Tales of Business Bravado

When Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) partnered with us to run finance and decision-making workshops, over 600 senior managers and engineers gained a new perspective on operational efficiency.

One cross-functional Tahseen team applied their learning to the boiler protection test process at the Ghazlan Power Plant. The test previously required 12 employees and took two full days, plus overtime, due to duplicated steps and missing calibration tools.

Armed with strategic thinking from the workshop, the team restructured the process by pre-positioning equipment and reducing staffing needs by 50%. The result? The test was completed in just 8 hours, eliminating overtime costs and reducing plant shutdown time.

What Happened Here?

Insight: Cross-functional Tahseen teams applied strategic thinking to improve real-world processes.‍

Action: They streamlined the boiler protection test, reducing time, staffing, and costs.‍

Result:

• Savings of over $4,000/year in overtime costs.
• Revenue gains of $900,000/year from increased energy production.

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The Program

This was a 2-3 day Finance & Strategy program, tailored to include  green energy choices. The program was rolled out too over 600 senior managers and engineers. Programs ran in both Arabic and d English (with Arabic language support).

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When Beam Suntory began rolling out a tailored Finance & Strategy workshop, their goal was to boost commercial acumen across the organization. It worked.

One salesperson, inspired by the Income|Outcome workshop, took a fresh look at product profitability. By focusing on selling a stronger mix of high-margin items, they achieved a profit increase of $9,000 — in just one month.

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Their success reinforced the value of understanding the financial impact of sales decisions and showed how small shifts in strategy can drive real-world business impact.

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What Happened Here?

Insight: The salesperson applied financial acumen to analyze product profitability.

Action: They prioritized high-margin products, shifting their sales approach.‍

Result:

• $9,000 profit increase in one month.
• Demonstrated how strategic product focus delivers bottom-line results.

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→ Increased Profits is a Better Business Result!

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The Program

This was a 2-day Finance & Strategy program, tailored to include some dynamics specific to the beverage industry. Over a 2-year period, the program was rolled out to over 500 people in the Americas and Europe. We partnered with Percept Research to conduct pre- and post-workshop surveys measuring the impact. Six weeks after the workshop, participants reported significant improvements in their business acumen, with noticeable gains in decision-making, alignment with company goals, and understanding of financial health.

Today Beam Suntory continues to build commercial acumen using the Income|Outcome business simulation.

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When Beam Suntory rolled out their Finance & Strategy workshops, the goal was to build commercial acumen across teams. It did more than that.

One Production group leader came away from the Income|Outcome workshop with a new understanding of cash flow. They realized that excess inventory wasn’t just a storage issue — it was a working capital drain.

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By taking a closer look at agave stock levels, they set a goal to reduce unnecessary inventory, freeing up 294,000 Mexican pesos (about $15,000 USD) in working capital.

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The change wasn’t a one-off. It became a cornerstone of Beam’s supply chain strategy, proving how financial insight can optimize day-to-day operations.

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What Happened Here?

Insight: The leader applied cash flow principles to reassess inventory management.

Action: They set a target to reduce excess stock, freeing up capital.‍

Result:

• 294,000 pesos freed up in working capital.
• A lasting shift in supply chain strategy to focus on leaner inventory management.

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→Control of Working Capital is a Better Business Result!

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The Program

This was a 2-day Finance & Strategy program, tailored to include some dynamics specific to the beverage industry. Over a 2-year period, the program was rolled out to over 500 people in the Americas and Europe. We partnered with Percept Research to conduct pre- and post-workshop surveys measuring the impact. Six weeks after the workshop, participants reported significant improvements in their business acumen, with noticeable gains in decision-making, alignment with company goals, and understanding of financial health.

Today Beam Suntory continues to build commercial acumen using the Income|Outcome business simulation.

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After an Income|Outcome workshop, a Purdue EMBA student had a game-changing insight for his pharmaceutical company.

The manufacturing team frequently used an expensive, oversized test tube. The student realized that with minimal retooling, they could switch to a smaller, cheaper alternative.

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He quickly ran the numbers and identified potential savings? $4 million annually.

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But insight alone isn’t enough. Drawing from the financial skills he gained in the simulation, the student crafted a solid business case with clear financial calculations. He took it to the finance team, who greenlit the plan immediately — and the company saw the anticipated savings.

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What Happened?

Insight: Recognizing cost-saving opportunities‍

Action: Using financial acumen to make a compelling business case‍

Result: $4 million in annual savings

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→ Using ‘finance’ to make the business case is a Better Business Result

→ Cost savings of USD 4 Million is a Better Business Result

During an Income|Outcome workshop for a group of ag-chemical salespeople, something remarkable happened. Before the simulation even finished, the entire group had a breakthrough about working capital management.

The Issue:
Their managers had been pushing them to sell aging stock, but it was easier to sell newer products. As a result, warehouse space kept expanding to store the older inventory.

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The Insight:
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In the workshop, the sales team realized that selling aging stock would bring immediate benefits to the company:

• Reduced inventory would free up cash.
• Reduced warehouse space would cut operating costs.

