DAY 11
The final early start saw the group make their way to the Paris, once again, for another culturally and professionally enlightening expedition in the capital. With the shadow of YFCD hanging over the different teams beginning to consider the prospect of presenting their company strategies in 2 days’ time, this was a welcome and entertaining escape appreciated by all.
The location of the mornings’ fun was the world-renowned start-up/business incubator found on the Left Bank referred to as “Station F” (emphasis on the French pronunciation!) As per its title, this entrepreneurial phenomenon is hosted in an abandoned train station, now filled with shipment containers turned offices and rustic, trendy restaurants to fuel the innovation. The “temple for creativity in technology”, as described by our third guest-speaker. After a welcome top up of snacks and coffee, we were all brought into the designated presentation space where we were introduced to the first company that would be talking to the group.
First up was Adidas, who delivered a fascinating and engaging talk on their values and strategy as a company, and how this had translated into their work within different client bases. The worldwide focus communicated by our presenters was on people and the planet, a focus that is concentrated in their 6 global bases (including Paris, London, Los Angeles, and Shanghai). Of significant relevance to the audience, the speakers discussed how their target audience was split by the three younger generations (Gen X, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha), and how their strategy varied significantly according to which group they sought to target. For example, our host discussed how Generation Z (as per our students) hated to be bunched up as a single group, therefore demanding significant efforts on personalization of products for this market.
However, this was not just a run-of-the-mill advert for how great Adidas are. The participants went out of their way to scrutinise Adidas’ stance on racial equality, gender equality and the environment (prompting the presenters to discuss their recent initiatives in this area, including a recycled loop project started only three months ago whereby products are created with shredable material, allowing for the possibility of recyclable shoes). This approach to environmental issues was presented with an appreciable degree of the humility, with the presenters acknowledging that Adidas’ stance on pollution was that they “Don’t have all the answers but are not prepared to wait around for when they do”.
Unfortunately, a report on the second talk of the day, courtesy of Amazon, is limited by the fact that a lot of what was discussed is confidential, and that social media engagement on such topics was declared prohibited. Suffice to say that the students learnt plenty on Amazon’s approach to optimising their business model (with the group introduced to Amazon’s “working backward process”, which resembles the previously discussed concept of design thinking. Furthermore, readers can rest easy that the students gave Amazon just as hard a time as they had Adidas, demonstrating an enjoyable attitude of high-expectations and scrutiny when dealing with big companies. Bravo!
The final talk was delivered by the CEO of a start-up that takes refuge in the innovation hub of Station F, who came to talk about his journey into entrepreneurship and about his company, Pixie. Considered one of the most interesting and relatable presentations of the day, the students responded very well to discussions about dreams and career plans, with our presenter providing a lot of food for thought for our participants, many of whom find themselves at a very critical stage in their own lives and career progression. I feel the group benefitted from learning a bit about how a company starts up, and from what the discussion and Q&A after the talk gave away, hopefully took inspiration in any potential ventures they may be contemplating looking forward.
After a morning of information and cognitive overload, the students took full advantage of a decadent lunch in Station F’s incredibly “Instagram-friendly” food court, before setting off to the Champs Elysees, for a well-deserved. For what its worth, I couldn’t think of anything that qualifies less as a break than shopping “on the Champs”, but readers and parents will be reluctant to hear that the students took full advantage, finding come energy they had been hiding somewhere to take the famous boulevard by storm. Take the activities of the counsellors as a microcosm of that of the students: visits to Gucci and Zara for some, fancy Parisian haircuts for others, and a cool iced tea for the sensible among us. Needless to say, there was a lot of picturesque sleeping on the coaches back to campus.
The final commitment for the students was provided by yet another big company, with Google’s own Inge Selawry and Mette Knak coming in to deliver a talk titled “I am Remarkable”. It was very difficult to give the representatives of this tech giant a hard time, as their energy, positivity, and passion when discussing the importance of self-esteem was positively infectious. It was a very interactive talk, with the group tasked with the challenge of writing down numerous reasons why each person is themselves remarkable, to then share with their colleagues to rings of applause. This was something I don’t think anyone in the room had done before, prompting doubts and shyness at the beginning. However, encouraged by their peers, each student engaged in this exercise of self-promotion, providing a much-needed lift after what had been a long day. It was a great source of pride for everyone in the room to see many of the female participants step forward to share their self-promotion with the entire group, given that much of the lecture had been targeted towards the serious issue of gender equality in a business environment. It really was a wonderful way to end the day, and left everybody revitalised to prove how remarkable they really were in the next couple days of the YFCD simulation.