Day one started with an early breakfast with all the counsellors and Pascale, Sabine and Marie-Angelique. As students started to arrive, Ben and Ellie greeted them, and led everyone to registration to meet Theana, Jules, Hugo, Carmen and Nathalie. Bags were put away, friends were made, and everyone made their way outside to chat and play football in the sun – no rest for the jetlag!

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Elegance, majesty, stately and dignified would not be the words to describe counsellors Ellie and Ben as they embraced the impressive Palace of Fontainebleau in rented Georgian costumes. Embarrassed students dispersed quickly around the lake, grounds and myriad of rooms as the counsellors set off in sweaty pursuit. The Palace of Fontainebleau is one of France’s largest royal ‘châteaux’. The medieval castle and later château was the residence of French monarchs from Louis VII through Napoleon III. Despite its beauty and the luxurious lifestyle of its inhabitants, we still couldn’t understand why the beds were so small and why there were so many chairs… 

Students were also given the opportunity to visit the local market where a fish head was bought and made to be passed round the students throughout the day.  I can’t, for the life of me, find an explanation for this bizarre simulation of ‘pass the parcel’.  Or perhaps they’ve been wrongfully inspired by The Godfather…

This afternoon, not for the first time, saw the counsellors climb the walls. This time it was a team building exercise and not sending the older boys to bed at curfew. Bouldering and wall climbing teams were set up and we saw Trym dominate the pull-ups and many students reaching the top of the more challenging walls. 

The evening passed with more challenges been thrown at the YFCD groups as they tried to keep up with demanding corporate emails as well as set up a vision for their new company.

Karaoke is set up for the after dinner activities and with a preview of singing talent from last night’s talent show we’re expecting a great night! 
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​                        DAY 6: THE COMPANY IS OURS
 
6:30 am-alarm clocks start buzzing for the most courageous ones. Indeed, Theana and Hugo (two counsellors) have volunteered to take the willing students on a very early run. Theana is swiftly leading a group of girls around a clear pathway in the Fontainebleau forest. On the other hand Hugo is trying to lead a group of enthusiastic boys through a few unknown paths. Worse, he realises that he may be the one who will struggle to keep up with these athletes!
Following this morning activity comes a well-deserved breakfast, and at 8:45 is the usual debrief lead by counsellors and Miguel Lobo. The students have well understood the classes from the day before, and have heard the final information on the upcoming talent show.
 
However, the most important part of the day is most certainly what comes just after; the beginning of YFCD! This acronym means “Your First Hundred Days” (with the letter C referring to the roman numeral 100). For the remainder of the program, students will be facing the very difficult but incredible experience of simulating the acquisition and then the managing of an imagined company, Maywood Cycles. At the heart of this program is Adrian Johnson, teacher at INSEAD. Over the weeks preceding Summer@INSEAD he sent the students many documents covering the details of the company, from the history of the company, to the financials or the production route of the bicycles. This will all be very new for the students, who however seem extremely eager to learn. In groups of 5, they have already created themselves a team name, (some very funny ones) and decided which role each member of the group will take on.
 
During the morning session, Adrian shows the students a couple of videos of the different members of the staff of Maywood Cycles, and also gives quite a bit of information on more precise and specific details of the company. This will prove to be crucial in the following negotiations between students and counsellors, who will be taking on various roles during the process, such as representatives of HSBC.
A little before 11 o’clock, students regrouped and started preparing for the upcoming meetings.
 
Then follows a series of quick meetings between each group and several entities.  The students must negotiate the best possible deal for their new company.  The negotiations are intense, as each group is trying very hard to prove how they have the upper hand. The rapid lunch break is used as a way for all to regroup and prepare for the next meeting. The afternoon is thus quite similar; intensity has not dropped, as the students are faced with new difficulties within their firm. Adrian then steps in to reflect on the day and explain the students how they should have approached each situation. This is extremely useful for the students, who will now be able to reflect on these experiences and thus be more prepared on how to react if the same situation were to occur in their lifetime.
 
