vantagepoint

The game that sets your entrepreneurial spirit free

Breaking News – November 2007
 
Ex-Combatants use Vantagepoint for business skills training in South Africa

Tshepanang (Trust Amongst Each Other) is a business initiative of the Alexandra Military Veterans Association. The aim of this forum is to achieve economic sustainability for its 30 former Freedom Fighters, representative of both Umkhonto We Sizwe (ANC-MK's) and Azanian Peoples Liberation Army (PAC-APLA).

The group are on a two year skills transfer programme, specifically designed by Natalie Morton of The Business Place (an Investec Bank initiative), at the request of the Alexandra Renewal Programme.

Mark Williams of Strategic Productivity, supervising a group of veterans playing  the Vantagepoint business game.

To complement the group's learning and development, Strategic Productivity (the South African distributor for Vantagepoint), utilizing the Vantagepoint business game, were invited to run a number of sessions for the group. The purpose was for each individual to experience business simulation, and the dynamics of how business works.

The group was split into competing teams. Introduced over three split days, the intricacies of doing business were raised each week at the pace of the group. The group was systematically introduced to the basic principles of cash flow, understanding the dynamics of sales, marketing, how to confirm orders and finally getting the cash into the business. The last round required the "companies" to record their business transactions, allowing them to track the growth or demise of their business.

Strategic Productivity's Joan Osterloh, working with a second group.

Core learning that came from the group represents an understanding of the complicated dynamics of decision making and the critical importance of communication not only within the business, but with competitors and customers.

It is anticipated that the group will continue to play the game periodically to complement their curriculum, as their knowledge grows.

"If I could play this game 7 or 8 times, I could run the country!" - Daniel, ex-combatant, after the first Vantagepoint session.

"Vantagepoint allows the opportunity to practically and holistically demonstrate all there is to seeing business in operation. It has been a critical component to my class, where understanding business and the consequence of decisions taken are key to success. I believe this game should be introduced early to those wanting to become economically sustainable, so that reflection and lessons learnt can be applied to actual business activities and experiences. I am a firm believer that Vantagepoint is a critical tool for those wanting to start a business, as well as those who are already in business. The best and almost unexpected outcome, was everyone had fun, whether their businesses thrived or failed." - Natalie Morton, Project Co-ordinator.
 

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Breaking News – May 2007
 
Vantagepoint customised for Human Rights in Business

The Humanist Committee on Human Rights (HOM) is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands whose mandate is to promote awareness of human rights in business, and to develop (educational) tools to support this mandate.

In collaboration with Strategic Productivity (Pty) Ltd, HOM have developed a customised version of Vantagepoint that incorporates human rights issues in business into the standard game. This includes an International version that is being sponsored by ASN Bank in the Netherlands, as well as a version specific to South Africa, which will be used to support the Human Rights in Business in South Africa project, to be launched towards the end of 2007. (For more information on this project, please visit the website of  the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship.)

“The Vantagepoint Human Rights & Business game provides a great opportunity for private enterprises as well as civil society organisations to learn about and be able to deal with human rights dilemmas being encountered when conducting business. HOM is very pleased to cooperate with Strategic Productivity (Pty) Ltd to develop both the South African and the international version.” - Marina d'Engelbronner, HOM Human Rights and Business Programme Manager

The International version of the Vantagepoint Human Rights game will be used by ASN Bank with their clients, and HOM will use the game to educate multi-national corporations based in the Netherlands on international human rights issues in business, as well as to support Human Rights in Business projects in other countries.
 

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Breaking News – June 2007

Vantagepoint a success in Arts and Culture

As part of a learnership offered by the Cultural Help Desk in Newtown, Johannesburg, Vantagepoint was used to present a two-day training course for students in arts and culture, during the third week of June 2007. Students were a collection of budding entrepreneurs who were starting out with an idea, community centre leaders, founders of businesses in the arts who had been running for a few years, and administrators and managers.

The course covered entrepreneurial skills and the basics of starting and running your own business, with some theory but mostly workshops centred around playing the game. Students felt that the game gave them insights that they did not get from theory and that it gave them a true-to-life feeling for what it would be like to have your own business. They learnt about themselves and how they tended to make decisions, and what they needed to change in order for them to be more successful.

Some students have asked to form a business support group who would play the game regularly to share experiences and to constantly build on their knowledge and skills – if you are interesting in being part of such a group, please email us on . 
 

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