Workshop
Business Workshops
Our experience-based workshops and seminars are tailored to your individual challenges or form part of our modular training program "Game Plan". We use, among others, SMART STAKES and LEGO® Serious Play® to convey content interactively. Below is a selection of our seminars and workshop modules:
01 · Foundations
Introduction to SMART STAKES
1.0 Foundation Module Poker Masterclass | Introduction to the program & to poker as a methodology
Introduction to the program and to poker as a methodology. The foundation seminar is a prerequisite for all further modules.
In this foundation module, participants experience how poker works as a model for thinking, decision-making and reflection. They gain initial access to the central principles that will be deepened in the following modules: information, risk, timing, communication, responsibility, and result evaluation.
Poker is much more than a communication method – it is a method that fundamentally deals with impact. The consequences of decisions, the effect of questions and one's own presence, and above all the consequences of actions. That is what makes poker so valuable as a workshop method.
What participants take away: the rules of poker in the Texas Hold'em variant. We also convey a clear basic understanding of how our method – which we also apply in the Game Plan – works, along with an initial sense of the tools available to them in our workshops.
Content
- Rules of Texas Hold'em Poker
- First poker principles as business tools
- Deciding under uncertainty
- Reason, emotion and intuition in the decision-making process
- Dealing with pressure and limited information
- Reflection on decision behaviour
- Transfer to leadership, sales, teamwork and communication
Suitable across industries and departments for people who make, prepare or are responsible for decisions.
½ day (5 hrs) or 1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive workshop with practical exercises, exchange and direct transfer. No prior poker knowledge is required. No real money is used. Poker serves as a learning method.
The foundation module provides the shared starting point for all further Game Plan modules. It is suitable as an introduction for companies, teams and leaders who want to experience decision competence in a compact format before deepening it in a targeted way.
02 · Decision Competence
Understanding and making decisions
Module 2.1 Decision competence under uncertainty
What is decision competence under uncertainty?
Decisions often have to be made before all facts are known. This is exactly where our people and leadership development program, Game Plan, begins: before the first move is made.
At the poker table, what also applies in business becomes visible: nobody knows all the cards. And yet you have to assess what is known, what is only presumed, what can be influenced, and where – alongside skill – luck and chance also play a role.
Participants learn to recognise decision situations under uncertainty earlier, to assess their own position more clearly, and to see realistic options.
What participants take away: a clear framework for launching your own business game plan: game, rules, participants, stakes, information, influence, risk, and next steps.
Content
- Recognising decisions under uncertainty
- Distinguishing luck, chance and skill
- Separating information, assumption and outcome
- Clarifying game, rules, roles and stake
- Grasping one's own position and options
Leaders, project managers, subject-matter experts, sales and HR professionals, as well as teams with decision-making responsibility.
1 day, including breaks
Interactive workshop with poker simulations, reflection, case work and transfer.
The first phase: clarify the starting point before taking action. Only then can a robust Game Plan emerge.
Module 2.2 Decision logic & structure
How important is it?
Once the situation has been read, structure is needed. Many decisions become tedious because everything seems equally important all at once: risk, opportunity, stake, timing, consequence and responsibility.
At the poker table, participants train to sort decisions before the outcome is known. What can be influenced? Which option has which value? Which risks are bearable? And when is a clear commitment needed?
Participants learn to break complex situations into assessable parts, weigh alternatives cleanly, and turn uncertainty into a viable next step.
What participants take away: a structured approach for clearer decisions – categories, criteria, probabilities, alternatives, risk, consequences and commitment.
Content
- Recognising decision categories
- Separating outcome from decision quality
- Distinguishing what can and cannot be influenced
- Evaluating alternatives, stakes and consequences
- Using decision trees and scenarios
- Placing probabilities in context
- Setting commitments and exit options deliberately
Leaders, project managers, entrepreneurs, sales and procurement professionals, as well as teams with complex decision-making processes.
1 day, including breaks
Interactive workshop with poker simulations, decision-making exercises, case work and transfer.
The second phase: turn the situation into a plan. Options are weighted, risks are assessed and the next steps are prepared deliberately.
