Month: May 2023

It’s been years since I have written about batteries, and given how quickly things change in that sector, it’s about time I revisited the topic. Often, the buzz around batteries focuses on new types which might be able to topple the king, which is currently lithium ion. That’s not where all the research and innovation is focused, however. Many organizations continue to work on making lithium ion batteries even better than they already are, and in that respect, there has been a recent breakthrough. May I present to you – the silicon anode.

What Is an Anode, and Why is Silicon Better?

As I am wont to do, let’s start with an explainer. An anode is one of the fundamental components of any battery. Take, for instance, the AA batteries that are hanging out in your television remote. On one end of the battery, specifically the side that is flat, you’ll see a “-” sign. This is the anode, with the other side showing a “+” sign for the cathode. Together, anodes and cathodes are the electrodes of a battery, and they serve as the bridge between the energy stored in the battery and the electric circuit to which the battery is designed to connect. In particular, the anode is the side of the battery into which an electric current flows, while the cathode is where the current exits. And in the case of a rechargeable battery, like those in my electric vehicle or this laptop I’m hammering away on, the roles of the anodes and cathodes can reverse depending on if the battery is charging or discharging.

Since rechargeable lithium ion batteries first hit the market in 1991, the anode has primarily been made of carbon in the form of graphite. From the beginning, however, scientists have flirted with the potential of silicon instead. This shouldn’t surprise you, when you consider how silicon has revolutionized electronics. Silicon is an excellent semiconductor, and it’s incredibly abundant, accounting for 27.7% of the Earth’s crust. For much the same reason that we want to use it in computer chips, we also want to use it in batteries. Unfortunately, when historically used as an anode, silicon would swell and shrink when charging and discharging. So it would work really well for a little bit, and then it would physically break the battery. Not ideal.

And so, many different companies have been working on novel fabrication methods of silicon anodes. Turns out that a few of them have broken through. Take OneD Battery Sciences, who has figured out how to put silicon nanowires into a graphite anode to increase how much energy the battery can hold. They’re working with General Motors to deploy improved batteries in electric vehicles. Group14 Technologies out of Washington State recently announced that construction has begun on a one-million-square-foot battery manufacturing facility for silicon battery components. Like OneD, they’ve built a carbon-based scaffolding for the anode into which silicon can be added without breaking the anode upon charge and discharge. They project their components to be in EV batteries by the end of 2024. But there’s another company that has me even more excited for the potential of silicon anode batteries.

The Best Lithium Ion Battery in the World

Allow me to introduce you to Amprius Technologies. What sets them apart is that they have fabricated an anode for lithium ion batteries that is made 100% from silicon. The results, compared to a standard graphite anode lithium battery, are remarkable. First and foremost is energy density, which is the amount of energy a battery holds per unit of weight. I looked up the energy density on the batteries in my 2019 Chevrolet Bolt, and I found an estimated 131 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). Amprius’s site advertises an energy density of 450 Wh/kg. That’s more than three times! And energy density basically scales linearly, so if you could hypothetically put the same amount of Amprius batteries by weight in my car, it would triple its range. I would have a car that could reliably drive 600 miles per charge.

The next jaw dropping statistic is recharge rates. It turns out that silicon not only helps a battery hold more charge, but it also allows that battery to soak up more energy faster. Whereas a typical graphite anode lithium battery needs about 30 minutes connected to a supercharger to go from empty to 80% charge, Amprius advertises less than 6 minutes on their website. That’s a game changer. If their batteries offer a reasonable range for EVs of at least 500 miles, then we are looking at a 5-minute recharge getting you almost 400 miles of additional range. That’s about how long it takes to fill up an internal combustion engine vehicle at a gas station.

The even better news is that you don’t have to take Amprius’s word for it. Two months ago, an independent third party verified the performance characteristics of their latest battery technology. The latest iteration of Amprius battery clocked in at a whopping 500 Wh/kg.

