neptune’s crossing
Build a Fleet of Seaworthy Boats Through Cross-Functional Collaboration
Neptune’s Crossing is an innovative business simulation that goes beyond the typical conference room experience by plunging your team into the deep end (literally)! Your team will act as an organization charged with building a fleet of sea-worthy vessels with limited time, budget, and resources. Add some demanding customers and you’ve got a recipe for impactful learning and unforgettable fun!
Neptune's Crossing challenges your team with a high-stakes project: producing a fleet of seaworthy boats to customer specifications within a tight timeline. This business simulation divides participants into multiple organizations with various project team roles—each responsible for building a different style of boat (speed, luxury, large capacity) that contributes to the overall fleet. Through hands-on collaboration, teams explore customer needs, communicate across organizational boundaries, and deliver results under realistic pressure.
Using materials like cardboard, plastic, foam, and tape, build teams create quality boats while working within budget constraints. Resources come at a price, requiring strategic decisions about allocation and priorities. The activity unfolds across four simulated quarters representing a standard business year, complete with a facilitated mid-point process break after Q2 where our facilitators gather data about how the process is unfolding and identify opportunities for course correction.
The simulation culminates in a dramatic customer demonstration where the entire fleet must float at least one person across a body of water—and floating two people per boat truly impresses the customer. Teams often create good-natured competition through paddle races to determine the fastest boat, and each team delivers creative marketing presentations showcasing their work. Our comprehensive facilitated debrief connects simulation experiences to workplace realities, exploring strategic planning, cross-functional communication, conflict navigation, and customer orientation that drive organizational success.
how neptune’s crossing works
Strategic Planning – Coordinate across multiple teams to deliver an integrated fleet meeting customer expectations
Cross-Functional Communication – Navigate communication challenges between build teams, managers, and customer representatives
Customer Orientation – Practice understanding and delivering to exacting customer specifications under pressure
what teams experience…
Resource Management – Make strategic decisions about limited resources, budgets, and competing priorities
Productive Conflict – Navigate disagreements about priorities, resources, and approaches productively
Individual Leadership – Create opportunities for leadership to emerge at every level regardless of assigned role
why neptune’s crossing works…
Creates realistic pressure of coordinating multiple teams toward shared deliverable
Customer demonstration provides tangible accountability and dramatic conclusion
Mid-point process break enables real-time learning and course correction
Facilitated debrief connects simulation to actual workplace challenges and dynamics
Fun, competitive elements make learning engaging and memorable
Scales to any group size with flexible team configurations
who benefits
Neptune’s Crossing is designed for organizations that rely on multiple teams or departments to deliver results. Whether you’re navigating complex projects, coordinating across functions, or working to improve execution and accountability, this simulation brings the realities of cross-functional collaboration to life. Companies seeking stronger project coordination and more consistent delivery will gain practical insight into how alignment, communication, and decision-making truly impact outcomes.
It is especially valuable for teams that want to sharpen their strategic planning under constraints. In Neptune’s Crossing, participants must balance limited resources, competing priorities, and evolving customer needs—just like in the real world. The experience challenges teams to think systemically, communicate clearly, and adapt quickly, making it ideal for organizations with ambitious goals and high-stakes delivery environments.
Neptune’s Crossing is also a powerful platform for hands-on leadership development. Emerging and established leaders alike gain immediate feedback on how they influence performance, manage trade-offs, and guide collaboration under pressure. Challenging, engaging, and unforgettable, the experience reveals how teams actually work together when it counts—making it an excellent fit for any organization, of any size, ready to strengthen cross-functional collaboration through immersive, facilitated team building.
clients that have set sail with us
frequently asked…
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Neptune’s Crossing works fro group as small as 15 people and as large as 300+. Reach out to discuss the right design for your next offsite!
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Neptune’s Crossing requires, at a minimum, a location with a pool that can be reserved for the customer demo. We can advise you on if your offsite location is the right fit!
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Your group will be divided into multiple roles (senior managers, managers, and work teams) to simulate a real organization. The activity takes place over 4 simulated quarters and your organization will need to satisfy customers, stay on time, and within budget. Sound familiar?
Our Business Simulations are designed to mirror the challenges your team face every day to create concrete learning and drive change.
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Neptune’s Crossing takes between 3-5 hours depending on the design. It can also be paired with other program options for longer agendas.
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Yes! At the customer demo, members of each build team will demonstrate their vessels by sailing across a pool. Some people may end up getting wet!