Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Students' Magazine

The motivation of Peak Time team 2010 to organize Peak Time:

Marta: Our head Aiste thought that only Peak Time perfectly meets her hopes and expectations. She made everyone think twice and work nicely. Martin valued education, communication, fun and innovations the most in Peak Time. He always kept it relaxed and never forgot to do some cost-benefit analysis.

Anete knew from the very beginning that she will make everyone feel at home, inspire and take care of the team and helpers. Her passion since day one made the wheels of the bus go round and round.

In-motion-with-phone Raivis always wondered what hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing and wishing you had. In Peak Time he understood that it never hurts asking/calling again. And again. And again, until you get what you asked for in the very first time.

I admited my addictions: intelligent people, multinational ideas, mind blowing conversations, creative challenges and inspiring atmosphere. This is what brought me to Peak Time team 2010 and made me do whatever needed to make things work and enjoy the joy of others.

But nothing can top Modestas addiction to Peak Time. He fell in love with it already at high school. It will take him a few more years to get over the moral hangover of it – Junior Peak Time is his remedy for now.

2. For sure, your expectations about the organizational work were different from what you actually have done. In which way?

Anete: During our very first meeting in July, where put all our Peak Time visions them together, the Peak Time organizing plan definitely looked different from the one we actually experienced. That’s because the organizing lasts for 10 months, and during that time many ideas come along, and we meet professionals who also helped to shape Peak Time 2010. It was extremely hard to overcome, say, the fact that 8000 LVL are taken away from you because of 'internal miscommunication of the company', also the discussions we sometimes had were very time consuming. I also wouldn't ever expect that a team made from so different people can be so awesome.

3. Were there any great ideas you had but sadly did not manage to realize?

Modestas: In the very beginning (previous summer) idea of “one single long-term sponsor” was born. Although, it didn’t yield results in the beginning, we still kept one sponsor plan in our heads, from time to time having discussions on other ways to implement it.

4. What did you change in the game? Which innovative things did you manage to introduce?

Raivis: A major change was introduction of the annual theme. For 2010 it was „Green Development”. This implied, for instance, a preliminary case study about CO2 emissions, guest lecturer addressing green issues, and more „green supporters”, for example, Latvian Green Point, TetraPak and Soros Foundation- Latvia (Sustainable Development Program).

Furthermore, the ideas of this year’s finalists of how to improve Latvian macroeconomic stability have also been submitted to the relevant governmental authorities.

5. How easy/difficult was it for the team to work together?

Martin: I must say honestly that the teamwork was surprisingly easy and smooth. Thanks to the distribution of responsibility areas, all of us had substantial autonomy over our field; thus, no real arguments could arise there. Furthermore, as we developed a strong feeling of trust among each other, then we did not have to worry about other responsibility areas. Certainly, we had some arguments within the team, mostly due to philosophical differences, but the democratic system saved us during these moments, and no one fortunately carried the negative feelings into the future. In the end, I would do the same work again, with exactly the same team.

6. Any funny moments of the team-work?

Aiste: Of course. Plenty. Yet those are inside jokes. Somewhat secret, somewhat intimate, some also ironic. So here’s a mixture of something you might understand and something you might not…

Raivis and Marta used to read Financial Economics articles before fundraising meetings with companies;

They say Marta can tweet as a bird and make others jump as rabbits, crawl as lions, scratch as monkeys, roar as bears, and fly as eagles (you really don’t want to know more details about our teambuilding sessions);

At some point Modestas had some 8 activities going on he was responsible for. Heaven on earth...;

Martin completely fulfilled his debate-society-acknowledged ability to party as hell, yet be present (AND CONSCIOUS!) at PT event early in the morning;

Anete became a Mom;

Aiste simply went crazy and got tattoos all over her back.

7. Your biggest mistake and your biggest success are...?

Modestas: One might say that no critical mistakes were made. The event took place at the right time, participants came to Latvia and after four days left with many positive memories. Yet there still was some place for improvement, e.g. wireless issues during first rounds of CESIM or the quality of case studies. The level of teams increases every year; still, we would like to see more advanced approaches to solutions and more professional presentation skills.

But having major parts of the event planned and prepared on time, especially getting sponsorship from funds and companies, was a strong side of the competition this year. The most important reason behind that was team work – everyone found a place in the team, realized their strengths and found fun in everyday work. 

8. Finally, some advice for the next team

Raivis: This may sound like a broken record, however, next team should remember that Peak Time has always been also a platform for SSE Riga students to learn, to gain new experiences. And this opportunity should be used to the full extent by not being afraid of challenges, by making decisions, by being independent, by not stopping after some failures.

