Numero Uno: Finals and Results

The much anticipated final round of Numero Uno started after lunch on Sunday. After the presentations of the money spinner round, people were anticipating a fitting end to the three day long marathon that tested every trait of the participants. As they say, its takes a lot to be crowned Numero Uno.

The final began with the compere (Sathya, who happens to be one of our ex-students) announcing the names of the six finalists who would compete in the last round of Numero Uno on the basis of their performance in all the rounds conducted till that point in time. Pretty much as expected, the top six included Roberto (Yale University, USA), Sabina (McGill University, Canada), Geet (IIM Bangalore), Nikhil (FMS, Delhi), Hiranjith (Great Lakes, Chennai) and Rahul (IIM Calcutta).

Each contestant had to deliver a self pitch as to why he/she should be chosen as Numero Uno initially, followed by questions from the Judges, a few insightful comments from the compere here and there and some pretty pointed questions from the audience. The order of appearance was decided by draw of lots and as it turned out, our first speaker was Nikhil from FMS. Nikhil spoke extensively about his efforts as a founder of non-profit as well as for-profit organizations and his passion for everything he does. He came across a poised and serious individual, but the charisma that defines a leader was somehow not visible.

The next one up was Hiranjith from Great Lakes, Chennai who also happens to be a national level badminton player. Though he overshot his timing for the self pitch yet after that he was pretty entertaining. The fact that he hesitated to make decisions unilaterally, became pretty evident from his responses to the Judges’ insightful grilling sessions.

Sabina was up next and dazzled the audience with her speech as well as her well chosen replies to the questions she was asked. For a moment, it felt like here was one candidate better than the rest. Just when people started settling down cozily in their seats, confident of having identified a front runner, it was time for Roberto to come up on stage. Probably the least formal of the people present and the most upbeat of the finalists, he was definitely having fun on stage. He even had a dig at Sathya when the time seemed right!

Geet and Rahul were spot-on with their speeches as well but Roberto had already made a deep impact on the audience as well as the judges. Though we have to say that Geet had a distinct advantage of playing on home turf yet there were times when people had to agree that on this day it was Roberto who shone the brightest.

The results vindicated the general opinion and Roberto Jimenez representing Yale University went on to be declared Numero Uno for Vista 2008, the second year in a row when an exchange student has won the coveted title of the Next CEO!

Numero Uno - Penultimate Round: Other People's Money

The penultimate round of Numero Uno tested the entrepreneurial skill of the participants, and the inter-personal and resource management ability that go along with it. Each team was given a capital of Rs. 5000 and asked to employ it in any venture deemed appropriate. With minimal guidelines, the teams were given complete freedom to exercise their imagination and maximize profits. However, with limited time (around 5 hours) and limited resources (but human and monetary), the strategizing and execution talents were thoroughly evaluated in this round.

Teams came up with varying ideas. Some sold services, and others peddled products. Many teams leveraged on social causes to attract attention, and gain customer approval. A few also banked on individual talents of team members too. The team that was called upon first used minimal cash and generated the maximum amount of profits. They did so by offering to teach CAT aspirants and sell loyalty cards to willing shoppers. However, the judges questioned their rationale of not using the capital at their disposal.

The next two teams picked up social causes to strike a chord with the consumer. While one sold pens for Bihar flood relief, the other sold T-shirts and mugs to support carbon-emission reduction. The latter idea was particularly impressive for its ingenuity and its vivacity. The team asked passersby to leave their footprint on a banner to support the cause, and willing people were offered the T-shirts and the mugs with their own customized message on it. And what’s more, they raked in a decent amount of profit too while having all this fun.

One issue that was persistently raised by the judges was whether using a social cause amounted to making false promises to the consumer and thus was unethical. This hurdle was also faced by the fourth team, which sold handcrafted bags for a profit which they promised would be used to develop better working conditions for the artisans.

In the end, a refreshing bit of implementation of henna-designing came up with the 5^th team. They rode on the skill of their lady member who was proficient in henna-designs. And all this while, the four other male members were reduced to mere salesmen scouting for potential customers!

Thus the penultimate round had its fair share of fun and knowledge for the audience. It was even better for the participants most probably, and each of them presented a confident and calm veneer that most likely hid a nervous interior. Over to the final round now.

Numero Uno: The Ice Breaker

As the eventful day 1 was about to see the twilight, a motley crew of 22 individuals had gathered at the tranquil surroundings of the the Café Coffee Day Outlet here at IIM Bangalore. The event was to help the contestants of Numero Uno – the hunt for the next CEO, to break the ice over a cup of coffee (whoever had come up with the idea!) and get to know each other better. These contestants will be pitting their brain and brawn against each other over the next couple of days vying for victory, recognition, ‘phootage’ and of course a fat package of INR 150000 at the flagship event of Vista 2008.

As our very own ‘awesome big fat guy’ and ‘uber cool intellect with an accent’ got on with the proceedings, things went on as hoped and we were able to break not just ice but probably a big iceberg of uncertainty and anticipation brewing within the minds of these brilliant managers. All the participants were asked just one question – Illustrate the stupidest thing ever done by you! We bring some of the interesting snippets from the conversation.

