Wargaming for Leaders: Strategic Decision Making from the Bawargaming for Leaders: Strategic Decision Making from the Battlefield to the Boardroom Ttlefield to the Boardroom

If you had the opportunity to probe the future, make strategic choices, and view their consequences before making expensive and irretrievable decisions, wouldn't you take advantage of it? Of course you would. And in a world of asymmetrical conflict, security threats, intense global competition, and economic uncertainty, there is an even higher premium on road-testing plans and strategies—whether they're spearheaded by government organizations, transnational corporations, or emerging megacommunities. Wargaming for Leaders provides a methodology to get at the issues that one leader, no matter how visionary, cannot grasp on his or her own. How? By bringing together the real experts on the topic at hand to wage "cognitive warfare." Through tapping the collective wisdom surrounding an issue, experts can experience the future in a risk-free environment and find answers to questions that had not been on their radar—often with unexpected and startling results. With examples from the fields of military, corporate, and public policy, three wargaming developers from Booz Allen Hamilton deliver compelling insights on this problem-solving method, including fascinating details on how A large equipment manufacturer determined whether making a merger was strategically right for its business growth, as well as which technology investments it needed to drop A four-star U.S. general tested his war plan for Iraq and uncovered specific fixes that might have prevented a prolonged conflict An increasingly clogged air-traffic system faced a security-versus-convenience issue determined whether military airspace could be used during peak demand periods Wargaming allows organizations of every type and every size to organize information, plot out scenarios, and tap into the collective expertise of participants. The results allow everyone to identify and tackle obstacles, solve problems, and find new ways to innovate and further performance goals. Get ready for the battle of your organizational life—and prepare to reap the spoils of victory.

Field-tested strategies that target solutions and plot new growth

“As a warfighter and a military commander, I know the importance of using wargames to test strategies and plans before risking blood and treasure. The authors of Wargaming for Leaders tell the inside story of how wargames can help decision makers achieve success and avoid the pain of failure.”

-General (Ret.) Anthony Zinni, former Commander of U.S. Central Command

“Over the past several years, I have personally participated in several wargames to find solutions to the health challenges facing our country. These simulations can accomplish in a day or two the kind of practical problem solving and consensus building that too often takes months or even years. If your organization hasn't put these methods to work, you should.”

-Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, founder of the Center for Health Transformation

“Wargaming, once only a discipline used in military preparation, has emerged as a driving force in shaping strategies in corporate boardrooms. Any leader in either government or business will benefit greatly from this book and understanding the potential of wargaming in their own decision making.”

-Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, United States

"Fascinating stuff. These wargaming techniques allow participants to develop scenarios that can lead to unexpected and remarkable outcomes. The wargames described in this book, particularly those on national security and energy issues, often suggest a future no one could have imagined in advance. Public policymakers should take note."

—New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former U.S. Secretary of Energy

Mark Herman is a vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, specializing in the research, design, and staging of wargames for the government and private sector. He is the author and designer of more than 50 commercial wargames.

Mark Frost, a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, leads the firm's work in wargaming for the commercial and civil sectors, and megacommunities.

Robert Kurz, a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, specializes in strategy, analysis, and wargaming.

0071596887 Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Military Wargames Chapter 1 Designing the Modern Wargame: Three Key Moves Chapter 2 A Decade of Competitive Strategies Chapter 3 Gulf Wars (The Rest of the Story) Chapter 4 The Age of Transformation Chapter 5 The U.S. Navy and the Post-9/11 Era Part II: Wargames for Business Chapter 6 In the Beginning Chapter 7 Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way Chapter 8 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Chapter 9 Energy Plays Chapter 10 Don’t Fight the Scenario: The Plus Side Chapter 11 All Hazards, All the Time Part III: Global Crisis Wargames Chapter 12 The Impact of 9/11 Chapter 13 The Next Port in the Storm Chapter 14 The Once and Future Bird Flu Chapter 15 Megacommunities at Work Chapter 16 The Persian Gulf, Revisited Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W Z Business is war. Here's how to win it& — withfield-tested strategies from the world'sleading wargamers at Booz Allen HamiltonToday, wargaming is used at the highest levels of government and business to provide leaders with thesharpest competitive edge--to anticipate the futureand beat the enemy. In Wargaming for Leaders, MarkHerman, world-renowned wargame developer forBooz Allen Hamilton with coauthors Frost and Kurz,explores the strategies learned from wargamesdesigned and staged for the U.S. Army, global corporations,and nonprofit groups, revealing how these exerciseshave made for significant decisions andcompetitve advantage. Discusses the strategies of wargames designed by global corporations and non-profit groups with a review of diverse strategies, case studies, and exercises designed to demonstrate how to grow a business, get a competitive edge in the market, and anticipate the future moves and decisions of others. Includes examples from the fields of military; corporate; and public policy; this strategic guide shows readers how to identify and tackle obstacles; solve problems; and find new ways to innovate and further performance goals. -- Edited summary from book