Cornerstone Blog

 

Can you grow executive talent?   A new report by Beamery, a global talent acquisition specialist, would seem to suggest so. In fact, cultivating cabbages or CXOs seems to follow quite similar best-processes.

The executive talent recruiting industry has become very complex. Those eligible are more aware of their value and more concerned about maintaining a career growth curve. Those doing the seeking have increasingly complex needs combining laser-like focus with the broad view of the philosopher.

The smart organizations respond to the challenge by going back to basics. There’s nothing more basic than a garden.

Beamery’s Talent Attraction Index mimics biblical parables of preparing the soil and supplying nourishment in order to nurse growth.  It evaluates the environment of the recruiting challenge  beyond the simple “fit” and zeroes in on the components that will ultimately influence a rewarding outcome versus a merely adequate one.

There are four measurements.

1. Employer Brand presence.

How well does the company articulate its brand to candidates, using the channels available to it?

2. Employee Activation

Do the companies leverage the voice of their current employees to bring in new ones? Do they encourage referrals?

3. Team Specialization

How specialized are the recruiting teams of these companies?

4. Candidate Conversion

Is there a talent community or network to guide candidates to the application point?

Each item contributes 25% of the final score and the Index was applied to the Fortune 500 in the USA.  According to the report, there is a direct correlation between the index and not only recruiting performance – the top firms in the Index engaged seven times as many key players as the lowest group – but also with financial performance, based on their ranking in the Top 500.

The strongest scores among the Index Top 10 are also interesting. Employer Brand Presence (which has been around the longest) was the leading attribute for the top three companies followed by Employee Activation.

You can download the complete report here.

Cornerstone International Group has more than 30 years of hands-on experience with the qualities of leadership, selecting and training talent to the level of CEO for the world’s leading organizations. In recent years we have seen how the profile and the role of the chief executive has gone through an evolutionary process.

It is no longer enough to have an integral vision of the organization and its markets. To keep pace with evolution, new leaders must not only fully understand the business, but also have the ability to focus, anticipate and lead change in a dynamic and complex context.

Among the main challenges to the qualities of leadership that the CEO must keep in mind are:

1. Technology is rewriting borders, digitalization and globalization are forcing organizational change. These are the main external forces on which CEOs have focused.
2. Decisions are getting closer and closer to the client. Organizations are reforming into more agile and smaller structures to be closer to them.
3. Sustainability leads a cultural change. Organizations must understand and incorporate social and environmental responsibility in the agenda, contributing to the progress of the countries where they operate.
4. The transformation is not only technological, it is also normative, organizational and competitive, which leads to new business models.
5. The digital transformation is that of mindset, culture and leadership style. The CEO is the principal manager of change in this evolutionary process.

Change is the only constant in the equation and a lot of skill is required to lead organizations in this context.  Recently in Peru, we recognized the top 25 most profitable CEO, who, through their leadership and good practices in a dynamic market, have achieved sustained growth in sales and profitability.

Our Latest Survey

Every year, since 2005, Cornerstone has conducted a global survey that aims to understand the role of senior management in organizations, as well as the factors that will affect their business over the coming years.

Our 2019 annual survey represented a wide variety of businesses, cultures and regions. (In Peru, we interviewed 26 CEOs.)

The results of the survey are available in a downloadable report from our website.  Here are the main findings.

 

1. The impact on the organization

Given the change and the need for speed and flexibility, organizations are bringing decision making to the client. While large organizations can continue to function as a multiple matrix organization, decisions are made as closely as possible to the client. This is manifested in two organizational changes.

First, companies tend to create smaller and more flexible units within the organization. Executives are divided into these units so they can move where they are most needed.

Secondly, the board and senior management are looking for ways to obtain valuable information about customers, the market and the competition as soon as it is available.

The effect that these two changes can have on management is enormous. A manager will have to change his management style to direct people who could stop being direct reports. In addition, market information will reach him or her at the same time that such information, without filtering, reaches senior management. As a consequence, the planning time is reduced and the action is emphasized.

The main challenges come from the alteration caused by our digital environment.

Risks increase with speed

A faster environment demands greater risk taking. This is a challenge for senior management. Speed is now a fundamental factor and to gain market share, top management must take more risks than ever.

