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Ryan Healy is a recent college graduate. He is a founder of 
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When you hear the term Gore Tex, the first words that most likely come to mind are snow, jackets, fleeces and warmth. The first words that should come to your mind are, “How can I get a job there?”
You heard me right, W.L. Gore. The company behind the famous weather-resistant fabric, Gore Tex, has embraced one of the most cutting-edge workplace cultures for over 50 years.
Why is W.L. Gore so great? First off, there are no job titles. All of Gore’s employees are called, “associates,” and bosses are referred to as “sponsors,” whose main role is to help others find their best positions in the company.
Secondly, there is no such thing as passing an idea up the proverbial ladder for approval. Bureaucracy is a waste of time, and Gore recognizes that. If an employee has a new product idea, which Gore highly encourages, they simply seek out other “associates,” and either get to work or scrap the idea.
The only way to become a manager at Gore is to find people who want to work for you and get their support. Doesn’t that sound refreshing? It’s like natural selection for the right reasons. Rather than, “Who do you know and how many degrees you hold?” it’s “Who wants to work for you and why?”
Headquarters are located in Newark, DE, a relatively small, but beautiful college town. Being 45 minutes south of Philadelphia and an hour and a half from the beaches and casinos of Atlantic City means that there’s always plenty of entertainment.
According to a 2006 workforce management article by Patrick Kiger, because of their unorthodox “flat” organization, Gore has trouble recruiting the right talent to come work for them. The company receives 38,000 applications annually and hires a mere fraction.
To me, this is mind blowing. Maybe it’s because of Gore’s rural Delaware headquarters or maybe it’s because they aren’t out actively recruiting young people. But I can’t think of many places I would rather go to work.
If Gore isn’t going to come to campus career fairs, then Employee Evolution will just have to bring them to you. Check out their website, apply for a job, go tour the plants and see if they really are as cool as Malcolm Gladwell describes in one of my all time favorite books, The Tipping Point.
W.L. Gore had it right 50 years ago and they still have it right today. Hopefully more startups will take note and launch with a “flat” structure because, as established hierarchical companies are finding, shifting from the norm is not an easy thing to do.
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Hmmmm…sounds like an intriguing company. Getting to be a manager should be based on people skills, no doubt. But perhaps Gore Tex’s problem is they’ve gone too far: I wonder if letting others decide who they want to work for ends up creating some really weird politics and power-brokering alliances, etc.
I’d be leary of that environment (not to say I wouldn’t interview in a place like that, but I’d do so with my eyes and ears very open). Also, I’d be wary of being isolated from a cluster of other great innovative companies that you might find in a bigger centre (which makes each company compete harder for employee talent and loyalties, and learn from each other).
I always wonder about companies that have such a loose organization. Is it really possible to work like that?
For example, HR associate Jackie Brinton says the following about the kind of people they need; “Someone who can handle a degree of ambiguity, as opposed to ‘Here’s my job and I only do these tasks.’ Someone who’s willing to lift his or her head up from the desk and see what the business’ real needs are.”
This sounds all fine and good, but what happens when reality intrudes? I have tons of ideas and things I would love to do to improve my company. But frankly, I have too much work to do as it is. How can you really just decide to go and work on some new idea or project when you have a list of tasks to complete that is a mile long? When you have 50 emails from people who need something TODAY? When you have deadlines to meet that are already behind schedule?
What happens when your big idea is accepted, and then you become responsible for that new project….. forever? And that responsibility and extra work is added to all the old projects and responsibilities your dreamed up before? Plus all your regular job duties you had when you started your job.
Then you find yourself working 18 hour days becuase you DON’T say “Here’s my job and I only do these tasks.”
I’m not saying it CAN’T work, because obviously it works for some companies. I just don’t understand HOW.