Episode 21: David Arfin

If you want a boring guest, you should skip this episode. My guest has worked in over 10 countries on three continents – in the private sector, non-profits and in government across multiple cleantech sectors. After all of that, you might expect David Arfin would be picked to star in the next round of Dos Equis commercials as “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” Instead, he’s the CEO of NineDot Energy, a New York-based laboratory for clean energy business model innovation. Today I’m tapping David’s varied, fascinating career for management and leadership tips we can use in running our businesses. 6:39 – Follow the 1-10-100 rule. When you identify an issue early, it costs you a point. If you put off solving it, it costs you 10 points. If you really let it fester, it costs you 100 points. Help the future you and make the hard decisions early. 10:06 – Policy that determines whether your company’s product or service will be adopted depends on actions taken by local utilities and local government. All of these are moving pieces – and they're moving regularly. It is the ecosystem of policies that can enable or destroy opportunities for the adoption of clean energy. 20:02 – As a company, NineDot Energy prioritizes behavioral interviews to eliminate, or at least weed out, biases so that they can hire and develop a new cohort of values-based learners with different environments. 23:46 – What makes him optimistic: This new generation of young people care deeply about the planet that they are inheriting. It’s a belief system they will pass onto their children and grandchildren. “The interest level and the caliber of this generation gives me great hope that climate issues are going to be addressed by people with the right motivations, the right skills, the right talent, and the right commitment.”