Crunching numbers

Picture source: dilbert.com

This Wednesday each of the teams had to present their Financial Pitch to the CIOs of Citigroup. We had to get their ‘approval’ for investment and need I say that it was a tough sell! We had to prepare the Project Charter, Process maps and the Cost Benefit Analysis. So each one of us had been toiling and breaking our heads to get things done for more than a week. One good thing about the pitches was that it gave us a feeling of how the real corporate financial approvals are done. They asked us a lot of questions and gave us amazing feedback. Although it was sometimes a little blatant, it was for our better understanding of the corporate world.

Let me move on to the fun part, we had a “Presentation skills” workshop on Monday and Tuesday. We were made to speak on impromptu topics individually and the whole thing was taped for us to learn and correct our not-so-nice body language. Then we had to prepare a short presentation with the financials on a product that we think could be used differently from its usual, existing purpose. I chose ‘band-aid’ and my product was ‘band-aid umbrellas’. We then had to present it to a panel of 12 and get their approval for funding. I was so happy when mine was the first to be approved. Out of the whole bunch, only two of us got approval.A sign of how things will be in the corporate world!