Uncovering the chaos of corporate competitions -By Srishti from IIM Indore

Competitions and relative performance are the two famous buzz words which keep humming in our ears as we enter into a B-school. The frenzy that takes birth from these words become an important part of our stay at a B-school. We were so happy over people discussing the brand-new competitions in association with eminent brands. All of them included lakhs of rupees prizes, goodies, and PPIs in the victory basket. So, here, let me uncover the chaos of corporate competitions. 

Teamwork and the chaos of corporate competitions

A unique kind of gravitational force develops between the competition registration date and our mind that we keep getting attracted to. Ultimately, it feels like a Bermuda Triangle of registrations sucking us. After registration, the teammates start disappearing for mysterious circumstantial reasons. Also, the former force of gravitation transforms into repulsion in a piecemeal fashion. This transformation is a pure function of procrastination which enters through the crevices of laziness and starts supplanting the erstwhile zeal and vigor. The force of attraction aka fervor towards participating in the competition is inversely proportional to the number of days left in the submission deadline.

This particular phase which arrived two days before the deadline was the true litmus test of sincerity, determination, and willingness. Keywords such as fights, arguments, blame-game, placation, smart work, communication, and diplomacy came into play. Those teams which were able to collaborate start slogging their day and night towards planning and creating the final submissions. Besides everything, the actual quality teamwork happens only at the eleventh hour. Probably, this was the true essence and beauty of this whole chain of events

The real purpose of competitions

Winning or losing is a different ballgame altogether. In the end, what matters the most is the bonds you create, the hearts you win and the ideas you exchange. The real purpose of these competitions doesn’t reside in those who use Porter’s five forces, PESTEL, 5 Ps, STP, financial ratios, RBV framework, and MBA jargons. It lies in making the individuals understand the knack of collaboration by focussing on team’s common goals. It signifies the synergies you are capable of creating while working in a group dynamics. Also, it includes leveraging one another’s core strengths and ignoring the fallacies.

Mostly, all the team members are equivalently capable of their common platform-based education. Some might be a tad bit better at marketing or some at finance. But still, the teams which outshine are those who play efficiently with the principles of Organizational Behavior. In the words of Michael Jordan, “talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”. The technical knowledge gaps are way easier to bridge, using resources such as Google, YouTube, Udemy, Coursera, and HBR. In this era of data deluge, the attitudinal aspect is the most strategically pertinent factor in determining the ultimate success.

In my opinion, these corporate competitions are an inevitable bitter-sweet medium of maintaining checks & balances of teamwork & collaboration in this highly competitive rat race of relative grading. It induces the sense of collectivism & cooperation at a place being driven by fierce individualism. This reminds me of a famous African proverb, “if you want to go fast, go alone if you want to go far, go together,”. I can deeply feel the veracity of each word. 

This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author with Dare2Compete.