Late afternoon, students can now go outside and enjoy the sun. They now face a lighter task of teamwork. Indeed they are put into larger groups and have to prepare for an upcoming kart race. However it is not that simple, they must modify their kart in order for it to gain speed. Smiles can be seen everywhere, as each group discusses the best way to approach the situation. In the end, it can be called a win for everyone, as clearly all have enjoyed it, and students now rush to dinner.
 
The final activity of the day consists of a movie about a failed attempt to climb Mount Everest. This movie, along with a written story that the students received prior to the program, are meant to prepare for the class of the following day. Indeed, Ludo Van Hayden (former Dean of INSEAD) will deliver a class on teamwork, by using these sources as examples. The students seem to enjoy and engage with the film very much.
They are also extremely pleased because they can enjoy an extra hour before curfew tonight! As usual, some are a little tired and decide to go to bed, some others are outside playing Ping-Pong and a final group are playing the piano/guitar, to the huge delight of the counsellors, still in awe of these talented students. Finally, a little reluctantly, the last students are brought to bed, as the first week of Summer@INSEAD comes to an end.

A select few of Summer@INSEAD’s bravest dared wake up at 7:00 AM for a grueling fitness session with the counsellors on the cold morning of August 4th.
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Only the session was not so much grueling as it was refreshing. And it was arguably a rather cool summer morning, as it usually is. Nonetheless, Summer@INSEAD remains a place of miracles; only here can you experience the phenomenon of teenagers waking up at 7:00, in August, during their summer holidays. 

Your current state of bewildered awe is understandable, and most likely relatable.

A handful of cold showers later, paired with the onomatopoeic clatter and clang of breakfast, and 70 fresh faced students (this is an overstatement) sat in Amphi B awaiting eagerly the arrival of Miguel Lobo (this is an understatement).

In his return to Summer@INSEAD, Miguel reshaped our view of decisions in his course Decision Making: The Hidden Traps. Although they may appear as one dimensional, black and white choices that we must make every day of our lives, there is a multitude of aspects to be considered when approaching a decision. We must analyze the language of the decisions we are asked to take in order to protect ourselves from any bias’s subconsciously felt when considering the best course of action. How do we do this? Miguel Lobo never ceased to remind us; ask questions. Questions allow us to deepen our understanding of what faces us throughout decision making, and allows us to pass from a state of unconscious incompetence to one of conscious competence (that was a mouthful!)

An important conclusion that can be drawn, on which both Professor’s Lobo and Sinaceur were adamant is the following: questions will always pave the way to a better understanding. We must never shy away from because they are “stupid” or because we think we “know” something. An important quote comes to mind: 

” To know that we know what we know and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge”. 

August 4th finished with an intense face off between the rugby and football factions of Summer@INSEAD. Inevitably, rugby players were forced to play football, due to the wildly ephemeral nature of football players. From afar, it probably resembled rugby; the footballers lay rolling around on the ground clutching their uninjured limbs, while the rugby players kept abreast of their ignorance of footballing law, by blissfully breaking every rule in the book.

A hearty dinner later, the campers enjoyed their small festivities before returning to their natural habitats; their beds.

Special thanks to Miguel Lobo!

A morning spent at Accenture in Paris provided us with an insight into the creative world of innovative ideas and technology. Iron Man-esque computer systems, ticklish robots, mind-reading drones and lots and lots of sandwiches took up the majority of the morning. Monsieur Berthon, Managing Director of Digital Strategy at Accenture talked to us about the potential and possibilities of developing technology to alter our lifestyles. We were inspired by the process of “ideation” – fostering an environment of innovation setting the foundations of an idea, creating a Rumble workshop of thoughts and ideas, creating a  mock-up or even a ‘pretotype’ (a pretend prototype to explore practicality and usability) and finally working towards developing the idea into a business opportunity. 
We were most interested in ethical responsibilities of technology design and innovation in medicine and health, the rise of a digital generation and the possibility of regressing into a greater anti-social society (Pokemon-Go comes to mind?) as well as the question to how and when this technology will arrive in schools. Needless to say, the Accenture tour asked critical questions regarding our digital future.

