Thursday, November 30, 2006

How far can un-PC go?



This week is the Heart of Europe Week. A great event, as you can guess superbly organised by German, Swiss, and Austrian participants.

On Monday, a late version of OktoberFest took place at the cafet. It was not a toned down version of it, with real 1 litre mass glasses and all-you-can-drink beer (they run out of beer). Yesterday was the excellent Raclette party. Tonight is the Movie night, with films as great as BBC show "Allo Allo", German indie hit "Run Lola Run", and the well known Al Gore promoted Earth in Danger movie. Beer on campus, national stereotypes jokes, but still seriousness, all at once...

Yesterday, a German speaker came to a marketing session. 50+ years old, old generation European Manager (very typical, to my mind), top executive from a big family group in Germany, 55 slide presentation with a strong German accent. It could have been boring, for sure. Yet, the guest speaker made it bearable by being so effortlessly himself: quite a few sexist jokes, a certain male chauvinism, but nothing outrageous or surreal. Very "trucker's calendar" type, and again quite ok because so genuine to the speaker's personality. I'll be non-PC and totally honest: many times that guy was even funny!

I mean, like it or not, that generation of top managers in Europe is just like this. Some girls did leave the Amphi, presumably offended by some jokes.

This morning, we received an email from the Marketing Prof. who organised the conference, and the Dean, excusing themselves from offending some people and emphasing that the spirit of INSEAD was about tolerance of all kinds (genders, nationalities bla bla bla). I actually was shocked by that email. It seems to me that they mistake what INSEAD really is: from what I gathered, it was about expressing opinions, and accepting differing opinions. Putting your views forward, while being humble enough to recognise other standpoints, and correct your views accordingly. It should not be about being as neutral as possible so as not to shock anyone. It reminds me of a previous attempt from some people to have the CV book gender, ID pic, and age free. Or when some people got offended from some School's traditions. If the Dean really thought that the Guest Speaker had been so rude that he should tone down his presentation, then he should have accepted the anonymous CV book, and curb School's traditions. Or put under scrutiny some Professors who definitely are not politically correct (but that is why we love them).

Will INSEAD succumb to political correctness as well? With the influence of the new big boss, and as the School tries to get more and more North American students, it is a foreseeable outcome. Should this happen? I hope not. I love my North American classmates, truly great people. Yet it doesn't make sense to get all these people from all around the World with supposed differences if the first thing you want to do is hit on every big-mouthed person. In effect, imagine what the speaker was told: could you please not be yourself -you the highly successful/hard worker/old generation European manager- and take out your jokes because some of our MBA participants -1, 2, 5 girls? with fewer experience than yours combined- did not like it, and felt offended. How arrogant is that? Please, fellow participants, be more humble, and discriminate between some people's genuine humour (like it or not) and some deliberately offensive comments.

As to the Marketing Professor, and the Dean to cave in, very disappointing as well... After all, in Guest Speaker, there is "guest".

So the guest speaker, as a result of complaints, had to take out all his jokes from his presentation for the other sections sessions. I'm glad I wasn't there, because in that case, I would have left the amphi out of boredom...

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Entrepreneurship: what to expect from School


"Hello,
I have been a regular follower of your blog this year and I must thank you for creating lot of excitement for me at the thought of attending INSEAD next year.
You do an excellent job portraying the strengths ofthe school.
I really appreciate the perspective of your blog based on your entrepreneurial background.

I have a few questions for you.
Most critically, I will be paying a visit to thecampus this friday (Dec 1) and wondered if you could give me any tips on how to make the most of the trip.
At this point, I know of the standard 1.5hr info session and the rest of the day I will explore the campus trying to absorb the culture. If you have any insights on what I should try to see or do, please letme know.
Second, I am very curious to get an insiders opinion on the entrepreneurial spirit at INSEAD. I am especially interested in the chances I might have at meeting potential business partners in the program.
My dream would be to meet other bright students from diverse professional & cultural backgrounds who are keen to start a business together. Based on your experience, is it reasonable for me to assume that this is possible? I realize the majority of students are looking to consulting or banking careers so I am very interested in the motivations and size of the others. Thanks for any help you can provide! I look forward to hearing your thoughts."


I've just received this great mail. I take the liberty to disclose it, as myself had the same questions prior to coming to INSEAD.

