By The Glass At INSEAD: An American In Paris

SHORTER DURATION, MORE SEASONED PEERS

Even when during the application process, Kristen knew she wanted to stay stateside after getting her MBA, so why study across the Atlantic? Her answer was honest and straightforward. “I was deciding between Columbia’s accelerated MBA and INSEAD, but after the two years of COVID lockdowns, I needed fresh scenery,” she admitted. And fresh scenery she got! Before she transferred to the Singapore campus, Kristen was one of my go-to dining companions – once every week or so we would try a new restaurant in Paris. (Looking for the best seafood ramen in the city of lights? Kristen and I can confidently recommend Kodawari’s Tsukiji-styled noodle shop in the First Arrondissement. Afterwards, grab a cortado from Télescope, just a couple blocks away.)

Kristen brought up another good point: the ten-month program at INSEAD appeals to us Americans, especially since we don’t have many options for top-tier accelerated programs back home. Yes, some MBA programs offer them, but they’re generally second fiddle to their two-year program; at INSEAD, the ten-month program takes center stage. Kristen knew not just what she wanted from her MBA, but what she needed. “INSEAD’s shorter duration was more in line with my career goals and personal budget,” she told me.

Kristen’s logic mirrors my own, but there’s another factor at play for me: as a 31-year-old MBA student, I feel way more comfortable in an international program, where the average age skews a little higher. Had I been back in the USA, where class averages tend to sit around 26, I would’ve felt like Billy Madison in the lecture halls. The only downside is that Adam Sandler references like that one don’t always resonate in a foreign classroom…

MORE GLOBAL CASE STUDIES

Matt, Kristen, and I wholeheartedly agree on one major point: extracurricular travel is one of the biggest selling points of being based in Europe. Matt enthusiastically told me about the trips he has taken, trips that never would’ve been possible back home. “While most US programs will spend a week or two abroad during their curriculum, I will book flights on Thursday and by Friday evening I am in Amsterdam, Madrid, Oslo, London, Prague, and a whole host of other cities and countries,” he said. “The world has been a lot more accessible since the start of the program.”

From an academic standpoint, the material is far more diverse. About a third of the case studies used for class feature non-US companies. This percentage may not seem like much, but it is far more than you’d find at most US programs. For instance, one of the lectures for Business Ethics focused on Tata Motors, a company that I had never heard of before but was humbled to learn is the biggest automobile company in India and is at the forefront of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The class discussion started with some of my South Asian classmates speaking about the role Tata played in their own lives. Some of them had family members who drove Tata vehicles, while others knew beneficiaries of Tata’s philanthropy. Tata’s CSR can be traced back to the founder’s Zoroastrian heritage, which prompted a nuanced tangent by one of my Indian classmates about the role of Parsees in modern India vis-à-vis Hindus. This topic led to a deeper digression into the socioeconomic realities of India’s caste system. Had the classroom been filled exclusively with Americans, the discourse surrounding Indian cultural norms would not have occurred or at best been far less nuanced.

Professors will often say that case studies are illustrative tools – their lesson isn’t about just one company. Taking a slightly less US-centric approach to pedagogy helps us as students recognize the many different styles of business operations. When all the cases feature US companies or US protagonists, you miss on kaleidoscope of different rules, mores, and workplace cultures that make up the global market.

“A SENSE OF ADVENTURE”

It’s one thing for us to reflect on what it means to be an American while attending the program. To get a more holistic understanding of our situation, I spoke to one of my professors, Linda Brimm. As the Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behavior, Linda has taught at INSEAD since 1981. Her seminal work – How to Embrace Complex Change – was an outgrowth of her years working with “global cosmopolitans,” people that have embraced globalization and actively seek opportunities to live, study, and work in other cultures. In her forty years of teaching at INSEAD, she has noticed that there are certain trends to the Americans that choose to leave the USA for their education.

“They have a strong tie to another part of the world, either because they grew up for part of their lives outside the USA or because their parents or grandparent immigrated to the USA,” Linda told me.

Echoing Kristen and Matt’s acknowledgement of the travel opportunities afforded to INSEADers, Linda says that “the one big thing that sends so many people here is the sense of adventure. INSEAD helps people find their limits. They may come thinking they want to outside the USA, but the program shows them the realities of living abroad.” Linda also acknowledged that most Americans use the year after their ten months at INSEAD as a pseudo-second year of the MBA, a chance to work in Europe for a year.

A THANKSGIVING TO REMEMBER

Linda also spoke about how getting an MBA outside the USA is a double-edged sword. INSEAD doesn’t provide the same structure as a US program, which generally sends all its graduates to US jobs. Americans who choose to come here understand that their post-school career will be far less linear. “They’re generally more comfortable with that uncertainty and are willing to create new life chapters.”

Let’s be clear: European jobs pay on average less than American jobs. And unless you already have some work eligibility here in Europe, securing a work visa won’t be easy. So if you’re looking for an easy path forward, maybe an American program makes sense. But if you want to chart a new path – a path that will take you into the unknown – then maybe embracing complex change at INSEAD is right for you.

I would be remiss to not mention how Kristen, Matt, and I spent our Thanksgiving. After all, it’s a quintessentially American concept – a reminder of our “fish-out-of-water” experience at INSEAD. Matt and Kristen each had their own way of recognizing the special occasion. In the morning, Matt organized a Turkey Trot around the regal Fontainebleau canal and made sure there was whiskey waiting for us at the finish line. Kristen spent Thursday evening hosting a traditional dinner for her European housemates, who were taken aback not only by her culinary prowess but also by the unique use of a particular ingredient. As she put it, “The highlight of studying outside the USA so far was cooking Thanksgiving for my housemates, who were confused and amazed by the sight of marshmallows on the dinner table.” As is tradition, in between bites of roasted poultry and mashed potatoes, we each said what we were thankful for this year. For me, I expressed gratitude for the opportunities INSEAD has provided for me to explore what it means to be an American.

Chris Poldoian got his undergraduate degree at Tufts University in Economics & Spanish Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. Passionate about food and wine, Chris worked as a restaurant manager and sommelier in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston before pivoting into freelance beverage consulting during the pandemic. In his spare time, he enjoys running marathons around the world and hosting a wine podcast called By The Glass.

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