HOW DOES IT WORK? THE STRATEGY SIMS METHOD IN ACTION

Over the past six years, we have run approximately 500 Strategy Sims sessions with participants from around the world. From C-level executives in global organizations to executive education programs at top business schools, developing venture ecosystems in the Middle East, and backing startup founders with global ambitions, Strategy Sims have served as a powerful tool for learning, insight, and professional development.

But how does it work? What is the workflow that makes Strategy Sims work? And what can new leaders and faculty learn in applying the Strategy Sims method in action?

By: Chris Rangen

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What is Strategy Sims?

The Strategy Sims are designed to help organizations and individuals navigate complex strategic challenges, develop critical thinking, and simulate high-stakes decision-making. Strategy Sims are designed to build learning, mastery and company growth, using experiential learning. The structure is based on modern theories on adult learning, including the renowned Lego Serious Play method by Johan Roos and Bart Victor .

Rather than passively listening to lengthy lectures, we use a combination of pre-work, micro-lectures, team-based competitive experiential learning, in sum driving far deeper and effective learning and development. Feedback from participants emphasize three key points;

• Engaging: people love the format of an experiential learning program (with a strong competitive streak)
• Fast-paced learning: learning comes from every angle, with high-pace, micro-burst, and instant shift from ‘learning to doing’
• Team: teamwork, and great teamwork is the key to a successful Strategy Sim session. Without it, any team will struggle. Hands-on leadership (people have formal leadership roles in the program) and strong team collaboration makes all the difference – just like in real life

“Intense”, “Exhilarating”, “Super insightful!”, “Weirdly realistic”, “Eye-opening”, “Hard, worth it”, “loved the experience - thank you!”, “Thank you for the craziest 3 days!”, said the 25+ participants we recently had at Fund Manager! Program for the ?Newton Venture Program.

Meet the nine Strategy Sims

?The nine Strategy Sims cover a wide range of topics, industries, content and market conditions, allowing participants to experience real-world content at an accelerated pace. Most of the Strategy Sims are built around the concept of a team-based journey, taking a company from zero to exit (Scale Up!), or turning a company around from laggard to breakout leader (Transform!)

The nine Strategy Sims are:

Transform!: from laggard to breakout winner

For corporate users, leadership development, strategy, innovation, change management and executive education programs.

Scale Up! From idea to exit

For entrepreneurs, startups, scale ups, accelerators, incubators, VC Funds, and startup ecosystem development and entrepreneurship education.

Scale Up MENA! From idea to exit in the Middle East (launching 2025!)

For entrepreneurs, startups, scale ups, accelerators, incubators, VC funds and startup ecosystem development in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as entrepreneurship education.

Scale Up Angel! From Novice Investor to Super Angel

For angel investor networks, angel clubs, ecosystem development and education programs.

Scale Up X! Gender-based entrepreneurship

For female founders, female startup programs, gender-based entrepreneurship development

Supercluster!: Accelerating national transformation

For national transformation programs, innovation clusters, economic development, ecosystems and education programs. ?

Fund Manager!: From Thesis to DPI

For GP accelerators, venture capital training & education, fund manager development, VC funds, fund-of-funds, VC ecosystem development, LP training and education programs

Corporate Venture!: from innovation to value

For corporate venture teams, corporate strategy teams and education programs

VC Ecosystem: from emerging to outperforming (coming in 2026)

For VC ecosystem developers, international finance- and development organizations, government agencies, VC associations, national innovation agencies, ?VC education programs

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The Strategy Sims method

1. Client (Participants) Context

Understanding the participants' context is crucial to delivering a relevant and engaging Strategy Sim. We begin by assessing what is top of mind for participants, the challenges they are facing, and the external factors influencing their industry.

For example, if a session is focused on strategic dynamics, we might ask: What are the implications of the current NATO rift and Europe’s sudden need to rearm? Should traditional European industrial companies expand into security and defense?

If we are planning a Scale Up Masterclass, we might look at the current market for pre-seed, seed and venture-stage fundraising, we look at the latest deals and valuations and news in the market.

By aligning the simulation with real-world contexts, we ensure that the experience is highly relevant and actionable.

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2. Learning Goals

Each Strategy Sim is designed with specific learning goals in mind. These objectives vary based on the audience, program, ?industry, and challenges they wish to address. Common learning goals include:

• Understanding competitive strategy, leadership and transformation
• Enhancing decision-making under uncertainty
• Leadership during change and change management
• Exploring business model innovation
• Developing financial literacy and capital strategy
• How to build a venture capital fund
• How to raise startup financing?
• How to improve national competitiveness
• Mastering business angel investing

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3. Participant Outcomes

The success of a Strategy Sim is measured by the impact on participants. Key outcomes often include:

• Improved strategic thinking and strategic leadership
• Increased confidence in personal leadership during change management
• Enhanced collaboration and robust teamwork
• Greater confidence in making complex strategy decisions
• Better equipped to raise one or multiple future fundraising rounds for founders
• More confidence in building a venture capital firm

4. Selection of Strategy Sim

Choosing the right Strategy Sim depends on the participants, ?learning goals and the client context. With nine unique simulations to date, it is easy for clients and executive educators to find and select just the right Strategy Sim.