Module 2.3 People & dynamics – personality patterns in decision-making
Who is involved?
As soon as a plan meets people, the game changes. Decisions rarely depend only on facts and figures. Motives, expectations, pressure, experience, ego and uncertainty are always part of the equation.
At the poker table, this becomes visible immediately: every action sends signals. Every reaction shifts the picture. Those who read people better recognise earlier what drives them, where resistance forms, and how dynamics influence decisions.
Participants learn to perceive themselves and others more consciously, to place behaviour in context, and to steer their communication more deliberately.
What participants take away: greater clarity about their own motives, patterns, impact and dynamics, as well as those of their counterparts and the team.
Content
- Reflecting on one's own position, impact and state
- Recognizing goals, motives and expectations
- Assessing counterparts and fellow players more accurately
- Categorising personality patterns and poker types
- Applying level thinking
- Understanding image, impact and adaptation
- Reading pressure, emotions and reactions more consciously
Leaders, project managers, HR professionals, sales and negotiation professionals, as well as teams that want to better understand human dynamics in decision-making.
1 day, including breaks
Interactive workshop with poker simulations, observation tasks, reflection, group exercises and transfer.
The third phase: the plan meets people. Motives, patterns, impact and dynamics become visible so that decisions can be guided more consciously in collaboration.
Module 2.4 System & organisation – decision processes in organisations
Why does it work this way?
Sometimes the decision itself isn't the problem, the problem is the system in which it has to take effect: processes, routines, silos, unspoken rules and old patterns co-determine what becomes possible and what gets stuck.
At the poker table it becomes visible: every move changes the situation. Patterns repeat. Small levers can create large effects.
Participants learn to recognise decision structures within their own system: Where are blockages forming? Where are automatisms running? Where is the real leverage?
What participants take away: a clearer view of the structures, patterns and levers that enable, distort or block decisions.
Content
- Reviewing decision processes and responsibilities
- Recognising interdependencies
- Making sequences, patterns and automatisms visible
- Understanding the leverage principle
- Clarifying commitment, letting go, and exit strategies
- Reverse engineering: from goal back to starting point
- Improving decision structures
Executive management, leaders, organisational stakeholders, HR, project managers, and teams that want to improve decision-making processes.
1 day, including breaks
Interactive workshop with system mapping, poker simulations, reflection and transfer.
The fourth phase: the plan meets the system. Structures, patterns and interactions become visible so that decisions can be implemented more effectively.
Module 2.5 Body & mind – decision-making capacity as a resource
How do I stay capable of acting?
A Game Plan only works if your own state supports it. Fatigue, stress, nutrition, physical tension and inner unrest change how clearly we perceive, evaluate and act.
Professional poker players know this: those who are empty, tired or over-stimulated decide differently. Participants learn to read their own state more accurately and to steer it actively: What gives energy? What stabilises? What helps under pressure?
The focus lies on practical tools for body, mind and energy: nutrition, movement, short exercises, mental preparation and simple routines.
What participants take away: concrete tools to build energy, regulate stress, and remain clearly capable of acting even under pressure.
Content
- Perceiving one's own energy and state
- Placing nutrition, timing and everyday practicality in context
- Exercises for activation, focus and regulation
- Preparation for high-pressure situations
- Staying clear under stress
- Dealing with victory, defeat and emotional swings
- Understanding short-term vs. long-distance decisions
- Developing personal routines
People who need to make clear, stable and actionable decisions under pressure.
1 day, including breaks
Interactive workshop with reflection, physical and mental exercises, practical everyday tools, poker transfer and a personal action plan.
The fifth phase: the plan meets your own state. Decision-making capability becomes a resource so that the Game Plan remains accessible even under pressure.
03 · Leadership in the AI Era
Leading in action
Module 3.1 Leadership in the AI Era
"The dealer button is moving — are you ready?"
AI creates new possibilities. It changes tasks and, with them, the fundamental requirements for leadership. Those who lead today must no longer merely manage people; they must design a system made up of people and algorithms. This demands new roles, new structures and, above all, new leadership instruments.
