices and monitor—but rather strategic and one in which it didn’t. guidance on the industry’s direction, Alternatively, the company could the most promising types of moves, run a game in which it raised prices the company’s competitive by 5 percent but made other strengths and weaknesses, and adjustments, sometimes boosting where to focus further analysis. marketing expenditures and sometimes offering retailers concessions. It could then compare Who will design and the result with the outcome of the play the game? game in which it didn’t change prices. The key is running the gamut You have big personnel choices to of potential choices to make sure make or approve—who designs the each is tested. Such games are game and who plays. In both cases, most valuable when a company has deciding exactly how wide to cast very few but discrete choices to test, the net depends on whether the as well as a similarly small set of game’s objective is primarily tactical possible responses by competitors. or strategic or the creation of organizational alignment. Tactical games aren’t always practical, though. The aerospace Tactical games, with their detailed and defense company mentioned moves and evaluation criteria, are above originally considered running relatively straightforward: leaders a tactical game to better understand with deep expertise about and shifts in the US defense budget and responsibility for implementing the their impact on the business. But decisions are critical sources of the benefit of testing a very large input. The design of a strategic war number of scenarios for individual game requires much broader weapon systems—scenarios interaction. To ensure that the involving, for example, levels of defense contractor’s game wasn’t Playing war games to win 4
unduly influenced by the customers.” This shared experience,
hypotheses of its designers, for which would have been impos- example, they asked all 40 sible with a smaller or more executives who would play it which homogenous group of participants, trends, scenarios, and decisions has continued to stimulate should be tested. discussions across the company as market conditions evolve. The selection of players is also critical. A tactical exercise, such as a pricing game, can have a relatively How often should small set of participants. You should we play? cast a wider net in a strategic game and a much wider one in an The one-off games described so far organizational game in which the are the most common type; it’s objective is to get people on board usually pointless to run a game for a strategic move. repeatedly to test the same uncertainties with the same In a game in which the goal is participants. It’s often beneficial, organizational alignment around a however, to repeat a game for the strategic decision, for example, you sake of organizational alignment should include leaders of all when you want to bring along functions that will be involved in its people who didn’t experience the execution. Often, it’s also worth first game—usually, the wider group including frontline managers, of employees who will implement product designers, and account the decision. Most people learn reps, since they can raise different better by doing, and when they have viewpoints during the game and shared experiences, they are more disseminate the lessons to likely to embrace change. colleagues afterward. Repeating games also can be useful A more diverse set of participants when conditions are changing. If also creates valuable opportunities competitors or technologies have to broaden their understanding of evolved, for example, it may be time the industry—for instance, by to rerun a strategic game. Tactical assigning them to stakeholder games like those for pricing teams with roles that are less negotiations may bear repeating as familiar to them. In the debriefing frequently as every three or four session after the high-tech months, with the same set of players company’s game, the leader of a and slight modifications to reflect business unit, who had paired up changes in the market. That helps with a salesperson on a customer salespeople refine their pitches as team, remarked, “Having played the customer needs, competitive customer, I now understand what offerings, regulations, and other the sales force means when they factors shift. say we get push-back on price. I am going to make sure we give You may, however, want to run the you the support you need to make same set of players through a game the value-based argument to the repeatedly and rapidly to practice 5 March 2011
for a critical upcoming test. The Well-designed war games, though