Episode 51: What I Learned From 6 Intense Hours of Judging MBA Teams
Leassons Learned
This past week, I had the privilege of mentoring and judging WXP Europe. This virtual competition brings together MBA students from top universities across North America and Europe to tackle a messy, real-world problem.
I’ve been involved with this competition for several years, and I can confidently say: this was the strongest cohort I’ve seen. The challenge, designed by Samie Ly, MBA Ph.D at Innovatank asked teams to wrestle with a fascinating and uncomfortable question: What happens when Classic Art meets Artificial Intelligence?
Global teams from:
spent an entire week developing their ideas before facing a marathon presentation day, six high-pressure hours across four very different rounds:
A polished 12-minute presentation
A 3-minute rapid version of the same deck
A surprise 5-minute question (with almost no prep)
An 8-minute final pitch, where teams could revise slides
How My Week Started
Before the students dove into strategy frameworks and AI debates, I kicked things off with an inspiring conversation with Calgary artist Sharon Thirkettle (https://lnkd.in/gntFHxcu). Hearing directly from a practising artist grounded the problem in reality, reminding teams that this wasn’t just an “AI case,” it was about people, creativity, and culture. You can learn more about Sharon here https://lnkd.in/gjexE5mh.
From there, I spent the week:
Mentoring the teams
Stress-testing their ideas
Running case workshops for teams preparing for Haskayne’s upcoming Digital Innovation Challenge (https://lnkd.in/g-dKADT3), where I’ll be judging again this weekend.
The Moment That Fascinated Me Most
Before Round 3, teams had 25 minutes to prepare, but no idea what they were preparing for. Many teams spent the time guessing the format. Very few used the time to strengthen what they already knew they’d need for Round 4. That was a powerful lesson: We often over-invest in uncertainty and under-invest in what we can control.
When the surprise question finally dropped, teams had just five minutes to think, align, and respond. Watching them adapt in real time was electrifying. By the final round, every team had:
A clearer story
Tighter logic
Simpler slides
And more confidence
Not because they became smarter, but because they became clearer.
One Big Takeaway for Anyone Who Presents
If you pitch, compete, or present under pressure: Your ability to learn, adjust, and simplify matters more than perfection. Great presenters aren’t flawless; they’re responsive.
The Winning Team: A Masterclass in Recovery
Here’s what makes the winning team’s journey so instructive. Round 1? Frankly, it was a disaster. They had:
Strong analysis
Smart ideas
A solid solution
But they buried it under process. They spent far too much time explaining:
How hard they worked
How much research they did
What frameworks they used
And not nearly enough time explaining their actual solution. A classic case-solving competition mistake. But here’s what made them champions: They listened. During Q&A, they didn’t get defensive. They got curious. They treated judges’ questions as data. Each round, they refined:
Their narrative
Their structure
Their slides to the extent that was allowed
Their clarity
By the final round, they weren’t just persuasive, they were compelling.
What Separates Winners From Everyone Else
After coaching teams through this type of format more than 50 times at international competitions, here’s what I’ve learned: Winning teams don’t just present. They co-create with the judges in real time. They:
Pay attention to what judges ask
Adapt their narrative
Fix what isn’t landing
Made it easier to understand each time
In short, they treated feedback as fuel, not friction.
For me, one who cares about strategy, innovation, or storytelling, WXP Europe was a powerful reminder that brilliance isn’t just about ideas, it’s about how you communicate them under pressure. This year’s teams did exactly that.
Coming Up
As part of this ongoing work, I have also launched a new podcast, The 2-Minute Mad Skills Discovery Clinic, featuring short, focused discussions on case-solving and essential professional skills, released weekly across major platforms. Looking ahead, the next episode of Discover Your Mad Skills: Unbarred Conversations will feature Ismail Qadry, the co-host of The Emotional Intelli-Gents and a former student, where we explore emotional intelligence and how it relates to working in a high-performance team. You can follow these conversations on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Acast, Substack, and Patreon. For those who wish to support this work, details are available via Buy Me a Coffee.
About
Cam Welsh is an Emeritus Professor at the Haskayne School of Business with over two decades of experience coaching elite case-solving teams and mentoring students at the University of Calgary. He continues to advise and support emerging talent through Innovatank, The World Case Committee, Talent Discovery, How to Change the World, and multiple initiatives at the Haskayne School of Business. He is also the co-founder and chief content creator of the Discover Your Mad Skills Toolkit, dedicated to helping individuals develop the capabilities that matter most long after graduation.