Concerning the Campus Visit, it is useful in showing your motivation, and tackling heads-on Admissions with your objectives. If they feel the school can do something for you, they'll accept you, otherwise they'll be honest about their limitations. Then you'll be able to attend some courses, to get a feel of what is expected from you. Don't be overawed though, as it always is intimidating to see a section of 65 discussing with great intimacy with the Professor. Then you have a cocktail party with co-visitors and Students alike. Take this opportunity to start networking.
I would encourage people coming on Campus Visit with clear questions about whether the School will fit the bill, to require some face-to-face meeting with either Entrepreneurship Club, Professors, or fellow Students. Most of the time, you can have a chat with a current student from your country. You can make the most of your visit by seeing potential Houses you want to live in, and get the recommendation from current Students if you really want a particular House.
About Question 2, you share your dream with many people at INSEAD, that's one positive point. Further, the School is as good as you can get in Entrepreneurship in Europe/Asia. Therefore, my guess is that you can't find a better place to start up your business. Now, be realistic, very few people actually start right after School, though that definitely happens (notably a 2 student-project in Tourism that has a turnover of 2m euros+, 2 years ago).
Three interesting paths:
- more than half of INSEAD alumni start a business or take over a business at some point in their career
- every year some students create their own business
- a portion of students run their family business after INSEAD too.
Even bankers or consultants take Entrepreurship classes; entrepreneurship is ubiquitous: in classes, there's always a special light on start-ups (notably Prices and Markets), in conferences, in P5 Students and current ones. Is INSEAD the place where you'll meet your business partner? I don't know, but certainly you increase your chances exponentially over here.

Yet again, I'm only in P2. Next January, I will start my Entrepreneurship path. It would be fairer to comment on Entrepreneurship by then. I'll keep you posted on this, as I have a crystal clear view of my expectations.
Up to this point though, my main message is that INSEAD can contribute to your entrepreneurship dreams, is where you have the most important chances of finding your business partner, and makes you believe that everything is possible.

To finish on this, I'd like to add that the network possibilities in Fonty are immense. Entrepreneurship Profs are really well connected in Europe and the World, and will provide any assistance needed. I believe that if you work on your project you'll have all resources available from School even after graduation.


I was having a similar discussion with my House mates yesterday. Even if we did not specifically talked about business partners on entrepreneurship ventures, we were comparing our views of networking and connecting at School, nearly 4 months into the Programme now.
It's difficult to come with a definite statement. I know that some group experiences did not turn out well (in particular, one group now submit individual papers for all assignments), and some have turned out to be over-the-top experiences. In between, you have most groups. I was telling my House mates that P3 onwards must be different. For one thing, groups will be among similar interest people (Entrepreneurship, Finance, Family Business, Marketing etc.), then, presumably, electives will be more intimate (20 to 48 people). And people have now started to form cliques and are moving out and in houses to gather. All these interactions, according to me, just multiply the chances of finding the dream business partner.

By the way, I don't want to sound overly naive or positive thinking, as the email writer claimed that INSEAD strengths were clear (ie. not so much its weaknesses). It's just that strengths just jump at your face - you are changing to a better self, and both yourself and people around you can sense the transformation taking place. As to weaknesses, since the School's learning method is "unveiling the mystery" it really makes sense to talk about them once the mystery is revealed...

In any case, P2 is not the best time... A very strange period indeed, mix of intimacy, fun in class, but also a bit too fast and tiring. Come on P3!

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Pink Speedos and Boar Sandwich Day


First congrats to INSEAD Rugby Team which last Saturday kept the tradition alive by remaining King of Europe for as long as one can remember. Score was 22-10 against LBS.
Today was such an amazing day! I will not uncover yet everything, but the whole class was on a roll.
Strategy Prof. Dominique went mad when he saw how pumped up we were. The word was: everyone prepares cases carefully and is ready to participate. And God we did! 100% hands raised (on the first simple questions though). Supposedly we are now his favourite section... A nice case on Circus industry was the pretence to unleash our creative thinking: from How Boar Sandwiches could actually be sold at Cirque du Soleil (my personal fav) to How Cirque du Soleil's loyal customers could be compared to Gilligan's Island cult following, or How Cirque du Soleil's surrealism was similar to smoking weed. That was wild. Oh yeah, Dean Fatas going to the traditional circus was not bad either... And the one about pink speedos, I forgot :-( Somebody mentioned it though, I was not dreaming!
A bit too much for our Marketing Professor Miguel (who, on a previous occasion, had found that we were having too much fun...)
He got a point though, when he claimed that we were all belly laughing like his children ;-)
But then, it's mid term, we really need some kind of release. The good thing is, we made plenty of Champagne fines today...
On a more serious subject, we finally discovered the Blue Ocean. This Strategy Theory comes from star INSEAD Professors Kim Chan and Renee Mauborgne, initially as a critique to Porter's 5 Forces analysis. While Porter's model presumably is static, and does not consider High Value/Low Cost as a business strategy (but as operational efficiency), Chan and Mauborgne analyse recent examples of this Value strategic choice. Cirque du Soleil, French hotels Formule, Ryan Air are some obvious choices. Blue Ocean is creating new market space, free from competition, by combining 2 segments from 2 "static" Porter model industries. For instance, Cirque du Soleil is a combination of Circus and Theatre, Swatch a combination of Watch and Fashion... By creating their own market space, these companies are enjoying swimming in the Blue Ocean, rather than fighting in the bloody Red Ocean. It seems intuitive, I'll tell more once I take the course by Kim Chan himself later in the year.
To know more about Blue Ocean:
http://www.insead.edu/kim/

