After three sleepless nights and intense physical and mental endurance tests, an Accenture team from India emerged victorious in the third annual Microsoft Corporate Challenge, held in Thailand earlier this year, thanks to its winning combination of talents and strengths. More than 30 teams across India’s corporate sector competed in the challenge. Each team consisted of seven members, headed by a senior leader. The Accenture championship team consisted of: Ashish Banga, senior assistant-Human Resources Gurdeep Bains, manager-Global Delivery Network Ruchi Chaudhri, manager-Marketing & Communications Kapil Dhall, senior manager-Application Outsourcing Kush Jhawar, senior manager-CIO, Global Delivery Network Vinita Mishra, analyst-Operations Ajay Vij, senior executive-Global Delivery Network “We all met in person for the first time at the airport,” Kapil said. “After a quick round of introductions and a quick glimpse at Thailand, we were ready to face the challenge.” The Microsoft Corporate Challenge consists of five competitive stages that demand a combination of physical and mental activities, in which the teams had to run, cycle, row and trek through Thailand’s terrain. Each stage also challenged teams intellectually by making them decipher codes, negotiate board games and complete light engineering tasks. “We were able to apply our skills from Accenture toward this challenge,” Ajay explained. “Since we usually work remotely with cross-functional teams and colleagues, we adapted very quickly to one another. We were also quick to spot each other’s strengths and weaknesses and leverage them to our advantage.” “Our ability to think under pressure and multi-task were also key to our win,” Gurdeep added. “There were times when we were arguing, not listening to each other and managing crises and egos. But that did not hinder our desire to win.”

Down but not out

The team faced an uphill challenge when the team finished with an all-time low in Stage 3 of the competition, clocking in at 14th place. Nonetheless, the team bounced back to capture a win in Stage 4. “It really seemed like the end of the road after our showing in Stage 3,” Ruchi said. “We felt pretty demoralized, but we had great motivators who kept our team spirit flying high. I still can’t believe how we pulled ourselves out of those depths to conquer Stage 4, which paved the way to our win at the finish line.” “Teamwork was the name of the game,” Ashish concluded. “We understood the importance of this, and worked together in a cohesive unit. We came to Thailand as strangers and left as lifelong friends because of the absolute trust and faith we put in one another throughout the challenge.”