580 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-CREATION
COMMENTARY
As with many of the concepts that Napoleon Hill promoted through his writing,
the concept of employee participation soon became common practice in
American business. In every decade since, there have been standout examples
of companies or industries that have employed the concept to boost sales or
improve productivity. One of the most interesting variations on the theme is the
so-called new economy and the dot-com companies that exploded on the scene
in the late 1990s. Though the Internet industry proved to be a disappointment
to many, it has also had some of the most dedicated employees the business
world has seen.
In the beginning, in virtually every Internet-related start-up, it was common
practice that the employees who signed on early received only modest pay. Yet
the stories of kids barely out of school pulling all-nighters to finish writing some
computer program, or subsisting on pizza and caffeine in a cramped cubicle in
a converted warehouse, became the folklore of the industry. What kept them
working late into the night was partly the fact that they were doing what they
loved, but just as important was that they had a stake in the success of their
company: they got stock options that they could exercise when the companies
went public. And when the companies launched their IPOs, many of those
employees suddenly found themselves millionaires overnight.
The story of the instant Internet millionaires is of course a very dramatic
example of employee participation. Less dramatic but no less significant is the
story of how a store that sold household goods, clothing, appliances, and such,
used the same principle to become an extraordinary store.
In 1962 Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas,
selling name-brand products at discounted prices. It soon led to a chain of stores
across the country. In 1970, after taking the company public, Walton introduced
an employee profit-sharing plan dependent on the profitability of the store. He
believed that if an employee's success were dependent on the company's
success, they would naturally care more about the company and the result would
mean an increase in sales.