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

"What kind of People shine at INSEAD?"



Here's an email I've just received. Thanks again for your interest in this blog, and in the school. I take the liberty to disclose the email, as possibly it would matter for many prospective students.

"Hi DomoDomo,
Happened to read your blog. And I am more than ever inspired to know more about INSEAD, from someone inside. I am a Researcher xxxx. When you find time, could you please tell me the strengths and Philosophy of INSEAD? What kind of people would shine at INSEAD? Techies? Bankers? Are there many techies among your class and which round do they admit techies?"

Well for one thing I believe that diversity thrives at INSEAD -sorry for this cheesy statement- and that no particular profiles are sought after.
People who would shine -ie. enjoy most the experience- to me, are:
- those who have a clear understanding of what that particular MBA could bring to them and how they can contribute
- those who knows their own strengths and improvements areas, and are willing to proactively lever their strengths and work on their weaknesses (after all 1 year is so short that if you don't think beforehand about your path, you'll just be following the herd)
- those who believe that they can grow throughout the experience -I've seen some people with so big an ego that they don't take anything out of the MBA, not even the network.

Viewing it from a business perspective, I sense that participants who would maximise their investment could be:
- those who need the MBA to evolve in higher managerial areas (typically consultants), although from my limited sample I don't think that they get as much as they can
- those who were stuck in a corner and want to expand their horizons (typically techies, engineers)
- those who want a second chance to get a shot at top-tier schools only recruiting firms.
- those who lack some technical skills in their already defined projects (typically entrepreneurship or family business interested students)
- generally, those who want/need a boost in their career, and sometimes, those who need some time to step back, reflect, and jump back in life's fast train.

To my mind, these "hard" motives are more than valid, and justify in themselves the decision to undertake an MBA. However, once inside, if you don't maximise the INSEAD experience, developing yourself, I think it's a waste and a shame. Indeed, probably all MBA programmes ranked 1 to 50 can give you a good grasp of most "hard" skills, and all Top 10 MBAs would fulfill my list's needs.
INSEAD gives you an extra touch. Don't get me wrong, Harvard or Wharton or LBS et al. would provide their own edge.