Speed will also dictate local and global priorities. It will be more difficult for regions to present global contracts profitably. Companies are looking for tailored solutions, not only with respect to product specification but also time to market, terms and conditions, local legal requirements and sustainability and demands related to corporate social responsibility (CSR).

 

2. The impact on talent

New technologies and techniques have caused a change in functional roles and responsibilities in employees. Finding the right candidate, with the background, experience, necessary skills and potential is considered one of the main challenges to achieve established goals.

The employees of the new generations need to share the values ​​and mission of the company they want to work for. Companies face a strong push from social and environmental sustainability movements, and they need to take the CSR issue to a higher level, not only on the agenda, but also in the organization, even in the board.

The ‘generalist’ era may not be over, but our survey shows a clear trend towards specialization in some way. Companies are looking for candidates who have generic skills necessary to lead projects in different situations. On the other hand, they also seek to have the ability to specialize in a specific topic.

The legendary route from young messenger to CEO seems to be history. Executives who aspire to leadership do so by reaching the top of a functional operation and are increasingly trying to add a second.

 

3. The impact on the CEO’s world

A CEO communicates through what he says and does. An executive of that level must be authentic and live the values. Often, the company is driven by values, attitudes and a particular culture, rather than facts and figures. To motivate, encourage and train employees, the CEO must be a visible leader in creating the right environment.

Respondents point out that it is no longer enough for a CEO to have a “panoramic view” of the organization and its markets. The evolution of the CEO today revolves around change, the leader needs to anticipate, focus and lead the change.

The CEO’s ability to anticipate the competitive threat has also changed significantly. Today, competition in some sectors is just as likely to come from outside the business segment of the organization, as from within.

This is particularly noticeable in the telecommunications, IT or financial services businesses, but is by no means restricted to them. The powerful auto industry, with all its resources, was not fast enough to develop an electric car; Elon Musk and Tesla took the leadership position.

The CEO’s radar today has to constantly scan a much wider field.

 

The relationship with the board

Finally, the relationship between the CEO and the board is also undergoing a change. Not long ago, the CEO was the filter between the board and the team of managers within the entire organization. Our study shows that the board and the team of managers are moving much closer to each other.

Today’s board needs to be closer to the business. It makes sense that the board and the team of managers meet regularly to share timely information.

Finally, as a result of our experience, we see two essential key competencies of the CEO of the future.

• The first is transformational leadership, which is oriented to the ability to risk, change, influence, anticipate and adapt quickly to changes.
• The second is resilience, the ability to face problems, see solutions where others do not, and see crises as business opportunities.

The future is today, and tomorrow’s leaders need to anticipate and begin to develop these skills.

[Editor: this article is available in English and Spanish. The Spanish version first appeared in Semanaeconómica.com

 

There are two paths to the pot of gold at the end of the gender diversity rainbow.

You can persuade: proclaim the evidence-supported benefits of having more women in the highest decision-making positions. The percentage is growing but it continues to be a long haul.  Companies still think of it as a human resources issue and not the bottom line issue it is now recognized to be.

Or, if you are a regulator, you can impose a quota. This may sadden you, but you will definitely end up closer to the goal and more quickly.

Many jurisdictions have imposed quotas to speed up diversity. It started in 2008 when Norway required listed companies to have women in at least 40% of board seats. Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands also mandate minimums, backed by sanctions and fines in the case of the first three. The UK offers “guidelines.”

Just this year, California has mandated the 40% goal within two years.

 

Quotas Work

The share of women directors in affected countries has grown four- or five-fold since 2007, compared with a global 29% growth overall.  But the imposition of quotas does not sit well with many as a solution.

One of those is Alejandra Aranda, Founding Partner and President of Humanitas, or Cornerstone Santiago in Chile. She is among several of our members who are prominent in civic politics and working tirelessly to bring about gender equality.  Two years ago she played a leading role in persuading her peers in high-end recruiting to adopt a code of internal conduct and commitment to diversity.

It can be a frustrating mission. Interest and involvement on the part of employers ebbs and flows.  Despite growth in recent years, a new survey by Cornerstone Santiago revealed only 15%  who see diversity as a major challenge, a long way behind the flavors of today, namely innovation (38%) or digitalization (30%).

 

Priorities Change

“Gender diversity is an issue in which substantial progress has been made and that is why today it does not represent a major challenge,” says Aranda. “Right now, digital fluency and innovation are serious concerns. Strategic priorities change.”

