Launched in 2016, the Learning Expedition (LEX) is an exchange program that enables about fifty high-potential individuals to experiment with the cross-cultural dimension, both geographical and business-wise, of the Group each year. There is one goal: instill a new business culture that promotes integration and cooperation between different activities.

 

How can Vivendi accelerate its transition from a financial holding company to an integrated industrial group? This is the question that was the basis for the 2016 Learning Expedition, a Human Resources-led project. The principle? Each year, offer a class of around fifty managers the opportunity to “live together” during four weeks in Paris, London, Los Angeles and one other chosen city (Berlin, Ho Chi-Minh, etc.).

The program in fact has two objectives. The first, most obviously, is to enable its members to get to know Vivendi and its activities better, to form a support network and develop a shared sense of belonging. The “Lexers” then share and pass on this experience with their teams within their respective entities.

However, the Learning Expedition is much more than an accelerated discovery program about the Vivendi Group: it is a professional laboratory where participants learn and experience new ways of working together. Lexers are therefore trained in new collaborative working methods that have emerged in recent years: design thinking, sprint, lean startup, etc. These tools enhance collective intelligence, entrepreneurial culture, agility and also encourage initiatives. They are the keys to understanding the business environment of tomorrow (sometimes referred to as “VUCA”: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) and adapting to its constraints.

Since 2016, nearly 150 employees in 20 countries from all entities have had the privilege of participating in the Learning Expedition. Temporarily suspended due to the Coronavirus, the program will resume in 2021 if sanitary conditions permit.