At the poker table, what defines modern leadership becomes visible: not who knows the most, but who handles uncertainty best, uses information wisely and orients the team through complex situations. Participants learn how psychological safety emerges in AI-supported teams, what a healthy error culture looks like, and how quality assurance works in the interplay of human and machine.
What participants take away: a clear picture of the new leadership role in the AI era, concrete leadership models in comparison, and space for personal reflection.
Content
- Understanding AI in the context of leadership
- Clarifying rights, duties, roles, responsibility and boundaries
- Reflecting on leadership aspiration and behaviour
- Leading humans & machines
- Leadership instruments for the AI era
- Transfer into concrete leadership tasks
Leaders, project managers and people with leadership responsibility who want to fulfil their leadership role in the world of work despite – or precisely because of – AI.
½ day (5 hrs) or 1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive team workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
A module for leaders to explore and understand leadership tools and mechanisms for organisations using AI, and to adapt them to their own leadership role, as an advanced module following the foundation module, as a standalone workshop or as an integrated module.
Modul 3.2 Change Management
The story you tell at the table
Every change is first and foremost a story and whoever tells it decides how it lands. Leaders, change agents and interested participants learn not only to manage transformation processes but to actively shape them: through a compelling change story, deliberate communication decisions, and the targeted building of trust and psychological safety.
At the poker table, participants experience firsthand how perception is formed, the impact of a bluff, and why consistency is the most valuable currency in change processes. Psychological foundations, from Kotter’s 8 Steps to the Kübler-Ross curve, explain how people react to change and how to meet them where they are.
What participants will take away: Their own change story, a toolkit for strategic communication, a clear understanding of their own impact as a change agent, and the knowledge of when transparency wins and when silence loses.
Content
- Understanding and grasping change management
- Experience models such as Kotter's 8 Steps, Lewin's "Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze," or the Kübler-Ross curve in their interdependence
- Tools for deriving change stories and change plans
- A toolkit for strategic change communication
Leaders, change agents, and HR and communications teams who drive, shape and implement change within organisations.
1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive team workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
Poker is a unique simulation that makes the consequences of decisions tangible. This brings change management to life at the poker table in an interactive and easily understandable way. It can be tailored as an in-house training programme or integrated into leadership development across several Game Plan modules.
Module 3.3 Productivity and Efficiency Enhancement
Don't Play the Game — Master It: AI as a strategic lever.
AI is already being used. But is it actually enabling more productive work or just faster work? The difference does not lie in the technology, but in how deliberately and strategically it is deployed. Those who use AI without clear objectives and decision logic confuse output with value creation and speed with effectiveness.
At the poker table, this workshop brings together three levels into an integrated productivity framework: the decision logic of poker as a model for knowledge work under uncertainty, the neuropsychological foundations of cognitive high performance, and the targeted use of AI as a strategic assistant system.
Participants recognize their own patterns of inefficiency, understand where AI frees up cognitive resources, and where human judgement remains irreplaceable. The result is not an abstract concept but an organisation-specific framework for action.
What participants take away: a robust productivity framework, a realistic picture of their own cognitive performance limits, and clear criteria for when AI creates genuine added value and when it does not.
Content
- Understanding Productivity and Impact
- Getting to know the model and mechanics of "resulting"
- Reflecting on cognitive performance markers and psychological safety
- Development of organization-specific action frameworks
Managing directors, department heads, team leaders and project managers with direct responsibility for employees or specialist functions.
1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
An intensive advanced module, ideally building on the foundation module and Module 3.1, Leadership in the AI Era. It works well as a tailored in-house training programme or as part of leadership development.
Modul 3.4 Risikomanagement und Ressourcen-Allokation
When do I hold, and when do I fold?
Every project decision is a bet. The question is not whether one takes risks, but whether one understands them.
Leaders who evaluate business cases, allocate resources and make decisions under pressure are not only fighting against numbers, but against their own brains.
At the poker table, the psychological mechanisms behind risk decisions become directly tangible: When do you hold on to a bad hand for too long? When do you exit a promising project too early? Why do losses feel twice as heavy as equivalent gains? Neuroscientific and behavioral-psychology foundations—from Kahneman to the sunk cost effect—help explain what really happens in the moment of decision.
What participants take away: a structured framework for business case evaluation, clear abort and escalation criteria for AI initiatives, and concrete techniques for decisions in risk management and resource allocation.
Content
- Understanding and evaluating (project) risks
- Decision mechanisms in the brain and what defines them
- Neuroscientific and behavioral foundations
- A structured framework for decision-making in the face of risks and uncertainties
Leaders, project managers and team leaders with responsibility for projects or for project governance through steering committees.
1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
A classic management task in both strategic and operational projects. This module builds on Module 3.2, Change Management, and is suitable for project and program managers, department heads in project and program management, and trainers. It can be booked individually or as part of the Game Plan.
04 • Personality & Sales
Self-awareness & self-development
Module 4.1 – Values & Reflection
“Those who know their own values make clearer decisions and come across as more credible to others.”
In this module, participants reflect on their personal values and how they influence communication, collaboration, and decision-making. At the poker table, it becomes clear how values provide guidance, especially in situations with incomplete information.
Participants learn to consciously recognize their own values, align decisions with their own principles, and present themselves authentically and consistently. This strengthens their personal stance as well as the foundation of trust in their professional environment.
What participants take away: A clearer understanding of their own values and a heightened awareness of how these values influence their communication, decision-making, and leadership behaviors on a daily basis. They leave the training with a solid personal stance, the ability to align decisions with their own value compass, and greater credibility in the eyes of others.
Content
- Types of values, with a focus on personal values
- Self-efficacy and one’s own value system
- Attitude and demeanor based on value structures
- The relationship between values and decision-making
Executives, board members, or employees who want to understand and apply an authentic, principled approach and the relationship between values and decisions.
½ day (5 hrs) or 1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive workshop with practical applications, reflection, real-world scenarios, and knowledge transfer.
A powerful team-building module designed to help participants discover and understand their own value system. Can be booked individually, requires no prior knowledge, and is the perfect complement to leadership modules 3.1 and 3.2.
Modul 4.2 Motivation & Personal Responsibility
“Motivation does not arise from external pressure, but from inner clarity about goals and responsibility.”
This module shows how intrinsic motivation develops and can be activated in everyday professional life. Participants recognize the impact their own attitude has on performance, collaboration, and the quality of their decisions.
Poker serves as a metaphor: Each player is responsible for their own decisions—regardless of how the cards fall. Participants learn to take responsibility, deal constructively with uncertainty and consequences, and develop motivation from internal goals rather than external pressure.
What participants take away: A solid understanding of how intrinsic motivation arises and can be deliberately activated, as well as a more honest picture of their own attitudes toward responsibility, uncertainty, and consequences. They leave the training with concrete strategies for not making motivation dependent on the next success or the next instruction, but rather for developing it from their own goals and thus making decisions they stand behind.
Content
- Types of motivation, their effects, and how to manage them
- Accepting and assuming responsibility
- Dealing with the consequences of decisions
- The importance of goals for motivation and decision-making competence
Executives, project managers, team leaders, and individuals who are responsible for others—regardless of whether that responsibility is disciplinary or technical.
1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive team workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
Personal accountability is a key success factor for leaders. Combined with the skills to use motivation in a targeted way, this fosters true leadership qualities. Can be booked individually, builds on modules 4.1 and 3.1, and can be implemented at any time without prior knowledge.
Modul 4.3 Value Selling
“Many products are sold based on price — successful salespeople, on the other hand, sell value.”
Participants learn the basics of value-based selling. The focus is on clearly identifying the benefits of a service, communicating them persuasively, and advocating for them with confidence. At the poker table, the meaning of value becomes clear: You don’t play a good hand cautiously, you stand up for its value.
Participants learn to clearly identify the value of a service, position offers with confidence, and consistently approach pricing and negotiations from the perspective of added value. This creates a sales approach that relies not on discounts, but on trust, clarity, and perceived benefits.
What participants take away: The ability to clearly recognize the value of a service and communicate it persuasively, a solid foundation in value selling fundamentals and best practices, as well as concrete tools for positioning and negotiation. So that in the future, deals are won not through price, but through clarity, trust, and perceived value.
