
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
A company has $n (n \geq 2)$ employees, and each employee is required to vote for one other employee as the best employee. Determine the maximum value of $\mathrm{k}$ such that no matter how the votes are cast, it is always possible to select $\mathrm{k}$ individuals where none of them has voted for any of the others.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user