Following yesterday’s introduction to consulting through a real-life case, the kids had the chance to learn more about business strategy with INSEAD Deputy Dean Peter Zemsky. Interestingly, students did not all agree on the meaning of strategy. After a careful review of past strategies of large firms such as Apple and IKEA, they designed a strategy for BlaBlaCar (a French car-sharing company) trying to enter a new market. They established key criteria for success and were asked to find a promising market and one that would fail to meet the management’s expectations. This exercise is designed to help the students apply the content of the lecture as well as prepare for Wednesday’s visit to BlaBlaCar where they would get a presentation from the CFO.
Students immediately applied their knowledge of strategy to their newly acquired company. The various groups decided on very different strategies and the competition got more and more tense… They were also preparing for role-play meetings with the BBC and Barclays that would take place the next day in the YFCD simulation. Once again, it was a busy day in Nottingham!
In the afternoon the students attended the final of the table football tournament which had been going on for the past five days. The teams had earned their spots through multiple close games. The prize was after all, getting to choose what counsellor Charles would do with his beard. The winner of the tournament went for the classic initial on each cheek look that you can see below.
Counsellor Charles with his new beard. “S” on the left cheek and “T” on the right one.