“Invite people to think like
business owners – so they can base their future
decisions on sound business thinking.”
Celemi Apples & Oranges® brings financial statements
to life through its simple, profound model of a company.
Participants form the incoming management team of
A&O Inc. – an established company that is facing some
tough challenges. The company is losing market share and
there are increasing demands from suppliers and
customers. A&O Inc. needs a new, disciplined financial
strategy.
Teams learn how to monitor
cash flow, make resource utilization improvements, and
measure results in the balance sheet and income
statement.
Participants of all experience levels are able to gain
new skills or build on prior experience to:
- Read and interpret financial statements.
- Identify critical elements affecting
profitability.
- Analyze financial ratios and key performance
indicators, and make priorities accordingly. Your
people will explore the cause-and-effect relationships
that govern a company’s financial statements – and
develop an intrinsic business sense that will govern
their future decisions in every day work.
What clients say
“Everyone is thinking like business owners. That
means future decisions will be made based on sound
business thinking, which should improve the financial
picture much quicker.”
– Internal consultant, Principal Financial Group
“Apples & Oranges surpassed our expectations by a
wide margin. [It] not only gives us a foundation to
build on – it also creates enthusiasm and gets people
involved. These are essential components for us as we
launch our development program.”
– Personnel manager, Volvo Bus Corporation
“In one of our factories we came up with £1 million
worth of potential improvements as a direct result of
the Celemi business simulation.”
– Manager, GlaxoSmithKline
Business finance
for everyone
Key results
Companies using Celemi Apples & Oranges® can benefit
by:
- Creating a common vision throughout the
organization.
- Building a shared baseline understanding of
financial and management concepts.
- Communicating key messages during times of
organizational change.
Participants win through Apples & Oranges by:
- Knowing how their business generates profits
today, and how it will need to generate profits in
the future.
- Understanding how their daily decisions impact
the company strategically and financially.
- Continuously identifying improvements in the
business operations.
Key concepts
- Stakeholder value
- Cash flow
- Return on assets
- Return on equity
- Profitability
- Operating costs
- Margin
- Capacity utilization
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Number of participants
From four to several thousand participants.
Participants are grouped in teams of 3-4. One
facilitator for every 25-30 people.
Participants
Employees at all levels.
Time required
6-8 hours, corresponding to 3 years of operation.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi.
“Preparing people for the
challenges of project work.”
A company has just completed a large project and, in
hindsight, it did not deliver as much business value as
was originally expected. There were budget and time
overruns, and neither the project sponsors nor end users
seem too satisfied with the result. Participants are
asked to go back in time to see if they can identify the
hot buttons and deliver a better result.
“They say that you learn from your mistakes. That is
true only if you understand what happened.”
Participants diagnose signs and symptoms of potential
problems, and mitigate them using limited resources. The
storyline loosely follows a typical IT implementation of
a new business system. However, the challenges are
universal and easily recognized,
such as:
• Key stakeholders are not engaged… get their attention
or trust your own judgement?
• New insights arise… revise the scope or stick to the
plan?
• Project team is overloaded… take quick action or make
systematic changes?
• Actuals are not in line with budget and
timeline…adjust figures or adjust ambitions?
Participants quickly recognize that you cannot please
everybody all of the time. The art to project work is to
balance the needs of key stakeholders – sponsors and
steering committee, the project delivery team, and the
end users of the organization – in order to create
maximum business value.appened.”
What clients
say
“Very good way
of looking at project management capability. Much more
useful than just listening and watching slides!
Recommended for real project teams.”
– Project
manager, Global pharmaceutical company, Sweden
“Very good! I
particularly liked the discussions after completing each
phase, since it allowed us to connect the game’s
problems with the reality of our particular company.”
– Regional
manager, Car Manufacturing Firm, USA
“Never having
completed anything quite like this, I found it
stimulating and thought-provoking, especially the
“knock-on” effect of our choices, and the importance of
group-work and communication.”
– Team
leader, Local County Council, United Kingdom
Securing project success
Who benefits?
Celemi CayenneTM
is suitable for all types of companies and projects. The
storyline is built on an IT system implementation, but
is suitable for all projects of similar magnitude.
Cayenne targets
everybody involved in, or concerned by a project – not
just the project manager.
Typical uses:
-
Kick-off a
new project – to create a common understanding and
preparedness among everybody involved and secure a
successful outcome.
