The 1008 employees of Germany’s SMA Technology have plenty of reasons to be proud of their accomplishments. Just 25 years ago, their company spun off from the University of Kassel to become one of the world’s leaders in the field of photovoltaics, converting and storing the sun’s light as usable energy.

The company has an unusual organisational structure, which puts decision-making in the hands of employees and shares profits generously. “Reason instead of power” is the motto when decisions are made in an open discussion.