9 Things I Learnt from Case Competitions, and You Will Too
I participated in my first-ever Case Competition in 2018 at SRCC, where the case was about an EdTech startup looking to expand its product offerings in order to increase revenue and obtain a higher valuation. As a first-year student, I was nervous. However, when I began my preparation, I could see myself growing. It was only later that I would realise that this nascent growth was only a glimpse of the humongous amount of teaching potential Case Competitions carried.
From thereon, whichever Case Competition I did, whether a crushing defeat or a podium finish, I always enjoyed absorbing the things it taught me. Nothing more, nothing less. Soon, the whole process of preparing for a Case Competition became a holistic learning exercise, with the focus on personal growth being so laser-sharp that wins or losses became a by-product.
The two-year-long exercise culminated in April this year when my team secured India its maiden victory at Harvard University’s Global Case Competition. Amidst all the joy, when I looked back, I could see Case Competitions teaching me these 9 things.
1. Public Speaking
Needless to say, when you regularly present in front of audiences comprising your competitors (other teams), judges, and (sometimes) students of the college, you develop a certain degree of confidence when it comes to speaking in public.
Moreover, regular public speaking allows you to speak impromptu, with the same gravitas and eloquence as you would speak if you had a verbatim with you. This teaching of Case Competitions is under-noticed but definitely relevant in all walks of life.
2. Storytelling — How & What to Present
Fluently speaking English in front of an audience is not enough. If you want to present a solution to the Case Study, or say even express an opinion to the extent that the audience stands convinced, you need to master the art and science of Storytelling.
Even though storytelling is one of the most useful skills, it is also one of the most difficult to acquire. Learning how to tell a story is an infinitely long process which I am still undergoing, and will always continue to do so.
3. Awareness — Business & Wordly Affairs
I have always been an ardent reader of newspapers, articles and worldly affairs. Case Competitions only strengthened this habit of mine as I was always required to keep up with how are different industries changing and what all factors affect them the most.
It is during the last two years that my habit of reading hit its peak, with me having a separate set of apps on my phone only for reading. I pay for a premium membership of Medium and Scribd (an online Library) — again, for reading.
I can proudly say that Case Competitions not only gave me business and current affairs’ knowledge but also equipped me with the ability to have educated opinions on most subjects.
4. Analysis — of Business Situations, or Anything Else
While presenting a Case is a function of Public Speaking and Storytelling, solving a Case is a function of how you analyse things and do your research.
Simply put, analysis means breaking down something complex into its constituents and processing them individually in order to later synthesize a logical conclusion.
To begin with, there are several (literally hundreds, maybe thousands) of case frameworks out there, to help you analyse different situations in a variety of ways, and eventually reach a well-nuanced conclusion.
However, as you delve deeper into Case Competitions, you discover a world beyond case frameworks, where your mind creatively constructs newer methods to analyse any situation thrown upon it, in order to reach suitable solutions. Basically, your mind becomes an impromptu framework machine, and you learn how to analyse not only businesses, but also situations, things, people, products and everything else.
5. Research — Digging the most Trivial Information
When you read frequently to stay at the top of the game and also actively seek how to analyse things, you tend to automatically develop research skills.
Reading opens up your mind to newer avenues of research. One article today about say the possible expansion of Spotify into the Video-Podcasts business will mean that whenever in future do you get a case related to Spotify, or the industry, you will automatically research about the Video-Podcasts segment while constructing your solution.
Thanks to case Competitions, whenever I have an opening prong to research upon, I am able to find its extensions and understand the topic’s depth well. Research skills help me connect the dots more effectively and hence frame a more comprehensive solution. Over time, I have even learnt a lot of Google Search cheat-codes (yes, that’s a thing).
6. Teamwork, and all its Derivatives
This point does not need much explanation. Since all case Competitions are in a team, you develop skills related to how to manage your and your teammates’ talents, weaknesses and strengths, while overcoming hurdles as a unit.
While working on Harvard’s solution, even though we had several moments of (heated) opinionated discussions, we were able to balance different opinions and do what was best for the solution. Conflict Resolution is another underrated skill that Case Competitions equip you with. All in all, it's a great EQ booster and helps you imbibe all those layers of teamwork within your daily life.
7. MS Excel, PowerPoint and Several Tech Tools
Cannot stress this enough, literally all of the work you do, would either be on MS Excel (number crunching) or MS PowerPoint (visually attractive presentation). Both of these have millions of features and carry vast functionality. So vast, that most daily users of these two have not even used more than half of their features. Case Competitions are a great source to perfect your hand on them and practice both MS Excel and PowerPoint industriously.
Moreover, there are several tools that I came across during different phases of these two years, which I may not have come across otherwise. Tableau, Notion, Slack and Trello, only to name a few, all of which are very helpful in different capacities from keeping track of your research to working smoothly in a team.
8. Product Management
Product management is defined as an organisational function within a company dealing with new product development, business justification, planning, verification, forecasting, pricing, product launch, and marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle.
Constructing the solutions to Cases teaches you Product Management. When you recommend any strategy, you map the entire lifecycle of the same and plan all of its aspects from end-to-end. A well laid out recommendation helps you win Case Competitions, and teaches you the basics of PM that you would retain in future too.
9. Financial Acumen
No matter how good your recommendation/solution, you cannot win a Case Competition without justifying your solution with numbers. Whatever your recommendations are, they need to be lucrative enough for the client (the hypothetical company in the Case) to adopt them.
Case Competitions taught me essential concepts of financial acumen such as Time Value of Money, Lifetime Value of a Customer, Financial Forecasting and in general, looking for financial feasibility (unit profitability) of a solution.
Something extra…
10. Case Interviews (Placements)
This skill is different from the rest since it is not a direct outcome of Case Competitions but rather an indirect one.
When I commenced my placement interview preparation for the season, I quickly realised that I have a headstart over my other batchmates due to my ability to create frameworks out of thin air and analyse any situation while backing myself with proper facts and opinion. This edge was an indirect result of Case Competitions, but definitely had a direct (positive) impact on my placement process.
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