Leadership and responsibility shared across the community
06 | 2023 Sanna Valkeejärvi, Olli Laine and Kari Kellokoski
Kari and Olli founded Kipinä two years ago. In that time, their turnover has grown from zero to €4.1 million in their first full financial year. Throughout their two-year journey, Kipinä has always put people first, even before business. How do Kari and Olli see the present and the future of working life?
Kipinä operates an exceptional model, where everyone who enters the house also becomes a shareholder. What is also exceptional is that the founders do not decide alone who will join the house, but the existing shareholders interview the newcomers and the decision is made together. As is the case with all things Kipina.
"We want to do and see even more than the growth of the company. A thriving work community and our unique structure are key to that. At this pace of change, we want to make sure that Kipinä only gets stronger with time," Kari says.
"In professional work, how a person is able to work and what kind of mental capacity an individual has has a huge impact," Olli continues.
Traditional working life is obsolete
The pace of change in professional work is fast and will accelerate even more in the future. Job roles and job descriptions are changing, AI will affect everything. Experts need to be able to learn new things and develop themselves alongside their work.
People find new things frightening, especially if they are only discussed and decided in corner rooms and information is not shared evenly. A hierarchical model does not harness skills to achieve the best possible results across the organisation. In a lean organisation, everything is open and information is available to every shareholder.
"Kari and I are the managers who facilitate the company and work for our owners, the shareholders. Leadership at Kipinä for the founders is that we guide, support and bring all information out into the open," Olli explains the leadership philosophy.
"The structure of Kipinä, joint decision-making, is behind everything, but we must remember that it is not the only saviour. Transparency has to be maintained all the time. With this model, you don't need People Lead people or separate values on the walls of the company. The community builds them together," Kari continues, adding that "Will HR have a role in the future? What will that function look like? At the very least, culture cannot be built from a single function as a given."
The symposium developed the Kipinä community and ways of working - together
"Kari and I are the managers who facilitate the company and work for our owners, the shareholders. Leadership at Kipinä for the founders is that we guide, support and bring all information out into the open," Olli explains the leadership philosophy.
"The structure of Kipinä, joint decision-making, is behind everything, but we must remember that it is not the only saviour. Transparency has to be maintained all the time. With this model, you don't need People Lead people or separate values on the walls of the company. The community builds them together," Kari continues, adding that "Will HR have a role in the future? What will that function look like? At the very least, culture cannot be built from a single function as a given."
"Human software development will disappear in 10-20 years"
Artificial intelligence has a huge impact on companies, especially those in the software development sector. You need to keep up with the pace of change if you want to succeed. The traditional structure of top-down management and people as pawns does not work in this changing world.
A new way of working and managing requires a change of attitude in both managers and experts. Leadership and responsibility will have to be shared across the whole company. For this to happen, power must be transferred from management to the whole community and the community must be able to take responsibility for the company and its activities.
Kipinä's model works, but it requires constant work and there is no room for compromising on transparency and values. Putting people first, even before business, is also a good way to achieve good results.
Kipinä is a community of experienced industry experts. Currently, there are 33 people in Kipinä and turnover is growing all the time.
"4.1 million in the first full financial year is not enough turnover. With Olli, we want to build a community that can survive anything in the current pace of change. Whatever the future holds - we will boldly go towards it together as a community. By always putting people and community first, we will also achieve results," Kari explains the duo's thoughts.
Growth is still going strong. In January-May 2023, Kipinä's turnover has increased by 53.3% compared to the same period last year.
Trust in colleagues is one of the cornerstones of Kipinä.
An exceptional company requires exceptional founders
Kari and Olli have a lot in common, not just Kipinä. With a technical background and inspired by their own experiences to try something new, they are both driven by a passion for doing things differently and helping others succeed and fix what is wrong.
"We are similar and different enough to make it work. For both of us, people-first thinking is important, and we never argue about values. Not once have we had to argue about what to do or what direction to take Kipinää", Olli and Kari talk about entrepreneurship together.
In the same way that Kari and Olli, as in Kipinä in general, value different views and listen to each other.
"This is not a sprint, or even a marathon, we are on an ultra. We need to be fit and well. And trust in each other must be and is at a high level thanks to transparency. This openness, trust and the importance of being able to cope extends to everyone in Kipinä," Kari reflects.
Kari and Olli see that this is the only model for the future if you want to make it. There is a conflict between the power structure and individual well-being and productivity. Respect for all others, both within the organisation and in relation to partners, eliminates this conflict. And that is the key.
The question is, why is goodness and fairness the exception in the industry? At best, however, relationships are such that even painful issues are discussed openly and decided together. The same applies to the employment relationship.
Who?
Kari Kellokoski
Before Kipinä: Roles in software development and IT project consulting from consultant to manager as entrepreneur and at HiQ, among others
Age: 49
Activities: cycling, swimming, running, padel, badminton, hunting
A tip for business leaders: the business you run is what they say it is when you're not there. Think about what you want your company to be talked about and act accordingly. Everyone can see through the bullshit.
Olli Laine
Before Kipinä: Sales and business leadership roles Vincit, HiQ. Previously a software developer in several companies.
Age: 40
Activities: skiing, cycling, padel, running
A tip for management: make sure you have time for yourself and for thinking. For me, the best way is to exercise.