It’s the final day of camp! All the students have made it this far. The only thing remaining is to present the final YFCD strategy to first the counsellors and in the evening to the guests of the graduation ceremony. The students had a few hours to perfect their presentation and then they were off. They had 8 minutes to present and then survive 2 minutes of questions from the counsellors. This was the last chance to score points in the simulation, so the morning was pretty hectic.

After the presentations were done it was time for a quick dress rehearsal of the ceremony and then an even quicker lunch. After lunch everyone rushed back to their rooms to spruce up and that they did. We soon had the entire campus looking like a fashion show. Beautiful dresses and elegant suits. The guests started arriving and the students gathered in the amphi A were the ceremony was to be held.

The ceremony started with a few words from Peter Zemsky and Adrian Johnson. After that the students presented their strategies to the parents and they were genuinely impressed and rightfully so! These strategies had been carefully crafted with the aid of the counsellors and INSEAD faculty. We also had some touching speeches from the students like Nicholas, Ana Clara and Dennis and a less serious speech from the super counsellors Brecht and Moritz. After this the students got handed their diplomas and finally it was time to throw the hat.

The famous hat throw

The night was finished with a cocktail party where the guests were treated to food and wine. Everyone settled down in the garden and enjoyed each-others company. They were laughs all around. As the evening went on the students had some heartfelt goodbyes and it was time to start heading to bed.

The summer@INSEAD experience, as all good things, was coming to an end but even if the camp ends, the friendships do not. Thank you everyone for making this experience as special as it was!

For the first time in a while Fountainebleu woke up to rain. The heat had surpassed, atleast for a while. For the students this didn’t matter because they had a busy day ahead. We started with a class from Prof. Ron Adner about innovation strategy. He used the story of apples growth from 2001 to the present day one trillion-dollar market capitalization to highlight the importance of innovation and also timing your innovation. He was also generous enough to give each student of his book “The wide lens” which also talks about innovation.

After the counsellors William, Maxim and Nora took their own initiative and held a quick presentation about gender equality. The point was to highlight the subtle differences in behavior when dealing with the other gender, whether it be talking over someone or not taking them as serious.

Then it was time to go back to Nottingham as we continued the YFCD simulation, well this time the place was Friedrichshafen, Germany. The management teams had been flown here to participate the annual Eurobike show. This is where all bike enthusiasts, retailers and suppliers come to showcase their product or to check out the new advancements in the industry. The students were just about to launch their new Cylo-X bike and they were there to showcase it. The counsellors played all kinds of different customers and the students had to do face-to-face sales with these sometimes even ridiculous characters. Someone was a famous Youtube star and someone a private equity fund manager trying to conduct a hostile takeover of the company.

Students presenting their strategy

One of the students, Olly, had this to say about the bikefair:

“It was very interesting to really see what I was like to do sales under pressure. The great thing was that we could run through each other’s faults and positives after speaking to the “customers”. This safe environment was an ideal place to learn how to pitch a sale in a real-life situation”

Another early morning rise for our already exhausted participants who made their way to breakfast just in time to enjoy the pancakes from the Treehouse and take some caffeine. Then they took their seats in two coaches, and en route to BlaBlaCar’s offices. For those who are unfamiliar with BlaBlaCar, it’s a ridesharing app which debuted in France before quickly expanding to other markets in Europe. It was founded by INSEAD alum Frédéric Mazella as ‘Covoiturage.com’. The app prides itself in having 18M riders per quarter, in comparison to 10M for British airways or 2.5M for Eurostar.

After a comprehensive introduction to the company’s values and aims by current CFO and INSEAD alum Julien Lafouge, the students got the chance to ask about the future of the company, what were their successes and setbacks along the way. Then we split up in four groups and got given a –silent– tour of the upstairs offices. The students got to peek into the trendy open-space offices of a (accomplished) start-up, with meeting rooms named after famous mathematicians, and the ‘village’ downstairs, where we were served breakfast at the bar earlier.

The teenagers enjoying BlaBlaCar merch

Eerily creepy statue at the Station F lobby.

Ater this, we set off again to the Champs Elysées this time. Some 20 students had also signed up for a tour of Station F, the recently renovated derelict train station turned into start up‘ecosystem’ by French telecoms tycoon and philanthropist Xavier Niel. We were greeted by an INSEAD contact, MBA 17’, in charge of running the ‘INSEAD Launchpad’ there. If felt a bit like something out of a science fiction movie. We soon found that we were locked behind a restricted access door, and so we had to gaze from afar.

