Reverse mentoring: what CEOs and company founders learn from the next generation

According to research published in Wolters Kluwer, a global software and services solutions company, young entrepreneurs have developed a natural inclination to problem solving and self-search for answers.In addition, they are more likely to start businesses that have a positive impact on the world, use technology to their advantage and are more likely to be flexible and adaptable, according to the survey. All these characteristics are viewed positively by more experienced entrepreneurs who are already with the consolidated brands in the market.

Influencing the business culture, exchanging experiences, revolutionizing the market, listening with humility, ability to innovate, among others, are lessons that are on the learning list of experienced leaders. CEOs and founders of companies from various segments tell what they learn on a daily basis with the new generation of entrepreneurs who work in their companies. 

“The richness of diversity across generations has directly influenced our” culture”, Lucas Andre, CEO and Founder of Fast Tennis.
Diversity between generations generates a rich and balanced culture between agility and maturity. “Our business model needs to be flexible and adaptable to consumer transformations, and the meeting of generations has been fundamental for this. A point that greatly enriches our discussions and decision making is the multiplicity of our team, which has members of various ages. The richness of diversity between generations has directly influenced our culture.With the plurality of ideas and the daring to question the status quo, young people bring an innovative, flexible and adaptive mentality, which often complements the maturity and experience of the most senior professionals” states the CEO of Fast Tennis practice and the network that brings an innovative experience of tennis to a sports club.

“The exchange of experiences is critical to the success of the” business, Claudinei dos Anjos, CEO and founder of Anjos Mattresses & Sofas
The entrepreneurial spirit is something innate, regardless of age. Some people are born with this ability to innovate, create and seek opportunities, while others, if they do not demonstrate this, may never develop.“An example of this is my son Leonardo dos Anjos, who in the franchise project, took responsibility for expansion and, when studying and connecting with great entrepreneurs, helped in evolution. He exemplifies what it is to be an entrepreneur: always seeking to improve and take on new responsibilities and evolve. It is essential to invest in young people, who are more able to understand innovations in social networks, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. This generation is more attuned to contribute to an entrepreneurial spirit, with no counterpart can take on their own business.

“The prejudice against the younger ones cannot exist, for they are making a revolution of the market”, Ycaro Martins, CEO and founding partner of Vaapty
In a more dynamic world, the younger generation of entrepreneurs who have been revolutionizing the market through technology.“They are creating from banks to startups, create solutions that connect us and bring effectiveness to the consumer through technology and creativity. They are people who consume a lot of data and have more insights with these tools. At the same time, we realize that it is a generation that also risks, creates and invests time in seeking things of great impact in the market”, CEO and founding partner of Vaapty. The entrepreneur also has the habit of listening to bring insights and solutions that will influence in the use of the monthly business.

“Working the exercise of humility listening to these young people is more than a piece of advice, it is a necessity for permanence of innovation and continuous improvement in the company”, and, Cristiano Hoffmann, chief operating officer of DoctorFit
Generation Z, brings with it a faster mentality for problem solving, speed of solutions, ease and familiarity with technologies, explains Cristiano Hoffmann, director of operations at DoctorFit, a franchise of personalized training studios, with an innovative methodology. “Logo, if you can connect the vision of the company with the momentary purpose of each one, even if he does not stay long, he will add a lot to the company. Another point is that because they are digital natives, use new systems and processes that involve online tools becomes easier when you have entrepreneurs of the generation Z”, says the director of operations of DoctorFit counts on a business sojourn.

“Diversity of thought creates a healthy balance and broadens the” business vision”, Rafael Schinoff, CEO and founder of the Nursing Standard
 The new generation has a lot to teach, especially in relation to technology and new work formats, such as hybrid and remote. “As someone from generation X, I realize that young people come to the market with a more flexible mindset, less attached to the traditional CLT model, and more open to exploring different ways of acting. This trend forces companies to adapt, which I consider a necessary evolution. We, as entrepreneurs, need to be willing to integrate these changes into our business. In our company, for example, the communication and marketing sector has been directly influenced by the vision of young entrepreneurs. They bring a natural facility to adapt marketing strategies to the new way of being effective, we have a more effective, impacting on the way of marketing, and changing our target-making, we have. 

“The creativity of young people, combined with the experience of the most veteran, can generate great innovations for the business”, and, Rosane Argenta, CEO and founder of Vaccine Free Health. 
This exchange between generations is enriching, one of the greatest insights was the importance of being more objective in management, using tools and systems to accompany the business. While the younger ones can learn resilience and patience, the more experienced gain agility when adopting innovative tools and methods.“As an experienced leader, I learned a lot from the new generation of entrepreneurs and the younger members of the team. An interesting example came from a franchisee who brought a playful concept of another segment to our operation. She has customized vaccination plans and created thematic characters, such as the “Baby Mundi Travel”, a plan for babies who travel. This approach has not only caught the attention of clients, but also made the vaccination moment more enjoyable for the children and more enjoyable to the more entrepreneurs, we have more accurate, we have made the way of the children.

“Young entrepreneur has much more environmental and social responsibility”, Rodrigo Bourscheidt, CEO and founder of Energy+.
Energy+ has many employees aged between 20 and 25 years, who think in a more integrated and communicative way. Several tools were implemented from ideas of this team such as Chatbot, the integration between the platforms and the visual identity of the company. “A Tarsila, a young woman of generation Z, started in the company as an attendant, went to receptionist and very fast took on leadership roles in Energy+. She solved distributed generation problems that we had before her arrival. When we founded our association, she became the vice president and is now franchised from the network. What I can say is that this generation is the extraordinary strength of the business, it is also the power of the business that is the other side, it is the business that is the one that is the other, it is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is connected, the one, the other, the one that is the one that is the one that is the other, the one that is the one that is the one that is the other, the other, the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the other, the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that is the one that.

