Why, and how do business simulations work?

From campfire stories to rock art, written word to video, training courses to business simulations; the way we learn has changed over the years and will continue do so well into the future. One thing that seems to remain constant, however, is that you can’t go past experience if you want to embed the lessons.

From campfire stories to rock art, written word to video, training courses to business simulations; the way we learn has changed over the years and will continue do so well into the future. One thing that seems to remain constant, however, is that you can’t go past experience if you want to embed the lessons.

No matter how much theory you learn, or how much knowledge you build it remains an untested concept until it’s actually used, and settles deeper into your consciousness. We know this to be the case because we’ve experienced it ourselves, seen it happen in others, and more importantly, it’s been confirmed by ever advancing research into the functionality of the brain.

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

As far back as 1949, psychologist Donald Hebb predicted experience caused neurons to fire in your brain, which strengthened connection over time. Fast forward seventy years and researchers continue to support this and uncover more detail, with connections being made and broken repeatedly, right down to the molecular level. In fact, the neuroscientists Michael Greenberg, Christine Holt and Erin Schuman, who won the 2023 Brain Prize, focused on exactly that. It’s commonly known as ‘plasticity’, or, how sensory input continually changes the structure and function of our brains. That’s one of the underlying principles of good a business simulation.

Another factor that makes a difference is the ability to make nuanced decisions under pressure with incomplete information, a tight schedule, complexity and conflict. Emotional fortitude and tolerance of ambiguity helps in these situations, as does a solid grounding in business ethics. Commercial acumen is all of this, combining to a greater understanding of the ‘bigger picture’ in terms of strategy, operations, people, the external context and how financials are all connected. It’s having the ability to challenge conventional thinking, and be flexible with business models and frameworks.

By effectively simulating real life experiences they allow connections to be forged, and literally prepare the structure of your brain for a wider range of business challenges. Knowledge becomes embedded, and next time you’re in a similar situation your brain can access the relevant information faster.

A risk-free place to test and learn

Business simulations allow professionals at all levels to have ‘hands-on’ experience, without any real-world consequences. It’s a safe place to test and learn quickly, with Wyda, at least, you’ll see the results of your decisions immediately.

Wyda has been built on real situations, with real outcomes, and some of them quite unexpected for participants. That’s because it reflects not just the bottom line, or a percentage increase in revenue, for example, but other factors such as the engagement levels of employees as they react to an unpopular decision. Theory is all very good and well, but it often doesn’t translate to the messy, emotional and sometimes irrational world we all operate in.

Just the right levels of cortisol

While emotions can make businesses unpredictable, we can also harness them to boost performance, and enhance our ability to learn. Research has continuously shown that excessively high or low levels of stress correlate with poor performance, while moderate levels of stress can lift performance and optimise learning. That’s why ‘game-based learning’ has seen an increase in recent years, because when done correctly it can deliver just the right levels of cortisol to help you learn.

In fact, a good business simulation stirs several emotions, helping you feel focused, challenged and accomplished. All of that triggers the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin, which also make it feel more engaging and fun than passive learning.

So why, and how do business simulations work?

Because they literally change our brains to help us learn, and they give us a safe space to make mistakes. Which simulation you engage in, however, can make all the difference. Some are quite narrow focussed, while others don’t hit the mark on an emotional perspective, and what we’ve learned over the years is the framing makes a huge difference too.

How the concept is presented, and tied into an organisation’s existing learning & development goals, growth objectives or whatever it is you’re trying to improve, is just as important as the experience itself. Linking it all realistically to the everyday lives of your participants, is when you see changes really start to happen in your workplace.

Wyda can be implemented and completed quite easily, with an online dashboard accessed from anywhere, at a time that suits your employees, whilst remaining part of a cohort too. Finally, they can also reveal knowledge gaps at an individual, and team level, providing insights into learning behaviours you can then use to develop employees’ skills more effectively in the future.