Franchise Face-Off

When other teams change the game, will you adapt or double down?

A competitive simulation that reveals how leaders decide, adapt, and align when millions (and minutes) are on the line.

Overview

Lead a sports franchise and balance the tension between talent management and financial constraints

You take control of a professional sports team. With a limited budget and fierce competition, your team must make decisions about capital investment, players, strategy, and KPIs all under time pressure. But just when you think you’ve found your rhythm, another team forces you to rethink everything.

Filter

Start by scanning the docs. What matters? What’s noise?

Teams must make sense of a mountain of info just like a real business.

Strategise

Agree on your strategy.

This is the moment alignment matters.

Everyone has a view but you must collaborate to win.

Execute

Time to act. Buy the franchise, invest in the stadium and pick up players in the draft.

All decisions happen under pressure and against the clock.

Pivot

Now you see your KPIs.
You might be ahead, you might be behind.

What’s working? What’s not? Pivot or stay the course?

Reflect

The simulation ends and the insight begins.
We debrief decisions, behaviours, and leadership patterns.

We finish by mapping it all back to your real-world.

Who it’s for

Built for Real Teams Making Real Decisions

Executive Teams wanting sharper strategic alignment
Emerging Leaders learning to think commercially
Cross-Functional Groups testing collaboration
MBA Programs seeking applied, experiential learning

What You’ll See (and Feel)

COLLABORATION | TIME PRESSURE | ACCOUNTABILITY

Here are five moments where emotions rise, decisions compound, and the simulation reveals how your team leads under pressure:

Strategy Huddle

The game begins with alignment.

Teams collaborate, calculate, and debate their starting approach, including where to invest their precious capital.

It feels energising. There’s optimism. Everyone’s convinced their strategy is the winner.

Franchise Auction

Then it heats up. Much like a real house auction, logic goes out the window.

Bids fly. Emotions spike. One team almost always overpays

It’s a powerful moment where competition starts to override control.

Player Draft

Fast | Competitive | Ruthless.

Teams race to build the perfect line-up, only to miss their top picks.

In seconds, they’re scrambling for backups. Recovery becomes the name of the game and it shows who adapts fast under pressure.

Yearly Reviews &
Wild Cards

Each mock year, scores are revealed.

Some celebrate. Some scramble.

Then come the wild cards as new players up for auction. It’s a second chance for some, a trap for others.

The energy in the room shifts dramatically with every reveal.

Winners &
Debrief

Applause, surprise, and sometimes heartbreak.

But the real payoff? The reflections.

The debrief surfaces powerful insights, often personal and unexpected. One leader said, “I saw more about my default leadership style in this game than in any feedback report.”

What Teams Walk Away With

These aren’t just theoretical takeaways.
They’re lived, felt, and debriefed by real leaders under real pressure.

Sharper Strategic Thinking

Participants practise setting strategy and adjusting in real time. They learn to cut through noise, focus on what matters, and weigh short-term wins against long-term vision.

Decisions Under Pressure

Leaders see how time, emotion, and competition shape their decisions and how to stay composed when the heat is on.

Bias Awareness and Collaboration

The game reveals how personal biases and team dynamics shape outcomes. Participants reflect on when they collaborated effectively… and when they didn’t.

Clearer Communication and Alignment

It’s one thing to have a plan. It’s another to get the team on board. This sim tests how alignment holds (or falls apart) when the pressure is on.

Financial Acumen and Risk Awareness

Participants learn to interpret complex data, manage limited resources, and invest based on principles, not emotion.

From Insight to Action

Debriefs help translate behaviour into habits. Many walk away setting action goals, not just performance goals.

LOGISTICS

Duration:

2.5–3 hours including debrief

Format:

In-person is preferable, but virtual is possible

Group Size:

Group Size: 6–30 people

Facilitated by:

Experienced game-based learning specialists

Optional:

Tailored context briefing and business-aligned debrief

Ready to See How Your Team Performs When It Counts?

Run Franchise Face-Off with Your Team