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Arizona-based First Solar grew rapidly into the world’s largest manufacturer of thin film solar modules by finding balance in six key areas, Executive Chairman Michael Ahearn told an audience of about 100 faculty, staff and students Feb. 4 at Thunderbird School of Global Management.
First Solar, which formed in 1999 and launched production of commercial products in 2002, operates today with more than 5,000 employees in 10 countries. Ahearn said the company will continue to expand as it pursues its mission to enable a world powered by clean, affordable solar electricity. “We’re not there yet,” he said.
Ahearn said finding balance in these six areas has driven the company’s hypergrowth:
1. Purpose driven versus returns oriented
Ahearn said companies need to decide if their top priority is to make money or to accomplish their mission. In the end, he said, companies need to consider both objectives as they grow. “You can’t solve the mission program and have bad financials,” Ahearn said. “That is not sustainable.”
2. Flexible versus planned
Companies also need to find the right balance between a loose, flexible culture and a rigid, results-oriented culture. Ahearn said companies such as First Solar that deal with new technology need accept a certain amount of uncertainty. Sometimes, research and development teams fail to produce results even when they work hard. Ahearn said First Solar recognized this and stopped asking, “How quickly can we get results?” Instead, the company started asking, “How quickly can we get answers?” He said the shift has given researchers freedom to pursue new technology without worrying about hitting dead ends when the answer to a technology question turns out to be ”no.”
3. Focused versus growth-oriented
Ahearn said companies also need to decide if they will focus on their core strategies – even if this means passing up potentially lucrative side ventures that could accelerate growth. “You need to decide what opportunities you are going to chase,” he said.
4. Insistence on “A” players versus creating a supportive environment
Ahearn said successful companies need employees from the top 10 percent of the talent pool. “You’ve got to be surrounded by A players,” he said. But this is hard to do when a company is in its startup phase. Finding talent is also an inexact science. A third challenge is that A players sometimes outgrow their jobs — or the other way around — as the startup evolves. Ahearn said First Solar works hard to keep A players in key positions. But the company also has room for B players and even C players with great attitudes.
5. Serving the company’s interest versus serving the customers’ interests
Companies sometimes have different interests than their customers and other stakeholders. Ahearn said First Solar has learned to focus on those areas where the interests overlap. When no overlap exists, he said, the company has to move on.
6. Results versus people
Ambition, focus and dedication are generally good things. But companies with a culture of continuous improvement sometimes attract unbalanced people who sacrifice too much of their personal lives for their jobs. Such people eventually burn out. Ahearn said First Solar encourages its workers to put their families first, and then fit everything else into their schedules. “Work hard, play hard” is the motto.
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