Business Insider: Why It’s Important To Let Employees Try New Things

By Alison Griswold | Business Insider

Before Andres Reiner became CEO of data company PROS, he worked with the engineering, product, and marketing teams.

Today he believes that multi-platform experience is what helped him succeed, and so he encourages employees to do the same. “A person that’s coming from a different background doesn’t think, ‘We’ve always done it this way,’ and can bring a new perspective,” he tells Business Insider.

Reiner says his own experience in engineering helped him be more innovative when he moved to the product side. He admits that his path was fairly unusual.

“Being in engineering, you always thought, ‘Oh, the only path is engineering,'” he said. “But people can enjoy moving across the organization.”

He keeps that in mind when he manages employees, and tries to find the best situation for their development.

“It’s not about the product, it’s about the people and investing in the people, and creating an environment where employees can really reach their full potential,” Reiner says.