· Quite a few of the participants had found themselves at the other side of the law in their lives including one who was picked up from a shady movie theatre during a raid in one of the morning shows whilst enjoying a ‘off-beat’ motion picture! And trust us when we say this, the experience in lockup was not very pleasing. Also, one of the contestants is a self confessed Kleptomaniac (read: shoplifter). Trust these blokes to lead their MNCs as CEOs in the future :)

· As many of us would agree, interacting with a beautiful soul from the other sex is not a easy job. We got to see a few more who shared this syndrome. One person ate a plate full of hot pepper to impress the elusive one (we wonder how that would have helped anyways?). Another one got the neighbour’s dog sick enough to throw up on his mom’s favorite carpet when he fed it 2-year old stale beer. One is still regretting the day when he turned down the lady of his dreams when she had proposed going to a rock concert together. Well, these situations do make you do strange things. But this strange? Are we missing something?

· As luck would have it, one of the ladies had the joy (?) of saying ‘I love you’ to a zillion strangers. We wonder whether she found any ‘loved ones’?

· One of the guys, also while at a shady theater (what’s with the choice of entertainment with these people?), ran into the ladies toilet. This leak did prove to be very costly for him.

· We also realized that one of the participants really needs this money by all costs because he apparently lost INR 96000 (rich parents or good job?) in a bet! We just hope he can spend an equivalent amount on treating people if he wins the trophy.

· One guy experienced a severe case of mistaken identity when he went on stage to collect a prize meant for a lady! Even the chief guest was confused with such antics.

On a less lighter note, we found a good number of fellow bloggers, some poets, a karate master, a world traveler and theatre personalities among this group of highly talented people.

All said and done, the evening was well spent getting to know the participants in a informal manner. And since we always plan for contingencies, this time it did prove fruitful when the rain gods forced us to move indoors in middle of the interaction. We hope this session will help the contestants stay cool during the next couple of days when they shall be competing against each other in myriad events, testing their business acumen along with mental and physical strength, to be crowned NUMERO UNO!

Get ready to be blinded by awesomeness as you witness 22 personalities battle it out for fame and glory

Numero Uno - II

The second part of the first round of numero uno got underway after lunch today. The teams were provided with the results of the market simulation of their business strategies as well as customized data about their competitors’ performances. This round required the teams to analyze their own performance and fine tune their own business plans with respect to their competitors’ strategy.

The scene inside the computer centre was more intense than it was in the morning (somehow, everyone was not as relaxed as they were and discussing strategy in the calm “lets-talk-it-out-folks” tones), there was enough and more data being analyzed and there were product profiles, market response reports and everything under the sun that makes one feel scared of being buried under the unholy cornucopia of numbers. But our men (and the ladies, pardon me) were deep in analysis and as I walked out of the room, I could almost sense the tension in the air.

We are on our way.

Next up on Numero Uno: The ice breaker round

Numero Uno Round 1

The hunt for the next CEO has begun! Following the weeklong build-up (Profiles and individual weblogs of the 22 competitors up on the Numero Uno blog) when the participants from the competing universities posted their views on different issues facing the world, IIMB saw a handful of young managers from across the country lock horns this morning . This time Numero Uno has truly moved a step ahead of being just another National level competition with participants representing McGill University, Yale and Lahore University of Management studies joining in.

The first round consists of a group event where the participants have been distributed into groups of 4/5 each and they have to put together a market entry strategy for a product starting with some initial product specifications and seed capital. All teams work in the same market and try to sell the base product with certain variations (In case you were wondering). A comprehensive market plan has to be devised by each team during the first round, complete in terms of product specification, pricing, distribution details and advertising and promotion budget. These strategies will be put to test in a simulated market and the teams will be required to put their heads together once again in round two to evaluate and rework their strategies based on the market response and their competitors’ strategies. (And the enlightened ones amongst us would shout, “Game Theory!”)

The intensity of the discussions were palpable with teams huddled around computer screens, discussing strategies and analysing data at the same time and you couldn’t tell that these people had met each other for the first time this morning itself!

First round gets over at midday and the groups break for lunch while their strategies are evaluated in terms of market share, revenue generation, profitability and market capitalization of the stocks of their companies.

That will be the dough for the first round, but if the enthusiasm is something to go by, we are in for a fight unto death! Stay hooked… for we are going to give you the Next CEO.

Numero You Know!

On an august October evening at Bangalore

Pattering rain makes the heat get lean

As all the smokers remember days yore

Calm and quite paints a picture serene

This is an ephemeral lull before the storm

In 3 days the fights for supremacy commence

To strive, to surge, to transgress the norm

To compete, attain glory in a battle intense

Numero Uno – who is chosen as the best

Without the aid of any red-blue pill

No prophecies, all reputations put to rest

It’s time to prove one’s strength and will

Jacks of trades – prefer to stay away

The search is for the ultimate Master

The stress and pressure drive you astray

A three day ride on a wild roller coaster

Starting with the dreaded Board Room

Provide deliverables with resources scarce

Use fundaes acquired in the Class Room

Battles transcend to personal wars

Market your potential, strategize to excel

Operational hurdles? Use acumen to deliver

Complacency here won’t serve you well

Physical forte put to limits in this endeavor

Six will survive till the last remaining obstacle

The bounty in sight, knocks on the door

As the competition start to falter and wobble

Treasure and glory for the sole survivor

Be there to witness who gets crowned the NUMERO UNO this year.

Only at Vista in IIMB: 10^th-12^th October 2008.