Florida regional grocery chain Sweetbay Supermarket employed board games to fight boredom when convening 150 managers and executives to discuss strategies to improve their profitability and business skills.

"We know that can be a boring and dry subject," according to Sweetbay director of organizational development Glenn Henry. "We needed something that could get people excited."

Henry turned to business game developer Paradigm Learning, which provided the company with its business simulation board game: "Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy."

The game puts players in the shoes of a CEO of a fictional company who must make decisions to keep the business functioning. The simulation has players running the business in the course of several years and requires them to generate financial statements.

"They are constantly being peppered by shareholders and being peppered about what other things they can do to increase margins and net profitability," Paradigm Learning president Robb Gomez said. "It's very interactive, where they're teaming with a group of three other business owners, and they'll need their combined efforts and strategic views."

The game is designed to improve skills rather than determine a clear-cut winner, Gomez said. For example, one team might end the game more profitably, but another might end with more cash in hand, he said. "It all depends on how you define business success," Gomez said.

Following the game, the managers on the second day of the meeting were asked to write their own business plan for their stores. The game prepared the managers to do so without requiring them to endure long presentations on business basics.

Gomez said the aim of the game is for players to walk away thinking like a business owner, able to make decisions while understanding how they impact bottom-line results.

"We could have made people listen to lectures and presentations and risk having them tune out, or we could get them actively involved from the very beginning," according to Henry. "We made the right choice. They came away with a real appreciation for the corporate decisions that have to be made."

Originally published April 12, 2010 This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy