Traditional teaching methods are ineffective
Lectures, slide presentations, books, articles and case studies all apply the “learning by listening, reading and discussing” method, which is not very effective for developing complex skills. Many technology-based learning tools are just 'pseudo' innovations, because they still apply this flawed "content dump" pedagogy. The next generation of leaders are increasingly intolerant of these boring and ineffective methods.
People learn by doing
Complex skills can only be developed by (a) making decisions or taking actions, (b) experiencing the consequences, and then (c) figuring out what happened and why, and then repeating the process, i.e. practising.
Simulations are better than real world experience
In contrast with using real projects and real organisations as their practice grounds, when mistakes can be very expensive, simulations are faster, lower risk, lower cost, and crucially, more effective because they make the links between cause and effect easier to see.
Simulations are essential in many professions
Pilots, soldiers and surgeons, for example, have long understood the importance of simulating their activities in order to improve their performance and reduce the risk of failure in the real world. If they didn't use simulations for their training, it would be considered extremely irresponsible.
