Today, we are heading off to tour the world — the world of tomorrow!
Since April, we — that’s Claire Lacroze and Caroline Duperray– have been the representatives for the fourth edition of Les Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale, a French association that helps students to visit other countries and study management techniques. We’re both in our first year of the Programme Grande Ecole at emlyon business school and we’re both inspired by the same desire for discovery, adventure and learning. We are also aware of the importance of putting the human being firmly at the center of any organization’s operational model.
Our reading of Reinventing Organizations by Frédéric Laloux, along with the concept of the ‘liberated company’, as theorized by Isaac Getz, had aroused our curiosity about managerial innovation. Liberated company? Teal organization? Self-Management? The concepts are numerous, but practical examples of such companies have received very little publicity.
We want to discover innovative managerial techniques, to give free rein to our spirit of adventure and to travel the world in search of nuggets of knowledge that would change management today.
The personal adventure and professional learning opportunity offered by Les Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale was a golden opportunity that we had to take! We set off for this adventure with a desire to take the project further and to share our discoveries with the managers of tomorrow!
The origins of the project ✈️
Les Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale is a two-person journeyand, in our case, that means a tour of the world in 6 months, covering13 countries, visiting some60 organizations — an unprecedented adventure!
https://www.frenchbaroudeurs.com
Les Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale association was created in 2016 under the impetus of Léo Lustig and François Hubert, who were students at EDHEC and emlyon business school respectively. After looking at the topic of managerial innovation while preparing for their schools’ examinations, they realized that the subject was rarely covered in tertiary education. Curious to find out the real situation at companies that use unconventional business models, the two students decided to create the association and set off to travel the world. On their return to France, they shared what they had learned — taking part in conferences with French companies and management schools to talk about their experiences.
The adventure had made its mark and was destined to continue! Hugo Chatel and François Force, students at emlyon business school and EDHEC, duly took over the baton. They rose to the challenge of visiting 50 companies in 14 countries, giving the project a new dynamic. Their visits to pioneering companies in managerial innovation included Zappos, Patagonia and Spotify, along with previously unknown treasures in Cambodia and Thailand.
In turn, Cassandre Verriest and Matthieu Vandermersch stepped up for the 3rdedition of Les Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale. Using their talent and experience, they took the project to 13 countries and 60 companies, including Basic Farm, Mindvalley, Google, Netflix and Buurtzorg– all of whom are looking to change the face of management.
Finally, the moment has come for us to leave for a new world tour! We have designed our journey with the aim of visiting companies that are taking the lead in managerial innovation — but we are also aiming to unearth previously unknown firms that have adopted this approach.
So, what exactly is managerial innovation?💡
Managerial innovation is a radical transformation of ways of collaborating in a corporate environment. It is no longer a matter of unilateral subordination, but a principle of joint responsibility between one adult and another. The aim is to find the right balance between personal fulfilment and professional performance.
Confidence, cohesion, agility, transparency, well-being at work, engagement with employees, self-governance, ‘know-how’ and ‘enjoying how to do’ are the major themes of managerial innovation.
Having seen what happens in France, we are keen to discover new forms of management in different cultures. Indeed, many companies around the world have found a way of combining business performance with respect for their various stakeholders. We are heading off to meet these companies, so that we can analyze and understand the different types of innovation they have adopted, and inspire others.
The adventurers arrive in Iceland!
On June 29, we flew to Iceland, the first leg of our tour!
We chose the ‘land of fire and ice’ for its dynamism in terms of new forms of management and corporate structures, notably with a single question in mind: ‘How does Iceland manage to be so efficient and innovative, with only 350,000 inhabitants?’ Slightly disoriented, we landed in Reykjavik under the midnight sun. With our backpacks on our shoulders, we headed for our hotel: the adventure has begun!
Our visit to Iceland will enable us to discover companies such as Advania in the IT industry, Landsvirkjun, the state-owned national electricity provider, Arion Banki in the banking sector, Icelandair, the national airline, and many others…
Follow us on our networks: Baroudeurs de l’Innovation Managériale on LinkedIn and Facebook, along with our website https://www.frenchbaroudeurs.com
Stay tuned… Our many discoveries will be with you soon!