What INSEAD does particularly well, tough, is, in a single year:
- provide a very, very cohesive programme in a short period
- provide a tested model of learning -you can't believe you'll learn this much, understand how everything fits together, within a course or between courses and terms -but the Faculty does. I'll be very bold: I'm pretty sure they know what you'll learn and when during the year. (But then people say I think too much, too.)
- give you the feeling that everything is possible. You can reach for your wildest dreams. Sorry again for being cheesy, but when you meet panels of alumni sharing what they have done, it is this inspiring!
- bring to you the World, and some of the best aspects of it, to share ideas and knowledge, build projects, grow network and friends. This is really the world available to you. We tend to forget it, as participants, because most of us have had tremendous international exposure before, but the less "exposed" have shared their amazement
- facilitate ideas, even non-PC, as long as you're open for discussion and critiques.
The motto INSEAD: the Business School for the World, sums up quite well the school's philosophy, and its values. If some of the top Faculty chose INSEAD over some US tier 1 Bschools, it is because they feel more aligned with these values. No PC, a rapid pace, with its cons too, but in our fast world, a lot of pros.
To answer precisely Mr. Researcher, my class has got techies, architects, family business heirs, engineers, bankers, consultants, manufacturing people, and scientists etc. I can't say which is more prevalent, because the mix is really well done. My only guess is that in terms of education background, engineers prevail, and in terms of industry, consulting would prevail as well.
Here's a quarter of an intake, pic taken while strolling around. Don't they look good and happy?
I'm being cheesy again... Am I?
Only slightly though. Think about it. You've got one year just for yourself: your personal growth, your projects, your network, your future. On top of it, you add fun. Who wouldn't be smiling happy?
Ok joy killers might argue about costs. It doesn't come cheap, and you'll be overshooting your budget, for sure. But then, you will not have a second chance to spend any euro you're spending now... That's my philosophy -I don't want to sound like a rich kid, which I am not-just to make the most of this extraordinary year.
Hum, maybe I should ask INSEAD a rebate for my promotional skills? ;-)
And don't get me wrong, the school is not perfect, just as good as can be in one year. I still keep my criticism for later in the year, as the learning "mystery" is not yet fully revealed to me.
BTW, I was asked about INSEAD rankings. Here's Dean Brown reaction.
"We believe rankings are important and devote considerable time and effort to them. However, we know that this has been a great year for our MBA programme – and that our performance isn't reflected in the current rankings. Applications are increasing, recruitment of graduates is up again and participant satisfaction is at an all-time high. Ironically, some of the data that we're most proud of (such as diversity of job locations post-graduation and years of experience pre-INSEAD) can indirectly have a negative effect on our position (lower average salaries and lower salary increases, in these particular cases). We will of course continue to work directly with the media, making suggestions as to how they can improve their methodology and transparency."
It's only fair to leave the guy some time to back up his words with results... His points are most valid.
Cheers.

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Saturday, November 18, 2006

The Dell operations method to doing Case Studies



As P2 is becoming more and more intense we are all discovering exceptional skills in adapting to time constraints. There is a perpetuated belief that 80% of people tend to keep up with pace in P1, 30% in P2, and 20% in P3 during core courses. It can be true, no doubt about that, as people don't quite realise the treaterous nature of P2 classes. You have your concentration off for 5 mins during class, and must endure the rest of it trying to figure out why the Professor is drawing some strange hockey sticks looking curves on the board.


Talking about hockey sticks, and to show how focused I was during Corporate Finance Policy class, star Professor Maenhout held a very insightful class yesterday. He brilliantly demonstrated to awed students how limited liability corporation (the basic model of Capitalism) can be seen as an option to go bankrupt at strike "Debt Value", given by Debt holders to Share holders, in exchange for a Default Premium. That is where the funnily looking hockey sticks and triangles were useful. Anyway, great takeaways for a very interesting class.


P2 and P3 are also notorious for Case studies galore. There is one case per class to prepare for discussion (2.5 classes per day, on average), and many readings behind. In face of adversity, groups have come up with inventive tactics.


- The Dell process management (our group): we meet up for the most part of the case to discuss, then we split up work. We also have this "3 we go" policy, whereby 3 people is enough to get the case going.


- The Japanese Imitation and Innovation strategy: people who find past year cases and reformat it (not our group!).


- the Airbus assembly line: people work independently on their parts, and someone assemble.


- the Conglomerate strategy: one person specialising in one course, in the name of the group.


- The Swiss watch artisan method: people who do the case with all group members from start to finish. Very polished, but very long. Ideal in an endless day timeframe.


So far, my group is doing ok.


Next post: How to manage an INSEAD National Week. Lessons learned and shared.

Beaujolais Nouveau Pics, some nice ones. Thanks to the FW!



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Monday, November 13, 2006

Madagascar...


"Madagascar? Is it the Bingo word of the day?" was Pascal's -Finance star Professor- answer to a student asking whether a solution to the Fat Tail problem of Black-Scholes model could be diversifying in Madagascar stock. (It turned out that "No" was the answer.)
Very quickly, as the game is still not in place, the Bingo word consists of asking question using words from a given list. The Professor of course is unaware of that, and the list is a tough one. Silly questions get red-carded, while fun or intelligent ones get credit-red-carded. The Madagascar question was red-carded, by the way, which was a bit tough considering the contents was very much valid. I guess the audience is becoming harsh and punishes the delivery as well, in which case it is true the question was a bit muddy.
The point of this Madagascar thing is, diversifying is good. It is very good when it comes to networking. Leading Organizations class today was all about networking, and being aware of pros and cons of each networking pattern. Basically, it's always a trade-off between cohesiveness and centralisation of the network, depth and breadth, spider web, snow crystal, and hub-and-spokes designs. The starting point of the analysis was a survey of INSEAD participants about their current networks, and how people tended to stick with same, and avoid "competent jerks", risking to lose on opportunities.
As key take-aways on networking, there are 2 dimensions one should be aware of:
- sociability -you need to explore
- and think long-term -build before you need, and recognise the reciprocity of the relationship.
Now a tricky/subtle quote for you, still related to Madagascar, in a way...
"Think of that next time you go on a date...", Professor D'Aunno on why dog owners and dogs look alike.
This Professor is so un-PC, and I think it's a lot more fun like that.
On the funny and informative side, from the INSEAD mail, by a Student:
"For those of you like me who may need some supernatural help with their GPA this period, I wanted to let you know that the are 3 English speaking church options available close at hand.....