PT Team

Jekaterina Kolbina

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Prologue

“I want to scale the ‘Peak’ through PeakTime, as I reach the end of my undergraduate story”, Adi Wijaya said to the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School freshman Ritchie Goenawan in early 2007. The former, a highly talented business student, went on to win PeakTime 2007 with his superb teammates in Team uNeek. “Absolutely amazing experience!” he recounted after the euphoria. And with every subsequent word, he inspired young Ritchie to dream…

Two Years Later…

Through a school project Ritchie has learnt that he could work effectively with Lai Wai Kit, and they went on to participate in many business competitions, acquiring invaluable experience in multiple aspects of business cases and simulations. They invited Lock Hui Min, a marketing student who has a creative and sharp mind, to form a team for PeakTime 2010. The final piece of the puzzle was Lauren Ooi Tong Wei, an experienced traveler with a paralleled breadth and depth of general knowledge. Together, they formed Greenatics (named so because these four individuals were truly passionate about the competition's theme – Green Development) and overcame many challenges (including juggling CESIM simulation and a McKinsey Case Study while attempting to fulfill their intensive final-year academic commitments). They eventually succeeded in achieving their dream of making it to the highly prestigious Finals in Riga, Latvia.

In RIGA

The Team arrived in Riga full of excitement and confidence. Everyone in the team looked forward to an amazing program, but they experienced so much more. There were inspiring and thought-provoking guest lectures by eminent individuals. There was also superbly fun Cultural Evening – THE platform for expanding one’s cultural awareness and knowledge. The Pub Tour, Urban Jungle and other parties were simply awesome experiences that defined the meaning of Peak Fun and helped the participants forge friendships and got to discover Riga’s culture better.

The competition itself was intensely challenging, both in terms of content and constraints. Fortunately, the team’s efforts in preparation for both the CESIM simulation and case study paid off, and no words could describe Greenatics’ euphoria when they were announced as Champions.  

EPILOGUE

In retrospect, Greenatics’ belief in preparation became stronger than ever. Furthermore, beyond great presentation skills, creative ideas backed up by sound logic, superb teamwork, as well as the ability to think on the feet, were key success ingredients. May future PeakTime editions continue to grow in terms of both prestige and awesomeness :-).

The Team's Reflections

PeakTime 2010 will always be an unforgettable part of Greenatics’ lives. In their own words:

Kit: PeakTime in a nutshell – Preparation beforehand. Thinking on the feet. Trust in the team. Belief in ourselves.

Lauren: There were truly lots of amazing people at Peak Time - it was wonderful getting to know them and to learn from them. Our hosts were lovely and really made us feel at home in Latvia!

Lock: Peaktime is AWESOME! The competition was challenging but we had a lot of fun going through it, gaining new knowledge, experience and knowing new friends!

Ritchie: The amazingly efficient and friendly Organizers, Support Staff and Compadres + delicious Latvian food + The beautiful city of Riga!         

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Short Impressions from compadres

One of our team's members understood that we are their compadres only after about 15 minute talk. Others have noticed it in the very beginning. I will always remember how funny, smart, and crazy at the same time our guys were...:)

Inese, compadre of team Creative Destruction

Having almost a heart attack from partying too much (not that this is funny but shocking for sure). After partying the whole night, starting at school, continuing in Essential and ending in some unknown apartment, team Hunch went with their animal costumes straight to the breakfast. This is what I call the "last team standing"!

Baiba, compadre of team Hunch

I understood that Chinese are very friendly.

Dace, compadre of team Friendly Bears

If somebody tells everyone to go to Soros or somewhere, it holds for all participants except for Chinese, who have to be taken by the hand. And during the pub tour we were trying really hard to convince them to have some drinks and when we finally succeeded to persuade one person of their team, another guy from Oxford told him to try out absinthe. Poor guy doesn't usually drink so it was his first and last drink that night.

Aiste & Toma, compadres of team APEX

Compadring was a breathtaking 5 days packed with fun and so many different and cool people around. And this experience does not stop when your team goes away. I can tell from the two year experience of being a compadre. I will never forget when they told me about their army experience and that they had a chance to actually drive a tank, use a machine gun and have training missions in Australia. And it was also so strange and funny to see those candy-looking pieces of meat that they brought to Riga.

Vytautas, compadre of team Awesome

It feels like you are a part of something very serious. Different cultures, different world's perceptions...very interesting and very awesome.

Marina, compadre of team CASE

Asians could not believe that here in the Baltics it is actually possible to get away with bribing policemen, and Canadians took seriously my sarcasm about being a married mother of 3 children :) 

Mante, compadre of team Forestal Fellows