What the client wants...
It was a very good experience for Schibsted to be the case in hand at the CBS Case Competition 2009, and Sverre Munck, Executive Vice President for Schibsted ASA. was a happy man at the end of the week:
- This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my 15 years at Schibsted. We have increased awareness about our company from California to Auckland. The presentations we saw were better than quite a few of our own presentations. The analysis was almost as good. During this day I have heard some very innovative, out-of-the-box ideas that I think the company should look further into, Sverre Munck expressed his thoughts at the banquet.
When asked what the representatives from Schibsted liked specifically about the USC team’s presentation, Sverre Munck, commended their performance:
- They presented their solutions with great clarity, and the sheer amount of analysis that they managed to do in 32 hours was fantastic. As to implementing these strategies, as a matter of fact, Schibsted is actually already following a strategy close to what they recommended.
Secret Ingredients for Success
It was really hard to get the team from the University of Southern California, Justin Saks, Craig Schleicher, Emma Browne and Shreya Oswal, alone for a chat even for 5 minutes after the results were announced.
- It’s an amazing feeling! We weren’t expecting this at all. We were just glad to make the finals! Justin Saks gushed.
- It was such an honour just to represent our university here and just to compete with such fantastic schools from around the world, Shreya Oswal elaborated.
Constantly interrupted by congratulations and hugs from well-wishers – the organizing committee, the other participants, the faculty advisors – this interview really brought home the sense of camaraderie that had developed during the week.
- I feel like we have made some friends this week that we couldn’t have made anywhere else. Not only that, I think as a team, we have learnt a lot and grown closer, Emma Browne said (between hugs from well-wishers, of course).
When asked about what their strategy was, Justin Saks answered very simply:
- We tried to be as thorough as possible. We were tossing back ideas all night and questioning them every step of the way.
- Though this was sometimes a problem. It was important to step back at intervals and not lose sight of where we were headed. Our biggest challenge though, was time management, Craig Schleicher explained.
Perhaps it was the sheer adrenalin rush of the moment, or perhaps it was an answer that the winning team had reflected on, but when asked what they thought of their experience in Denmark as a whole, the team responded unanimously:
- We love Denmark. Everyone has been so nice and everything has been so well organized. Each of us have been for a few case competitions elsewhere but we can see why the CBS Case Competition is considered the best. It really has been an amazing experience.
And this is essentially what the CBS Case Competition is – a well-seasoned experience of a lifetime. To learn more about the winners or read the case, please visit the homepage.
Tilføj kommentar