Stress testing thinking, planning and team dynamics under pressure – Simulation Workshops.
What Was The Client Situation?
The Director wanted to stress test the current brand plan as there were concerns around risk identification and the team’s performance if under pressure.
They wanted to explore the team’s ability to stay focused, collaborate and communicate to key stakeholders under a time of duress.
The Challenge.
Part of the challenge was to allow the teams to work across a shared objective under time pressure with risks and issues.
The team of 8 had been working together for a couple of years with minimal change. The performance was inline with the forecast however the competition was now taking greater levels of market share than anticipated.
PhoenixLBS Role.
Project Approach – Review the current plans, assess the market place, identify potential risk, and build a simulation workshop to stress test scenarios.
Simulation Workshop
Each team member was sent a questionnaire to determine what they perceived as their biggest challenge, threat, concerns, opportunities. These where then compiled along with the results for the PhoenixLBS researchers findings, to produce a set of scenarios to set for the team
The team where onboarded with the program and a simulation workshop built based on their current plan with risks and issues identified.
Recommendations
Post workshop the recommendations allowed the team to understand the difference in risks and issues, to put in place a contingency plan and re run the workshop whenever new data or competitor activity changed.
The process was revisted after 6 mths to continue to check thinking and assumptions.
Project Outcomes.
A new risk register was created as well as a strategic risk register that was socialised with senior management.
The core assumptions were amended, and a deeper understanding of opportunities and competitive behaviour identified.
A simulation workshop has now been roled out to another brand team and 6mth updates planned.
What Were The Next Steps?
The team want to explore their entrepreneurial style using a short business game simulation.