classic case06
Classic Case 6
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Frank Shipper
Salisbury State University
Charles C. Manz
Arizona State University
To make money and have fun.
W. L. Gore
On July 26, 1976, Jack Dougherty, a newly minted MBA from the College of William and Mary, dressed in a dark blue suit and bursting with resolve, reported for his first day at W. L. Gore & Associates. He presented himself to Bill Gore, shook hands firmly, looked him in the eye, and said he was ready for anything.
What happened next was one thing for which Jack was not ready. Gore replied, “That’s fine, Jack, fine. Why don’t you look around and find something you’d like to do.” Three frustrating weeks later he found that something, dressed in jeans, loading fabric into the mouth of a machine that laminated the company’s patented Gore-Tex membrane to fabric. By 1982, Jack had become responsible for all advertising and marketing in the fabrics group. This story was part of the folklore that was heard over and over about W. L. Gore. By 1991, the process was slightly more structured. New associates took a journey through the business before settling into their own positions, regardless of the position for which they were hired. A new sales associate in the Fabric Division might spend six weeks rotating through different areas before concentrating on sales and marketing. Among other things, he or she might learn how Gore-Tex fabric was made, what it could and could not do, how Gore handled customer complaints, and how it made investment decisions.
Anita McBride related her early experience at W. L. Gore & Associates this way:
Before I cam to Gore, I had worked for a structured organization. I came here, and for the first month it was fairly structured because I was going through training and this is what we do and this is how Gore is and all of that, and I went to Flagstaff for that training. After a month I came down to Phoenix, and my sponsor said, “Well, here’s your office, and here’s your desk,” and
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Frank Shipper
Salisbury State University
Charles C. Manz
Arizona State University
To make money and have fun.
W. L. Gore
On July 26, 1976, Jack Dougherty, a newly minted MBA from the College of William and Mary, dressed in a dark blue suit and bursting with resolve, reported for his first day at W. L. Gore & Associates. He presented himself to Bill Gore, shook hands firmly, looked him in the eye, and said he was ready for anything.
What happened next was one thing for which Jack was not ready. Gore replied, “That’s fine, Jack, fine. Why don’t you look around and find something you’d like to do.” Three frustrating weeks later he found that something, dressed in jeans, loading fabric into the mouth of a machine that laminated the company’s patented Gore-Tex membrane to fabric. By 1982, Jack had become responsible for all advertising and marketing in the fabrics group. This story was part of the folklore that was heard over and over about W. L. Gore. By 1991, the process was slightly more structured. New associates took a journey through the business before settling into their own positions, regardless of the position for which they were hired. A new sales associate in the Fabric Division might spend six weeks rotating through different areas before concentrating on sales and marketing. Among other things, he or she might learn how Gore-Tex fabric was made, what it could and could not do, how Gore handled customer complaints, and how it made investment decisions.
Anita McBride related her early experience at W. L. Gore & Associates this way:
Before I cam to Gore, I had worked for a structured organization. I came here, and for the first month it was fairly structured because I was going through training and this is what we do and this is how Gore is and all of that, and I went to Flagstaff for that training. After a month I came down to Phoenix, and my sponsor said, “Well, here’s your office, and here’s your desk,” and
References: Aburdene, Patricia, and John Nasbitt. Reinventing the Corporation. New York: Warner Books, 1985. Angrist, S. W. “Classless Capitalists,” Forbes, May 9, 1983, pp. 123–24. Franlesca, L. “Dry and Cool,” Forbes, August 27, 1984, p. 126. Hoerr, J. “A Company Where Everybody Is the Boss,” Business Week, April 15, 1985, p. 98. Price, Kathy. “Firm Thrives without Boss,” AZ Republic, February 2, 1986. Trachtenberg, J. A. “Give Them Stormy Weather,” Forbes, March 24, 1986, pp. 172–74. Ward, Alex. “An All-Weather Idea,” The New York Times Magazine, November 10, 1985, sec. 6. Weber, Joseph. “No Bosses. And Even ‘Leaders’ Can’t Give Orders,” Business Week, December 10, 1990, pp. 196–97. “Wilbert L. Gore,” Industry Week, October 17, 1983, pp. 48–49.