Transcriber: Annet Johnson Reviewer: Anna Sobota
Hi, I’m Jonas and I’m one of those guys that’s naive enough to think
that I can change the world.
Yeah, haven’t we all been there?
It’s easy to say,
but how do you go from saying it, and wanting it, to doing it?
The future society’s needs for energy is significant,
and with the climate challenges facing the globe,
the need for clean and sustainable energy is more important than ever.
But what about a sustainable business culture?
Isn’t this where the path to a more sustainable future really begins?
Many of you have worked for that company,
where your boss wants you to call in when you’re sick,
to determine exactly how sick you really are;
where you get an instruction from your boss
that because of poor financial results, you must cut costs and let people go;
where it is expected that everyone should just nod
and say that it’s all for the greater good;
where treating people poorly is allowed if it gives results;
where you’ve developed apathy and eventually cynicism;
where you hide your emotions when you go to work -
you might be smiling, but you feel empty and sedated on the inside.
What if things could be done differently?
When we started Easee, we had all been in that company,
and decided to never be a part of that again.
The Easee journey started with three people with a calling.
And before we had designed, produced, or developed a single product,
we sat down and made culture laws.
Laws that determined how we wanted a workplace to be,
and how it definitely shouldn’t be.
After making these laws and implementing them,
we started creating the world’s most advanced
and smart charging solution for EVs -
a smart charger that utilizes all available energy at any given time,
and that is able to charge when the electricity prices
and the load on the grid are low
through 4G and by using dynamical load balancing.
The charger itself is 69 % smaller and lighter
than any other EV chargers with similar functionality,
and it only weighs 1.5 kilograms.
This means that we can save the environment
for at least 4 kilos of copper and plastic per produced charger.
It also enables us to ship up to five times more units
on a single pallet,
and it has made us one of the fastest growing companies in the world.
Today, there are plenty of companies stating that they put people first.
They claim that their business culture is based on human value.
But in many cases, these are just empty promises.
Most organizations, if not all, put money over people.
Would it be possible to do things differently?
How could we create a company with an environment and a vision
that empowers people to be the best version of themselves?
Our first culture laws boiled down to three things.
One, we put people first.
Two, we have no hierarchy, everyone has a voice.
Three, everyone shall feel empowered, seen, recognized, and inspired,
every single day.
This successful 3-year-long journey, wouldn’t be possible without our culture.
This is the foundation that has made it all possible:
our growth, our product, all of it.
We wanted people to be happy at work, that no one would want to quit their job,
an affinity perspective,
to make this your last workplace,
a job that added fulfillment and momentum towards a better future.
But how?
Once a week, we set aside time to focus on people’s thoughts and feelings
where the intention is that everyone gets seen and heard.
It can be personal or work-related worries,
but we use these sessions to make sure that everyone in the team feels safe.
We call this “The Culture Box”, this is where we walk the talk.
In The Culture Box we practice values like love, honesty, vulnerability,
and the most precious gift of all, feedback.
But it hasn’t been all fun and games.
In 2020, we experienced a major crisis in the company.
Because of our massive growth, our cloud broke down.
It was unstable for two months straight,
and it affected thousands of our customers.
If you’re reliant on a product that charges your electric car
to be able to go to work as you drop your kids off at the kindergarten,
you suddenly realize it affects many people’s lives.
As a young company,
we were fully dependent on the trust of our customers
and the reputation of our brand.
Needless to say, we were under a massive pressure.
All of us were working around the clock to solve the problem.
Our customers were impatient and they started to lose faith.
Our critics really got their money worth,
“We knew it, Easee was too good to be true.”
Internally, people started pointing fingers and wanted someone to blame,
instead of taking a collective responsibility.
A turning point happened, when I openly took the blame.
After all, I am the one who let it happen.
I was the one responsible.
For me, this was the perfect time
to practice our values and our culture laws,
to put people first, even if it would cost us the entire company.
This allowed people to focus on the task at hand
without worrying about who to blame.
People make mistakes, it’s human,
but doing nothing, in fear of making them, is far worse.
In the end, we were able to solve the cloud problem,
and in the process, we became stronger, more open, and most importantly,
we all learned and experienced the importance of vulnerability
and the true power of putting people before money.
So how can we collectively change the world into a better place?
How can we go out and change the way we work together
based on common decency,
and values like love, honesty, and vulnerability?
I want to encourage all other companies to start with their people.
The challenge is how to prioritize
and set aside time to practice love for each other.
You might think that it sounds corny, but don’t underestimate it.
The power of love is immense, especially in the long run.
If we genuinely care for another and express our compassion,
everybody will feel better about themselves.
If we believe in the good in people, trust in them and empower them,
they will thrive at work and they will create amazing results.
It’s a positive reinforcement loop of development and mastery.
Today, money is the only common belief in the world,
but my dream is that we can all join forces to establish love
as a new common belief.
A world where we put love for our people and our planet first.
A world where love directs where money goes,
instead of fear, ego, and greed.
We all have the power to take the first step.
So let’s start off by practicing empathy,
and by spreading love and kindness to the people around us:
to our family, our friends, our co-workers, and our planet.
Then, maybe, the idea of changing the world
isn’t as far off as we first thought.
Thank you.
(Applause)