“O that catches my attention is the detachment of young people to the” changes”, Cristiano Correa, CEO of Ecoville
Young people give valuable lessons and insights, especially regarding the speed of learning. They are prepared to learn in many different ways, whether by writing, audio, video, school, mentoring and everything else.“O that draws my attention is detachment from change, because they are focused on the result and, being a younger generation, they have very close immediacy. In Ecoville there is a young collaborator trained in Law. She was a lawyer, but she was not found in the profession, so she tried to be surprising, and also did not identify herself, finally came in Marketing.The first two areas are accurate. This generation teaches me that often, I want to have the right to take it, I know it, I think it is always give it, I know it, I think it is necessary to have the right to have the right to have the right to take it, to have the right to know it, to have the right to know it, to know how many times, to have the right to have the right to know it, to have the right to know it, to have the right to have the right to have the right to know it, to have the right to know it, to have the right to know it, to have the right to have the right to have the right to have the right to have the right to know it, to have the right to have the right to have the right to have the right to know it, to know it, to have the right to know it.

“I think it is important to exchange knowledge and skills that comes from this new generation of” entrepreneurs, Joao Piffer, CEO and founder of ProRir.
Young people today tend to have a more direct communication, less hierarchical, are more open to feedback and collaboration. They are very focused on the agility of processes and often adopt a constant innovation mentality, encouraging experimentation and rapid adaptation, allowing companies to quickly adjust to market changes. “Before we worked as a company that was responsible for all the management of the digital marketing of the network. In addition to not working with the diversity of images and videos that included different ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientations and skills, we had a very great delay in communication, interaction and involvement in the social networks was always put in a responsible way to get a new place.

“The new generation always brings innovation to the company”, Luis Schiavo, CEO and founder of Naval Fertilizers.
Promote meetings, technical training and exchanges of ideas are fundamental to challenge the young people of the company to create innovative projects to do different things within the agro that is so traditional. For this, Naval Fertilizantes also conducts constant national and international trips with the entire team to seek the best in the market in terms of innovation. “We had a case in Smile (MT) in which the employee made the application of a product and in addition to evaluating by the look, he sent do the analysis of leaves and proved the positive result. This helped us a lot to close the business, turned a case and now we are doing in all the customers, always changing, as a pattern of the young business is always looking for the business.

"The new generation of young entrepreneurs challenges traditional methods and with innovative strategy and lots of technology will shape the future of business”, Renata Barbalho, CEO and founder of Spain Easy.
Working together with these young people is not only an opportunity to share experiences, but also to learn from their innovative spirit. Fundamental to remain competitive in an ever-changing scenario. “My participation in several entrepreneurial clubs in Brazil and in business councils in Spain offers me the opportunity to interact directly with this new generation of entrepreneurs. In many of these meetings, both in Brazil and in Spain, exchanges are enriching. I give and receive advice, learning from the innovative ideas of these young entrepreneurs. They are easily connected to technology and show that, even being young, they have a mature vision about the challenges of the current market. The value of this exchange of knowledge between generations is both an acting and a continuous basis that strengthens the experience.1.

“Young people who bring legal insights, especially with regard to the connectivity and innovation” Angelo Max Donaton, CEO and founder of Lavo.
Cultivating coexistence between people of different ages and extracting the positive side of each experience is a fundamental factor for Lavo. In order to simplify and democratize the self-service laundries in the country, the network extends this goal also to the relationships of its service providers and everyone has an open channel for exchanges and suggestions. “ Our operation is all outsourced and we have within the companies that provide us service many young people who bring legal insights, especially with regard to the difficulty and innovation. I believe it is necessary to listen to this generation, leave the channel open all the time and always encourage the different opinions. In the network, we have this diversity and this diversity helps us in small gestures, as we realized in the step of the step of the youth.

“With today's young people the exchange of knowledge flows through much chatting and alignment”, Felipe Buranello, CEO of Maria Brasileira
Empathy and availability for knowledge exchange are striking characteristics in young people today. “This new generation has a side to care very much and truly with people in all aspects. I believe that we always care, but the arrival of entrepreneurs of this generation seems to have completed us, overflowed what was already good. Amid so many benefits that living with this generation brings us, one of the main positive points that I see in young people today is that the exchange of knowledge flows through a lot of chat and alignment. Therefore, I believe in the importance of treating with priority the exchanges between team and leaders, to always be inside and not only be the person who also feels that is the moment that speaks, but also the CEO who speaks is listening to listen to the moment that is the person who also. 

“The energy and willingness of new leaders are valuable characteristics”, Eleandro da Costa, CEO and partner of Jumper! Professions and languages
The new entrepreneurial generation has a leadership profile marked by collaboration and involvement, according to Eleandro da Costa, CEO and partner of Jumper! Professions and languages: “we many young people taking leadership positions, both in the franchise and in the franchisor, and this has been fundamental to boost our culture of teamwork and innovation”, in the teaching network, which has more than 40 professional and foreign language courses, for children and adults, the CEO says that the initiative of the young Kids‘ came from a young team, a concrete example of how the new generation is bringing innovative ideas to the brand.