Tales of Aha! Learning

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Two participants joined us for a 1-day simulation followed by a 2-day Train-the-Trainer session. On the second morning, they arrived late to our offices.

When we asked why, they apologized and shared their insight:

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“After the workshop, we both realized hat if we switched to a cheaper hotel, the cost savings would drop directly to the bottom line. We talked it over last night - there are two of us, so that's four nights of savings! This morning we changed hotels, and that’s why we’re late!”

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Insight in Action:

Even small financial decisions can have a direct impact on the bottom line.

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At a pilot workshop for Michelin, an hourly employee stayed behind to speak with the facilitator.

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He said: “They tell us there’s no money for raises or bonuses. But last week they announced they’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars to build a brand new facility. I used to think, 'Someone’s got to be lying'. That was before the game.”

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(In that simulation teams started out with a product that cost 6 to build and sold it for 14. However they still lost money because of all the other expenses. But by going from one production shift to three, without increasing the other overheads, they tripled their sales and became profitable.)

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The employee paused and said: “Now I get it. No one was lying. I get it.”

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What Changed?

Understanding financial realities builds trust in management decisions.

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(A conversation with a local electrician, one year after he attended a 1-day Income|Outcome workshop.)

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Electrician:
“It did make a difference. I was trying to figure out whether I should be getting a new truck or not. I closed my eyes so I could imagine the board and moved the chips around — like I was buying a truck. Then I moved the chips around like I wasn’t buying a truck.‍

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“I kind of looked at it all, and you know what I figured? I didn’t actually need a new truck, but I had way too much money tied up in supplies, parts, and equipment.”

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Andromeda:
“What did you decide to do?”

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Electrician:
“I decided to reduce the inventory and think about it again in six months.”

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Takeaway:

He didn’t just see the chips — he saw the bigger financial picture.

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‍Shared financial language makes meetings faster and more effective.

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A Michelin employee shared a surprising change after attending a 1.5-day Income|Outcome workshop. Their manager had participated in the 3-day program around the same time.

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“I have a monthly meeting with my manager — it used to take an hour. After the workshop, our next meeting was done in ten minutes!

“We figure it’s because we don’t have to spend 30 or 40 minutes explaining to each other what we’re talking about.”

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Insight in Action:

Income|Outcome improves the speed and accuracy of communication, saving time and focusing conversations on decisions.

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‍Salespeople learn the real impact of bending the rules.

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An Ag-chemical company ran workshops for their salespeople — those selling to mom-and-pop feed stores. As part of the learning experience, they invited a typical customer into the room.

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Whenever the salespeople suggested 'bending' the rules — particularly around delivery periods — the facilitator deferred to the customer.

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The customer didn’t hold back: “Are you guys crazy?! Do you know what happens to me if you change things around? Do you know what happens if I don’t get my order this month?”

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Insight in Action:

Salespeople saw firsthand how promises made to customers connect to the realities of order fulfillment — and the consequences of getting it wrong.

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Income|Outcome demystifies the budget process and clarifies its value.

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Acumen is a global organization of entrepreneurs and social innovators focused on breaking the cycle of poverty. As part of their fellowship program for social entrepreneurs in East Africa, we provide the finance module.

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At the start of one Income|Outcome workshop, a participant shared her frustration:

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“I hate the budget process. I don’t see the purpose of it, but I hope to learn enough to do it better.”

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Our facilitator, Eliza, replied:
“I can’t change how you feel about budgets, but by the end of this workshop, you’ll understand their value.”

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Eight hours later, at the end of the workshop, the same woman stood up and said:
“Eliza was wrong. She said I would still hate budgets — but now I love them!”

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Insight in Action:

Income|Outcome helps demystify the budgeting process, making it easier to understand, apply, and appreciate.

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Income|Outcome gives R&D teams a real-world experience of business thinking.

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At the very first Income|Outcome public workshop, a participant from a pharmaceutical company — the Head of Learning & Development — raised a request midway through the session. She loved the program, but wanted more emphasis on R&D. It’s critical in the pharma industry, and her R&D teams need to understand how the business actually works.

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We immediately modified the simulation to include some R&D investment dynamics, without disrupting the flow of the game. The result was that her team spent so heavily on R&D that they couldn’t afford to implement any improvements.

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Her team was frustrated, but she was thrilled.

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Participant reaction: “This is so real-world. Our R&D groups need to see what happens when they focus only on innovation without considering the financial impact.”
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What Happened Here?

R&D teams gained business insight: They experienced how cash flow and operational constraints impact their ability to execute innovations — and why financial literacy matters to R&D success.

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Income|Outcome helps sales teams connect their services to customer priorities.

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A supply chain engineer at a global shipping company wanted the sales team to have better financial conversations with their clients. They arranged for the salespeople to attend a 1-day Income|Outcome workshop.

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The next morning, the salespeople were asked to map customer solutions to the Income|Outcome game board.

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Through this exercise, they gained two key insights - they saw where their services impact customer financials AND they realized that different customers have different KPIs and priorities.

For example:

• A customer focused on profitability might buy in bulk to get a discount.
• A customer focused on working capital might prefer just-in-time delivery, even at a higher price.

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What Changed? The sales team learned to tailor their offerings to help clients optimize their KPIs.

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What Happened Here?

Salespeople gained financial acumen: They can now discuss KPIs with their customers, understand client priorities, and offer solutions that align with financial goals.

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The Income|Outcome facilitator was presenting the "it is important to get good and timely numbers in the budget process" speech. One of the participants in the classroom was the budget officer for a thermoplastics company; he gave his animated support of this message. VERY animated support, in his experience sales people were not quick to request the sales targets he requested.

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Later, when teams were asked to provide target numbers, his response was "I can't give you a number because we don't know for sure which customers we are going to win....oh." He then stood up and told all of the salespeople in the room that he now understood their world better, but that they still had to get him good numbers, and on time!

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(Silver lining- his team nailed their budget.)

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→ Income|Outcome improves inter-departmental respect!

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Coke Syrup Plant in Allentown

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After the production team went through a 4-hour Income|Outcome simulation we hosted a ‘suggestion box’ session with the group.

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Over the next two hours, the employees  offered several whiteboards worth of improvements they would like to see around the plant.  

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When making a suggestion, they were asked to make the business case:

• State the improvement
• Estimate the cost
• State whether it was Capex or Opex
• Identify the benefit (in financial terms)
• Estimate the implementation period and pay-back period

Finance and Management couldn't believe the outcome! Teams spent the next four hours generating suggestions.

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Even after the workshop was over, the suggestions for improvements kept coming in.  The management team actually set a deadline of 'Thursday noon' for submissions … but they assigned a full-time person to manage the incoming flow for that period.

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Better Business Acumen: the more people understand, the more they want to improve business activity and financial results.

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→ Income|Outcome causes enthusiastic local insights for operational improvements!