How to Achieve Success in the Intopia Simulation Weekend - University of Ottawa - Telfer School of Management

When I first enrolled in Telfer School of Management I kept hearing about a simulation but I didn't know what it was. My peers said it was a weekend-long competition that was stressful, exhausting, intense and involved very long hours. I dreaded taking the Strategic Management class (ADM 4311) as I based all my assumptions on what my peers told me about the course. I waited until the very last semester of my bachelors degree to take it and after taking it I can say I have learned a lot of life lessons from it.

1 - Do Not Make Assumptions

This class was actually really fun despite it having a higher work load than other courses. I love being challenged and pushed to my limits and this class was exactly what I needed. I had also heard that there wouldn't be any time for sleep or anything personal but in reality I had plenty of time to sleep and even do a quick trip to the grocery store during the weekend. Not everyone enjoyed the fast pace of the class but I feel like it was a great experience for business students to apply in the real world after graduation.

The simulation can look daunting but the course preparation makes a good job at informing us on what we need to do. There are multiple practice runs before Intopia weekend and there is also a manual for students to read to ensure everyone has the necessary information to be ready.

Take my word for it, it is not as bad as some students make it out to be but, do expect to have meetings for multiple hours every day of the competition weekend. Work hard but also have fun!

2 - Teamwork & Communication

Group work is something most people do not enjoy, there could be a lot of misunderstandings and sometimes arguments happen. I was fortunate to have a team that valued communication even though we didn't always agree on the same course of action. We made a few mistakes along the way but with good communication and team effort we improved and changed strategy as the game went on.

Teamwork is essential to the success of a team. It increases trust between the members and creates a sense of belonging in the team and thus increases the likelihood of succeeding.

This class also helped me learn that working on a team means leaning on each other and taking equal accountability if there is a mistake instead of blaming one another. A single person shouldn't be held responsible for a mistake since it is a team effort. Team members are supposed to help each other with tasks, make sure things are proofread once or twice and have someone to do a final verification before submission to ensure the reduction of errors.

And remember, select your team members wisely!

3 - Learn From Your Mistakes - Managing Change

The main objective of a simulation/competition is to win but sometimes one small incident can throw off the entire strategy of the team. It is not a sign to give up but a learning opportunity to change the future. My team made one mistake in the beginning of the game and it set us back 18 million dollars but we changed our strategy and fixed some minor issues and made significant gains after.

This competition helps us all learn very valuable lessons along the way like double checking contract terms before accepting them, making sure that you are sending the right amount of inventory to a vendor or sending the right type of item to them. These might sound silly but making sure we take all the necessary precautions, even the smallest ones, are crucial for a business to thrive. Things should not be done quickly just to get them done over with. It also helped me realize that life sometimes throws curveballs to people when least expected so we need to be ready to change our plans and be ready for any situation. Just like this pandemic, we needed to manage how we were going to communicate with our team and ensure that everyone would be available for meetings.

Final Thoughts

This simulation helps students dive deep into what they are studying and apply it to a somewhat "real world". This was the last class I needed to take before I could graduate and I can happily say that I will be graduating this fall from my Bachelors of Commerce Specialized in human resources and I cannot be happier with my experience with the University of Ottawa and Telfer School of Management. It has taught me many valuable lessons that I will take with me in my career and many future projects to come.

If you have any questions about attending the University of Ottawa or about the Intopia Simulation reach out to me via the contact form below or directly on LinkedIn.

https://telfer.uottawa.ca/en/

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