Three days as a CEO - NOSTA business game 2023
What do you get when 16 NOSTA Group apprentices meet together over three days and compete against each other in five teams in a business competition? "A lot of new insights for the apprentices and some fresh ideas for the company," says Alischa Reitz, who organizes the annual business game for apprentices at NOSTA Group.
At the beginning of July, trainees from all over Germany and all departments of the company met at the company's own InnoLab to slip into the role of managers for three days. Their goal: to successfully establish a fictitious logistics company on the market and lead it to success. They also had to develop a communications campaign, including an advertising spot.
No bankruptcy, creative communication
The results after three days of intensive "playing" are quite impressive. "The apprentices were able to lead some very different company concepts to success. And none of the " apprentice companies " went bankrupt," reports Alischa Reitz. Each day of the business game consisted of two rounds of play, which were discussed in detail afterwards.
The trainees also used the Scamper method to develop a matching communications concept for their companies. The good thing about this approach, which is used in everyday work at NOSTA: The method can be used in many fields of work and demands creativity and a new perspective on existing issues from its users.
Presentation in front of management
"In a modern working world, this creativity is expected from future skilled workers as well. We want to prepare our trainees for this in the best possible way," says Alischa Reitz. The business game ended with the final presentations, which COO Marcus Thoben and CFO Florian Körner from the NOSTA Group Management Board also attended as very interested listeners.
What do participants say?
"It is advisable to approach the business game calmly and enjoy the tasks. That is exactly what we did. It was also extremely interesting to hear from other groups and understand how they approached the challenges. This also made us realize once again how diverse the possibilities are for trying to achieve the same goal."
Sarah Foth, clerk for forwarding and logistics services, Dortmund
"The business game offers the opportunity to practice your first management decisions in a competitive situation. It's really good preparation for later challenges. My tip to participants in the next business games: be brave and definitely don't underestimate the competitive market."
Max Kattmann, cooperative student, Ladbergen
