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The Vortex Simulation™: “Strategic Thinking”

Background

The Vortex Simulation™ is an active learning experience designed to provide participants with a dynamic opportunity to learn and practice new skills and behaviors in a ‘learning laboratory’ environment. Vortex: Strategic Thinking focuses its learning to develop a powerful and innovative strategic direction for a new division of a company to successfully move forward. In essence, it is a live case study in which participants get ‘inside the case’ to learn and demonstrate Strategic Thinking and Planning skills.

The Strategic Vortex Workshop: Scenario/Process
A rapidly declining company launches a new division to create its future. This new division (called Vortex) begins its work in seven functional areas, as it is overloaded with information from its Distributors, Customers, and Suppliers, as well as from Market Research and Competitive Intelligence sources.

After the (imagined) first quarter, the company’s CEO decides to convene a group of talented project managers with expertise in each of the seven functional areas in the Vortex Division. The charter of this newly-hired Strategy Project Team is to integrate and align their perspectives, specific information received from Vortex’s first quarter, and their collaborative strategic thinking to create a powerful direction for the company’s future.

Beginning with their own experience of the Vortex new employee orientation that provides insight into the past, this new Strategic Project Team separates into one or more cross discipline sub teams. Through two phases of work, separated by ‘out of simulation’ debriefs, discussions, as well as facilitator training and presentations, participants practice strategic thinking and planning tools to accomplish their task.

The outcome of the workshop is a set of compelling presentations to the company CEO. As in the Vortex Workshop, ‘real life’ application work is integrated throughout this dynamic experience. Ultimately, the group emerges with strategies and approaches for their own company, department, and/or leadership team’s strategic direction.

The Strategic Vortex Workshop: Learning Objectives

• Learn and apply practical approaches for identifying key strategic issues and opportunities.
• Acquire the perspective and tools to improve the ability to think strategically and make more effective strategic decisions
• Discover ways to create an environment in which participants (and/or their employees) think and work more strategically.
• Develop plans to integrate strategic thinking into routine individual planning, problem solving, decision making and managing of others.

General Areas of Focus

• Building Commitment, Alignment and Performance across Boundaries
• Strategic Thinking, Decision-making and Action
• Navigating Change
• The New Role of Leadership
• Designing the Agile Organization
• Leader as Change Agent
• Enabling Innovation and Creativity

Additional Design Features & Options

• Vortex incorporates the 3D Learning ‘Perspective in Action’ Model™, along with opportunities to develop strategies and actions for later use.
• The design is easily customized to meet learning objectives as defined by the context within which it is utilized.
• Alternative designs have been developed for Strategic Thinking, Team Development and Virtual Team Effectiveness.
• An Assessment Tool, related to the ‘Perspective in Action’ model is available for both inside and outside (real life) the simulation experience.
• Performance tracking via The Vortex Scoreboard