Meanwhile, the rest were roaming the Champs, some went on to shop and others were content licking windows… rumor has it counsellors went for a drink on the Quais de Seine. Once everyone made their way back to the bus we drove back to Campus where students were once again given the chance to chill for a couple of hours before dinner. Some hopefully reflected upon what they had seen the morning or in Station F. Then it was time for YFCD to start again, and the emails started pouring in from 20:30 to 22:00…

Posing in front of the most famous Parisian landmarks…. and at the back, the eiffel tower.

The second Tuesday of Summer@INSEAD was a busy one. With the degree of uncertainty and improvisation that is often necessary in the running of a business, the students were put to the test throughout the day with a series of YFCD role plays. Having now taken in the majority of lessons shared through the programme’s lectures, the students dealt admirably with the intense workload of the day, coming out of the meat grinder a stronger team, altogether.

Not known for giving their students much time to rest, the programme then had quite the surprise in store for their young business managers. Advertised as an amicable meet-and-greet with one of the company’s most important German clients, the team had to face many twists and turns in over the course of the interaction. For the sake of keeping the secrets of the YFCD programme as they are, this blog cannot disclose specific details on the challenges the teams had to face. However, suffice to say that across the board the teams kept a cool head, were creative and resourceful when thinking on their feet, performing with honours in this trial by fire.

Having demonstrated skills and characteristics suggesting good hands holding the future of Maywood cycles, it was time for the students to prove their endurance and resilience with the last test of the day. Whereas in previous role plays there was an obvious leader in the team that needed to take charge (for example, the CFO needed to drive the banker’s meeting), the “televised” BBC interview was an instance where each cog of the YFCD leadership had to take equal share of the responsibility, and the team therefore had to demonstrate their ability to work as a team. This was a real test, as team dynamics varied from one team member grabbing the microphone after each question, to more effective teams trusting each other in such a way that each member answered the question their role and expertise leant themselves most to. In addition, the fact that this was the third role play of that day meant that fatigue played a part, something our mischievous counsellors-turned-interviewers took full advantage of. Clips of the best ‘slips of the tongue’ will be shared during the closing ceremony!

Students enjoying a break during their pool time!

Having finished the formal commitments of what was a physically and mentally exhausting day, the students were given a well-deserved late-afternoon off. Although many did choose to take advantage and catch up on some sleep, the group was yet again remarkably energetic given the prospect of a free few hours to do whatever they pleased. This culminated in what proved to be a rather comedic visit to the nearby public pool. A group of students led by two apprehensive counsellors paid for their entry, only to find out that not only was the pool indoors, to go in one needed to be wearing appropriate swimwear (speedos and a swim cap). The group deserves credit for not admitting defeat, with many purchasing the necessary swimwear, not to be beaten by what is in fact ordinary French custom.

Future Careers Presentation

The day ended with two optional sessions run for the students in the evening. The first of these was a presentation of the future of work and careers, run by INSEAD staff member Agnès Cosnier-Loigerot. With many of the students desperate for more of an idea of what line of work they wanted to get into, and how to get there this session proved a very useful addition to the day. However, given that the greatest disruptors of the future will apparently be AI, robotics, automation and data, the kids are going to need to work on their computing!

Finally, Adrian Johnson treated the programme to an informal start-up work shop to finish the day off. Despite the voluntary nature of the session, it was great to see so many in attendance, reflecting both the curiosity around Adrian’s business background, as well as the inspiring entrepreneurial ambitions of the group. After a presentation from the programme leader on the essentials of entrepreneurship, Max from Finland gave us some insight into the start-up he works for with his brother, followed by some contributions from Hector (also from Finland), Denis (from Russia), Adrianos (from Greece). Then the session turned into a bit of a workshop where the students were given the chance to think about the companies they dreamed of founding. When asked to present their own ideas, 10 wonderfully creative and insightful projects came out, with ideas ranging from digital business cards to a business that ensured supply of jeans that fit properly! Here at INSEAD, we deal with the real issue! After being given some time to perfect their pitch, the groups presented their business idea in some more detail –consumer base, features—and the audience got the chance to vote on their favourite project. The winning team, led by Claire, will be looking to introduce a platform for peer-review aimed at high-school students, a service that is, apparently, in huge demand.

Claire (center) and the two other students who won the startup idea contest!

Everyone at Summer@INSEAD is hugely proud of, and impressed with, the students, who got through what was a very demanding day; good spirits and big smiles throughout, something we have come to grow used to. It was a pleasure watching them deal with so many challenges, work so well as a team, and have time to think and plan so passionately for the future, as well.