Robin Toft, CEO of a recruiting firm the Toft Group, is looking further out.

“We have a talent crisis because there are not enough qualified candidates out there,” she says in a recent interview.  “I believe the answer is women and Millennials, so a huge and heightened forecast on diversity hiring is really on.”

Music clearly to the ears of Alejandra Aranda.

“Quotas may work in some environments,” she says. “But if we were to put a quota here in Chile I would consider our public policy to have failed.

“We have many very influential women eager to participate.  We need to counter the myth that there are not enough women qualified or interested.  That’s our biggest challenge.”

 

In the US, a rare disease is defined as affecting 75 in every 100,000 people, in Japan the definition is 40 out of 100,000 and in the EU it is 20 out of 100,000. In China rare disease does not yet have a specific definition, but it is under study.

The 8th China Rare Disease Summit held in Shenzhen on September 21^st,  2019 was a great opportunity to measure the progress made by China.   Through exchanges with public officials, academics, representatives of patient associations and industry experts, we sensed a paradigm shift.  There are three fundamental changes, that are interconnected but not yet at the same level of maturity.

 

Regulatory Reform

First, regulatory reform has been successfully implemented. There is no longer a major backlog in the drug registration process. More importantly, the National Medical Product Administration (NMPA) has created an accelerated pathway for products for urgent needs and for which foreign data could be acceptable.

Then, a list of 121 China rare diseases has been issued by the National Health Commission (NHC) in February 2019. It is far away from the total number of rare diseases, which is estimated to be in the range of 7,000. But it is a first step towards recognizing the urgent needs of Chinese patients and the deficiency of the current Chinese drug system which is not supplying these drugs.

 

Changing Attitudes to Patients

Second, the authorities are changing their attitudes towards patient groups and associations. China is a communist country and has been historically very reluctant to recognize grass-roots organizations that the Party does not control. In the case of rare diseases, patient associations are even more important as the market rule prevents the “natural development” of drugs.

There are a very limited number of patients and these diseases are unknown to most physicians. In China on average, a patient suffering from a rare disease needs to wander around in the health system for five years before finding the right diagnosis. Therefore, the authorities are no longer trying to shut down the patient groups but are recognizing them.

The event in Shenzhen was organized by one of the patient associations and the NMPA allowed them to make the opening speech, de facto recognition of the association. We all hope that formal recognition of such groups (through legal registration) will progress soon. Even more meaningful will be their joining in the NMPA‘s registration decision-making. We understand it is under consideration.

 

Funding for Rare Diseases

The third fundamental change is funding. Economic considerations are more important than for “normal” diseases. Treatments are more costly as patients’ numbers are limited and access is more difficult as only a few medical centres are able to make a correct diagnosis. As for drug policy in China, pricing and reimbursement reform is taking a long time compared to registration reform, but progress is coming.

During the event it was confirmed that the State Medical Insurance Administration (SMIA) is considering a specific fund to cover rare disease costs. The total amount could be in the range of RMB 500,000 (USD 70,000) per patient but is not yet confirmed and the future process is not yet known.

All this progress has been achieved in the last two years.  If the new paradigms are implemented to their full extent, China could significantly impact the overall course of the global pharmaceutical industry.

With 20 percent of the world population, China has the biggest pool of patients. Thus, a rare disease in China benefits from a cohort four or five times bigger than those of the EU or US. On the economic side, there is no doubt that the Authorities are willing to find better solutions in term of access than in the US.

When reforms are fully operational, China will propose volume and reasonable prices. Professor Hu Shanlian, an eminent Chinese health economist, concluded his speech by wishing one day to see Western countries use China as a reference price when listing new products at home. Today China gets products last in the product life cycle and needs to refer to international prices.

But when all the reforms are fully operational, it could be the reverse: China attracts the launch first and then the world would refer to the China price.

( Eric Bouteiller leads Cornerstone’s Life Science and Health Practice Group. This article first appeared in the global industry website pharmaboardroom.com)

 

Leadership development teaches that the #1 job of a CEO is vision and values – purpose.  Leadership strategies are the inspiring part of inspiring and enabling.

But you don’t have to get there in one fell swoop. Choosing the grandest, boldest, riskiest big steps is more dramatic, but less certain than enabling your team to take a series of smaller steps, each with a higher likelihood of success.

