What practices guide innovation at W. L. Gore?
Answer: First, it works with potential customers. Second, Gore has a distinctly egalitarian culture; it lets employees choose projects and appoints few product leaders and teams. The company likes to nurture "passionate champions" who convince others a project is worth their time and commitment, and leaders have positions of authority because they have followers. Third, all research associates spend 10 percent of their work hours on "dabble time," developing their own ideas. Promising ideas are judged according to a "Real, Win, Worth" exercise: Is the opportunity real? Can we win? Can we make money? Fourth, Gore knows when to let go.