W.L.

Gore Cultural Web Model

W.L. Gore & Associates

W.L. Gore was founded in the late 1950s and is still a privately held company with a $3 billion annual
revenue. The company’s core focus is on product innovation. Their well-known, innovative discovery
is the remarkably versatile polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which they use to produce a
variety of products in numerous industries, from aerospace, life science, military, and
microelectronics to technology and communications. Their focus on technology and innovation has
earned them over 2,000 patents worldwide in a number of fields ranging from electronics and
medical devices to polymer processing.

While scientific discoveries and innovative products have played a significant role in their long-term
success, it is the well-known lattice organizational structure/culture that has been one of the primary
factors allowing W.L. Gore to sustain not only the business for more than 60 years now, but also
their position on the Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list for almost two decades.

Stories
The past events and people talked about inside and outside the company. Who and what the
company chooses to immortalize says a great deal about what it values and perceives as behavior
that should be encouraged.

W.L. Gore:
Although Gore is a product innovation company, and is known for some break-through technologies,
the culture is one of the main features that has gained prominence for the company across many
sectors. A great story is of the staff member who was asked by a client if she could please have a job
title that they can use for their purposes. She promptly had business cards printed calling herself
“Great Commander”. This story illustrates how Gore allows staff to be creative, but also how
informal its structure is.

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “Gore is a different kind of workplace. Instead of the traditional ideas of bosses and employees,
we have leaders, diverse teams that work together, and personal commitments that each
Associate makes — and keeps — to help our enterprise grow.”
● “We want to be a product leader in any market that we enter.”
● Interacting with companies like Nike and Timberland, one constantly hears feedback that there
is “something special about people from Gore.”

Rituals and Routines

The daily behavior and actions of people that signal acceptable behavior. This determines what is
expected to happen in given situations, and what is valued by management.

W.L. Gore:
Gore’s associates describe the company as a place to create change. Employees are expected to take
up challenges, get sponsorship for their ideas and commit to what they would like to achieve. This
approach shall help Gore employees to be motivated and passionate about their daily work that
eventually results in innovative products. They are also expected to speak to other associates before
taking actions that might endanger Gore’s reputation. A person-to-person direct communication
shall help associates to discuss their new ideas or get support when facing problems.
W.L. Gore Cultural Web Model

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “People here really enjoy getting up and coming in to work every day. I know that sounds
clichéd, but it’s an uplifting space.”
● “If you want to come in, push the same button and expect the same results everyday […] this is
not what we are faced with at Gore. If you want to partner with R&D folks, and work in an
environment that is very challenging, we have that.”
● “At Gore, we believe that if you're passionate about your work, you’re naturally going to be
highly self-motivated, focused and ready to do whatever it takes to be successful and have an
impact.”
● “Everyone at Gore consults with other knowledgeable Associates before taking actions that
might be "below the waterline,” causing serious damage to the enterprise.”

Symbols
The visual representations of the company including logos, how plush the offices are, and the formal
or informal dress codes.

W.L. Gore:
Unlike some companies that have become well-known for their cultures that include a number of
perks, such as foosball tables, napping pods, and fancier titles, Gore does not define its culture by
such incentives. On the contrary, the company is proud of its informal reporting structure and
“higher water lines”. Some other symbols that differentiate W.L. Gore from other companies is their
jargon or the language they use. For example, managers are known as “leaders” or “sponsors”,
whereas all other employees are known as “associates”. Employees start as an associate and get the
opportunity to sponsor a number of other associates in their W.L. Gore lifetime and encourage them
to see their strengths.

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “We had culture before ‘culture’ was a buzzword,” says Leslie Nachbar, an associate in fabrics
who has been at Gore for five years and says she’d be happy to stay forever. “It’s authentic. It’s
not a façade or marketing strategy.”
● It starts with that word, “Associate.” We’re more than employees; we’re trusted stewards of our
business.

Organizational structure
This includes both the structure defined by the organization chart, and the unwritten lines of power
and influence that indicate whose contributions are most valued.

W.L. Gore:
While Gore has an equivalent of CEO to represent the company to stakeholders outside the
company, the structure of the company is flat, known as “lattice”. This structure is characterized by
direct communication channels among employees, no fixed or assigned authority, sponsors instead
of bosses, and tasks organized through commitments. As such, Gore has no rigid hierarchies, but
everyone is strongly interconnected and can team and re-team based on the challenges they would
like to take.
W.L. Gore Cultural Web Model

It’s the lattice organization structure that has allowed Gore to be successful in the long-run and has
been discussed and analyzed among both academics and industry consultants from many
perspectives, such as innovation, leadership, organizational culture, and organization structure.

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “The culture is based on one-to-one communication, based on establishing relationships.”

● “Our lattice structure guides how we operate and communicate; through this structure,
Associates engage with whomever is needed to get our work done.”
● “If you need another Associate’s input, you don’t need to ask his or her leader; you can contact
the Associate directly.”

Control systems
The ways that the organization is controlled. These include financial systems, quality systems, and
rewards (including the way they are measured and distributed within the organization).