Leadership strategies are broad choices. This is all about aligning strategic choices with resource and capability choices and value creation.

In isolation, a theoretical strategic choice is practically useless. It’s not real until you apply resources and capabilities. And it’s not worthwhile unless the application of those resources and capabilities create more value than you invest.

While it’s possible that you can assemble new resources and create new capabilities to implement a new strategy, that path is fraught with risk. The more likely, safe shot is to pursue strategies for which you already have resources and capabilities in place.

 

Organizationally Likely

This choice should be easy. While it is certainly possible that you can implement a reorganization effectively, efficiently and fast enough to implement your new strategy, it’s almost guaranteed that you will pay a price in confusion, inefficiency and demoralization. The more likely, safe shot is to get people to flex within their current organization and roles to make things happen.

“Every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet new situations by reorganizing…and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.” -Gaius Petronius, A.D. 65 – Roman governor and advisor to Nero.

 

Operationally Likely

This one’s math. Scope is a function of resources and time. While it’s possible to stretch your operations over the short term, things are going to start breaking if you push too hard for too long. The safer, more likely shot is to add resources or time if you want to get more done.

An easy way to do this is to re-direct resources from one area to another. But this works only if you actually reduce the scope of work required in the area giving up resources.

Too many leaders see the upside in being more open to risk without taking into account the downside. Choosing the safer strategy that your organization can implement with the right operational allocation of resources and time is less dramatic, but generally more rewarding over time.

 

It’s not that long ago that sitting on a corporate Board of Directors was a social imperative.  As an attainable goal, it depended on the spoon in your mouth when you were born.  Silver, and the door was open.  Plastic, and you should settle for getting out of the mailroom.

Things have changed, including the democratization of The Board.  Outside Directors – i.e. not executives of the firm – are highly prized and increasingly highly paid. The effectiveness of a Board and its neutrality is frequently judged by the number of independents.

That’s because a well-managed organization wants to be led by experienced people who can provide both independent oversight of a sector of activity and contribute intelligently to policy and planning.

This new practicality in the approach to Boards of Directors has attracted a new professional dimension to the role.  Board service has become a steadily more rewarding career experience, sought after by smart, articulate and accomplished people seeking opportunities to participate in change and improvement.

More players than seats

Aggregate statistics are not available for the way things were, but the way they are now indicate the number of qualified candidates seeking a Board seat is greater than the number of seats available.  Given the slow rate of Director turnover, this pressure will likely refine and raise the qualifications required to play.

Unsurprisingly, the increasing attractiveness of the Non-Executive Director (NED) has led to specialization by headhunters and recruitment firms.  Here at Cornerstone International Group we have a group specializing in Board Advisory and CEO recruitment with expert members in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.

“The Talent pool may seem small when there are often only a handful of men and women on a Board,” says financial services expert Lydia Goutas of Cornerstone Vienna.  “But the research and recruiting process must be rigorous. Both the time commitment and liability of NED´s has greatly increased, a reflection of their influence on an organization´s success, stock price and reputation.”

New profile for Directors

In the past, favored targets would be CEOs, CFOs and presidents of companies or large divisions.  But the profile is becoming more multi-faceted as business needs change in the face of digitization and technology.

A challenge for recruiters is the absence of a formalized pathway.  Candidates interested in becoming Directors face a hurdle in making that interest known.  You don’t apply for a seat on the board, and you don’t find them in the want ads.

Organizations seeking Directors are often limited to word-of-mouth or an updated version of the old-boy network.  This is particularly troublesome with the growing presence of female Directors and a wide-spread desire in the world of corporate leadership to see many more.

Once again, the most likely solution comes not just from the world of recruiting but a very specific niche of it.  The business model of the Retained Search firm is built on wide-reaching networks of people qualified in diverse ways.  Not only that, but the market knowledge to know qualified people currently engaged who might consider a change of scenery from a timely approach.

Until they make “directoring” an MBA grad credit, retained search  is likely to remain the best way to find a seat on a Board of Directors, and for Boards to find you.

 

Retained Executive Search can be like an iceberg in some ways. What you see on the surface is only a percentage of the benefits that can be lying beneath the surface. A topical example is Talent Optimization.

