Attending the Georgetown McDonough Business Strategy Competition

Packed with a suitcase full of blazers and business suits, we boarded the bus down to Washington, D.C. My three teammates and myself were heading down to the Georgetown McDonough Business Strategy Competition (MBSC). MBSC differentiates itself from other case competitions, in that the cases selected are chosen from real nonprofits with 501(c) 3 status. As we developed our proposal for the company, we had to keep in mind the different challenges that nonprofits face in the business atmosphere.

In the days that were to follow, we plunged into a whirlwind of work. Our first day in D.C. was filled with tours of the Capitol and various museums; this provided a bonding experience for our team, as we had virtually just met earlier in the week. Yet, the next morning, the real work began. Our team, along with nineteen other groups, were presented with our case challenge and given the whole day to attend presentations from representatives from the selected company, as well as technical experts who specialized in the case being presented. As we broke for lunch, we began to brainstorm and draft the outlines of a proposal; later in the evening, we were invited to attend a Q&A session, where we could pick the brains of the company and test our proposal.

Over the next thirty-six hours, my group woke early and stayed up late (until 4 A.M. sometimes) order to develop our pitch and construct our slides. One member scoured the web to find data that supported our proposal, another was our script writer creating our final twelve-minute pitch that we would ultimately present the next morning; yet another team member was designer master, creating an aesthetically pleasing PowerPoint with our synthesized information.

Finally, on the morning of our pitch, the nerves began to settle in. All the work we had just poured into the past days and the hours of missed sleep would come down to this very moment. Dressed in our best suits, my team and I filed into the room in front of a panel of professional consultants, CEOs, and specialists. The next twelve minutes fly by in a second, and finally we were done. One of the more unique aspects of MBSC was the extensive Q&A that followed each presentation; in this session, our proposal that we had worked on was addressed by the professionals and we had to think on our feet to respond to their questions. Moreover, after all groups had presented and we finally received our scores and written feedback, we had the ability to go back in and personally speak with the judges to obtain insight, not only to our idea, but to consulting as a whole. These short five minutes provided indispensable knowledge for me and my team. We received constructive criticism on our proposal and got tangible feedback on what we could do better next time.

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From my experience with MBSC, I cultivated a multitude of lessons from my experience that I will bring forth into my latter competitions:

1. Get to know your teammates and work together. Over the short time period that you will spend together, it is essential that you can work in cohesion with your peers. Teams that are comfortable with each other will be able to better develop ideas, share constructive criticism, and present in a fluid manner with one another.

2. Don’t focus too much on the solution, remember to question the problem and flush it out. This very point was, as the judges pointed out, a downfall of many groups. Too often, we focus too much on pushing our strategy and making someone accept it as the best solution. Yet, it is helpful to first dive in and question the very crux of the problem itself. In a presentation that is twelve minutes, don’t rush through explaining what the problem is to get to your solution; rather, take time to develop and explore all aspects of what you are going to be addressing.

3. Give team members specific roles. Our group assigned a different part of the proposal to each individual in order to complete our work on time. Rationing out the work allows for each person to do their best job at the assigned task.

4. Breakthroughs will happen. The most important part of our proposal revealed itself to us at 3:30 A.M. We had been thinking all day on ways to answer questions about our implementation plan, and finally, after beginning to feel despair, a lightbulb flicked on. You will have moments of genius that guide your entire presentation as long stay open to new ideas.

5. Begin early! If you know that you will be going to attend a case study competition, get to know your team members early and formulate your game plan. Develop slide templates so that you do not have to design during the days of competition and brainstorm a series of sections that you think should be explored by your proposal. By going in with a “game plan,” you will be able to get right to work when presented with the case and save valuable minutes of work.

6. Remember to take breaks and have fun! Working from 8 A.M. to 4 A.M. can be grueling, but that does not mean it won’t be fun. My group and I made time to go get lunch off campus and take small coffee breaks in order to get our minds free for a while and bond with each other. Remembering to make time for yourself and your mental health during this whirlwind of days is key to your overall case competition experience and memories.

To learn more about the Georgetown McDonough Business Strategy Competition click here.