From Internal Rivalry to Real Results

The Problem: Competing Teams, Missed Targets  

At one of India’s leading manufacturing firms, the sales team had hit just 50% of their yearly target. On the surface, the problem seemed like a sales execution issue. But a closer look revealed something deeper—and more damaging.

Cross-functional teams weren’t collaborating. In fact, they were competing.

Sales blamed Purchase. Purchase blamed Operations. And everyone believed their department was doing the heavy lifting while others slowed things down. Instead of working toward a common goal, teams were pulling in different directions.

The result?

• Slower deal closures

• Delayed responses to client needs

• Lost business opportunities

Leadership had tried meetings, process alignment, even outside consultants. But the silos remained. 

The Bottomline Solution: Compete or Collaborate—Your Call  

To break the pattern, Bottomline designed a simulation workshop where mixed cross-functional teams had to achieve shared business goals together. But there was a twist:

• Each group had a choice: Compete with the other, or collaborate.

• No scripts. No instructions. Just real-time decisions, trade-offs, and limited resources.

What happened was striking.

• Tables that chose to compete ended up duplicating effort, withholding information, and struggling with internal conflict.

• Tables that collaborated, shared resources, anticipated each other’s needs, and made faster, more strategic decisions.

• By the end of the simulation, the difference was clear

Collaborative tables generated 3–4x more revenue than competitive ones.  

The Debrief: Data That Spoke Louder Than Opinions  

The debrief wasn’t a lecture—it was a mirror.

Each team was shown the data:

• How many deals they closed

• What opportunities were lost due to poor communication

• How distrust cost them speed, efficiency, and impact

It was a turning point. The teams saw firsthand that internal competition was costing them external success.

We followed this with practical frameworks on how cross-functional teams can:

• Build trust

• Share accountability

• And drive outcomes together, not in silos.  

The Bottomline Impact  

The workshop didn’t just change how teams behaved during the game—it reshaped how they worked afterward.

Sales started looping in support functions earlier. Purchase and operations became proactive instead of reactive.

Because when teams stop pulling each other down, they can start lifting each other—and the business—up.