Earlier this year, a Predictive Index survey revealed that 52% of CEOs did not achieve their strategic goals in 2018. Digging a little deeper, PI confirmed that nearly all senior leaders developed a business strategy identifying the operational and financial metrics for success. No surprise. And sitting between the strategy goals and results are people. No surprise there either.

But failing to relate the two, which in hindsight should not be a surprise, is the biggest single reason for that 52% failure rate.

Talent Optimization is a hot issue today. It’s not rocket science. If your people are not suited to deliver your strategy, you are treading water. Over the past decade, it’s been drummed in to us that people are the core asset that makes or breaks a business plan.

But how many leaders actually dig and actually understand if the talent to execute is there when they draw up the plan? And how many are guided by this awareness when it’s time to replace an executive.

PI is in the talent optimization business and they have identified what they call four essential truths.

• Diagnose: measure and analyze your people data and identify remedies
• Design: create and evolve a people strategy
• Hire: find and engage high-performing people based on the above
• Inspire: use the data to drive important people-oriented activities and goals

There are tools to help you to succeed on each point. The tool for the third point is called Retained Executive Search.

There are three accepted methodologies for acquiring the talent you need: retained search, contingent search and DIY. If you are not on a Fortune 100 list, forget the last.  The difference between retained search and contingent are explained in detail here but let’s cut to the salient points.

The contingent search firm is paid when you hire the person it finds and it competes with its peers to be the one to come up with the winner. The result is the spaghetti-on-the-wall school of recruiting — an avalanche of seemingly suitable resumes on your desk which you are left to digest.  This can be a lower cost option for standardized, mostly operational positions.

The retained search firm is contracted exclusively to find the best person for the position, usually at a leadership level. With more complexity in the role, the research of both you and candidates is many times more extensive and time consuming and selection more demanding.

Characteristics sought extend well beyond skill and experiences and include culture, compatibility and learning agility among many other aptitudes required of today’s leaders.

In fact, executive search it is the only process capable of matching incoming talent to the precise needs defined by the unique people strategy you have aligned with your business goals.

That’s Talent Optimization.

Atlanta, Ga. September 23, 2019 –   International executive recruiter Cornerstone International Group (CIG) continues to expand its footprint in Europe with the addition of a member office in Paris.  Peak-Lifecycles HR will represent the global network across France.

 The new Cornerstone Paris is an owner-managed, specialist firm with extensive experience in Board & Executive Search, Talent Management and Consulting services.  With an office also in the U.S., it has a strong record in the global life sciences community where owner and Managing Director Anne De Landsheer has 16 years of experience along with her decade in Executive Search.

“We are delighted to welcome Anne and her highly skilled team to Cornerstone,” says CIG President Larry Shoemaker of Atlanta.  “We feel confident that we have found the ideal partner in France for our high level of search and leadership development services.”

The culture of the company is a perfect fit with Cornerstone, sharing a belief that the essence of a search is not just finding the talented candidate you want, but the person you need.

“Our clients have one thing in common” says Anne De Landsheer, “and that is the challenge of managing radical, rapid and frequent change.  Our services allow companies to adapt their human resources to these changes in their environment.”

Cornerstone International Group is present in 36 countries and celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year.  It maintains two headquarters – one here in Atlanta and one in Shanghai, China. With members appointed recently in Zurich, Brussels and Kyiv, Cornerstone International Group (CIG) now has 28 members in Europe.

For information visit www.cornerstone-group.com

Information:

Larry Shoemaker, President
Cornerstone International Group
larry-shoemaker@cornerstone-group.com

 

There’s a valid argument that says the worst time to recruit leaders is when you need one.  What you wish you had then is a recruitment strategy.

Or think of it this way:  don’t wait to fix a leaky roof until it’s raining.

The pressure today is intense on finding “the best people” to lead an organization.  It is widely recognized that, in most firms, a skilled and experienced management team is the most important of many components.  By management team, most people are thinking of the leaders throughout the hierarchy from line and sector managers up to the executive floor.

These are the people who plan, investigate, test, strategize, take chances and motivate others. They are the motor driving the organization.  Adding a new leader or needing to replace an established one is therefore a critical moment.

Executive search is a high stakes game.  The investment of time and money is significant as is the risk.  A hurried evaluation can end in a costly repetition in 15 months with grave reputational risk all around.  Get it right, and your growth flourishes.