Charles

As the title suggests, the agenda of the day was to dive into the work of a consultant and to see what kind of work this title entails.  We started the day off with a case concerning solar power by Mr. Petros Paranikas. The students were put in the shoes of a consultant to help a king expand his solar power production. The objective was to identify the key questions, which required analysis and the necessary data to make a well-informed decision. The students got divided into groups to work on identifying the key questions, and after that they had to pick the necessary data from a series of news articles and other sources.  Now that they had the data they had to figure out what to do with it. They used models to come to conclusions about the data they had previously acquired. Now the only thing left was to present it. The students presented their conclusions in front of a judges and at the end  Mr. Paranikas picked a winner.

The students in their natural habitat

One of the students, Parker, reflected on their day as a consultant:

“Today we learned about the the world of consulting and the difficulties the consultants face on a daily basis. Before our presentation we had to extensively prepare graphs and financial reports while also figuring out key problems. During the day we learned how to speak differently to each member of the project: when speaking to the board, be direct, when speaking to the managers who came up with the idea, be hopeful, and when speaking to your coworkers, be realistic. The one main thing in common was to be honest but in varying degrees. Overall today’s lecture was exciting and hands on, it made me feel like I was truly a consultant. Although my group didn’t make the final two teams I had a great time and learned a lot.”

We also interviewed Mr. Paranikas about his life as a consultant. He first got into consulting because of his difficulty getting a job as a lawyer in the United States, which seems comical now as he is a senior partner of the world-renowned Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  He describes consulting as developing strategies for clients and then helping them implement them. He thinks the Summer@INSEAD programme gives the students the benefit of interacting with a diverse group of peers.

“They are at an age where meeting a diverse group of peers can change how you think about life – and Summer@INSEAD is a great window to the world.”

In the evening the students finally got control of the firm they had acquired in the YFCD simulation. Once things got kicked off, they quickly realised that this was not going to be the easy. As time passed the students started to get on top of things and started to draft their plan for the first 10 days.

Denis, one of the students, sent us some of his thoughts on how his day went!

“I started into the day with energy after eating a delicious breakfast. I was excited to learn about how my unconscious mind influences my decisions, whether they be good or bad.

In the morning session professor Miguel Lobo showed us what we unconsciously base our decisions. He showed us a test we had taken at the start of the program, and exposed how the answers varied when the wording varied.  I was shocked to what extend the biases influenced us. There are three biases that influence our decision making:
1. Anchor bias, which means we tend to adapt our decision to answers we are exposed to.
2. Availability bias, which means we tend to recall information that we are regularly exposed to (by media f.e.).
3. Over-confidence bias, meaning we tend to think we know things we do not actually know; we over estimate our knowledge and capabilities.

The key take away from the morning lesson for me was that our complex brain allows us to have a highly special asset: intuitive thinking. Almost everybody can drive a car without any effort, we can recognise faces in a fraction of a second, we can show empathy. Our task is to invest into this beautiful asset. We can achieve this by widening our experience on qualitative data, as experience is the foundation of intuitive thinking.

I had a wonderful lunch break outside with friends, where we refueled our bodies for the rest of the afternoon.

Reloaded with energy again, I started into the evening session. Prof. Lobo presented us the idea of risk management. My key takeaways were:
1. The pain of loss is twice as bad the happiness that comes with gain.
2. People tend to be extreme risk takers when the status quo is already in the loss. (Options are to lose more or win.)
3. Loss saturates as gain does.

Miquel Lobo having a discussion with a student.

The last part of the day was the role assigning in our company YFCD groups. It was a very valuable experience to decide on the positions everybody will be taking. I took my first decision in the company which proved to be very effective. I’m looking forward to all the decisions I will be making in the future, to the ones where I will fail but will learn from and the ones where I will succeed and change the world.”

Students perfecting their negotiation strategy.

In the evening the students gathered after dinner to watch The Founder by John Lee Hancock. They even got to go to bed an hour later than normal!

Today the students had a thought-provoking lecture from Professor Subi Rangan about societal progress. He asked them a lot of questions that had no “right” answer, allowing them to collaborate with their peers and understand different opinions. The professor asked them 3 questions at the beginning of the lecture that he continuously referred back to throughout the day: what is your dream, what is the design, and what is your role/contribution? The students got into groups and discussed these questions together. Once they were back in the classroom, they shared what they had agreed on and one of the most recurring themes was that of education; students agreed that educating the population and bridging the gap between leaders and their people could lead to an improved life.

When asked what she thought about the lecture, Alexandra, who comes to us all the way from Russia, said “The most important is that the lecture opened our eyes onto the current situation in the world; the lecture was very life relatable. The professor encouraged us to collaborate with him, as well as try out the team work. This is amazingly interesting and it is a useful application of what we have learned. The professor showed us that the business is not just about selfishness of pursuing profit as the main goal of the firm, but that making an impact is very vital and necessary, especially nowadays.” She finished by adding “For me, the lecture was really interesting. Before, I never ever would have thought of business in such a way.”