-
Get an
existing project back on track by reallocating
resources or re-establishing
communication.
-
Create good
conditions for successful joint projects between
system suppliers and their clients.
-
Build a
common vocabulary and understanding between
specialists and generalists.
-
Complement
general project management training courses focused
on administrative or operational aspects.
Key results
Celemi CayenneTM
is a valuable preparation for the challenges of project
work. Participants emerge from the experience with:
-
Better
ability to balance the needs of different
stakeholder groups.
-
Identification and utilization of key performance
measures.
-
Heightened
ability to read signs and symptoms of potential
pitfalls in projects.
-
Better
awareness and preparedness of the conditions for
ongoing projects back on the job.
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Number of participants
Teams of 3-4 participants. Multiple teams can run
the simulation simultaneously.
Participants
All project members; project managers, business
executives, content provider consultants, experts and
end users as well as support personnel.
Time required
6-8 hours.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi.
“Making key people understand
how and why their decisions influence the entire
organization.”
Six capital-intensive companies are competing for
customers in a highly competitive, rapidly changing
marketplace. Participants take on the role of the
management
team – comprised of finance, production, marketing and
corporate intelligence. Their challenge is to make the
right investments at the right time – and to get the
required return.
Teams
manage the strategic, operational and financial
variables that will help lower costs and penetrate new
markets.
Tough investment decisions lie
ahead:
- Invest now…or later?
- Pursue all markets… or just a
few?
- Take the lead… or be an early
follower?
- Build efficient assembly
lines… or flexible flow shops?
- Borrow money… or earn it
first?
- Stick to the basics… or
pursue the cutting edge?
Teams learn to better utilize
financial statements and financial ratios as planning
tools to boost productivity and profitability over a
10-year period. Working together, they increase their
awareness of the complex nature of inter-departmental
financial relationships. And in the process, they
understand what it takes to pull in the same direction –
as well as how to bring their new skills and insights
into reality.
What clients say
“You know the program is effective
when people from manufacturing, sales and marketing
become sensitive to each other’s needs and understand
how the other operation works.”
– Manager, 3M
“We found Celemi Decision Base® to
be profoundly valuable. By experiencing the positions of
senior management, our sales people gained a newfound
appreciation for what our customers experience in their
jobs and developed a greater ability to talk the
customer’s language.”
“We required every Oracle USA sales representative to
take this training. It was exceptional.”
– Sales manager, Oracle
“I better understand my personal impact on financial
results and hope to find ways to make things better…I
hope everyone takes this. It’s good material for
developing increased understanding of financial terms
and interactions in the business environment.”
– Participant, Hewlett Packard
Pulling in the same strategic direction
Who benefits?
- All personnel with financial
responsibilities in manufacturing, production or
other capital-intensive companies can build
cross-functional insight and align with a common
vocabulary of performance measures.
- Sales people, service
providers and consultancies gain a better
understanding of their clients’ business conditions.
- Companies that are
implementing new IT architectures can use Celemi
Decision Base® to identify hot buttons.
- Business schools, corporate
universities and academies can use this as part of
their management development track to introduce and
apply strategy, business economics and finance
competencies.
Key results
- Improved productivity through
better teamwork, communication and coordination.
- Alignment around the “big
picture” and a deeper level understanding of
strategy and tactical initiatives.
- Better decisions for optimal
allocation of limited resources.
- Increased responsiveness to
internal and external customer needs.
- Heightened business literacy
and financial acumen.
- Deep understanding of the
overall business impact of financial decisions.
Key concepts
- Market share
- Profitability
- Return on capital employed
- Cash flow
- Cost of capital
- Return on investments in
markets, products and production
- EVA™ (economic value added)
optional
- CVA™ (cash flow value added)
optional
- NPV (net present value)
optional
- ABC (activity-based costing)
optional
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Number of participants
Six competing teams, 12-24 participants in total.
Multiple seminars can be held simultaneously.
Participants
Managers and other employees in decision-making
positions.
Time required
2-2,5 days, corresponding to 10 years of operation.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi.
“Attracting and retaining
targeted clients in extremely competitive markets.”
Four retailers are in tough
competition for the same customers in a growing market.
The overriding challenge is to build and retain a
profitable customer base. Who will emerge as the market
leader?
At the start, the four retailers
are “all over the place”. They soon learn that their
company cannot be everything to everyone, and that
competitive positioning is critical. Which current
customers should they keep? Which prospective customers
should they target?