Content
- Fundamentals of Value Selling
- Best-practice examples and mechanisms of value selling
- Compelling product and service positioning
- Fundamentals of communication and negotiation
Sales representatives, product developers, marketers, communications professionals, managing directors, and board members—anyone who represents a service or product to external audiences.
1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
One of our flagship modules for gaining extensive insights in a short amount of time. Can be implemented as a standalone module requiring no prior knowledge, or in combination with Module 2.2 or 4.1—offering significant added value for performance and product positioning.
Modul 4.4 Communication and Impact in (Leadership) Teams
“No statement holds true if your tone doesn’t match it.”
Communication is the most powerful driver of engagement, performance, and team cohesion. At the same time, it is the most costly factor when it goes wrong. Studies show that 85% of employees experience conflicts in the workplace, and on average, 2.8 hours per week are lost resolving them. Leaders who combine clarity, empathy, and impact boost productivity, reduce turnover, and create the psychological safety in which teams perform at their best (Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., Agrawal, S., Blue, A., Plowman, S. K., & Josh, P. (2020). The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes: 2020 Q12® Meta-Analysis (10th ed.). Gallup, Inc. and CPP, Inc. (2008). (2008). Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness It to Thrive. CPP Global Human Capital Report. CPP, Inc. (in collaboration with OPP Ltd. and Fellipelli)).
This seminar reveals what happens in every leadership conversation: perception, impact, interpretation. Every gesture conveys a message; every silence speaks volumes. Building on this foundation, participants work with the core models of effective communication—Nonviolent Communication (NVC) according to Rosenberg, Watzlawick’s axioms, and Schulz von Thun’s four-sided model—and apply them to specific leadership situations: feedback, conflict, difficult conversations, and team dialogue.
What participants take away: a robust communication model for everyday leadership, a heightened awareness of their own impact, and proven tools for feedback, conflict resolution, and respectful team discussions. The result is a shared language within the (leadership) team and a culture in which clarity and empathy are not mutually exclusive.
Content
- Understanding communication and impact—what we convey even when we are silent
- NVC Model: Observation · Feeling · Need · Request
- Watzlawick’s Axioms and Schulz von Thun’s Four-Page Model in leadership practice
- Active listening, empathetic feedback, and self-reflection
- Conducting value-creating feedback conversations using the NVC framework
- NVC in team discussions and conflict situations
- Handling difficult conversation situations
- Peer case consultation and team agreements on communication culture
Managers, project leaders, team leaders, and individuals with personnel or technical responsibility who want to specifically sharpen their impact as communicators and establish a resilient conversation culture within their team.
1 day (9 hours) including breaks—optionally extendable by 2 half-day in-depth sessions (4 hours each) as well as individual tandem sessions (60 minutes) for supervision, mediation, and personal coaching.
Interactive team workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios, and knowledge transfer. Best delivered in person. For conflict situations within a team, we recommend a combination of a full-day workshop, two half-day workshops (spaced 2–3 weeks apart), and accompanying one-on-one sessions with the participants (optional add-on).
“Communication and Impact” serves as the foundation for many other leadership and change modules, while also functioning as a standalone product that helps leaders improve at any time. It combines exceptionally well with the leadership modules—particularly where leadership requires effective communication. It can be booked as a standalone workshop, as part of a multi-module leadership program, or as a custom-tailored in-house format that includes individual coaching for those involved in the conflict.
05 • Additional Modules
Complementary modules
Additional Module 1 – Team Poker
Team performance – deciding together, collaborating successfully
Teams often fail because of unclear roles, ambiguous communication and missing commitment. Decisions in teams create dynamics that either strengthen or undermine trust. Often not through content, but through how people speak, listen and react.
In the poker setting, the handling of other people's resources becomes visible, along with communication patterns, role behavior, and collective risk logic. Participants experience how language, timing, and transparency shape decision-making processes, and they develop binding communication and decision-making principles for their everyday work.
What participants take away: a shared understanding of roles and responsibility, clear communication and decision rules for teams, and concrete agreements to strengthen trust, transparency and collective performance.
