Awarded 1st Place for eliminating social barriers to environmental activism for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Given a budget of $10,000, our team recommended a partnerships solution with non-profits to provide adaptive outdoor adventures for persons with disabilities and bring awareness to the unique challenges this marginalized community faces when participating in environmental activism.
As this is my last case comp before I graduate, I thought I’d take the time to outline a few guiding principles that can be useful for building winning solutions for any form of group project.
#1: Think outside the box but remember there’s a box.
Understand WHY there’s a box in the first place! A strong solution should be grounded by research and analysis. As an (incredibly passionate) artist myself, I love using my imagination, but the right solution requires restraints that guide you towards an optimal design.
#2: Assemble the right team to get the job done.
We all know about embracing diversity in order to gain different perspectives… etc. However, we need to take it a step further. Case competitions are tight on time so make sure your team has one person who can contribute significantly to a core function (e.g. presentation, beautiful visuals, industry experience, analysis, number-crunching). You need to focus on doing the best in what you do and have 110% confidence that that your teammates will carry out the rest.
#3: It’s an adventure. Treat it as such.
Never get stuck on an idea or a one-track mindset. Identify and question all the assumptions that made you arrive at each statement you’re making (prove what you say is real). Your final solution should be different from the initial idea. From a general career perspective, practice business etiquette. Never leave a meeting because you aren’t the speaker. Stay, learn from others and engage with them to understand their thought processes.
Bonus: Have a pre-game routine.
Whatever it takes to get you in the zone and be your best. I find myself frequently starting pitches, so I like to take a deep breath, quiet down the whole room (and my rapidly-beating heart) and set the tone. Our team also has a mantra that brings the hype before we present.