Born from corporate cell division less than nine years ago, Fortive didn’t emerge as a startup in the economic ether but rather diversified from the successful Danaher Corporation. Now forging its own path, Fortive acquires organizations while maintaining their independence, absorbing their best practices into its own toolkit.

“When we acquire businesses, if we’re learning from them, that’s the best scenario. We then take that practice into our toolkit and make it a Fortive business system tool available across the organization,” said SVP and Chief People Officer, Stacey Walker. “As we've acquired businesses, we’ve absolutely uplifted and shared those best practices.” Walker discussed those best practices in hiring and retaining talent during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Seattle conference. 

When employees at Fortive start considering their next career move,  Walker wants the first stop to be the company’s own talent marketplace. “There is opportunity across these portfolio companies,” Walker said. Fortive’s 16 operating units run independently, “but we try to ensure there is fungibility between businesses as we think about people and opportunity.”

The approach is paying off. Around 75% of Fortive’s management openings last year were filled internally, many by people who leapt from one subsidiary to another. Fortive wants the same cross‑pollination for professional‑level jobs. AI can help with that process, says Walker. Eightfold, the AI platform behind Fortive’s internal job board, matches employees’ skills with open roles and nudges them to apply before they look outside.

Internal mobility isn’t limited to middle management, though. Walker mentioned Fortive's company spin while simultaneously preparing for a CEO and CFO hand‑off at the parent company, all with “ready‑now” leaders who were groomed inside the organization. “That readiness gave the board the strategic flexibility to create shareholder value and new opportunities for our people and customers.”

Walker said her HR team sits at the table “every step of the way,” from scouting targets to post‑merger integration. Leaders have a commitment to continuous improvement, inclusion, transparency, humility, and high expectations.

Once the ink dries, HR maps out the first 12 months for the acquired workforce, clarifying what changes and what stays put. “Success in year one means success,” Walker said. “Failure in year one means a very long road to get things back on track.”

Part of avoiding that long correction track like wasted time, resources, and revenue, is looking out for red flags. “The red flags culturally are a lot of self promotion from the leadership team without understanding what’s working well and what's not working well in their business.”

It's important for people leaders to offer a strategic point of view about the business, says Walker. “That's about demonstrating value, having a point of view, and not being afraid to give it.”

Along that path of value, and creating value, Fortive’s partnership with Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) offers a novel approach to intrapreneurship: Employees with big ideas get to leave on purpose. They join PSL “sprints” to validate ideas on how to reach a new market. Even if the idea flames out, “folks come back to the business.” When an idea sticks, Fortive co‑invests and they pursue it. 

Of course the downside of venture‑style endeavors is the failure rate, but the upside, and immeasurable success, however, is cultural. “Our folks learn, grow, [and] develop, especially around the speed in which PSL moves,” she said. “When you talk to people who’ve gone through those sprints, they have a different mindset as they think about development of new products, delighting customers, and thinking about markets differently.”

Walker says that the ability to learn and grow is more easily done in-person. “There is an apprenticeship element to learning and growing from different people. Learning the business is hard to do if you’re not in it every day,” she said. “That doesn’t mean if you’re remote there’s no opportunity for you, but it means that you want to be intentional and purposeful about being in the office, understanding the business, understanding how your business makes money and loses money and understanding the language of the business.” 

She also encourages people to break out of their comfort zone when it comes to making the next step. “The biggest, most significant development in my career was going into a role where I wasn’t sure I [was] going to be successful,” she said. “Comfort is the enemy of growth, and you have to push yourself into those situations where you’re not certain. And for everyone in the room at any stage in your career, if you’re comfortable, you’re not growing.”

Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real-estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.

(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)