A Couple of Headwinds That Might Slow the Uptake in Electric Vehicles

There are two bits of bad news, however. First, their batteries have some limitations. For one, the cycle life of the batteries can be as low as 200 cycles, which basically counts how many recharges a battery can handle before it loses performance. This number is lower than the floor for graphite anode batteries, and it likely corresponds to a battery that is primarily charged at high voltages (like a supercharger). In addition, their anode fabrication technique is not “drop-in-ready” with current electric vehicle battery manufacturing, so it’s not likely that their batteries will show up in your next car. They instead are focusing on specialty products, like drones and electric planes.

That leads to the second bit of bad news. At least part of why they are focusing on these markets is because they are military-related, and Amprius is able to command higher profit margins. I lament the fact that the highest margin use for the best mobility battery the world has ever seen is a military application. I’d like to think that maybe, just maybe, solving the climate crisis might be the highest and best use for breakthrough battery technologies. Alas, that’s just me shouting into the wind that is our current economic paradigm.

The news is overwhelmingly good here though. Multiple companies have now cracked the code on utilizing silicon to enhance lithium ion batteries, and it’s only going to get better and cheaper from here. As a result, we have a promising new technological breakthrough that should aid significantly in the decarbonization of transportation globally.

A national survey from Carol Cone ON PURPOSE (CCOP) and The Harris Poll found that only 50% of U.S. employees believe their company cares about more than just making a profit. This can result in a less engaged workforce and ultimately lost value, given that purpose-driven companies experience a 1.5x greater growth rate, according to McKinsey.

Additionally, companies whose employees feel “a sense of purpose at work and believe their leaders set clear direction” outperform the stock market by nearly 7%, according to Great Places to Work. Purpose-driven companies see retention rates 40% higher than other companies, according to Deloitte.

The Harris Poll/Cone Employee Purpose Engagement Survey also established that 68% of employees believe it is not enough for companies to just generate profit—they have a responsibility to positively impact employees, customers, communities, and the environment.

“Purpose is vital ‘connective tissue’ for organizations and their employees,” said Carol Cone, CEO of Carol Cone ON PURPOSE. “This research highlights gaps in how employees perceive their company, which should send a strong signal to business leaders that they are losing critical value by not fully embedding or optimizing their purpose, or the reason they exist beyond profits alone.”

Insights from the research were used to develop a new measurement methodology, Employee Purpose iQ (EPiQ), to help companies of any size or sector determine how their purpose impacts employees and ultimately drives business results. Based on a survey of an organization’s employees, EPiQ is grounded in targeted metrics related to leadership, credibility, employee engagement / commitment, and purpose activation. EPiQ results in a custom roadmap that helps organizations understand where purpose is strong or weak in relation to its impact on employee performance, experience, and engagement.

“A company’s purpose is known to be an important business asset, but before now, it has been hard to measure the impact of purpose on the workforce,” said Wendy Salomon, Managing Director of Reputation and Corporate Strategy for The Harris Poll. “EPiQ provides a diagnostic tool to help companies understand and manage purpose as a key internal asset, and to reverse trends toward quiet quitting, burnout, and disengagement.”

EPiQ also helps organizations use existing resources and investments more effectively. “When purpose is not embedded in an organization, it can’t deliver on its potential to inspire and enhance employee performance,” Cone said. “Previous research conducted by CCOP and The Harris Poll, Purpose Under Pressure, showed that purpose is often implemented inconsistently and not deployed in key functional areas. EPiQ helps organizations identify gaps, while illuminating areas of strength to build upon and ultimately ensure purpose produces returns across the enterprise.”

EPiQ helps companies understand the impact of their investments in purpose related to leadership trust, talent attraction and retention, belonging, performance, and influence on decision making. EPiQ’s precise findings reveal opportunities for deeper purpose awareness, engagement and ultimately impact. The diagnostic tool is designed to address questions like:

Where are the biggest gaps or opportunities to engage employees?How to use purpose to drive talent retention and talent acquisition?Do employees credibly believe in the company’s commitment to its purpose?What aspects of purpose are the biggest motivators by employee type?

“Successful companies are committed to measuring what matters. Now EPiQ allows them to reliably add purpose to their scorecards,” said Salomon.

The research delivers an EPiQ score, which is an aggregate of the organization’s Credibility, Talent, and Activation scores. The score is supplemented by a ~10-page presentation, designed to be C-suite ready, identifying strengths and areas of greatest opportunity.

