Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos

Cross-Functional Team Building Simulation
for Executive Retreats, Sales Rallies & Team Building

Business Simulation for Cross-Functional Team Building

We help organizations succeed even during turbulent times

Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos, a high impact and POWERFUL team building simulation, creates a parallel universe that mirrors your organization's structure and corporate culture. The first Inc. in the title will be replaced with a name that is similar to your company’s name or one of its product lines.

To boost the "fun factor" in this simulation, we can set the organization in the entertainment, hospitality, or tourism industry. Teams operate companies or branches of the same company that compete in the same market. The companies, which have at minimum a 3 level structure (an executive team, management team, and team members), design a product (or develop the concept for a service) and develop a marketing campaign.

The goal is to give your team an opportunity to:

• work with members of other teams
• experience departments, functions and organizational levels that are different from their usual roles
• improve their sales and marketing skills and strategies
• break down silos and enhance cross-functional teamwork

These business simulations are available globally. For other simulations, please also see "International Team Building" (on the side menu).

Outline

• Programme Options
• Programme Highlights
• Programme Comparisons
• Overview of Typical Session
• Sample Simulation Roles

Sample Descriptions

• Executive Inc.
• Team Building with Toys
• Restaurant Inc.
• Construction Inc.
• Bike Simulation

Partial Client
List

• Dubai World/Nakheel
• Toronto Children's Chorus
• Ontario Service Centres

• Bell Mobility
• CIBC
• Goldwell

For Serious Inquiries Only

We would be pleased to handle your inquiry, check availability of dates and venues and send a proposal if:

• a budget has been allocated
• you are certain about your numbers
• you are DEFINITELY ready to select and book a service provider within 5 business days of receiving our quote

We require a US$500 deposit before any hotels or other venues are contacted on your behalf. [Why?] This will be deducted from your fees if you book your session with us.

Review Terms & Conditions Before Requesting Quote

Request Quote by E-mail or On-Line Form

If you are not ready to select a supplier and make a booking, we'll be pleased to give you a rough idea of pricing and options but please use:

Contacts For Preliminary Inquiries

Benefits

Through Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos, your team will gain the experience they need to:

• Break down silos in order to improve communication and efficiency.
• Develop an awareness of the contributions and challenges of other departments through firsthand experience working in another functional area or at another organizational level.
• Embrace and champion organizational change.
• Clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations.
• Improve communication between teams and departments.
• Identify strategies to reduce red tape and duplication of effort.
• Forge stronger alliances and build stronger links between geographically dispersed teams.
• Reduce friction and "turf wars" between organizational levels and departments.
• Get “buy-in” w.r.t. your organization’s vision, values, and corporate culture.
• Build the skills to lead or be a productive member of a cross functional team.
• Collaborate and generate strategies to thrive despite the challenges of a turbulent business environment.
• Prepare your team for mergers, re-organization or corporate culture shift

We strongly recommend that you devote at least 1 1/2 days to Inc. Inc. for a thorough debrief and to give your group ample opportunity to return to their intact teams and bridge between the simulation and your real world business challenges.

The 2 day version of this team building session will give your teams an opportunity to analyze specific business issues and jumpstart the decision making and implementation planning.

Programme Options

We have offered various versions of Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos

Moderate Budget

Construction Inc.

Uses Lego to simulate competing construction companies or divisions

Restaurant Inc.

A cooking team building simulation in which teams develop a theme for a restaurant, develop a menu, prepare presentation plates of signature dishes from their sample menu for judging, and develop a promotional campaign

Executive Inc.

Executive teams from competing organizations, shape corporate culture and design a corporate, sales and marketing strategy for their organizations. This is a stripped down version the Inc. Inc. team building simulation and zeros in on the role of the top 1 or 2 tiers

Team Building with Toys

A range of simulations using toys (e.g. assembling toy kitchens, bicyles, workbenches, scooter, model airplanes, remote control cars

Giftwell

A company that manufactures and distributes gift bags for corporations (at the end of the simulations the bags were given to participants as momentos)

Kidz Kare International

an event planning company for families vacationing in Jamaica

Tours R US

A travel agency specializing in the Caribbean and Asia

Resorts Inc.

Simulation of a tropical resort

Christmas Hampers

Assemble of hampers with toys and non-perishable food for donation to charity

Cost Effective

Gingerbread House Factory

Gingerbread house assembly and decorating. Available before Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day.

Christmas Shoeboxes

Available only from September to November. Shoeboxes are donated to a charity for children from underprivileged and war torn areas.

Highlights

Available:

Group Size:

Time Required:

All Year

12 - 120 (Optimal = 30 - 60)

1 1/2 - 2 Days

Locations:

Skills/Competencies:

Available Worldwide

• Breaking Down Silos
• Cross-Functional Teamwork
• Marketing Strategy
• Leadership
• Executing Initiatives in Short Timeframes

Comparison Chart

Programme Details

Request Quote by E-mail or On-Line Form

Comparison Chart

The main difference between Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos and Visexecutaries: Apprentice Team Building is that Inc. Inc. is strictly a simulation. The teams don't actually take their product or service to market. In Visexecutaries teams actually market and sell a product or service and generate revenue. Inc. Inc. uses a debriefing panel. Team Building with Toys one of our other business simulations, uses the corporate structure of Inc. Inc., however, like our Visexecutaries simulations, debriefing is done in the form of an Apprentice style boardroom.

