Pricewaterhouse Coopers

PriceWaterhouse Coopers

Highlights

Computerworld Honors Program Finalist
Executive learning simulations
Customizable industry strategy games

"The game has pushed our strategy significantly ahead of the curve."

- Senior Vice-President, Hydro One

As the Ontario electricity industry was re-regulated, PricewaterhouseCoopers client Hydro One was faced with evolving from a regulated, cost-plus monopoly to a "commercial" enterprise. To reorganize efficiently and effectively, the CEO insisted upon investing in the human capital of her leadership team by attempting to:

build commercial "business savvy"
align the whole leadership around the new strategy
enhance basic leadership skill

PricewaterhouseCoopers looked to our strategic simulation experience to create a customized solution for Hydro One. The end result was the award winning simulation, The Hydro One Strategic Growth Game.

The Game is a computer-moderated, head-to-head team competition. Multiple games can be played simultaneously. Today, sessions of over 100 players play 10 or more games at the same time. The game fosters commercial business savvy by encouraging players to build the most shareholder value by driving a "cash engine". Throughout the simulation, teams have constrained funds and make risk-based decisions. To win, teams must:

improve the cost base of their business operations
acquire other utilities without overpaying
enter new businesses
face down the Regulator
go to the public markets for financing
survive hostile takeovers

The Game has been a huge success and has raised the profile of every other transformation effort undertaken by this management team. All internal research indicates that the lessons were effectively passed on and remembered. At a global level, this game was honored as a Laureate and Finalist in the Computerworld-Smithsonian "Heroes in Innovation" program against thousands of competitors.

The strategy simulation has a simulation engine (SIM) at its core that is fully customizable for application to any industry line. The Hydro One Strategic Growth Game is just one customization of a tool with endless possibilities.