Dalgaard, the CEO of fast-growing HR software firm SuccessFactors, says he never quite fit in growing up in Denmark. His high-octane energy level made him seem crazy to other Danes, he says. And he questioned the anti-American sentiment he witnessed. One episode stuck out: a TV broadcast in which a correspondent harshly criticized the U.S.

    "She was drinking a Coke and wearing Levi’s," Dalgaard recalls. "I was like, ‘There’s something wrong with this picture.’ "

    So around the age of 16, he visited the U.S.

    "I felt such a connection with people," Dalgaard recalls.

    He also jibed with American ideals of open-mindedness and believing in the impossible. "Early on I just decided I was going to have an impact on the world," he says.

    Among his visions: become the first non-U.S.-born president of the United States.

    America’s capitalistic credo also suited him. Dalgaard calls himself an "entrepreneur at heart."

    But Dalgaard, 40, spent much of his career working in large companies Novartis and Unilever. Eventually he rose to be CEO of a Unilever business in Denmark. He also had a spot in a program that groomed high-potential employees as possible successors to the overall CEO role of the consumer products titan, whose brands include Vaseline, Dove and Lipton.

    The entrepreneurial pull was too strong, though. Dalgaard gave up the Unilever post and came to America with a vision of launching a software company that would promote excellent employee performance. He started the firm in 2001 and initially struggled to woo investors. But he eventually landed venture capital money, saw sales take off and managed to raise more than $100 million in an initial public stock offering last year.

    SuccessFactors is on pace to take in more than $100 million in revenue this year.

    With his talk of revolutionizing the workplace and willingness to lock horns with other software leaders, Dalgaard can come across as the latest big ego in the U.S. technology scene, and an American capitalist through and through.

    But Dalgaard still has some Dane in him, beyond his blue eyes and height of 6 feet, 4 inches. He says Denmark does a better job of fostering a respect for the individual.

    "Sometimes in American business," he says, "people become tertiary. Not secondary, tertiary."

    He also appreciates the way Danes have come to manage by winning over workers rather than bossing them around.

    "When you’re in Denmark, there might be a hierarchical leader, but there’s nobody just telling people what to do," Dalgaard says. "You have to earn that right."

    Dalgaard has blended the lessons of his two countries in the philosophy that governs his firm.

    Among the founding principles he spelled out in 2001 was this: "No jerks! Our organization will consist only of people that absolutely love what we do, with a white hot passion," he wrote. "We will have utmost respect for the individual in a collaborative, egalitarian, and meritocratic environment—no blind copying, no politics, no parochialism, no silos, no games, no cynicism, no arrogance—just being good!"

    SuccessFactors hasn’t been a complete utopia for workers. The company let go dozens of employees this year, its headcount dropping from 736 at the end of 2007 to 694 at the end of March.

    "We get rid of low performers and/or cut our losses if some initiative is not working out, and that’s what happened," a company spokesman said in a statement.

    Still, SuccessFactors was named one of the 100 best places to work in the San Francisco Bay Area in both 2007 and 2008.

    Dalgaard’s firm has come under scrutiny for posting net losses, and it faces tough competition. But SuccessFactors recorded nearly 100 percent revenue growth last year and has earned positive analyst reviews.

    Although it’s too soon to say for sure, Dalgaard’s Danish-American mix could prove to be a recipe for success.

Workforce Management Online, July 2008 -- Register Now!