- Sundays at 10.30 am in Fonty
http://www.fontainebleauchurch.org/Chaplain.html

- or if that is a little too early you can try St Michael's in Paris at 7pm
http://www.saintmichaelsparis.com/

- and if you want to be in church with some good looking australians and south africans try friday night at Hillsong Paris
http://www.hillsong.co.uk/london/default2.asp?pid=783"

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Friday, November 10, 2006

The Goal...



... is to make Money.

Trivial as that can sound, it is not obvious in today's companies-especially those based on manufacturing- partly because today's accounting system was set up in an era in which all production was absorbed by the market. The money making model is explained magnificiently (and with great fun- hum, well in the Management/Business book scale) in the Goal, written by Eliyahu Goldratt. Some Japanese INSEAD chap told me that the author did not want it to be translated into Japanese because of the competitive advantage that it could give to already super efficient manufacturing companies there. This I don't know.

That naturally leads to talking about Processes Operations Management, by Professor Nils Rudi. This guy gave the class the craps the first 15 mins we had him. So gloomy, and sharp, and un-emphatic. Then we figured out he was Scandinavian, Norwegian to be precise, ie. his humour was as exhuberant as days above 0°C during the year out there. Actually, now I find him funny in his uncanny way...

By the way, grades were disclosed this afternoon. And I did ok, no retake, all grades scattered in my 55 to 95% learning scale.

Enjoy your week-end!

To know more about the Goal, by R. Goldratt:
http://www.jorendorff.com/articles/goal-book/index.html

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Now the real stuff begins...

Here are the Montmelian Ball pics. Great stuff. I think Montmelian was the best "big party" of the year. One reason was, the theme was easy and fun, and everybody put a lot of effort in it, and one other reason was, organisers splashed money in it.

With a couple of weeks into P2 now, we can safely say that the real stuff has begun.
For one thing, every course ties in not only with other courses, but also with P1 courses. It is gloating to see that the building blocks of our learning experience match just as if piling up legos, to have Professors interacting with other courses, us realising how the value of past courses Professors, and that the whole thing is shaping up pretty nicely.

Then, participation is free reining. It flows from all over the place, intelligently and very often hilariously. On this, you'd have to believe me, because Professors are not funny the P1 way -like Enrico or Theo, for whom I could have quote any class. It's just contextual fun. And so real fun!
It's not mean, not flow-breaking... Just perfect to me.
For instance, today on the Ice Fili (Russian ice cream producer) case, a Russian classmate and Strategy Professor had this chat about how "fat tastes good". It is not funny per se, but becomes so in the context of two people who obviously have enjoyed the many pleasures of life. That same Russian student had everyone laughing continuously as we were confronted with 1 hour of non-stop Russian business humour, ie. the type of jokes only the storyteller knows about and laughs about. Excellent stuff.

Earlier in the week, we had Leading Organizations (OB course, follow-up of Leading People and Groups of P1). I must say that this was the ultimate INSEAD experience. So lively, so sharp, so all over the amphi comments. Credit to Professor Thomas d'Aunno, who really mastered the class brilliantly.

That brings me to Organizational Behaviour. It is easy to overlook the subject, or underestimate its value. I spoke to a P5 yesterday, about her conclusions on her INSEAD experience. She told me how valuable in retrospect OB had been for her, and how the many alumni she had met confirmed that OB was invaluable. It is easy to understand why: presumably, Accounting or Finance can be learned from books (although I'm a firm believer that the exchange in the classroom cannot be replaced), while OB can hardly. It requires interaction, as if classes were live assessment training centres. She also told me that INSEAD is very strong in OB, with Professors recognised in the BSchool world, and that students should not miss the experience.