The afternoon we split into groups and took on Paris! Different groups explored the dark side of Paris and the Sweeney-Todd characters that inhabited the dark alleyways whilst some of us enjoyed the sweeter side and ate chocolate, caramel and petit-chou’s until we couldn’t walk! The French Revolution, WWII and Parisian landmarks were also tours to choose from. Whilst the counsellors slept on the bus back to Fontainebleau, the students reenergised with their stories of blood, torture, prisons…  cakes, chocolate, pain au chocolat… 

The sun rose. Alarm clocks rang. Students awoke. Some did not.
The clatter of breakfast slowly rung throughout the cafeteria as begrudging teenagers arose from their drowsy states to a neatly laid out breakfast. With every sip of coffee, spreading of butter and pouring of juice, the transition from sleepy eyed zombies to excited prospective entrepreneurs was swiftly completed.
As the tardy participants who enjoyed their slumber just a little too much silently burst through the doors of Amphi A, Peter Zemsky opened the new day with the same excited glint in his eye, looking as impatient as the students for the events of the 2nd of August to be put in motion.
Mark Spelman, a member of the Future of the Internet initiative, kicked off the day in typical Summer@Insead fashion; clear, concise, and dead interesting. Despite his slightly distorted voice, courtesy of a Skype call, his opening speech served as an excellent reminder of the powerful tool that the Internet had developed into, and how it was to change the course of business in the future. The internet essentially presses the fast forward button on business, allowing them to grow exponentially all from behind a computer screen. Only half the world has access to the internet, and Spelman helped us imagine what it would be like if everyone did. All this and more in a little over 45 minutes. Not a bad start to a day.
There to take over was Marwan Sinaceur, a visiting professor of Organizational Behavior, who was to teach us about negotiation. Making seven hours of  “classroom” time interesting for teenagers is no small feat; some would say it is nothing short of Herculean. And yet, Marwan seemed to captivate all his students equally. His simulations allowed for an intensely interactive feel to his session, and the usual sigh of relief at the announcement of lunch break was somewhat less audible than usual (though nothing silences a hungry stomach). So as not to give too much away, only a brief excerpt of what he taught us can be released. Marwan taught us too look not at ourselves, but rather to those we negotiate with for the keys to successfully achieving our goals. Through this, we can engage in efficient and productive negotiations (and dig ourselves out of holes we have been thrown in).
After social/sport activities came to an end, dinner ensued. Hungry stomachs rumbled and students fumbled for cutlery. Garfield’s favorite meal was to be todays dinner, and it did not disappoint. Stomachs ceased to growl, and YFCD teams gathered in their respective working cubicles. The (rather loud) hum of productivity died out after about an hour, as tired students made their exit to the comfort of their rooms. The quiet of night crept in as eyelids closed and minds wandered.
Thanks to Mark Spelman and Marwan Sinaceur !

The Fontainebleau forest is a favourite for rock climbers and hikers from around the world. After being split into teams of 10, we were allowed to explore the forest in search of pointers and oddly shaped rocks – elephant and love heart rocks to name a few! Teams were given a compass and map with basic instructions to get around thus relying heavily on their ability to communicate, and make confident decisions to lead their teams to the next challenges. Challenges included crossing a slack line, getting an entire team across a fictitious gorge by a single rope, bouldering and a final abseil. As the challenges became harder, teams bonded over how the best way to approach the challenge and utilise each others strengths best.  Through trial and error each team successfully completed all the challenges with the Red team winning the most points! 
At the end of the Fontainebleau forest adventure, student teams drew a picture of how they would best describe their team. We had ‘busy bee’s’, ‘A.N.T.S.’, the blind wolf (there’s no ‘eye/I’ in TEAM, great strong tree’s , a ship and machine gears. 

This evening we relaxed at Peter Zemsky’s house and enjoyed a delicious barbecue after a long physical endurance filled day!