W.L. Gore:
The company’s control system can be defined by their guiding principles of fairness, freedom,
commitment and “waterline”. Fairness is emphasized by encouraging all employees to be fair to
everyone at all times and in all circumstances with both inside and outside stakeholders. W.L. Gore
represents freedom by supporting, encouraging, and permitting associates to build knowledge and
skills as well as giving them responsibilities and a variety of work activities to choose from. To
underline commitment, W.L. Gore allows associates to choose their work and make the commitment
accordingly. Commitment is seen as self-commitment at W.L. Gore. Waterline requires associates to
consult with other associates prior to taking action, known “below the waterline” actions that may
jeopardize W.L. Gore’s reputation or financial circumstance. Peer assessment is another tool that
Gore uses to measure employee compensations.

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “Empower the individual. That scares a lot of companies because you think you’ll lose control.” –
Gore’s HR team.
● “We encourage each other to grow in knowledge, skill, scope of responsibility and range of
activities. We believe that Associates will exceed expectations when given the freedom to do
so.”
● “Anytime that we hire somebody, it is a very serious commitment. We are investing in that
person and in turn that person is investing in Gore. We take that commitment very seriously. We
want you to feel growth and invest in our company by providing the ideas, and along the way we
try to have little fun while we are doing it.”
● “As long as you learn as you go through the process of making mistakes and things don’t quite
work out as you thought they would, and you can apply those learnings to the next thing you do,
it is an overall success. Making mistakes can be expensive but learning from them and
integrating the learning into the next thing, it pays out much bigger in the end.”

Power structures
The pockets of real power in the company. This may involve one or two key senior executives, a whole
group of executives, or even a department. The key is that these people have the greatest amount of
influence on decisions, operations, and strategic direction.
W.L. Gore Cultural Web Model

W.L. Gore:
Leadership is defined by fellowship and decisions are made based on a democratic approach, where
associates choose to work on what they want and thereby make commitments to each other. As
such, teams become challenge-specific where employees have the freedom to team and re-team.

Some quotes by Gore employees:

● “We are not assigned tasks; rather, we each make our own commitments and keep them.”
● “Sponsorship is something unique to Gore.”
● “Sponsoring people by bringing those lessons along the way to help people to see the strengths
and positives that they have in themselves. That equates the happiness. Your sponsor is your
mirror and you see different aspects of yourself through your sponsor.”

Cultural Paradigm
The cultural paradigm consists of core beliefs among employees of an organization. It is informed by
the six other parts of the cultural web.

To understand the nuances of a company’s cultural paradigm, the cultural web model can help break
down an organization’s complex culture, analyzing it from six different perspectives: stories, rituals
and routines, symbols, organizational structure, control systems, and power structures. These
cultural elements help an organization to maintain its strategy within the paradigm and improve
incrementally. However, as the environment changes, the cultural paradigm may no longer be
relevant due to limited decision-making in congruence with the core beliefs of influencing
organizational members. Therefore, a strategic drift may occur leading to a flux period. As a result, to
adjust to the environmental changes, radical strategic change will need to occur.

W.L. Gore:
At Gore, while technological advancement remains a central focus, the core beliefs among Gore
employees is the driver of this advancement and the underlying tenet is to change the world while
having fun doing it. W.L. Gore’s 60-year success story as one of the largest US private companies, it
remains interesting how W.L. Gore has achieved such long-term success within its cultural paradigm
without facing strategic drift.

Reflection
Reflecting on Gore’s six elements of the cultural web, as also summarized in its paradigm, one can
conclude that Gore’s main mission does not only lie in advancement of technology, but also and
more importantly in its culture and people. Gore sees both the company culture and people as the
core driver of their innovation. To facilitate its associates, leaders and sponsors with their work and
innovation, Gore focuses on a number of details. It firstly encourages new associates by inspiring
them with some of their highest achievements in the history of Gore. Moreover, by providing its
employees with responsibilities and challenges that they can choose from, Gore makes
challenge-specific and fun work a core routine and ritual of the company.

To represent Gore’s culture and values in a symbolic manner, Gore identifies its employees as
leaders, sponsors and associates, which not only empower them but also differentiate them from
other companies. Such differentiation and empowerment leads to creating a sense of belonging
among its employees.
W.L. Gore Cultural Web Model

The flat or also known “lattice” organization structure in Gore enables employees to have a direct
and person-to-person communication, where people can work without managerial pressure, and
instead with the support of their sponsors. To avoid risks of reputational or financial jeopardies,
Gore encourages communication and collaboration among its associates prior to taking action. This
approach immediately influences the power structure of the company where employees work based
on democratic decisions, take responsibility for their own tasks, and are self-committed.

Such a cultural paradigm has helped Gore to continuously make large technological advancements
and avoid strategic drift in the long run.

Sources:

About Gore: Our Beliefs & Principles: ​https://www.gore.com/about/our-beliefs-and-principles

At W.L. Gore, 57 years of authentic culture: ​http://fortune.com/2015/03/05/w-l-gore-culture/

W. L. Gore and Associates: The Gore Experience:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AhCqmdVAF8

Fortune – 50 Best workplaces for flexibility: W. L. Gore & Associates:

http://fortune.com/best-workplaces-flexibility/w-l-gore-associates-29/

W.L. Gore & Associates – A case study in work environment redesign (by Deloitte):
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/w-l-gore/DUP345_Case-Study_W.-L.-
Gore_vFINAL.pdf

Grønning, T. (2016). ​Working Without a Boss: Lattice Organization with Direct Person-to-person
Communication at WL Gore & Associates, Inc.​ SAGE.