Evoking live interactions, I need to talk about groups. Friends have asked me about latest developments. I guess P2 numerous case studies are stretching group models. By that I mean that solid groups which built strong relationships, clear norms, and strong acceptance, are discovering their competitive advantage over others. Others are having problems of the following kinds: past the point of infights, some of their members are giving up; mounting frustrations to a point of inevitable clash; or shaking group balance that risks collapse and needs redefine ground rules. That often happens when group members initally had settled for some facade appeasement, compromise. Anyway, in my particular point, it's a bit of everything. I for one have decided to keep on with the fragile balance, as long as output is good, unless someone tries too hard to push principles which I strongly oppose. Not ideal, but so is life.

Singapore exchange results have been out: everyone who applied for Singapore will be able to go there. That means a record number of Fonty starters flying over in January. The School really does a great job in accomodating all individual wishes.

Next social events: the French Week (next week), and the Winter Ball...

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Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Best Year of our lives...

As I was running this morning next to the Chateau I was stuck by how cold it was, but how beautiful too in the middle of the fog. Reflecting on the past week, it reminded me of Marketing Professor's comment, that INSEAD's learning method is like a murder story, in which you are given clues along the way and suddenly, near the end, you solve the puzzle and the Truth appears to you, in a blatant way. The analogy, of course, being that each lessons is like a step in the fog.





This morning run enabled me to ponder my immediate next step: Singapore or not Singapore in P3? I mean, I love the Fontainebleau life, honestly. Contrarily to many, I think the small town atmosphere is a plus, as it allows to study, and reflect, and not to be distracted by the many pleasures of bustling cities. Two elements stongly could tip the balance in favour of going to Singapore: best electives in P3, by far, compared to Fonty, in terms of quantity and quality (as measured by feedback grades); and not losing touch with classmates. Two-thirds of them will be going, during 20% of the Programme. Three elements would tip the balance for Fonty: the really nice life over here, the comfort of not moving out and in and out and in again, and that anyway my housemates told me they arranged their accomodation with other people already (ie. a sign that, we'll all lose track of each other anyway).


Yesterday was the Montmelian Party. This is iconic in the INSEAD year. Montmelian is a bit of an oddity. Rooms are passed to subsequent intakes either through some kind of interviews process or through cooptation. Which makes the atmosphere really special if you like it. The Chateau itself is magnificent, the grounds are superb. The inside is a bit on the old and inconvenient side though..







So why the best year of our lives? This is a quote from P5s actually at the Montmelian Ball. These guys will be out in the real life in 6 weeks... They are getting so nostalgic of their year here already. And so, as the P5 speaker was getting in the mood of the party, he got a bit sentimental. "Make it the best year of your life", was his straight-from-the heart line. He was totally right: we have a duty to ourselves, our families, our companies, our partners, to make it the best year of our lives. Some people think of it as, as much partying and fun as can be. Whilst they should definitely play hard, harder than ever, they should never forget to work hard as well. Where/when else can you find so many bright people with whom to share? so many opportunities to enrich yourself or start up your own project?

This is a good reminder for myself first, as I've been close to falling behind irreparably last week. Also, a timely moment to set my objectives into stone today. You see, the Entrepreneurship Faculty has this "Letter to myself" policy, in which participants write themselves a letter that will be sent to them one year after by the Entrepreneurship Professor. This letter is secret, but 2 INSEAD grads shared what they had written in it, and how helpful it had been for them to kickstart their projects. As I remain anonymous on campus, I feel ok sharing my goals over here, to which INSEAD/myself will be judged at the end of the programme.

1. Learning: I will work hard and build intuition on core subjects

2. Learning: I will not focus on Z-grades but on absolute grades, as a benchmark to myself, and not my peers

3. Learning: I will take electives that I chose upon applying (to match my current and long-term business objectives)

4. Learning: Although I hate Finance and Accounting, I will work hard on these subjects to make sure that I master them thoroughly.

5. Learning: I will improve my soft skills here through electives and participation

6. Lifestyle: I will limit my sleep to 6 hours in normal days, from 2AM to 8AM, and make sure that the rest of the day is packed with classes, group work, sports, and social interactions

7. Lifestyle: I will commit myself more in medium-term partnerships

8. Lifestyle: I will build durable friendships at INSEAD, while not neglecting current outside ones.

9. Lifestyle: I will make it the Best Year of My Life, and not regret anything.

10. Work Project: After INSEAD I will work in entrepreneurship (in one way or the other), and start up a business within 1 year of graduation.

Here's the rule: I can add objectives along the way, but never substract any. At the end of INSEAD, I shall review and see how effectively the School will have helped me attain them.


Cheers!

To see the video teaser of the party (I'll have a post on the party itself once I get pics):
www.montmelian.org

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