Challenge 

 A relevant part of my work as a business developer consisted in analyzing data regarding production   processes , costs , margins , as well as customer satisfaction rates . In doing this , I was accountable to the   managing director of my division . The main problem in this division was that , despite our intensive analyses ,   things were kept always the same and they were difficult to change due to past legacies and traditions . The   founders and higher - level managers of the company would still think that the traditional approach they had   been using for years was the best , even if data was proving the opposite . At the same time , I was strongly   convinced that keepings things like that was a big waste of time , resources , and money . The real case we   were working on at that time was the following : the company portfolio consisted of about 20 different   products , 5 of which had been sold since the very early days of the company . Understandably , the founders   were particularly emotionally attached to those 5 as compared to newer and more modern products . All of   our analysis proved that 2 of those 5 were not profitable anymore and we were selling them at almost zero   margin . Moreover , they were old - fashioned products with no prospects of future growth . With the same   resources they required , we would have been able to push an expansion abroad of newer and more   profitable products with tremendous growth - opportunities . 

 Selection 

 Obviously , me and my colleagues had reported the situation to founders and senior managers several times .   Nonetheless , given that the company was in a good economic situation overall and given the emotional   attachment to those products by the founders , we had never been able to make them understand the   importance and the potential to dismiss old - fashioned lines of products . In particular , they seemed not to be   responsive to our claims because they lacked the ability to visualize and imagine a different company as the   one they ’ve been running for years in the same static and traditional way . Therefore , I decided to change my   approach to presenting the opportunity . Instead of concentrating of financial graphs , statistical tools and   opportunity costs analyses on excel spreadsheets , I decided to tell a story based on a powerpoint   presentation of what the company was like at that time , and what it could become if our suggestions would   have been taken into consideration . 

 Application 

 First things first , I tried to put myself in their shoes . Of course , in a sense , it was much easier for me to dismiss   the old products because I did n’t have any past legacy regarding the early days of the company . But the   founders , they had ; they remembered the old days with joy and proudness and they were nostalgic about   their young entrepreneurial times . If I wanted to be successful in my presentation , I should take their   perspectives into great consideration . I started my presentation telling the story of the birth of the company   that I was told by older employees , I even put some old black and white photos that were usually hanging on   the walls . I did this because I wanted them to remember the feelings they felt during those days , the   enthusiasm , the excitement and the happiness when the company was growing and success was coming .   After this , I suggested that success came because they had the great ability to focus on what the market   demanded at that time and what was more profitable for the company . I then focused on the present days   and the future prospects of the firm , and I showed them that the company they had previously build would n’t   have been the same if it would n’t be able to adapt to changing times . As usual , in a few years the ownership   and the management of the company would have gone to their sons . As the management was changing and   adapting to the modern world , so should the company do if it wants to remain competitive . The same feelings   that I made them recall at the beginning of the presentation could have been felt also by the next generation ,   if only they were able to abandon the old legacies of past times . At the same time , changing the company ’s 

 offer would n’t mean to lose the company ’s traditions and culture , instead it would mean being able to   transform and adapt to the changing business landscape . But the core principles and values of the founders   would have survived in the second generation of entrepreneurs . I finished my presentation with a statement   that invited them to adopt change and innovation for their sons , if they wanted them to feel the same   enthusiasm and excitement of their fathers . 

 Insight 

 Before starting the presentation , I could easily understand that all the invited managers and my colleagues   thought it would have been the same unsuccessful presentation we had run a number of times . Everyone   had the same feeling that it would have been just another waste of time . However , as soon as I started with   the new approach , I could see the surprise in their eyes . I immediately recognized I caught their attention .   Everyone was now willing to listen to what I was going to say next and everyone , especially older people , was   emotionally involved in the storytelling when I projected the series of old photos on the screen . I felt   everyone was paying attention because I was n’t there pretending they would follow my advice to dismiss 2   old products and redirect financial investments , but I was there just to tell everyone the great story of our   company and recall in the minds of everyone the great work the founders had done years before . And I   changed their perspectives about the way they thought about more modern products . I found out they were   just afraid to lose traditions and values , which they felt were embedded in the old products . I ensured them   those values and traditions would n’t die with new products but just adapt to the new world ; in other words   I gave them an alternative way of thinking of the same objective . And I made them think first of the next   generation of owners and the importance to make them feel the same passion of the early days . 