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5. Case Study

Each Strategy Sim is enriched with real-world case studies that provide practical insights into business strategies, industry shifts, and key decision points. These cases serve as a foundation for thinking, allowing participants to draw parallels between the simulation and real-life business challenges before stepping into Strategy Sim experience.

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Want to dig deeper?

Read the full case study for Transform!, using the Mobility industry, at Duke University, April 2025.

6. Pre-Pack

Prior to the session, participants receive a pre-pack containing background materials, industry insights, and key frameworks to help them prepare. This ensures they enter the simulation with a solid understanding of the context and objectives. Some programs also run a 45. Minute webinar

For Transform, spring 2025, participants enjoy multiple classroom lectures, then receive:

Pre-session video, with an intro to corporate strategy & finance ?

• Case study
• Welcome brief from the Board chair
• Team role descriptions
• Management onboarding pack
• Building the Transformational Company report

For Fund Manager, spring 2025, participants receive:

• Case study
• Team role descriptions
• Pre-session workbook, with core content intro and basic equity math for VC fund managers

Slidepack

• Selected reading on ‘inside a VC fund’, and ‘how to set up a VC fund’

?Want to dig deeper?

Read the BoD Chair Welcome Memo, Team roles and Management onboarding pack for Transform!, using the Mobility industry, at Duke University, April 2025.

7. Run the Strategy Sim

The core of the experience, the Strategy Sim itself, is an immersive, high-energy session where participants engage in competitive team work and dynamic decision-making. Depending on the chosen simulation, participants will:

• Select team roles (you own your role during the program)
• Formulate strategies (ambition, how to get there, how to win)
• Compete against other teams (Collaborative, competitive, backstabbing?)
• Respond to market shifts and external pressures (process information in real-time)
• Manage resources and capital allocation (investments, divestment)
• Negotiate deals and partnerships (alliances, take overs, hostile acquisitions?)
• Build financial models, budgets and multiple presentations (average 4 presentations per program, up to 12 presentations in multi-day, complex programs)
• Craft a plan to win (out compete the rest)

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8. Select & celebrate the winner

Ultimately, every Strategy Sim session will end with a winner. In Scale Up! this is often the company that can achieve the best revenue, growth and exit transaction. In Transform! it is the first team to hit 50BN – or 100BN – market cap in public markets.

At IMD, for the Venture Asset Management Program, the winning fund, Circular Dragons achieved a 253X net DPI, but got stuck due to some highly questionable financial transactions, leaving room for BASA, fund III to secure the top spot, with a ?188X net DPI, both massive outlier performances.

9. Debrief & Knowledge Transfer

Following the simulation, we conduct a structured debrief to help participants reflect on their decisions, analyse outcomes, and extract key lessons. This step ensures that insights gained during the session translate into practical applications.

For the different Strategy Sims, a variety of debrief tools and methods are used.

?Want to dig deeper?

Read the full Transform! 12 Leadership Skills: assessment.

10. Bringing Back Into Real Life

The final step in the Strategy Sims method is ensuring that the learnings are integrated into real-world business contexts. Participants leave with new strategic action plans, new perspectives on their leadership and future development, and a framework for applying their hard-won insights to their own organizations.

For corporate leaders, new innovation strategy, new financial insights and a clear transformation roadmap are common 'action points'. For founders, accelerators and ecosystems, clear action plans for scaling up, growth and successful fundraising. For emerging fund managers, a clear understanding for the path to Fund III, deeper appreciation for paths to liquidity and exits, and of course, how to accelerate LP fundraising, are all common take aways.

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Conclusion

The Strategy Sims method is a proven approach to experiential learning, strategic decision-making, and business model innovation. Whether used by corporate leaders, startup founders, or venture capitalists, Strategy Sims provide a powerful way to navigate complexity, test strategies, and drive successful outcomes.

Currently used in executive education programs, MBA & Master programs, ecosystem development programs, VC development, startup- and acceleration programs, large-scale corporate transformation projects, national competitiveness projects; Strategy Sims can be a superb value add to your programs in classrooms and board rooms worldwide.

Do you want to explore how to bring Strategy Sims into your organization, classroom or practice?

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