How I came to love Competitive Wargaming
I ran my very first Competitive Wargame on Valentine’s Day 2007 in a conference room overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The approach has evolved since that day 15 years ago and now we run Competitive Wargames over multiple markets, timelines and areas of the business in all sorts of different ways. Each of the last 30+ games has added a new idea and refined what we do to make what, I believe, is the perfect Competitive Wargame. I love running them.
I ran my very first Competitive Wargame on Valentine’s Day 2007 in a conference room overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The approach has evolved since that day 15 years ago and now we run Competitive Wargames over multiple markets, timelines and areas of the business in all sorts of different ways. Each of the last 30+ games has added a new idea and refined what we do to make what, I believe, is the perfect Competitive Wargame. I love running them.
I love them because every single time, without fail, I see the participants build better, tangible action plans to make sure they win in the marketplace. And when I follow up, more often than not, I find the business has grown faster than their competition. I watch (and guide) as people experience “lightbulb moments” on how to make a breakthrough to step change performance. I admire as teams of stakeholders across multiple functions come together and reaffirm their belief and desire to beat the competition. I also like it that people have fun. It is a joy to lead.
Our mission at The Competitive Wargaming Team is simple: we design, organise and run Competitive Wargames so you beat your competition.
Please get in touch if you would like to learn more about how we can help you.
Why Competitive Gaming works
Most companies who participate in Competitive Wargames gain share in the following months and year. Some even create long term strategic advantage through ideas created in the process.
Competitive Wargaming exercises bring together all the decision makers on how best to grow the business and how to bring the competition. Gathering as a team and reaffirming this simple goal, amongst the many others we all work on every day, is already a great step forward. But add into that a few more things and it is easy to see why Competitive wargames are so successful.
Most companies who participate in Competitive Wargames gain share in the following months and year. Some even create long term strategic advantage through ideas created in the process.
Competitive Wargaming exercises bring together all the decision makers on how best to grow the business and how to bring the competition. Gathering as a team and reaffirming this simple goal, amongst the many others we all work on every day, is already a great step forward. But add into that a few more things and it is easy to see why Competitive wargames are so successful.
Firstly, there is a data-driven discussion on your competition – their strengths, opportunities, favourite playbooks against you. Then you put yourselves in the competition’s shoes, pretend to be them and work out how to beat you. It is both liberating and insightful, throwing up great ideas on what could happen – so you can design how to stop them, and be the winners yourselves. Once you have had some fun doing this, you bring together all the insights and draw together specific action plans on how to beat the competition – based on what you knew before, but critically also new insights you have gained in the process.
The focused approach, and the desire created to win in the process, is why Competitive Wargaming works.
The Competitive Wargaming Team specialises in making this happen. Let me know if you would like to hear more on how we can help you!
How to win Competitive Rivalries – the Potato Crisps example
Most companies who participate in Competitive Wargames gain share in the following months and year. Some even create long term strategic advantage through ideas created in the process.
Competitive Wargaming exercises bring together all the decision makers on how best to grow the business and how to bring the competition. Gathering as a team and reaffirming this simple goal, amongst the many others we all work on every day, is already a great step forward. But add into that a few more things and it is easy to see why Competitive wargames are so successful.
In most major food categories, competitive rivalries that have been built up over decades result in a profit-sapping stalemate.
Just occasionally as I was reminded from the recent Channel 4 documentary, “The Secret World of Crisps*”, the equilibrium is disturbed and a clear winner emerges.
Why is it that some Brands mange to win this competitive war, even when the odds seem finely balanced.
Well the necessaries include;
A product experience that is at least as good or better (60:40 wins help, but is often difficult to achieve)
A brand that is both known and relevant (increasingly this requires affirming the right values, and not dropping the ball on key aspects such as sustainability)
A Comms. strategy that cuts through to articulate the above (but most companies have access to the same creatives)
… but from what I have seen after 30 years of competitive strategy, these are not sufficient on their own.
What is needed is a commercial team that truly believes they are fighting a competitive war: understanding the enemy, developing the commercial strategy, relentlessly implementing it and being responsive and creative on the battle field. It is no surprise that the documentary highlighted how the Walker’s team had this mentality as they took on and routed Golden Wonder.
*https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-world-of/on-demand/71484-002