 I immediately understood what were the limits of our previous approach and that financial prospects of the   firm did n’t mean anything to the founders when confronted to their fear of losing traditions and values . I   understood that what seems more logical to everyone ( probably even to them ) might be stopped if emotional   factors come into play and that these can even become dominant and prevent people to make rational   decisions . In this situation , I just had to start from a different starting point and approach the same topic   from a different perspective . Most importantly , I understood that if I wanted to be successful first I had to   provide a solution to the emotional issue and only then to the logical one , instead of the other way around . 

 Approach 

 If me and my colleagues had found out this solution earlier , we would n’t have wasted weeks of time , hard   work , and mental energies . If , instead of complaining about how it was possible that such smart people did n’t   get such an easy suggestion and were not willing to collaborate , we had first concentrated on the reasons   that were preventing them from seeing the situation more clearly , we would have been able to save a lot of   the company ’s money and create a more collaborative way of working between us and the founders / high- level managers . Also , I realized that sometimes images can be more powerful than graphs and tables , even   for financial issues . 

 Next time , when I will have to propose a solution to decision - makers , I wo n’t be lazy anymore . I wo n’t just   convince myself that the logical reasoning behind my solution would be enough also to convince other   people . As I said , I think it ’s also a matter of laziness . I ’ll take the time it needs to do the necessary research   about past stories of my audience , their attitudes towards the issue , their experiences , and the possible   reasons and biases they have not to accept my solution . In this way , I am sure I will have higher chances to   convince my audience and , even if I wo n’t be able to do so , I will have gained a lot crucial information about   how people think , behave , and decide . 

 Just as a final note , the founders in the end ( not without pain ) allowed us to dismiss those 2 products and   redirect resources to what we thought were more profitable products and to open up new businesses . They   said that we all now shared a more similar view of the world and the future , and that they were looking   forward to hearing from us new proposals and suggestions next time . 

 I enjoyed the process of storytelling a great deal ! 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Challenge 

 A relevant part of my work as a business developer consisted in analyzing data regarding production   processes , costs , margins , as well as customer satisfaction rates . In doing this , I was accountable to the   managing director of my division . The main problem in this division was that , despite our intensive analyses ,   things were kept always the same and they were difficult to change due to past legacies and traditions . The   founders and higher - level managers of the company would still think that the traditional approach they had   been using for years was the best , even if data was proving the opposite . At the same time , I was strongly   convinced that keepings things like that was a big waste of time , resources , and money . The real case we   were working on at that time was the following : the company portfolio consisted of about 20 different   products , 5 of which had been sold since the very early days of the company . Understandably , the founders   were particularly emotionally attached to those 5 as compared to newer and more modern products . All of   our analysis proved that 2 of those 5 were not profitable anymore and we were selling them at almost zero   margin . Moreover , they were old - fashioned products with no prospects of future growth . With the same   resources they required , we would have been able to push an expansion abroad of newer and more   profitable products with tremendous growth - opportunities . 

 Selection 

 Obviously , me and my colleagues had reported the situation to founders and senior managers several times .   Nonetheless , given that the company was in a good economic situation overall and given the emotional   attachment to those products by the founders , we had never been able to make them understand the   importance and the potential to dismiss old - fashioned lines of products . In particular , they seemed not to be   responsive to our claims because they lacked the ability to visualize and imagine a different company as the   one they ’ve been running for years in the same static and traditional way . Therefore , I decided to change my   approach to presenting the opportunity . Instead of concentrating of financial graphs , statistical tools and   opportunity costs analyses on excel spreadsheets , I decided to tell a story based on a powerpoint   presentation of what the company was like at that time , and what it could become if our suggestions would   have been taken into consideration . 

