Immersing yourself in one of exper!ence it inc.'s (e!) customized business simulations can sometimes make you feel like you're the hero of a “choose-your-own-adventure” type of novel; only instead of evading dragons and combating evil trolls, you could be vying for market share, honing your innovation skills and leveraging resources on behalf of your customer. Though effectively accomplishing these management training goals may not be the heroic quests one might look for in a fantastical book, exper!ence it inc . and other organizations from around the world are using experiential training to help people excel in their businesses as well as make big, important and even heroic differences.

Mumbai-based business school NITIE (National Institute of Industrial Engineering) offers a unique program that not only endows students with valuable knowledge in their field, but also uses experiential learning to provide aid for impoverished children. NITIE claims to be the first academic institution in India of its kind to use experiential training in their curriculum. This past August, NITIE held their annual event called “Mandi.” Mandi incorporates the academic values of managerial economics, marketing and basic market research with practical application, for a socially responsible cause.

In this training program, students use all the skills they have learned over the course of their studies to sell non-governmental-organization-made educational toys to children and their parents. The proceeds are then donated to organizations that promote the education of disadvantaged children, slum dwellers, tribal children and children with special education needs. NITIE states that there are three main purposes to the Mandi program: “Firstly, to make a difference in the lives of thousands of children who lose out on basic education. Secondly, students practice the classroom concepts of Marketing, Principles of Management, Business Economics, and Accounting in the real field. Thirdly, this unique event intends to impart an additional dimension to the learning of the students who buy and sell these toys.”

Doctors at the First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, NC are using the power of simulation to truly save lives. They are teaching future doctors how to treat serious heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation with the help of 3D simulations that demonstrate both open and closed chest cavity operations. Dr. Andy Kiser, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Pinehurst hospital explains how he “knew that showing the surgery, as realistically as possible, would be critical to teaching the procedures and much clearer than trying to explain it,” and that he believes that “a picture would be worth millions of words, to show exactly how the surgery could be performed.”

In the same way exper!ence it goes about preparing for a simulation design, Dr. Kiser and a team of surgeons sat down with Virtual Heroes, the advanced learning technology company that would put the physical pieces of the simulation together, and executed procedures on a prosthetic heart. Virtual Heroes made sure to include all the appropriate nomenclature in the simulation and that the anatomical components were thoroughly consistent with human physiology. The final product resulted in a compelling, multi-faceted instructional experience that shows the operable human heart as seen in actual surgery from every possible angle. Dr. Kiser speaks highly about the art of experiential simulation: “These tools have strengthened our educational seminars, enabling us to more quickly and effectively help people understand the procedures.”

Elsewhere, experiential training is being used at the Whitman School of Management and The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University to teach disabled veterans who served during the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan how to start their own businesses. This highly specialized program called EBV (Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities) is being hailed as avant-garde and relatively similar to an actual boot camp in that it is quite “intense, rigorous, and challenging.” The month-long curriculum focuses on practical small business creation tools and ownership skills, while factoring in the distinctive intricacies of everyday life for the disabled entrepreneur. EBV educates students about standard business management topics such as business concept development, deal structuring & negotiation and venture launch methods, but also about vital life elements related to disability management such as handling disability benefits, mobility, accessibility and transportation.

Meanwhile, here at exper!ence it , the hearts and minds of our creative team have worked hard to create training simulations that go beyond honing the business sense of participants. Project Delta, the environmental health and safety leadership program that e! designed and successfully rolled out globally almost 150 times, is an excellent example of how we can affect the culture of a company. The highly immersive Project Delta experience pits two simulated companies in an intense competition to win a contract for manufacturing cars. The simulation environment is very interactive and real, with loud factory noise impeding communication. General Managers feel the pressure from the CEO to increase productivity and reduce costs. Plant Managers frantically try to build momentum on the shop floor. Machinists churn out product at an accelerating rate, while dealing with clumsy safety equipment, wearing bulky gloves, taking risks and being unable to effectively discuss their needs.

The true-to-life nature and dire consequences of this simulation enable the participants to draw upon real life experiences when analyzing their own work performance. This results in a higher ability to retain the knowledge that is imparted during the program. Gerard Dufour, Alcan's Director of Environment, Occupational Health & Safety reports that Alcan “had 25 percent fewer accidents and incidents each year, year over year, for the past two years since implementation. This is one of the few training interventions that we have done where people went into action immediately after training." It goes to show that you actually have to actively do something if you hope to make a difference. The companies mentioned in this article are not only committed to creating a better business environment for their pupils, but they are on a mission to make the whole world a better, more harmonious place to live in. You can choose your own adventure. You can be the hero. You can make a difference.

You can.