Episode 25/26: A Weekend at JDC West 2025

January 15, 2025

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to observe several academic stream presentations at JDC West 20025, hosted by the Haskayne School of Business. As an observer this time, I compiled a long list of observations regarding the skills I witnessed. In the upcoming episodes, I would like to share what I observed, how it impacted the presentations, and ways to improve communication regarding the solutions presented.

One of the significant areas for improvement I noticed was the flow and structure of the presentations. There was also a need to foster stronger engagement from the very beginning and maintain that engagement throughout. Additionally, I observed that presenters often struggled to take charge of the room, tended to hide behind podiums, and didn't effectively use the available floor space or define their positioning.

As the advisor to the organisers this year, one of my responsibilities was to help them find judges. This allowed me to converse with the judges throughout the weekend and gain insight into their perspectives. This is where I identified the first area for improvement, along with my observations. The judges had a long day ahead, with up to 12 teams presenting in each stream. Building connections with the judges proved challenging, particularly in the morning when they were just beginning. As the day progressed, their engagement tended to waver, and it became more difficult late in the afternoon.

The first presentation is particularly challenging for judges, as there is nothing for them to compare it against; however, it does present a unique opportunity to set the standard for the day. Let's discuss how to set that standard. It should commence by waking up the judges and engaging them from the moment the title slide appears on the screen, all the way through to the conclusion of the question-and-answer period.

How is this Done?

The first step is to ensure everyone in the room understands the roles your presenting team has defined, especially the judges. Include this information on the title slide and discuss it during your presentation. If specific names are mentioned in the case, use those names on the title page and throughout the presentation. This approach makes it more personal and engaging.

Next, bring a good level of energy to your presentation and convey your excitement about presenting your solution. Aim to establish emotional connections with the audience through the stories you share, and make sure those stories are linked together cohesively. Often, presentations become mere recitals of the information displayed on each slide instead of a cohesive narrative. The slides should serve as cue cards or guidance, helping the judges keep track of your points as they take notes. Listening and noting simultaneously can be challenging, but an engaging story will assist the judges in this process.

It is vital to follow a clear presentation structure that allows the judges to easily follow your argument for the proposed solution. While this was mostly effective, there were moments of confusion. For example, one presentation I observed used a single decision tree to make multiple unrelated decisions, employing vaguely defined decision criteria, which left me perplexed. In contrast, other teams who used decision tools focused on a single decision with clear criteria, which made it much easier to follow.

Most teams did a commendable job of keeping each slide focused on a single message, but some struggled to connect the message just presented to the next one. In certain instances, it felt more like a series of disjointed messages rather than a narrative that linked each point together, which hindered the audience's understanding of the solution being presented.

Another aspect I mentioned earlier is the importance of taking control of the room. This ties back to what I’ve just discussed about utilising the space effectively and not hiding behind furniture, which can come across as timid. Approaching the judges, while respecting their personal space, can project confidence and friendliness. Moving away from the furniture also allows you to better employ non-verbal cues and interact more dynamically with the audience. Utilising the space in the room can enhance your engagement with those listening.

 

January 29, 2025

In this episode, I want to discuss some common issues I observed in the presentations I attended over the weekend. This list is brief but includes straightforward fixes that could significantly improve the presentations and enhance time efficiency. At the top of the list is the ranking of risks associated with the proposed solutions, followed by considerations around NPV, ROI, and financial slides in general, as well as maintaining a cohesive theme and fostering a powerful personal or emotional connection. I will conclude the episode by sharing why one of the presentations resonated with me.

Ranking Risks

The most prevalent issue I noticed was the ranking of risks related to the solution. Each risk has both an impact and a likelihood, and the ranking should be based on the product of these two factors. When the products are similar, the impact becomes the deciding factor. Why is this important? As I have mentioned in previous episodes, the risk and mitigation slide serves as a time management tool. If you discuss the risks during the analysis and the mitigations during the implementation, you can efficiently address the most crucial risks by moving from the top of the slide to the bottom when pressed for time. Additionally, it's essential to recognise that while a risk’s impact is challenging to change, the likelihood of that risk occurring can be adjusted. Therefore, in the before-and-after set of charts (if you choose to include them), the risk should maintain the same level of impact but vary on the likelihood axis.

NPV, ROI, & Financial Slides

Another issue I observed was the preference for NPV over ROI in the financial slides. After seeing thousands of case competition presentations, the two most common questions I encounter pertain to the cost of the solution, particularly regarding its ROI, even when the team has presented the NPV of the project.

The first reason I advocate using ROI instead of NPV is the time consumption involved. Calculating NPV takes significantly longer than calculating ROI, and the necessary figures for ROI are typically gathered while preparing the figures for NPV, which occurs early in the process. This time constraint is especially critical in competitions like JDC West, where the case resolution time is limited to three hours.

Secondly, I've received advice from guest coaches who are senior executives. They suggest that ROI provides the information they need, as most organisations lack the maturity to fully understand NPV.

The third reason is that NPV calculations depend on the discount rate. For teams outside of a finance-focused case stream, this means they must defend their chosen discount rate, especially if they've not presented a sensitivity analysis. Among the presentations I reviewed, none included a sensitivity analysis, even those within the finance stream. It’s worth noting that, during discussions with judges, the discount rate was often factored into their evaluation of the financial plan's credibility, even if they did not have the opportunity to inquire about it directly.

Many financial slides contained excessive numbers with too many digits and failed to convey the assumptions leading to those figures. Often, the financial slides presented several numbers that were not tailored to the interests of the target audience. The focus should be on key figures related to the cost of the solution and the financial outcomes. These numbers should be scaled to be relevant to the targeted audience—neither too small nor too large—and presented without unnecessary zeros. For example, instead of showing $10,000,000, it would be clearer to present it as $ 10 M. There are videos on YouTube and other locations that show how to do this in Excel, and I will be adding one shortly to the Discover Your Mad Skill Toolkit Channel.

Theme Continuity

Another area for improvement is maintaining the theme or the personal/emotional connection established at the beginning of the presentation. Oftentimes, the story shared at the beginning was just that—a story—not integrated into the presentation or revisited in the conclusion. In some cases, it was difficult to relate the story to the rest of the content. While the initial engagement was strong, I found myself trying to connect the story to what the presenters were talking about throughout. However, I want to commend one team in the Entrepreneurship stream for effectively incorporating their opening story. One of their female members likened herself to Caitlin Clark to open the presentation. The team leveraged this connection and, over the 23 minutes, returned to this story in various ways, helping me stay engaged as an observer.