The month of September 2017 saw the launch of the prestigious OutThink 2017 B-School case study competition by Larsen and Toubro, popularly known as L&T. Now L&T definitely needs no introduction - it is a renowned and trusted brand in India and worldwide in the domain of EPC, or in layman terms, on things related to Mega Civil structures design and construction.
The theme of L&T OutThink 2017 was based on the Hydrocarbon sector - the world of oil and gas. The name itself posed a mammoth challenge - what is the future of the Hydrocarbon sector, given the fact that major economies of the world are switching on to renewables? Not to mention the ever declining oil prices in the International market. On top of that, the case required us to devise strategies to grow, earn more revenues and help percolate the growth strategy to the most valuable asset - the employees.
About 3100 people took up this challenge. Among them was the Team Southern Wizards of IIM Trichy. Facing them were the hugely established Institutes of the Country, not to mention the sheer "overwhelming" pressure considering the odds of success in such an intensely fought pan-India competition, where the Best among the Best brains would fight for supremacy.
Under such a backdrop, somewhere in IIM Trichy, Team Southern Wizards was conceived, as one of the many teams to put up a brave fight for the rest of the teams.
Can the relatively inexperienced Wizards cast their spell, against a plethora of formidable competition, which even could be seasoned ones? Reminds me of this self-explanatory collage from the Age of Empires game series.
[Image Courtesy: Age of Empires II game (Microsoft / Ensemble Studios)]
We resolved to put up a fierce front, and the sheer experience or numbers of competition should not be a deterrent for us. We were staring at a tough and tricky hill to climb, but climb we had to.
[Image Courtesy: Age of Empires II game (Microsoft / Ensemble Studios)]
We came to know more about the concept called "Team Synergies" as a part of this case - something which existed in books only till now.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" - Aristrole.
The truth of these words would dawn upon us, soon.
Synergies & Strategy
Each team member took upon himself the responsibility of dealing thoroughly with one aspect of the case study. Broadly, the case involved the application of concepts of Strategy, Operations, Finance, OB&HR and Macroeconomics broadly. Each one of us knew the theory in quite a fair detail, but how to pick and choose the relevant concepts or frameworks to crack the case? That remained a big challenge.
Overcoming challenges require hard work and sacrifice. We suddenly found ourselves as if we had gone back to the days of being a fresh joinee in an IIM. The lessons from
"The Life and Lies of a B-School student" came back to haunt us as we were staring at a radically different challenge - a challenge way beyond books and academics and deep seated in the Real World.
[Image Courtesy: Fantastic Beasts and where to find them (movie)]
We reverted to the good old days of being a fresh admit to an IIM. We spent about two months of near sleepless nights dealing with the rigours of the case, academic work (every b-school student would know this by now), live projects, food, and some time for talking to friends and family (if some time would have been left post completing the things mentioned above).
The synergies in the team began to develop with the passage of time. We used to brainstorm our findings and try to find out coherence and relevance out of the same for hours at a stretch. The combined efforts also served as an eye opener for us - all the concepts taught as a part of the academic course were there for a reason, and that dawned upon us through the solution of this case. For me, I can say that I transformed from being a relatively quant shy person to a hardened
"numeroholic" (did I just invent this word?!) by the conclusion of this case study.
We take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to all the faculty of IIM Trichy. Despite being hard pressed for time, they were always ready to help us out and provide direction to our efforts. They offered key areas of application of the frameworks taught in class, to real-world problems and thereby helping us channelize our efforts to the exact focus area.
Our migration to the State of the Art Permanent Campus also provided a big motivating factor to help us willingly stretch ourselves to the farthest possible extent. I believe that a permanent home induces a feeling of deep attachment and belonging, so much so that the work or effort we put in becomes totally devoid of any pain associated. We developed a sense of determination - to WIN this one, not just for ourselves - but for the entire Institute which stood rock steady behind us for support whenever we needed it. And through our efforts, add more reasons why
IIM Trichy is special.
The days progressed into weeks. We graduated from being among the Top 30 teams selected pan India for the next level, to being one of the 8 Finalists of the Mega event. The Stakes were High, but so was our determination.
[Image Courtesy: Google search]
Eyes on the Prize - The Grand Finale
The feeling of being one of the Finalists itself gave us much needed confidence to take on the challenge. However this time we were required to provide our findings and explain the practicality of our Strategy to the learned veterans of the Hydrocarbon Industry itself. The Months of sacrifice and hard labour would now be tested by the persons whose practical knowledge of the domain would be second to none.
I would say that the entire round was one of the most tense moments of my entire life. The sheer suspense and anticipation of the result just appear to stop the heartbeat for a moment. Such moments however occurred regularly throughout the event (surprisingly the anxiety totally disappeared when we presented our Strategy, which is quite good) and heightened during the Prize distribution ceremony.
This was the Moment. Who would be the OutThinkers?
And when the Panel announced "Southern Wizards" as the
Champions - the Time suddenly seemed to stop. Everything, the labour, the effort, the sacrifice - everything now came to a full circle. The sheer realisation of this is something which is totally inexplicable. Perhaps Mr. Dhoni's expression in the context of the "moment" might explain it better?
[Image Courtesy: Google search]
The loud thunder of applause brought me back to the current scenario. Yes,
IIM Trichy had won, the Wizards were able to cast their spell. The joyous cheer and congratulatory messages and wishes of friends, peers, parents, teachers and every well wisher will always be remembered and cherished by us.
[Image courtesy: L&T]
The Aftermath - Lessons learned
Upon retrospection, I can draw several lessons from the entire duration of this competition. We also thank L&T for offering this challenge to us and helping us put on the Best of our efforts.
1. As I always say - Get out of your comfort zone. To achieve a great reward, comfort zone should be left behind.
2. Team Synergy is extremely crucial. It can make or break the game if handled improperly.
3. Strategy, contrary to the popular belief, is DEFINITELY NOT gas. It is all about getting facts, substantiating them, formulating plans based on such facts and then formulating the practical implementation of the same on the ground. Without practical implementability, such plans do not serve many purposes.
4. People should participate in case competition as it offers a radically different viewpoint of things in action. It helps you understand the forces which help connect all the concepts you study in a b-school in a better and practical way. No concept works in silos, every concept or framework is interconnected. Participate in case competitions to understand more. Who knows that the same might help you out in your Placement or even beyond that.
The Team - Southern Wizards, IIM Trichy
Here is a brief introduction to the 3 member "OutThinker" team from IIM Trichy.
Anupam Raj
Anupam has previously worked with Infosys for 2+ years. He interned with Shoppers Stop in the field of Marketing and Consulting. He is currently pursuing majors in Marketing and minors in Strategy, IT and Finance in IIM Trichy which helps him to bring the best of all fields. He is pro-active, good collaborator and has a never-die-attitude. He also takes an avid interest in Sports, Movies and Singing.
Shivansh Namdeo
Shivansh is from Betul, Madhya Pradesh. Shivansh has graduated from NIT-Bhopal, post which he has worked in TCS for 3 years. Currently, he is pursuing my MBA from IIM Trichy. He has a keen interest in finance. Apart from studies, he likes watching documentaries and playing Table Tennis.
Abirbhav Mukherjee
Well, that is Me. You can read about me in the following section in "About the Author".