Do Finance managers ever go bankrupt in Income/Outcome?

Mixing Finance with Other Teams: A Lesson from Experience

Many years ago, when I was still learning how to run business simulations effectively, I led a three-day workshop for a Fortune 50 computer manufacturer. The participants came from a variety of departments, but I made a critical mistake—I let people sit with their friends.

The three participants from Finance sat together, and I didn’t think to break them up.

At the first Market event, the Finance team was the only one that fully understood their cost structure. They priced accordingly, ensuring they covered costs and targeted about a 10% return on sales. The other teams, less familiar with financials, underpriced their products without realizing the consequences. As the Customer, I bought at the lowest prices available. The Finance team, despite making smart pricing decisions, was shut out of the market.

The Finance team wasn’t worried. They assumed the other teams would realize their mistake, adjust prices upward in future rounds, and that they could sell their stockpile at better margins later.

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Meanwhile, the rest of the teams were in a panic:

• "The market is broken! No one knows how to price properly!"
• "If we don’t adapt, we’ll go out of business!"

Rather than raising prices, the other teams found creative solutions.

• One team entered foreign markets with less competition.
• Another focused on developing a new product.
• A third team improved efficiency to lower costs.
• Another built a reputation for high quality and premium pricing.

By the next round, the Finance team was still waiting for prices to correct. They were shut out of the market again, while the other teams started to turn things around and make money.

At the end of the workshop, the Finance team had the lowest retained earnings. Their final evaluation? They felt the simulation hadn't taught them anything and left early.

The Key Lesson

They weren’t wrong. I had failed them. The workshop was helping non-finance teams learn financial concepts, but Finance wasn’t gaining new insights. They needed to be mixed with the other teams—not just to teach, but to engage in discussions, challenge assumptions, and learn from a broader business perspective.

Now, I ensure Finance is always integrated across teams. At the beginning of a workshop, Sales might argue for lower prices to secure sales, while Finance insists on raising prices to protect margins. By the end, those same participants have flipped perspectives, recognizing the balance required for business success.

This is what business acumen training should do—help people see the bigger picture, understand the trade-offs, and make better decisions as a team.

Want to develop financial fluency and cross-functional decision-making? Learn more about our Income|Outcome business simulations.

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