There is an astonishing phenomenon that occurs in business. When departments discuss finance, people often use different terms to refer to the same thing. For example, operating income (or operating profit) is a line on the income statement (or P&L) … Read More
Everyone who works makes business decisions. College deans approve faculty. Distribution managers decide on appropriate inventory. Even the teenager cutting grass decides how much to charge. Since they all make business decisions, shouldn’t they understand how business works? A great … Read More
By 1996, Michelin Worldwide was facing an unfamiliar challenge. To better serve the Customer, Michelin needed to align its organization into product lines, something that had been absent up to that point. Previously, critical management decisions were made at corporate … Read More
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: The Income|Outcome® Business Simulation is nothing like Monopoly® or The Game of Life®. The concept of “serious gaming” is near and dear to our hearts, but we know it may not … Read More
A board game? How could a game tackle a topic as serious and complex as business finance? You already know that requiring financial training for your employees can feel like pulling teeth. Financial lectures are “boring,” the subject matter is … Read More
Everyone admires a genius. Brilliance, especially in business, can carry a mediocre vessel across near-miraculous distances. But if a select few at the top of the business are the only ones with sturdy financial knowledge, the whole structure will topple. … Read More
The Economist has a recent article (“Revisiting Ricardo”) on the reasons behind the growing economic inequalities within the poorest countries. One point discussed is that better educated and better skilled individuals are able to connect with individuals and companies in … Read More
Prices rising and falling as a result of Supply and Demand isn’t a purely theoretical idea, and the people on either side of the deal don’t have to have even heard of it. It happens naturally. If I want some … Read More
Towards the end of Income/Outcome workshops we look at Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other metrics, and consider how people change their behavior depending on what they are measured on. We subscribe to the rueful view that if you measure … Read More
Bureaucracy! Can’t we get rid of it? Of course there need to be rules and guidelines for actions and decisions in a government department. You can’t have arbitrary decision-making as the standard process. The problem is that, even if the … Read More