Content
- Shared decision-making
- Roles and responsibility within the team
- Information exchange and alignment
- Communication under pressure
- Team dynamics and decision behavior
- Transfer into day-to-day work
Teams, project groups, leadership teams, and departments seeking to improve collaboration, communication, and shared decision-making.
½ day (5 hrs) or 1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
An interactive team workshop featuring game-based exercises, guided reflection, and practical transfer to everyday work. No poker experience is required, and the game is played without any monetary stakes.
An add-on module for modern collaboration, ideal as an advanced follow-up to the foundation module, a standalone team workshop, or part of a combined team development day.
Additional Module 2 – AI as a team member
Integrating new technology into teamwork
"AI as a team member" is the additional module for teams that want to embed artificial intelligence into their collaboration in a practical, understandable and responsible way. AI changes processes, roles, expectations and decision-making. For this to become productive collaboration, teams need shared language, clear responsibilities, and a realistic understanding of possibilities, limits and accountability.
The module helps teams to position AI as a tool, sparring partner and new resource. It focuses on acceptance, orientation, meaningful areas of application, and the question of how humans and technology can work together effectively within a team.
What participants take away: a shared understanding of roles and responsibility, clear communication and decision rules for teams, and concrete agreements to strengthen trust, transparency and collective performance.
Content
- Understanding AI in the team context
- Clarifying roles, responsibility and boundaries
- Fostering acceptance and orientation
- Placing human-AI collaboration in practical context
- Developing new ways of working
- Transfer into concrete team processes
- Understanding and using AI as a resource
Teams, leaders, project groups, and departments looking to integrate AI into collaboration, communication, and decision-making processes.
½ day (5 hrs) or 1 day (9 hrs), including breaks
Interactive team workshop with practical relevance, reflection, application scenarios and transfer.
An add-on module for modern collaboration, ideal as an advanced follow-up to the foundation module, a standalone team workshop, or part of a combined team development day.
Additional Module 3 – Negotiation Training
Negotiation Poker – Raise or Fold
"Negotiation Poker" is the module for companies that want to conduct negotiations more consciously, recognize dynamics faster, and decide more clearly under pressure. Poker serves as a training model for real negotiation situations: incomplete information, tactical behavior, shifting positions, time pressure, expectations, and decisions with immediate effect.
Participants train to read conversation situations, assess their own position, deliberately place signals, and steer critical moments with more composure. At the poker table, negotiation patterns become visible: Who builds pressure? Who yields too early? Who recognizes the right moment for Raise, Call or Fold? From this emerge concrete tools for procurement, sales, service and leadership.
What participants take away: a shared understanding of roles and responsibility, clear communication and decision rules for teams, and concrete agreements to strengthen trust, transparency and collective performance.
Content
- Preparation and gathering information
- Position, timing and information advantages
- Storytelling and conversation management
- Tactics, readability and mental strength
- Decisions under pressure: Raise, Call or Fold
- Analyzing negotiation patterns
- Transfer into procurement, sales, service and leadership
Procurement, sales, customer service, managers, and teams who regularly negotiate, discuss pricing, or make decisions in dynamic conversational situations.
1 day or 2 days, 9 hours each (including breaks)
An interactive workshop using poker as a learning method, featuring practical negotiation scenarios, guided reflection, and direct workplace application. No poker experience is required, and the game is played without any monetary stakes.
The advanced module for negotiation, conversational dynamics, and decision-making under pressure, ideal as a focused follow-up to the foundation module or as a standalone training program for teams with specific negotiation needs.
Important notes
About how our modules are delivered
Our workshops use the appropriate interactive method depending on topic and context. No prior poker knowledge is required for the SMART STAKES sessions. No real money is used, we play with poker chips of no monetary value. More important than the game result is always the structured debriefing after each sequence. Our modules can be booked individually and combined flexibly, and complemented with digital tools, for example Miro for canvas work or Mentimeter for live voting. For LEGO® Serious Play® elements, selected reflection phases can be replaced by a short skills build. We adapt our methodological range to your needs in order to address the most suitable cognitive channels in each case.
Found the right topic? Or looking for something different?
No problem. Even if you haven’t found the perfect workshop, we’ll use our expertise and proven methodology to design a format that fits your specific needs.