Ready for Departure!

To explain our ceremonial "paddle" and the David vs. Goliath reference....

Our own adjunct MBS professor, Nancy Forster-Holt, and her husband Steve, own Shaw & Tenney in Orono (www.shawandtenney.com). I approached Steve to create a symbol of our impending David vs. Goliath battle in Montreal. He constructed the paddle that we will take to the competition as a motivational tool, and if need be, a small weapon to fend off competitors (that was a joke). After all, Shaw and Tenney are "makers of the world's finest traditionally handcrafted wooden oars and paddles since 1858," and they do amazing work!


David vs. Goliath
When Victoria shared the Molson website and list of competitors with her mother, a Sunday school teacher of many years, her mother made the comment that David chose 5 stones when he faced Goliath; thus, our team of talented individuals are the 5 "stones." The slings, of course, are our experienced and talented coaches, who have guided and prepared us for launch. Over the course of the semester and training sessions, they have employed tough love tactics and invaluable feedback and direction. The questions we will soon face from the Montreal judges are no match for the questions we have been asked by our coaches. . . trust me.


We had our final meeting last night in preparation for our trip to Montreal. It's amazing how fast the time has passed, and hopefully the Blizzard of 2010 has gotten everything out of its system as we prepare for the long drive north this Sunday. The mood was light and jovial as we went over final logistics - Dr. Mahon shared a story of a team past (not a UMaine team thankfully!), had a team member who threw up during the presentation. While we want Team UMaine to remain fondly in the hearts and minds of our judges, I don't think that's the direction we want to go in!

Best wishes to all for a Happy New Year, and the next post will be from Montreal!

Laissez les jeux commencer!

Perfect Practice Makes for Perfect Performance

In preparation for the competition (in 3 weeks and 4 days!), our team is prepared for 6 practice sessions which will include tutorials and a full run through of a case. We are fortunate to have some of the finest faculty here at the Maine Business School act as guides as we gear up for competition!

For those who aren't sure what this process is all about, here is a excerpt from the rules of the case competition (very abridged version):

"Teams will normally have three hours to analyze the case and to prepare exhibits in support of an oral presentation to a panel of Judges. . . Each team will have a strictly enforced maximum of 25 minutes to make its presentation followed by a 15 minute question and answer period with the Judges’ panel. . ." And perhaps the scariest part, "Cue cards and personal notes are not allowed for the presentation." :)

The best part of all of this (in my humble opinion, of course) is that we are the perceived underdog in the competition - and since I always root for the underdog - those other schools won't know what hit 'em!