War Games But Smarter
This weekend, I had one of those experiences that stays with you.
I was invited to judge at SMU Cox for a program called War Games. Now, don’t picture paintball or camouflage — this was a battle of brains. And honestly, it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in business education.
Each student team was assigned a real company in the premium international air travel industry — Emirates, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Air India. Their mission: build future strategies, defend them under pressure, and adapt in real time. Think Shark Tank meets chess, with a dash of international intrigue.
The Challenge
Day One: Teams competed on how to become (or stay) the leader in their industry using landscape analysis and future predictions. Pure scenario planning at its finest.
Day Two: The real test. Each team was blindsided with a major disruption and had to respond in real time while defending their strategies under pressure.
What Stood Out
The best teams weren’t just fast reactors. They were future rehearsers. They didn’t wait for disruption to arrive — they’d already mapped out multiple possibilities, made tough choices, and shaped a narrative that held up even under stress.
And that reaffirmed something I’ve been saying for years: real business education isn’t about tactics or ads. It’s about learning how to think, how to anticipate, and how to truly understand what moves people to act.
This is the heart of my work on influence. Not influence as in “influencers” selling products — but influence as in the ability to shape behavior. To prevail no matter the tech, the algorithms, or the AI. Because real influence is like sport: it’s about learning the game, training to adapt, and knowing how to win — no matter how the teams or the rules change.
The Unspoken Layer
The future won’t belong to the fastest reactors. It will belong to the brands and leaders who rehearse it.
Foresight isn’t just good strategy — it’s one of the forces that define influence. When you can help people believe you’ve already solved the problems they haven’t even seen yet, that’s when real authority emerges.
And as you know from Amanda’s Playbook, my philosophy is that influence is contextual. Foresight is one of the forces that define it — but depending on your goals, your audience, and the behaviors you want to shape, other forces matter too. This is why rehearsing the future isn’t just good strategy; it’s also a way of deepening your influence where it counts most.
Amanda’s Playbook: 3 Ways To Rehearse Your Future
- Run a “What If” drill. Pick one unlikely but high-impact scenario and ask, what would we do? The answers almost always reveal blind spots.
- Spot the signals. List 3–5 early warning signs that would tell you disruption is coming. Think of it as your business weather app.
- Tell the story forward. Don’t just crunch numbers. Craft the narrative of what your customer’s world might look like in 5–10 years. Storytelling is foresight in disguise.
Want To Try It?
If this resonates — and you think your company could benefit from practicing its own future — hit reply.
We’re developing bespoke options that bring War Games–style scenario planning directly to leadership teams, from a one-day rehearsal to a full executive sprint. Because the future shouldn’t catch you off guard.
See you back here next week,
→ For more inspiration, check out this Harvard Business Review podcast episode with the professor-consultant who co-created War Games and runs it: HBR Podcast: Why Companies Should Rehearse for the Future