After a break which included a table football tournament, Summer@INSEAD alumnus and Youtube influencer Hugo Posay came to speak to the students. He went into detail about how he made his own business, how he uses his platform to work with larger corporations, and he even encouraged students to make sure their social media platforms were private and secure. Hugo often referred back to Subi Rangan’s lecture because of the impact it has had on his work ethic. Students were very interested in knowing how he chooses who to work with and he stuck to his belief that it is important to work with people who are in line with your personal morals.

After a Q&A session and dinner, the students got to partake in Quiz Night! The question topics ranged from music, film and TV, sports, and riddles. The room was full of confusion and laughter, providing an enjoyable end to a busy day once again !

Today, the whole team had a wonderful day with their first of two trips to the capital of France, Paris. Some were happier than others, as the size of the group meant that coach journeys to the city were staggered, with some students being allowed a lie in, and others getting up at the crack of dawn.

For the first half of the day, the students and their counselors visited the Accenture Innovation lab, found in West Paris near Station F (the famous French startup incubator). Here, they were greeted by the Accenture innovation team, who promptly delivered a presentation on the services they offer to clients. This included an explanation of how the company uses “design learning”, a method of work that involves identifying the problem that needs addressing and working back to find the right solution through trial and error. The counselors hope that this first presentation was both illuminating, with regards to awareness of the role consultants play, and productive in providing another string to the YFCD teams’ bows in anticipation for the many challenges they will be facing next year. The presentation was followed by a tour of the office, in which the Accenture team delighted in blowing away the group with their aesthetically designed working spaces, the cutting-edge technology at their disposal, and the general professionalism behind the operation. When the whole team had finally reconvened in the break room and had had their lunch, the group had the privilege to receive a speech by INSEAD alumnus Bruno Berthon, who gave a wonderfully stimulating speech on the rapidly evolving business world, the need to embrace disruptive technologies for the better, and the brilliance of INSEAD as a source for talent in the eyes of employers. The students were so engaged that the question and answer section lasted just as long as the original speech. The Accenture team can rest assured that a wave of applications will be coming their way, come five years’ time.

As decided before the start of the programme, the students were then split in their tour groups, with some parting ways to begin a “gourmet tour of Paris”, others delighting in a “best of Paris itinerary”, a third group exploring the extremely trendy Le Marais area, and a last team learning about the “dark side of Paris”. This last tour was quite the experience. With a walking tour structure, the students were guided from Notre Dame, across Ile de la Cité, along the Left Bank, through the Louvre, past Les Halles, and finally to their finishing point, a cemetery that was both once the biggest in France and overflowing with dead corpses. The idea of the “Dark Side” tour was to see this very popular area of the City of Lights through the lens of the many horror stories of death, torture and destruction that haunts France’s medieval history. The best of the stories includes a gruesome tale of regicide and torture, ending in a public execution with, a mild suggestion of potential cannibalism, as well as a vivid description of the Frenchs’ need to eat zoo animals and pets as a last resort given the food shortage caused by the Prussian siege on Paris. It was almost worrying how much the students enjoyed it.

The sweet side of Paris tour featured some of Paris´ most loved pastries. The group started with some background on the tribunal and Notre Dame de Paris. They then moved on to tasting sweet foods including macarons from Gerard Mulot, chocolates from Henri le Roux and Patrick Roger, waffles from Méert, choux, and lastly tarte tropézienne. Then the students headed to the Tour Eiffel to be picked up!

The Best of Paris Tour took the students past some of Paris’ most famous sites. Notre Dame de Paris, the Louvre and the Eiffel tower were just some of the highlights of the tour. Along the way our tour guides entertained us with interesting facts and anecdotes about the various sites the students passed, making the tour fun and engaging for all of the participants!

The Marais tour started from the cityhall of Paris, Hôtel de Ville and headed straight to the heart of the jewish quarter. The students learned a lot about the history of Le Marais and how this swamp in the middle of France was transformed to one of the most beautiful places in Europe. Little known fact the word “Le Marais” actually stands for the swamp.

Finally, more tired than anticipated, the students and the counseling team made their way back to the Fontainebleau INSEAD campus. The bright side of the fatigue was a number of funny photos of the tefam sleeping on the coach, but unfortunately it also meant postponing that evening’s quiz to tomorrow night, by which time everyone will feel in livelier spirits. It is, however, funny how things change. An hour after arrival at the camp, once everyone had had their dinner, their appeared to be a revitalisation of the campus, with volleyball, ping pong, and football matches breaking out across the outdoors. Needless to say, it has yet again been a very full day, that everyone has yet again taken full advantage of. Back at it tomorrow!