Prior to exploring Gore 's model, one should note that W. L. Gore & Associates is a US-based manufacturer that specializes in making products that utilize advanced materials. The company was founded in 1958 by Bill Gore and is best known for its Gore-Tex Fabrics. Presently, the company boasts over 10000 employees and $3 billion in revenue. The company’s quick growth and market success shows that Gore’s model is certainly something that may be interesting to other corporations.
First, W. L. Gore & Associates consistently earns top scores by the Great Places to Work Institute, meaning that the employees at W. L. Gore & Associates are pleased with the company and give it their votes, loyalty and commitment. One of the hallmarks of Gore’s model is the democratic decision making, where the company’s associates have freedom to choose the work they do and make commitments to their colleagues regarding what they will accomplish. The whole model fosters challenge-specific teams, where the employees are free to join or leave their team and re-team with another challenge-specific team. W. L. Gore & Associates does not have any formal managers, yet has democratically-elected leaders, who emerge organically depending on the specific project needs and the qualities that each of the employees possess. There are no “bosses” but there are “sponsors” who assist the junior associates to work more effectively by selecting a team based on their abilities and skills
Not only are the employees free to work on the projects that interest them and be leaders of such projects, W. L. Gore & Associates also permits the so-called “dabble time”, or 10% of the employee’s time to be spent on new things, ideas, projects or initiatives. The company prides itself on being one of the only corporations to allow their employees to have time to work on projects that are personally
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