Autorenprofil
Written by Boas & Ulrich
Business Games deliver you a learning experience that you will not get in lectures.
Business Games provide a platform to kickstart your professional network and career.
Business Games include fun and great parties.
To make the most out of your next Business Game participation follow our 4 easy steps to be your best at the games.
If you want to break the next business game, you will most importantly need a partner in crime. To find the best partner ever, look for someone who complements rather than mirrors you. If you are the numbers guy, find a people’s guy. If you are the chaotic creative, find a structured perfectionist. If you are the geeky introvert, find the charismatic extrovert. With a broad range of skills in your tandem, you will gain a competitive edge in any challenge. To really stand out as a team, you have to create a history of working together. Last but not least, if you have never attended a business game before: Ask people who have. Preparation is everything. Firstly look up the partners and sponsors of the challenges. Secondly, understand the current issues in the companies industries. Finally, bring a professional PowerPoint template which you can easily adapt to the respective companies.
In business games you will most likely be assigned to groups of three tandems. Do not get us wrong here – you are not supposed to overrule your teammates in the challenges. It is rather about moderating the discussions, structuring the ideas and mediating between sometimes opposing perspectives. Be sure to divide responsibilities among you and your partner. One should focus on the people and eliciting their creativity and knowledge – the other one should structure the challenge and drive results. Make sure to follow through on the first team-approved idea. Do not get distracted by new ideas. It is better to have one focused, solid and well-presented solution than to be the jack of all trades.
Frameworks are great and easy to use and can perfectly make sense in most cases. However, every business game participant knows the frameworks by heart. Additionally, companies will already have applied the frameworks to their problems internally. Therefore you have to be sensible whether the jury wants you to deliver a solution that heavily relies on theoretic boxes or an innovative solution that is outside of any existing box. Know your customer! In the end it is all about selling the idea to the jury.
Attending a business game means stepping out of your comfort zone and entering unfamiliar territory. To make the transition easier, bring your crew. This gives you a stronger presence and therefore makes you feel less uncomfortable. Sponsorships to more than one Frankfurt School tandem empowers the Frankfurt School Spirit and makes you stand out as one big team. The cross-program team helps you to grow closer with fellow students through mutual support during the challenges no matter if you are directly competing or on the same team. Finally you can always rely on the accompanying Frankfurt School staff member’s cheers and support.
We followed all these steps at the HEC Business Game 2016 in Paris. Attendance and engagement in the challenges already brought us an amazing learning experience, new and exciting contacts with international students from other leading business schools and a lot of fun and party. On top of that we were able to stand out in the challenges. We were given the 1st prize in the Online Challenge by Gameloft and an overall 3rd place in the business game. Additionally one fellow teammate from Frankfurt School won the 1st prize in the Digitalization Challenge by Baker & McKenzie. Standing out in the challenges not only is awarded with prices, but also opens doors to great job opportunities, business networks and senior level contacts.
Thanks to the support of Frankfurt School and our amazing delegation!
Boas & Ulrich
P.S.: Feel free to get in touch if you have any question about your next business game.
Boas.Bamberger@fs-students.de Ulrich.Wiebach@fs-students.de
Frankfurt School gGmbH
Adickesallee 32-34
60322 Frankfurt am Main
