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6 years 11 months ago

Ahoj, 嗨, привет, hey!

Everything is ready: We finished the report, rehearsed the presentation and wrapped up our accounts. The LEAP year is almost over, with only the presentation left for us to attend this Saturday. To reflect on the whole experience and remind ourselves of what we went through, the company managers decided to describe what the value of LEAP is for them and how they changed during the past few months:

Isabelle, the IT and Sales Director: 

Being in this LEAP experience has taught me many things up to date. Not only have I learnt more about how to properly organize and bring together a team of very diverse individuals to form an efficient business, but I have also enlightened myself further on achieving people skills and how to learn from one another. When our business first started out, we experienced several problems, namely financially we were in debt where we had not made a successful profit to thrive, and in terms of the team itself we had conflicts in which we did not all agree on. But inevitably, this is nothing surprising, and in fact, a very common scenario that occurs when a team is put under pressure and stress. I think more importantly, the way you handle and think about a problem is more significant than the problem itself. Being the team that we are, I am proud to say we have embraced the diversities of each person and come successfully as one to achieve and overcome our challenges. We have crossed through pebbles along our path, but each time, we as a group have turned these trivial matters into milestones which enabled us to all reach our final destination, and ultimately, for the better, become a stronger and even better team. As team leader and observing the actions of each member, I will gladly say that through this experience, we all have become more matured and better individuals. I can see so many strengths in each member and have learnt so much in this period of time from the sunshine of our team; our group secretary who lightened each meeting up with her jovial attitude, our sales manager who brought ideas with passion and optimism, our financial manager who always exercises profound organisation skills in carrying out any task and our production director who adopts an ever willing to help out demeanour.

Polina, the Human Resources Director: 
If someone will ask me “What LEAP is all about?” – I would definitely reply TEAM WORK. I was part of a “Just in Case” team. We all worked together to plan and manage the implementation schedule, to provide the best product for our customers, and ensure their satisfaction.
First of all, our team always completed our products ahead of schedule with very positive reviews from our clients. I was responsible for finding ideas for the new products and managing all the details. I was comparing popularity of products and prices. At the current position of our team, all of its members contribute in their own way. We come up with new ideas, tell about our personal experience and just have fun. Because everyone in the team comes from different areas, we've all learned so much about different aspects of world enterprising companies. In high school, I enjoyed playing volleyball and performing with the drama band. Each required a different kind of team play, but the overall goal of learning to be a member of a group was invaluable. I continued to grow as a team member while ‘Just in Case’ had team meetings, there we were brainstorming our ideas and offering different ways to improve our products and income, not to mention, my  team had stall in Woodhouse Grove School and Merrion Centre, which was perfect experience to cooperate with costumers with different age and from different background.  

Annesa, the Company Secretary:
I remembered the feeling when I first heard about this project, it was still fresh in my mind. I felt excited at first, but obviously I couldn’t imagine how much work we would do in the project. At first, we decided to sell phone cases with our own design, however we spent a lot of time on the phone cases and put a lot of effort into them. Even though we only sold a few phone cases in the Merrion centre, we enjoyed the time together. Once, we had a slight tension between some of our team members, however we soon solved this problem through our great team spirit. Overall, I enjoyed being a part of Just-in-CASE and would definitely love to do it again.

Jeanette, the Production Manager:
Entering this project and becoming a part of a team of people, I did not know very well appeared to be a huge challenge at the start. This was a step into the unknown for me and I had no idea LEAP would become such an enlightening experience. It has been unlike anything else I've ever done and has given me invaluable insight into the workings of real businesses. This project has taught me how efficiently work as a team. It has taught me about compromise and most importantly it has allowed me to make 4 new friends. Facing these challenges together, despite the minor arguments, has truly been an honour.

Nina, the Managing and Financial Director:
“LEAP was one of the best opportunities I’ve ever had. Even though I don’t study business or anything related to it, I loved sinking into the depth of managing a real company. As a financial director, I went through some hard times when our company struggled to make enough money to repay our school debt; however, I enjoyed taking care of the accounting. Overcoming the conflicts we had as a group taught me how to compromise with different personalities, how to acquiesce, and work in a team. It was great to be able to try managing the company, too, and therefore get a different experience as well as point of view. I now feel like I understand the world around me better and have a huge respect to those who run companies in real life.”

So that's it, our final summaries of the year we spent working with LEAP. A huge thank you to the judges who provided us with the opportunity as well as support throughout the whole competition. See you on Saturday! And for all those customers out there.. thank you for joining us on this incredible journey. We will miss you. Keep your fingers crossed for us! 

Waving from the headquarters
Just-in-CASE

 

Just-in-CASE

Selling customised phone cases at low prices