Season 5: Final Presentation

(MBA, Jiangtao) Finally, after weeks of work, my final presentation day comes!
At the very beginning of the project, I talked with my supervisor to nail down the audience name list and then sent out the invitations to relevant department heads from Global Treasury and Business teams. During my projects, it was very important to schedule one on one meeting with these people to let them understand my background and the projects. Often, the more you involved them in the process, the more they were willing to provide their insight and advice which I found very useful to refine my project and final presentation. In addition, the networking enables me to understand their daily jobs and them to know about my background and projects. In Lilly, one of the most valued elements is the relation you build with different people. Lilly people often agree that it deepens the mutual understanding and enhances work efficiency.

My final presentation starts at 8:30am. So, I came to the office at 7:30am and spent 30 minutes checking the projector and setting up logistics. The first to come in is Assistant Treasurer. We greeted and had a small talk on the baseball game last night. He is a very nice and smart boss. Very soon, all other audience came in one by one. In total, I have 10 people in the room. My supervisor kicked off the presentation and introduced me to the audience. After that, I started to present my projects to the audience, showing slides and talking about the details. During the presentation, my audience threw me lots of questions and I managed to answer all of them. We had a good discussion on lots of alternative solutions and possible barricades as my project touches a brand-new territory with global implication.
The final presentation itself lasts for around one hour and we had 15 minutes Q&A. At the very end, HR Director also invited me to share my impression on Lilly and the overall culture. The whole presentation was very good.

The biggest takeaway for me over the summer is to find ways to quickly know your team’s working style and achieve alignment with them. It enables you to understand the team’s priority and concerns as well as personalities. Meanwhile, your team can appreciate your role and contribution. Once both parties achieve the good alignment and mutual understanding, the efficiency will naturally ensue.

All in all, the summer internship at Lilly allows me to understand better the pharmaceutical industry, treasury jobs at corporate, and the fit to Lilly. It is a really memorable experience!