"Determination, success and a lot of hard work!" This is what Jean-Louis Bailleul, Project Manager to the President, wished to our twenty "determined" apprentices of our brand new national class: the 21ème.
The first day of the new school year took place this Monday in the presence of representatives of our partners: BNP Paribas, AG2R La Mondiale, Eurocom and SAP.IO in one of the rooms of the prestigious Hyatt Regency Hotel in Paris. This was an opportunity for the team to present the detailed program and partners to the newcomers, as well as to give them some advice. Here is a look back at a day they will not soon forget.
Quality partners and network
At 9:25 a.m., excitement began to build in the dimly lit room, specially set aside on one of the floors of the huge Hyatt Regency hotel at Porte Maillot. Standing at the back of the room, the "determined" members of class 21 exchange laughs and smiles, before Jean-Louis Bailleul opens the ball with a dynamic welcome speech. He then gave the floor to Raphaèle Leroy, Director of Corporate Commitment at BNP Paribas Retail Banking, Jean-Luc Schneider, CEO of Eurocom, Tristan Hauck, Director of Partnerships for Social Activities at AG2R La Mondiale and Antoine Clément, web developer at SAP France and skills mentor for Les Déterminés. All welcomed the new project leaders and promised to open the doors of their solid network to them.
After the presentations, it was time for the photos. It was 11:30 a.m. when our young "determined" people posed for the traditional group photo. A few interviews and pictures later, the break is necessary: the twenty "determined" are getting stronger before an afternoon that promises to be enriching.
The keys to the six months of training
14 p.m and not a minute longer! Fatima Debbah, Director of Operations for The Determined, urged the group to return to the room as quickly as possible. Throughout the afternoon,she will be responsible for getting them into the swing of entrepreneurship.
But first, Fatima lists the precise course of the six months of training to come with the topics that will be covered, step by step. Then, she evokes the work that the future entrepreneurs will have to do on themselves to make their projects take shape and evokes with them the accompaniment they will benefit from for the definition of their business plan.
Identify the personality of each person, make a group and get rid of the brakes
After words, come actions: in groups of 2 or 3, the future entrepreneurs each answer three personal questions to help them identify three strong values. These will help them determine the collective state of mind of their class, a sort of slogan, but will also allow them to better define themselves individually. Among the questions: "What is your favorite word?", "What do you remember about your education?" or "The fight you are most proud of? Each group shares the answers of its members in front of the others. "The idea is to allow them to talk about themselves without showing off their resume, to help them open up and reveal their innermost nature. We don't want to go into too much detail about the projects so that they can let their creativity run free," explains Fatima Debbah.
The session ends with a discussion of the obstacles that each person already faces or expects to face later on in their project. This is a way to get rid of the bad vibes and put the young people in a positive frame of mind. As for the rest, it is now up to them.
