Earlier this year, Genesis10 became certified as a Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE). Announcing the news, we shared that CEO Harley Lippman, who is the sole owner of Genesis10, is neurodivergent. Although this may be new information for some readers, Harley has always been transparent about his neurodiversity.
In a 2013 interview with Forbes, he stated, “For me, it strengthens other traits that I have, like intuition, and being able to read people. It also forces me to ask people to give me the bottom line first.”
Harley’s intuition and ability to read people, along with other traits common among neurodivergent individuals, have helped him grow Genesis10, which he founded in 1999, into one of the largest IT staffing firms in the U.S., according to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).
Harley’s approach to leading Genesis10 encourages transparency, curiosity, deep listening, and a focus on what matters. It has become the cornerstone of our culture and how we distinguish ourselves from our competitors.
What does diversity certification mean for staffing buyers?
Why is news about our certification important? And what does it mean for buyers of staffing services? First and foremost, working with a disability-owned business enterprise like Genesis10 helps to raise awareness around disability issues and neurodiversity. Working with a certified DOBE also can help meet corporate supplier diversity goals.
Equally important is understanding how Harley and Genesis10’s creative approach to coming up with solutions to some of the most complex challenges can help a company be more innovative and competitive. When you start with the end result or bottom line in mind and do not follow traditional linear thinking, as Harley does, your approach to solving a problem takes a distinctive, creative path because you do not start with constraints in mind.
In 2009, when companies were looking for ways to cut costs due to the economic recession, many outsourced their operations and IT to less expensive locations such as Costa Rica, Latin America, India, and the Philippines. Most of these companies did not consider moving parts of their business to locations across the U.S. where labor was less expensive. Many of these U.S. locations, away from big cities, had plenty of qualified resources: professionals who may have worked in industries that experienced layoffs and were looking for good jobs.
For a client with complex and global projects that needed to ramp up very quickly with a large number of contingent staff, we came up with a creative solution that allowed them to take advantage of an exceptionally large pool of professional talent in secondary and tertiary markets across the U.S. Genesis10 created our first U.S. domestic delivery center, in Kansas City. Soon after, we were creating additional centers in Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, and Charlotte. Over a decade later, our solution has now become a mainstay of our clients’ workforce strategy and resourcing value chain.
For the consultants who work in our centers, the model connected them to new clients with challenging opportunities to advance their careers in a demanding and competitive global business environment.
We have a similar story about how our Dev10 talent creation program came to be. Dev10 helps our clients solve the shortage of software developers and helps recent college graduates and career changers with a passion for coding, who want to launch new careers in technology without the financial barriers that put a tech career out of reach for many, by paying for the training and providing a salary to the students during training. In the words of our associates, Dev10 changes lives.
How is Genesis10 different from other staffing companies?
We’ve differentiated ourselves by embracing the driving force behind our organizational culture, which ultimately translates into exceptional results for our clients. Don’t just take our word for it.
In 2023 alone, the industry has recognized Genesis10 with:
A Best of Staffing Client award for providing a superior experience for clients. Fewer than 2% of all staffing agencies in the U.S. and Canada earn Best of Staffing for client satisfaction. -
A spot for Harley on the Staffing Industry Analysts 2023 Staffing 100 North America list, which consists of the most influential people in the staffing industry. 
A Best Place to Work in the New York Metro Area Award, as rated by employees and reported by Business Insider. It’s the third consecutive year that Genesis10, which has headquarters in New York, has received this award.
When you present Genesis10 with a challenge, you can be sure that we will meet your needs and exceed expectations. Working for a non-traditional thought leader like Harley enables us to focus on what matters most to our clients; providing innovative, cost-effective solutions that deliver consistent results.