“To be
successful means to build a strong market position and
develop the ability to defend it.”
The management team needs to
decide on a desired market position and capture it in
the most cost-effective way. Teams analyze baseline
market research to help them make tactical choices:
- Go for the high end of the
market… or the low end?
- Pursue a unique niche… or
attack a competitor’s stronghold?
- Build capacity in advance… or
wait for the demand to grow?
- Compete on differentiation…
or on price?
- Defend your achieved position
at all costs… or move to another?
Through this, teams learn what it
takes to be “glocal”
– to adopt a global framework of a corporate strategy
and make it successful in local market conditions.
What clients say
“We can count on success only if our dealers earn
money, so it makes sense for us to help them to do a
good job in their local markets, and to make good use of
the things we do at headquarters, like marketing
campaigns, etc. For work of this kind, Celemi LivonTM is
an outstanding tool.”
– Sales manager, Toyota Sweden
“I believe it was a useful reminder to all of us that
every customer represents many years of business. In
fact, it is both simpler and less costly to keep a
customer than
to replace one that has gone somewhere else. Thank you
for an interesting and useful experience.”
– Participant, IBM Australia
“This helped me immeasurably in understanding market
share, competition, and other areas not usually
affiliated with store operations.”
– Product manager, leading manufacturer in the US
Differentiate or
die
Who benefits?
Celemi LivonTM is designed for all employees who are
expected to help sales and distribution organizations
coordinate market investments and resources and promote
a precise, consistent identity for the company.
- Any organization looking to reinforce its
competitive advantages and capture greater market
share.
- Business leaders who need to create a strong
alignment between franchise, retail or other
operations and the central sales and marketing
strategy.
- Managers of local or regional markets who want
to explore how to adopt and adapt a global strategy.
- Smaller, independent companies looking to
identify or strengthen their market niche.
- Companies wanting a simple demonstration of what
it means to be “customer-driven”.
- Business schools and corporate universities to
deliver the big-picture framework on marketing
concepts, market segmentation, consumer behavior, or
strategic alignment around a central vision.
Key results
- Develop effective marketing plans and strategies
that are consistent with overall company positioning.
- Use powerful marketing tactics to meet local
customers and competitors.
- Manage and allocate scarce resources to remain
competitive and profitable.
- Select competitive advertising and pricing.
Key concepts
- Market share
- Competitive attributes
- Marketing investments and resources
- Promotion
- Profitability
- Pricing
- Consumer behavior
- Market segmentation
- Customer profiling and targeting
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Number of participants
Four competing teams, 12-16 participants in total.
Multiple seminars can be held simultaneously.
Participants
Sales and marketing staff.
Time required
1 day, corresponding to 5 years of operation.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi.
“Inspire people and help them
realize your company’s marketing strategy.”
Celemi Livon Lite™ is the fast track to a basic
understanding of the principles of marketing and
branding. At the starting point, four companies are
fiercely competing in a narrow segment of the
marketplace. There is little differentiation, causing a
restless
customer base with little loyalty to their respective
companies.
Teams need to decide on how to
best use their limited resources on attracting a
selection of customers.
There are some big issues to discuss:
- How will we attract and retain a steady customer
base?
- What are our strengths – and how can we leverage
them?
- What type of market profile do we want – and how
will we communicate it?
Customers’ perceptions and preferences change as an
effect of how they are treated over time. As a
consequence, more or less of the potential market share
is captured.
Teams assess their performance:
- Were they able to select a position in the
marketplace and hold onto it?
- Were they able to attract their customers of
choice?
- Were they able to maintain the price level they
wanted?
- Did they spend more money than necessary to
maintain the operation?
What clients say
“Very fast and exciting way to learn about our
marketing strategy. To compete with your colleagues
forces you to do your best. Thank you!”
– Sales Manager, Multinational industrial company,
Russia
“Good for large audiences to understand marketing
fundamentals. A couple of well spent hours!”
– Training and Development Director, Insurance
group, Middle East
“Fun and informative at the same time!”
– Management Consultant, Sweden
The power of the
customer
Who benefits?
- Those responsible for planning and communicating
the launch of a new product or service.
- Sales and marketing staff on the corporate,
centralized level can become more aware of the
challenges on the localized level (and vice versa).
