“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T. S. Eliot
Case competitions. For some, these two words reflect passion with countless hours spent on training, but for others, they are only words you’ve heard about – until recently, I was one of the latter. A couple of weeks ago, I took the leap and tried a case competition to experience it for myself so I could see what the commotion was all about.
Peak Performance Case Competition is an introductory case competition for Beedie students with less than 60 credits. After a frantic registration to secure a spot, my team and I were set and we began to train with the help of a senior student coach.
We were all new to case competitions so we knew we had a lot of work in front of us. Over the weeks, we trained hard and found that the knowledge and skills we learned from doing practice cases along with getting feedback from our coach, would be transferable to real situations we could encounter in the future. As a team, we were able to learn and support each other’s strengths and apply them to the cases.
Once the competition day came, my team and I were very nervous. We had 24 hours to deliberate and prepare a recommendation for what a startup company should do to launch their business. We approached the case with everything we learned in the past weeks and we were ready to show the judges in 12 minutes what our recommended strategy was.
Hearing our team being called for first place was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had. It made all those long practices and the lack of sleep from the previous night, completely worth it. Regardless of the result, the amount of growth that Peak Performance Case Competition has allowed me to experience was so rewarding, and I have nothing but gratitude for my coach and team for holding on till the end.
For those of you interested in experiencing case competitions, here are a few tips to help you make the most of your case experience:
- Be confident. I found Q&A to be one of the most nerve-wracking yet thrilling aspects. You may be asked a question you just don’t know, but your face and voice should reflect nothing but confidence.
- Remember to pause. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a thousand thoughts running through your head while you’re speaking. Pause and think briefly so you don’t make mistakes and you can exude confidence.
- Bond with your team. If you don’t know your teammates well, have a team social. Not only will it help during deliberation but your interaction and flow during the presentation will improve drastically.
- Relax and have fun. It’ll be over before you know it so just enjoy the experience! You’ve already accomplished so much by just participating.
Case competitions are something you can just read and hear about, but to really understand the excitement, I recommend you participate in one for yourself.
Sandy is a third year student pursuing concentrations in Marketing & MIS, with a minor in design. Since her first year, she has been actively involved in numerous student clubs. Currently, Sandy is VP Marketing and Communications for Business Administration Student Society (BASS). She is always excited to meet others who are also passionate about student involvement and looks forward to the abundance of new experiences offered at the Beedie School of Business.