I completely forgot to complete my thesis on this topic. Life's been incredibly happening!
Here are my final thoughts and take-aways from the competition.
1. Even though we didn't win, I found it completely worth my time and money to do this.
2. I learnt a lot from listening to the judges' comprehensive feedback to all the teams.
3. I realized that while you cannot do any specific preparations for such a competition, it helps if team members have specific individual strengths. For instance, the winning team comprised of one marketing person, one finance and two with consulting focus.
4. Given the time crunch, our team struggled with the breakdown of tasks. We had carefully allocated time for each activity - brainstorm, research, survey, power point, and practice, but we had a hard time attacking different aspects of the case individually. From talking to the other teams, I found that there's no one right way to do it. The team that won the second prize did everything together, whereas the winning team split tasks according to their strengths.
5. I'd heard from other B-school friends that it's best to go with one or two unique ideas/suggestions when presenting the final analysis. However, we observed that the winning teams all had every single simple and obvious suggestion out there as well. Perhaps it's better to err on the side of caution?
6. Social networks rock. My love-hate affair with Facebook tipped over to the love side when the survey we posted for our analysis got 200+ responses in under 6 hours.
7. Participating in such a competition is a good way to figure out if you're cut out for a consulting career. The flying, the time spent at airports, time-zone hops, talking and relating to strangers, working in an unfamiliar environment....if all that excites you, you know you'd enjoy being a consultant.
Other random notes:
- I anticipated the snow in Indiana but did not realize just how cold it could be. Must remember to pack more smartly in the future.
- I need to carry Starbucks Via packets with me at all times. Yes, I have a caffeine addiction.
- It was great to get coffee at Dunkin Donuts on the way back to the airport. I don't understand why we don't have the chain in California.
- Loved Indianapolis airport. But then I usually like airports. I just wish there was more vegetarian food available.
- People in Indiana seem super friendly. The car rental people, the bartender at the airport restaurant, and even the TSA staff - they all guessed that we were down there for the business school competition and were incredibly warm and cheerful. Quite a contrast to the weather there.
Ironically, that last sentence applies to southern Californians as well! :)
So our presentation on Saturday morning went well and we got kudos for our presentation skills. But we didn't exactly defend our proposed strategy as well as we should have, so we didn't win.
Here are my final thoughts and take-aways from the competition.
1. Even though we didn't win, I found it completely worth my time and money to do this.
2. I learnt a lot from listening to the judges' comprehensive feedback to all the teams.
3. I realized that while you cannot do any specific preparations for such a competition, it helps if team members have specific individual strengths. For instance, the winning team comprised of one marketing person, one finance and two with consulting focus.
4. Given the time crunch, our team struggled with the breakdown of tasks. We had carefully allocated time for each activity - brainstorm, research, survey, power point, and practice, but we had a hard time attacking different aspects of the case individually. From talking to the other teams, I found that there's no one right way to do it. The team that won the second prize did everything together, whereas the winning team split tasks according to their strengths.
5. I'd heard from other B-school friends that it's best to go with one or two unique ideas/suggestions when presenting the final analysis. However, we observed that the winning teams all had every single simple and obvious suggestion out there as well. Perhaps it's better to err on the side of caution?
6. Social networks rock. My love-hate affair with Facebook tipped over to the love side when the survey we posted for our analysis got 200+ responses in under 6 hours.
7. Participating in such a competition is a good way to figure out if you're cut out for a consulting career. The flying, the time spent at airports, time-zone hops, talking and relating to strangers, working in an unfamiliar environment....if all that excites you, you know you'd enjoy being a consultant.
Other random notes:
- I anticipated the snow in Indiana but did not realize just how cold it could be. Must remember to pack more smartly in the future.
- I need to carry Starbucks Via packets with me at all times. Yes, I have a caffeine addiction.
- It was great to get coffee at Dunkin Donuts on the way back to the airport. I don't understand why we don't have the chain in California.
- Loved Indianapolis airport. But then I usually like airports. I just wish there was more vegetarian food available.
- People in Indiana seem super friendly. The car rental people, the bartender at the airport restaurant, and even the TSA staff - they all guessed that we were down there for the business school competition and were incredibly warm and cheerful. Quite a contrast to the weather there.
Ironically, that last sentence applies to southern Californians as well! :)
They don't have many Starbucks in the east. So, that evens it out, I guess. I have heard a lot about the Dunkin' Donuts staff - are they as friendly as they are in the stories I have heard?
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