- Companies facing a merger or acquisition, where
there is a need to fuse together differing brands
and build a shared understanding of the new profile
among key employees.
- Managers of franchise businesses who want to
ensure consistent profiling in all locations.
- Marketing professionals who need to communicate
the results of market research and its implications
for the future.
- Sales people become better attuned to customer
targeting, customer behavior and getting their
priorities right.
- Marketing consultancies who offer the seminar as
an added educational benefit to their own clients.
Key results
- Alignment around the “big picture” and a deeper
understanding of marketing strategy and tactical
initiatives.
- Better decisions for optimal allocation of
limited marketing resources.
- Increased responsiveness to customer needs and
preferences.
- Deep understanding of the overall business
impact of their decisions.
- Inspiring glocal (local within global)
performance
Key concepts
- Customer purchasing behavior
- Market positioning
- Customer segmentation
- Brand mapping
- Pricing strategy
- Image tracking
- Budgeting
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Number of participants
From four to several thousand participants at any
one time, or at simultaneous seminars. Participants are
grouped in teams of 3-4. One facilitator for every 25-30
people.
Participants
Sales and marketing staff.
Time required
4-6 hours.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi
“Inspire team members to apply
business concepts that help put your strategy into
action – fast.”
Success is a moving target. How do you get all your
people behind your strategy in a marketplace that is
rapidly changing? In the Celemi Enterprise™ business
simulation, six companies compete for the same customers
in a dynamic marketplace. Participants take on the roles
of the management team – comprised of Marketing and
Sales, Development and Services, Planning and Delivery,
Finance and Control. The main challenge is to build, and
successfully execute a strategy that leads to winning
results.
Teams
embark on a business adventure with promises of risks
and rewards where they have to be on their toes and
think strategically to succeed.
Celemi Enterprise challenges
participants to deal with uncertainties and balance
short-term results with long-term value. The teams need
to:
- Decide on a desired market
position.
- Target and sell to preferred
customers.
- Meet customer demands by
developing an attractive and profitable product
portfolio.
- Deliver with excellence by
getting the most out of people and processes.
- Create strong, sustainable
brand value.
- Keep track of financial
results – both short and long term.
The certified facilitator uses a
software program to perform a detailed yearly analysis
and comparison of the teams’ performances along a range
of objective factors. This leads to intense discussions
and links to participants’ experiences in their own
business
life.
At the end of the simulation,
there is a next-step exercise where people are invited
to draw conclusions about their own areas of
responsibility. This ensures that the simulation
experience results in sustained, useful knowledge.
What clients say
“It’s the most interactive
training I’ve ever attended. Key points are highlighted
with practical demonstrations that every participant can
see and feel.”
– Jan Reznicek, call center
manager, Customer Care Department, Ceska Pojistovna a.s.
Who benefits
- Senior and middle managers at
large enterprises with a product and service
offering can use the simulation to put strategy into
action – fast.
- Co-workers gain a common
understanding of the big picture as well as of how
they as individuals can contribute to the company’s
competitiveness.
- Managers responsible for
training can use the simulation for hands-on,
interactive education, and for communication of
company strategy.
Key results
- Participants gain a common
frame of reference of the overall business
situation, which they absorb and understand quickly.
- Offers a mental model of how
the business works, what the priorities are and how
to move forward.
- Encourages people to explore
and discover the key value drivers of the business
and their relative impact on the organization.
- Helps participants identify
potential for improvement and how they can
contribute to strategy via their own role in the
organization.
- Inspires people’s desire to
make a difference.
Key concepts
Attracting the right customers
- Customer needs, values and
preferences
- Customer segmentation
Using resources wisely
- Tangible and intangible
assets
- Knowledge management
- Shareholder value
- Financial indicators, good
and bad costs
Prioritizing based on the right
information
- Product lifecycle
- Rolling forecast
- Balanced scorecard
- Capacity utilization
- Benchmarking
Staying competitive in a changing
market
- Value propositions
- Pricing and product portfolio
- Positioning and branding
- Operational efficiency
- “Red and blue oceans”
- Market intelligence
Facts
Material
Board-based business simulation.
Computer-based debrief support.
Number of participants
Four-six competing teams: 12-30 participants in
total.
Multiple seminars can be held simultaneously.
Participants
Senior managers, middle managers, entrepreneurs and
others with marketing, sales, business and financial
responsibilities.
Time required
1.5-2 days.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi.