The realization was so powerful that the group dismissed the class early and went to start solving the problem.

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What Happened Here?

Insight: The team connected inventory reduction to cash flow improvement.

Action: They took immediate steps to sell aging stock, reducing the need for additional warehouse space.

Result:

• Improved cash flow and lower operating expenses.
• A fast, proactive response driven by financial acumen.

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→Improved Control of Working Capital is a Better Business Result!

→ Reduced Operating Expense is a Better Business Result!

→ Buy-In to Management Goals is a Better Business Result!

At Michelin North America, one employee had been raising concerns for years about a waste stream in his plant. His idea? The waste could be managed differently and sold for profit.‍

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The problem was no one understood his point — until he attended an Income|Outcome workshop.

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With his new financial language skills, he was able to present a clear business case to leadership. The result? Within a week, the waste stream transformed from a cost into a revenue source.

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This was just one of many examples of how Michelin employees turned workshop insights into real business impact.

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What Happened Here?

Insight: The employee identified an overlooked opportunity to turn waste into revenue.

Action: They applied financial language to make a clear business case.

Result:

• Waste stream transformed into a new income source.
• Immediate impact within a week of the workshop.

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→ Turning Cost into Revenue is a Better Business Result!

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The Program

Even a ½-day workshop for frontline workers can lead to significant financial benefits. They do not need high-level strategic planning or sophisticated ratios in order to see opportunities for increased operational efficiency.

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Better Business Decisions at Michelin

In 1996, Michelin North America began using Income|Outcome across the organization to build financial acumen and improve strategic decision-making among its employees. The program was integrated into various business units, helping teams align financial goals with operational strategies and identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue growth.

Almost 30 years later Michelin North America continues to run the simulation, and continues to generate ongoing tales of 'business bravado'.

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A few days after attending a strategic-level Income|Outcome workshop, a Michelin plant manager faced unexpected news: a key brake supplier to General Motors, Michelin’s largest customer, was about to go on strike.

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Thanks to the workshop, the manager immediately recalled a key scenario from the game board: unsold tires piling up in Finished Goods Inventory and no cash coming in from Receivables.

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Rather than risk a cash flow bottleneck, the manager took action:

• Selling off tires quickly to reduce inventory.
• Adjusting production schedules to prevent overproduction and preserve cash reserves.

Without the workshop, the manager admitted, they would have kept producing tires, piling them up unsold and leading to inevitable cash flow problems.

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What Happened Here?

Insight: The manager applied cash flow awareness from the workshop to real-world events.

Action: They sold off inventory and adjusted production schedules to protect cash flow.

Result:

• Avoided a cash flow crisis.
• Demonstrated the real-time impact of financial acumen in a fast-moving situation.

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→ A rapid and appropriate response to an unexpected event is a Better Business Result!

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The Program

Senior managers and executives at Michelin participated in a strategically challenging three-day program: Managing a Global Business. Teams were so engaged that they often held planning meetings as late as 11 p.m. to refine their strategies for the next day.

While the workshop did not specifically address supply chain disruptions or strikes, it heightened participants' awareness of potential risks. One manager, inspired by the simulation, vividly envisioned tires piling up on his game board and warehouses filling up due to a strike. This flash of insight led him to take immediate action.

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Better Business Decisions at Michelin

In 1996, Michelin North America began using Income|Outcome across the organization to build financial acumen and improve strategic decision-making among its employees. The program was integrated into various business units, helping teams align financial goals with operational strategies and identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue growth.

Almost 30 years later Michelin North America continues to run the simulation, and continues to generate ongoing tales of 'business bravado'.

As part of Beam Suntory’s tailored Finance & Strategy workshops, employees gained practical tools to improve commercial acumen — and the impact was immediate.

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During one workshop, an Account Executive realized they were lowering prices more than necessary in the simulation. That got them thinking: Was this happening in the real world too?

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Back at their office, the Account Executive reviewed their pricing strategy and discovered they could reduce discounts by $700,000 per year — without affecting sales volume.

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The change was significant:

• The extra revenue, having no additional costs, went straight to the bottom line.
• And the impact will continue for years to come. Over the first three years, that’s an additional $2.1 million in profit

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‍What Happened Here?

Insight: The Account Executive connected pricing decisions to profitability during the workshop.

‍Action: They reduced unnecessary discounts, increasing revenue without losing sales.

‍Result:

• $700K in additional annual revenue. That's $2.1M in extra profit over three years.

• A better business decision with long-term impact.

→ Increased Profit is a Better Business Result!  Income|Outcome is a profitable investment (it more than pays for itself!).

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The Program

This was a 2-day Finance & Strategy program, tailored to include some dynamics specific to the beverage industry. Over a 2-year period, the program was rolled out to over 500 people in the Americas and Europe. We partnered with Percept Research to conduct pre- and post-workshop surveys measuring the impact. Six weeks after the workshop, participants reported significant improvements in their business acumen, with noticeable gains in decision-making, alignment with company goals, and understanding of financial health.

Today Beam Suntory continues to build commercial acumen using the Income|Outcome business simulation.