Home Competition Stories Mahindra War Room Season 11 National Finalist IIM Ahmedabad's Shikha Gupta's Story

Mahindra War Room Season 11 National Finalist IIM Ahmedabad's Shikha Gupta's Story

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Mahindra War Room Season 11 National Finalist IIM Ahmedabad's Shikha Gupta's Story

In the corridors of IIM Ahmedabad, Mahindra War Room is considered as one of the most prestigious B-School competitions. We were glad to have represented our college in the national finals of Mahindra War Room Season 11 and to say the least, it was grand. The stage, the audience voting, the judging panel, everything was top-notch and lavish.

Our Mahindra War Room Season 11 Topic choice:

The topic we chose was Mahindra First Choice Wheels. Prevalent advanced technology and saturation in the after-sales market made it all the more challenging for us.

It was akin to a live consulting project for us as it exposed us to real-life business scenarios of companies under Mahindra Group. Mahindra Group also puts in a lot of resources on this competition and hence, we knew that our efforts are going to be taken seriously.

It is a flagship competition of Mahindra, being conducted for many years now. Most of Mahindra's companies are doing a lot of innovative work, so it was challenging to suggest a strategy for units which have already achieved a lot of success.

Our preparation for Mahindra War Room Season 11:

We brainstormed and researched leaving no stone unturned. We tried to back our suggested strategy with a lot of in-depth implementation roadmaps. Furthermore, we looked at operational and financial feasibility as well as a marketing plan. It was great to work with a team and peer learning was at its peak during our meetings. We built our team on trust, unity, and dedication to deliver only the best even if it meant sleepless nights.

Mahindra War Room Season 11 Finale:

In the finale, I found the teams from IIM Shillong and XLRI to be great. Our clock got stuck in between while we were presenting. So, instead of getting 7 minutes to pitch our solution, we got only 4 minutes. The organizers didn't believe us at first until we asked them to check the CNBC recording. Some benevolent lady vouched for us from the audience and complained, that's when they took us seriously!

In the end, they allowed us to present again but without audience voting and judge's interjections. This led to a very calm audience as they had already seen a mini version. They already knew the entire suspense and storyboarding of the presentation. Despite all this, we presented with confidence. Besides this glitch, the competition was amazing!

Our takeaway from Mahindra War Room Season 11:

Through this competition, we got real-life case exposure and peer learning. We learned that the proposed strategy should match the DNA of the organization, should be financially sound and be easily implementable. We learnt to work well within a team. An informal bonding made our brainstorming sessions fun, yet productive.

Do you have your eyes set on winning Mahindra War Room Season 11? Read more about the organizers Mahindra.

Edited by

Shikha Gupta - IIM Ahmedabad

(Batch of 2017-19)

Shikha Gupta, an MBA student from IIM Ahmedabad, is a B.Com(Hons.) graduate from SRCC; has interests in debating; is a learner with the potential to shake grounds for the betterment of society.

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MBA Mahindra B-School IIM Ahmedabad Mahindra War Room Season 11 Mahindra War Room