Chain Reaction
A live business simulation for leadership teams
Every decision has a consequence. Most of them land on someone else's desk.
Or email info@futureprooflearning.co.uk for a one-working-day response
Does any of this sound familiar?
Your leadership team makes decisions in silos, and the knock-on effects keep surprising everyone.
Under pressure, communication breaks down and people default to protecting their own function.
Hard decisions get deferred until they become crises, and then everyone is firefighting.
You invest in leadership development, but the learning doesn't stick because it never felt real.
What we will do together
Chain Reaction puts your leadership team in charge of Corman, a fictional mid-sized business facing the kind of pressures that real organisations face every day: capacity constraints, unhappy customers, competing priorities and decisions that need to be made before all the information is in.
The team splits into five functional groups (Direction, Growth, Delivery, Finance and People), each with its own budget of action points and its own set of events to respond to. Every decision ripples across the organisation. A choice to chase short-term revenue might overload the delivery team. Deferring maintenance saves time now but creates a crisis later.
Each level of the simulation runs in real time across four cycles. There is a clock. There is pressure. And the consequences of earlier decisions keep arriving, whether the team is ready for them or not.
How a session runs
Briefing
The facilitator introduces Corman, its current state and the team's collective goal.
Four timed cycles
Events land on each team's desk. Teams spend action points to respond, and every unspent point or deferred decision has a cost.
Consequences cascade
The platform tracks six organisational health metrics and updates them live as decisions land.
Debrief
A structured conversation about what happened, why, and what it means for how the team works in real life.
What you will leave with
Systems thinking
How to see the connections between functions and understand that most organisational problems are not caused where they surface.
Decision-making under pressure
What happens to your judgement when the clock is ticking and the information is incomplete.
Communication and coordination
The gap between how much teams think they communicate and how much they actually do.
Plus two more
Accountability and ownership
What it feels like when someone else's decision lands on your desk, and what that tells you about how you make yours.
Strategic trade-offs
The cost of short-term thinking and the discipline of prioritising when everything feels urgent.
What the session covers
Six organisational health metrics, tracked live as the decisions land.
Delivery performance
Can the organisation deliver what it has promised, on time and to standard?
Customer trust
How do customers feel about the organisation's reliability and responsiveness?
Financial health
Is the organisation managing its money well enough to sustain itself?
Strategic progress
Is the organisation moving towards its stated goals or just firefighting?
People capacity
Do people have the bandwidth, skills and morale to keep going?
Risk and reputation
Is the organisation managing its exposure, or storing up trouble?
Who it works well for
- Leadership away days and team development programmes where you want something more than a talk and a discussion.
- Onboarding new senior teams who need to learn how to work together before the real pressure arrives.
- Organisations going through change who want their leaders to practise making decisions together in a safe environment.
- Graduate and management development programmes where participants need to experience cross-functional leadership rather than just hear about it.
And who it is not for
- Teams looking for a quick icebreaker. Chain Reaction is at least a half-day commitment with real depth.
- Groups under 8 or over 16 people. The simulation needs enough participants to create genuine cross-functional dynamics.
Practical details
| Detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Format | Facilitated session, in person or online. Each level takes about 90 minutes all in. A half day covers two levels, a full day up to four |
| Group size | 8 to 16 participants, split into five teams |
| Facilitation | The Future Proof Learning team and our associates |
| Technology | Browser-based platform. No app installs, no accounts to create. Participants join with a session code |
| Works with | Intact leadership teams, cross-functional groups, or cohorts on a leadership programme |
Get in touch for pricing tailored to your group size and format.
Our wider track record
Chain Reaction is one part of a wider practice. Future Proof Learning has been developing managers, leaders and senior teams for well over a decade, mostly across the public and third sectors and in growing SMEs, through leadership programmes, team coaching and one-to-one coaching. That includes long-running work with organisations such as Renfrewshire Council, NHS National Services Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland and Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home. The simulation was designed by the same people who facilitate it, so the debrief draws on what we have seen in real leadership teams as much as on what happened in the room.
There is more about who we work with, and what they say about it, on our case studies page.
Questions we get asked
How long does it take?
Each level takes about 90 minutes all in, including the briefing and debrief. Most teams run two levels in a half day. A full day gives you up to four levels, and each one starts from the results of the one before, so the consequences keep building.
Can it run online?
Yes. Chain Reaction works in person or online. The platform is browser-based and participants join with a session code.
What technology do participants need?
A laptop or tablet with a browser. No app installs, no accounts to create.
How many people can take part?
8 to 16 participants, split into five teams.
Who facilitates it?
The Future Proof Learning team and our associates. The facilitator manages the pace, introduces events, and leads the debrief.
Can we combine it with other development?
Yes. Chain Reaction pairs well with Future Proof Team, our team diagnostic, and sits naturally in a wider leadership programme.
Can we run this ourselves, in-house?
Yes. We can train and accredit your in-house team to run Chain Reaction themselves under licence. Get in touch if you would like to discuss setting up an accreditation and training workshop.
See what your team is really like under pressure.
Or email info@futureprooflearning.co.uk for a one-working-day response