Candid moments with participants before revealing their revolutionary strategies !

"Disclaimer !" - This blog post will be more of an informal expression of what's going on in the minds of the extremely talented pool of students who are today scripting their vision and strategies to revolutionize future !

Here we are at Boston University, meeting and speaking with students from the leading MBA programs across the world. Blogging down some of the really candid responses from them.

Since it is an intense 24hr business case competition, it very important to have the time frame. So, here it is -

Mar 25, 2011 - 3.30PM (EST)

And the clock is ticking..

We entered the team rooms and aksed - Guys, will it possible to take a brief 3-5 min interview? 

We had different reactions and emotions in the team rooms where these students from various participating schools are working on their case. Some laughed and said "sure, come in", and some "hmm.. aannhh.. naaa... hmm.. okay.. 3 mins that's fine" and some said "No, we are lagging behind in our schedule so can we have it later during the evening."

So, here it goes -

How do you feel about your today's progress?


Some of the words from their responses were-


Ericsson Santiago - "Good progress" and "Lots of ideas on the table".
Ericsson Delhi - We have a timeline and and we will stick to it.
Ericsson Jakarta - "We have a high level story", "Hypothesis building stage is done" but they did unanimously said "Oh, come on, this case definitely requires more than 48 hrs"!
Ericsson Queens - "We have identified Ericsson's key competencies and will be aligning those with their future strategy"
Ericsson San Jose - "Brainstorming in progress", "Behind schedule"
Ericsson Rome - "Lots to consider", ""Narrowing the questions and quantifying the results"
Ericsson Tokyo - "Coming up with differentiating Ideas"

Did you prepare before you came for this case competition? If yes, how ?

Ericsson Santiago - "Analysed the company (Ericsson), financial statements and competitive landscape"
Ericsson Delhi - "Did research on recent developments, events going around in the industry and possible challenges for Ericsson"
Ericsson Jakarta - "Had anticipated about the healthcare sector concern but not much for Energy"
Ericsson Bucharest - "Ericsson Annual reports", "strengths and opportunities of Ericsson"
Ericsson  Rome - "Too busy, din't get enough time to work before"

What do you feel about tomorrow?

Ericsson Delhi - "Pretty confident"
Ericsson Jakarta - "Cautiously optimistic"
Ericsson Bucharest - "Comfortable", "Have the vision but at the same time are little anxious"
Ericsson San Jose - "Not thinking about it, don't want to take that pressure"
Ericsson Rome - "Collaboration round should be interesting"
Ericsson Cairo - "We are on a mission, we will win"

Do you plan to stay awake all night? If yes, do you mind sharing your secrets with us?


Ericsson San Jose - "Not sure, but yes, it would be Coffee for sure"
Ericsson Tokyo - "9pm-12 midnight would be key for us", "if nothing works, we will do some push-ups !"
Ericsson Delhi - "Red Bull (sugar-free)!"

As the day goes along, we will keep you posted !