To learn more about EPiQ or schedule a conversation, please visit CCOP’s website.

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About Carol Cone ON PURPOSE

Carol Cone ON PURPOSE is a pioneering consultancy helping companies, brands, and organizations harness the power of social purpose to advance their business and social impact. CCOP’s proven approach meets clients at any point on their  purpose journey to unlock opportunities to build reputation, inspire employees, exceed financial targets, and support the greater good. The consultancy is led by Carol Cone, regarded as one of the founders of the purpose movement in the early 1980s and has been internationally recognized for her work.

About The Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public

opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963. It is now part of Harris Insights

& Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the

authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow.

We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first century corporate

reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic

media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and

advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible.

This post was written by Karla Samdahl, vice president and global head of executive talent acquisition and board integration at Cisco.

One of the most interesting parts of my job leading executive talent acquisition is hearing about someone else’s career journey, finding out how they have navigated through their career progression, and understanding what motivates them.

At Cisco, I’m able to combine my passion for this process—and for making it as inclusive as possible—with the Social Justice Actions we launched in 2020. That year, Cisco transformed its longstanding advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion into a global, enterprise-wide commitment to bolder action and greater impact focused on a commitment to the African American/Black community.

At the director and executive levels, our talent acquisition strategy gives us a competitive advantage to attracting top diverse talent. We look at areas of emerging business growth and approach recruiting differently by identifying what innovative leadership looks like from a talent perspective. We are creating a recruiting culture that recognizes strong talent and expertise, and we engage talent proactively.

To increase full spectrum diversity in our hiring framework—as well as on our board of directors—we cultivate talent pools, expand our executive prospect community, and generate diverse active talent benches. Specifically, we have focused our efforts on:

Leveraging diverse candidate slates and developing a pipeline of diverse talent to increase all facets of diversity throughout the hiring and promotion processCultivating a company culture of sponsorship across dimensions of differenceIncreasing opportunities for Cisco executives and senior leaders to get proximate to diverse talentProviding developmental offerings that support the growth of women and underrepresented minority executives

Our efforts are working. We continue to exceed our African American/Black (AA/B) hiring aspirations year over year. Our goal when we set out in 2020 was to increase AA/B talent 25% by fiscal year 2023. I am proud to say that we have increased AA/B talent at Cisco 70% in non-executive roles, 96% in director-level positions, and 182% among vice presidents and above. We also welcomed John D. Harris II and Marianna Tessel to our board of directors.

Top talent wants to work for companies that understand diversity gives them a competitive edge. Recently, Cisco was named the #1 Best Company to Work For in the U.S. by Fortune and Great Place to Work for the third year in a row. With this extraordinary recognition, our U.S. workplaces join Cisco teams in 12 countries around the world that are also currently ranked #1, including Spain and Portugal.

The success of our hiring framework is supported by Cisco’s purpose to Power an Inclusive Future for All, as well as by the differentiated experience we offer top diverse leadership talent:

Scale of Business: Cisco provides clear upward mobility opportunitiesMarket Presence: Cisco is the premier technology brand in the world, reimagining applications, securing the enterprise, transforming infrastructure, and powering hybrid work for a global and inclusive futureGeographic Flexibility: The ability for talent to remain in their current location has proven to be one of Cisco’s most significant competitive advantages in attracting and retaining talentCisco Executive Talent Magnets: Our executive leaders are thought leaders within the industry and Cisco ambassadorsEvidence of Commitment to Changing Business: Cisco’s efforts to drive the most trusted customer experience in the industry through our innovation, choice, and extraordinary people greatly reassures executive candidates that Cisco is an employer of the future

When I talk to leaders who are looking for upward mobility in their career and the best position to use their subject matter expertise, our conversations naturally progress to what’s most important to them, job motivations, and interests. I’ve had leaders tell me, “You should be my life coach!”

“To know that I’ve helped someone consider what they are excited about in their career, in life, and how their expertise can make immense change in the industry and impact the world, is something special.”

This is one of the best compliments I receive, and it validates to me that I’m doing what I love for purpose. To know that I’ve helped someone consider what they are excited about in their career, in life, and how their expertise can make immense change in the industry and impact the world, is something special.

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