Getting it right is much more likely in moments of calm and deliberation.  The more pressing the need to fill an empty slot, the greater the danger of overlooking warning flags or compromising the criteria.  So, before it rains, fix the roof.

An increasing number of well-managed companies today develop talent acquisition strategies.  This does two very important things.  It Anticipates the need and it Positions you to respond to that need in a fashion likely to achieve the most success.

Here are eight reasons for setting out a recruiting strategy laid out in an earlier post by contributor Anne Glenn:

• Build stronger companies and foster teamwork where everyone understands the goals and embraces the priorities
• Better attract top talent with skills, values and culture that most exactly fit the short- and long-range environment of the business
• Anticipate recruiting and growth staffing needs (as well as wants) in advance of an actual job opening
• Refine and clarify the company’s Employer Brand as a key basis of communication with potential employees
• Target and locate the best talent pools relative to your specific needs over time
• Enable the executive staffing process to move more quickly and efficiently to fill vacancies and minimize disruption in the work process
• Challenge employees to continually look for the best talent available

• Foster sharing of company values, pride in performance and personal satisfaction.

Developing and implementing the recruiting strategy that is best for you is hard work.  It is critical to get it right since it is going to drive your executive recruiting process for better or for worse.

We are familiar with Talent Acquisition Strategy here at Cornerstone.  As a retained executive search specialist, every mandate has a strategic component and must conform with criteria outside issues of skill and experience.

Strategy development should start at the highest executive levels and incorporate the organization’s needs, vision, goals and operational realities.  This is where the input from objective experts such as our consultants can be of immense value.

Contact us at editor@cornerstone-group.com and find out how we can help you to optimize a process that you will be going through one way or the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Companies are obsessed with recruiting the best candidates. Not just qualified candidates, the best candidates. More than technology, more than assets, the key to delivering the mission is the best team.

It is a mantra in the recruiting business, particularly in our sector of retained search. We are the people who contract to find not just suitable people but the best people. And not just the best available people.  We see our task as knowing where the flat-out best people are for your opportunity and, if they are working elsewhere, discreetly making that opportunity known to them.

At that point, the spotlight swings back on you, the hirer. Do you have the vision, the processes, the policies to make them interested in joining you?

To recruit the best, it helps to be the best. That means more than an empathetic work environment, generous compensation and upward mobility.  Job seekers are now concerned about your social responsibility and whether it aligns with theirs.

Are you the best?

Driven partly by this, companies are understanding that their place in the community is important. Last month, 180 leading US companies agreed that their mission was no longer to create shareholder value, the holy grail since the mid-90s, but also to work for the benefit of employees, customers and the community. This will make them more attractive to the up-and-coming talent which want to work for firms that involve themselves in the social and political issues of the day.

Firms in some areas of the economy are fundamentally better placed than others in the recruiting beauty contest.  A five-star example is climate change.  Companies in the business of renewable energy appeal to today’s candidates by default.

But that would not be enough in the long run. You have to demonstrate an ongoing commitment that becomes a fundamental purpose.

This is the example of Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest electricity and heat providers with revenues over US$150 billion and 20,000 employees.  It is over 100 years old, dating back to the beginning of hydro power in the northern forests of Sweden, but that is not the reasons for its status and market leadership.

Firm re-invented itself

After studying and understanding the implications of climate change, Vattenfall committed to re-invent itself.  It undertook to enable fossil-free living within one generation.

That is a bold mission into little known territory. It helps to be in a part of the world that views climate change as an existential imperative: wind is the second largest energy source in Europe, overtaking coal in 2016.

Technology and innovation play a major role in Vattenfall’s future – district residential heating networks utilize excess heat from data centres and industries — but the company views human resources as a  critical component.

“We have to learn and acquire many new skills and competences in order to deliver our strategy” says Borg, CFO. “We look for specific attributes. For example, you have to be a fast learner and comfortable with change, otherwise we will be too slow in our transformation. You need to have an unbiased mind, so we don’t assume at the start what the market will look like. “

According to Borg, the company’s objective of fossil free living in one generation resonates with today’s pool of bright, concerned youth. Recruiting the best candidates is made easier as future employees make the first move and approach the firm.

“We have a value proposition for them that has three areas. We call them limitless learning, vital work, and brilliant people.

“We want to be company where these people come and free their superpowers.”

A virtuous cycle. To be the best company, you need the best people. To get the best people, you need to be the best company.