Accenture: Challenging
Now that I have emerged from several hours of needed slumber, I have a few things to share concerning the Accenture Challenge.
From my perspective, I am thrilled that everyone was able to complete the assignment. Regardless of anyone's chosen solution, or everyone's struggles, we have all emerged from this difficult task with results. That is to be commended.
But, what did we learn?
Personally, I learned that I am worthless without sleep. I was a zombie; I felt miserable, had little comprehension of my surroundings, and unfortunately it showed. I'm not sure how many professional zombies there are.
This wasn't like staying up all night watching movies and eating pizza. This was pushing your brain full tilt for numerous hours and mentally exhausting yourself, only to have to then produce decent results and defend them in front of professionals who had both clearer minds and clearer direction.
Both my professionalism and my presentation ability were running at less than 50% at 8 am. Doomed from the start. What a huge mistake.
But how did I get to that point?
Poor planning and procrastination, plain and simple. We often find ourselves in predicaments of our own creation. This was no different. No one to blame other than the man in the mirror.
The team held together well enough (you know who you are); however, we only had a combined 30-40 minutes of sleep between us. It was amazing to see the difference in our moods at 12 pm (when it was still fun) and 7 am (when we were not yet finished).
This was not a personal disaster though. I think both my team and I learned a good deal. I already mentioned the sleep thing. Also, I think some of us learned what they were capable of when faced with uncertainty in the face of a fast deadline. Most importantly, I think we learned that we have to rely on each other to accomplish tasks that are this massive; no one of us could have done this alone.
So, congratulations to the victors of this year's Accenture Challenge. You are truly amazing to pull this off. And congratulations to everyone else, who if nothing else hopefully learned a good deal about themselves and their abilities.
And, I am glad I no longer feel like a zombie. Too bad it took sleeping through most of my weekend to get back to normal. But, I will use this knowledge to my advantage in the future. That--more than anything--makes this project a success for me.