Overview of Typical Inc. Inc. Breaking Down Silos Simulation

Pre-Event

• Learning Surveys Distributed and Teams & Roles Assigned
• Team Leader Briefing (Day Prior to Session)

Day1

• Executive Briefing
  
• Team Briefing
• Simulation
• Debriefing Prep.

Day 2

• Debriefing Panel
• Re-configure Teams
• Business Application Exercises
• Optional Business Meeting

Sample Simulation Roles & Responsibilities

Leadership

Executive

The 3 members of the executive team will design the organizational strategy and structure, shape corporate culture and introduce innovation.

• The newest and most "juniour" member of your team will be selected for senior leadership roles.

Team Leaders

Each team will have a team leader to provide coaching, clear roadblocks and ensure that team members have the resources they require to produce results.

• Team members from your organization with little or no management experience will be selected for these roles.

Core Teams

Manufacturing

The manufacturing team will assemble, decorate, package, and inspect and test the product.

Marketing

The marketing teams will design and implement a marketing strategy to create a buzz and generate interest by prospective customers. One of their main assignments will be to develop a brochure and produce a TV commercial to market the product.

• Skill and Equipment Required: The marketing team members should be proficient in the use of Powerpont and have one or two lap tops.

Optional Teams

Corporate Communications

This team consists of:

Presentation Specialists

Presentation specialists will stay at the venue and develop a 5-minute presentation that provides an overview of the each company’s strategy, strengths, challenges, and results.

• Skill and Equipment Required: The presentation specialists must be proficient in the use of Powerpoint and must have their own laptops that they can bring to the location.

Videographers

Videographers will be assigned to each area of the company to capture the experience on video and take still photos. They will have an opportunity to edit to their footage and create a 2 - 3 minute montage for use in conjunction with the company presentations.

• Skills and Equipment Required: Great care should be taken to select people with their own camera equipment and editing skills for the videographer roles.

Sales

The sales team will prepare a sales presentation, set up the sales display and be the primary force to sell the products.

• Skill and Equipment Required: Team members should be proficient in the use of Powerpont and have one or two lap tops.

IT

IT will set up and assist team members with the use of the laptops and printers.

• Skill and Equipment Required: Must have basic knowledge related to this role.

Administrative Support

1 administrative support person can be assigned to each team. Typically it would be members of your current leadership team. The goal is to remind them of the challenges facing team members so that they can be more supportive.

Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Silos
Team Building Simulation

Orientation and Team Briefing

After a presentation by your CEO or VP to set the organizational context of the simulation, we will provide an orientation focusing on the challenges of our turbulent economy and the importance of cross-functional teamwork. Then, during the team briefing we will prepare your team for the simulation, assign roles and responsibilities, and introduce the toolkit that you will be using.

Simulation Phases

Your team will dive right in and operate two companies or 1 company with 2 divisiosn. Over the course of a business cycle (ideally 4 quarters), the company will operate under one of two scenarios (see below). There will be currency and regular customer attitude surveys to measure and track company performance. Your business challenges will be built into the simulation. The terminology and jargon used in the simulation will also reflect your corporate culture.

Each team will have specific deliverables and a set of objectives to meet. The simulation is set up so that no team can achieve its objectives without breaking down silos and collaborating with other groups.

Each "organization" will have:

Scenario One:

Corporate Culture Shift
or Strategic Direction Change

Group Size: 6 - 75

Room Requirements:

• 1 large room
• 2 - 3 smaller breakaway rooms
• 1 lounge or reception area (optional)

For groups of up to 12, one medium to large room will work

Description:

Your group will begin to operate a company with a specific vision, set of values and corporate culture. The executive team will face the challenge of devising a strategy to modify the corporate culture and mandate.

At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, the organizational changes will be announced. The company will undergo transformation and begin to operate under its new mandate.

Scenario Two:

Corporate Re-Organization
or Merger
(With Multi-National Option)

Suggested Group Size: 20 - 150

Room Requirements:

• 1 large room that can be divided
• 3 smaller breakaway rooms
• 1 lounge or reception area

Description:

Your team will operate two companies, competitors in the same industry. In their quest for a larger share of the market, the executive teams will be charged with the mission of merging the two organizations to improve their competitive position . Under the full 4 hour simulation, a cross-functional team will be available to help them design and implement the strategy. The rest of the day will be devoted to debriefing and application.

Debriefing

Then, we will debrief the simulation thoroughly and glean key learnings about working in a cross functional environment and overcoming the silo mentality.

Business Application Exercises

In the 2 day version, we will re-configure the teams and assign a specific business issue or challenge that your organization is facing to each team. Each team will analyze the business issue using the simulation toolkit and prepare a mini-presentation to present their findings. Next steps will developed and a follow-up plan will be formulated for the teams to continue to meet when they return to the office.