 Application 

 First things first , I tried to put myself in their shoes . Of course , in a sense , it was much easier for me to dismiss   the old products because I did n’t have any past legacy regarding the early days of the company . But the   founders , they had ; they remembered the old days with joy and proudness and they were nostalgic about   their young entrepreneurial times . If I wanted to be successful in my presentation , I should take their   perspectives into great consideration . I started my presentation telling the story of the birth of the company   that I was told by older employees , I even put some old black and white photos that were usually hanging on   the walls . I did this because I wanted them to remember the feelings they felt during those days , the   enthusiasm , the excitement and the happiness when the company was growing and success was coming .   After this , I suggested that success came because they had the great ability to focus on what the market   demanded at that time and what was more profitable for the company . I then focused on the present days   and the future prospects of the firm , and I showed them that the company they had previously build would n’t   have been the same if it would n’t be able to adapt to changing times . As usual , in a few years the ownership   and the management of the company would have gone to their sons . As the management was changing and   adapting to the modern world , so should the company do if it wants to remain competitive . The same feelings   that I made them recall at the beginning of the presentation could have been felt also by the next generation ,   if only they were able to abandon the old legacies of past times . At the same time , changing the company ’s 

 offer would n’t mean to lose the company ’s traditions and culture , instead it would mean being able to   transform and adapt to the changing business landscape . But the core principles and values of the founders   would have survived in the second generation of entrepreneurs . I finished my presentation with a statement   that invited them to adopt change and innovation for their sons , if they wanted them to feel the same   enthusiasm and excitement of their fathers . 

 Insight 

 Before starting the presentation , I could easily understand that all the invited managers and my colleagues   thought it would have been the same unsuccessful presentation we had run a number of times . Everyone   had the same feeling that it would have been just another waste of time . However , as soon as I started with   the new approach , I could see the surprise in their eyes . I immediately recognized I caught their attention .   Everyone was now willing to listen to what I was going to say next and everyone , especially older people , was   emotionally involved in the storytelling when I projected the series of old photos on the screen . I felt   everyone was paying attention because I was n’t there pretending they would follow my advice to dismiss 2   old products and redirect financial investments , but I was there just to tell everyone the great story of our   company and recall in the minds of everyone the great work the founders had done years before . And I   changed their perspectives about the way they thought about more modern products . I found out they were   just afraid to lose traditions and values , which they felt were embedded in the old products . I ensured them   those values and traditions would n’t die with new products but just adapt to the new world ; in other words   I gave them an alternative way of thinking of the same objective . And I made them think first of the next   generation of owners and the importance to make them feel the same passion of the early days . 

 I immediately understood what were the limits of our previous approach and that financial prospects of the   firm did n’t mean anything to the founders when confronted to their fear of losing traditions and values . I   understood that what seems more logical to everyone ( probably even to them ) might be stopped if emotional   factors come into play and that these can even become dominant and prevent people to make rational   decisions . In this situation , I just had to start from a different starting point and approach the same topic   from a different perspective . Most importantly , I understood that if I wanted to be successful first I had to   provide a solution to the emotional issue and only then to the logical one , instead of the other way around . 

 Approach 

 If me and my colleagues had found out this solution earlier , we would n’t have wasted weeks of time , hard   work , and mental energies . If , instead of complaining about how it was possible that such smart people did n’t   get such an easy suggestion and were not willing to collaborate , we had first concentrated on the reasons   that were preventing them from seeing the situation more clearly , we would have been able to save a lot of   the company ’s money and create a more collaborative way of working between us and the founders / high- level managers . Also , I realized that sometimes images can be more powerful than graphs and tables , even   for financial issues . 

 Next time , when I will have to propose a solution to decision - makers , I wo n’t be lazy anymore . I wo n’t just   convince myself that the logical reasoning behind my solution would be enough also to convince other   people . As I said , I think it ’s also a matter of laziness . I ’ll take the time it needs to do the necessary research   about past stories of my audience , their attitudes towards the issue , their experiences , and the possible   reasons and biases they have not to accept my solution . In this way , I am sure I will have higher chances to   convince my audience and , even if I wo n’t be able to do so , I will have gained a lot crucial information about   how people think , behave , and decide . 

 Just as a final note , the founders in the end ( not without pain ) allowed us to dismiss those 2 products and   redirect resources to what we thought were more profitable products and to open up new businesses . They   said that we all now shared a more similar view of the world and the future , and that they were looking   forward to hearing from us new proposals and suggestions next time . 

 I enjoyed the process of storytelling a great deal !
### Output: 