Social Problem: High unemployment rate in France, affecting older and less qualified workers most

Solution: Government encourages companies to create more jobs for those workers who receive minimum wage by paying an annual subsidy (9,681 euro per employee).

In response to this policy, ACTIF was founded. Richard Rogulski, a retired IBM executive recruited 10 colleagues who joined the early-retirement scheme to start ACTIF. Their idea is to collect, refurbish, and sell used personal computers in Paris, and their target customers are primary schools, nonprofit organizations, and low-income individuals. They employed and trained 50 formerly unemployed workers per year, and reached total sales of 2 million euro. Their management philosophy is not to control, and let their employees decide when to expand. Availability, commitment, and capacity to delegate are key characteristics of ACTIF leaders.