Vritaanta Volume 2 Issue 1 August 2015

2White CollarThe War Room by Mahindra & MahindraFirst commissioned in 2007, the campaign was spearheadedby Mahindra & Mahindra and rolled out to thetop Business Schools in India to create excitement andtransform perceptions, while attracting and engagingtop notch B-school talent to creatively respond to liveand realistic business issues through a fair and rigorousprocess of evaluation.These problems, faced by the top managers ofMahindra & Mahindra, are developed into sector-wisecase studies. Students form 4-member teams to solvethese challenging case studies and generate realisticsolutions in six months of intense planning and execution.The best team from each campus is flown down toMumbai, where they present their strategies to a jurycomprising Mr. Anand Mahindra, the Group ExecutiveBoard (GEB), and a distinguished guest list of eminentMahindra & Mahindra managers.“Don’t just look at the caselet from a participatory angle;instead look at the feasibility and implement-abilityof the solution you’re coming up with. That is what isimportant for any business. Mahindra & Mahindra givescaselets that are real business ideas and they can’t waitto implement all the ideas that come from the participantsof The War Room.”The gala National Finale is televised by CNBC TV 18, asa 3-part episode each year. This strategy contest hasbecome a cult brand in India's top B-school campuses,and students await the entire experience right from thelaunch till the Grand Finale.While Mahindra & Mahindra’s Top Team was launchingthe Season 8 version of The War Room right from ourvery own B-School and campus, we caught up withalumnus Anisha Saluja (MBA 2013-15, HR) from theteam that bagged the first prize last year called TheCenturions and asked her if she had any advice to givethe current batch, participating this year. She said,August 2015