124: The People-First Culture That Built a World-Class Company | Tom Mendoza
Release Date:听
April 15, 2025
Release Date: Jan 30
Building an Extraordinary Company Culture: Leadership Lessons from NetApp鈥檚 Transformation
Is your organization struggling to maintain high performance and strong culture during challenging times? How do you create a workplace where people don鈥檛 just show up for a paycheck, but genuinely care about the company鈥檚 success and each other?
In this illuminating episode of 鈥淭he Learn-It-All Podcast,鈥 Tom Mendoza, former President of NetApp, discusses how authentic leadership, clear communication, and unwavering values can transform an organization鈥檚 culture and drive extraordinary results. He shares his remarkable story of leading the NetApp through the dot-com crash and watching their stock plummet from $156 to $6. Despite this crisis, under his leadership, the company not only survived but grew from $800 million to $6 billion in revenue and was named the #1 company to work for in America.
What You鈥檒l Learn:
Why the 鈥渄eath by a thousand cuts鈥 approach to layoffs destroys morale, and how NetApp鈥檚 leadership handled necessary cuts with transparency and dignity
The power of making 20 brief appreciation calls daily to recognize employees doing great work and how this practice spread organically throughout the organization
How to handle high-performing employees with toxic attitudes, including a practical technique for evaluating employee performance using the 鈥渟trengths vs. areas of improvement鈥 test
The five essential elements of NetApp鈥檚 culture: attitude, candor, catching people doing something right, leadership over management, and embracing change
Why empowering employees to take risks and supporting them even when they fail is crucial for innovation and growth
The importance of treating departing employees with respect and appreciation, as it significantly impacts how current employees view the organization
The value of creating a culture where people put the company鈥檚 needs before individual interests without sacrificing personal growth and fulfillment
In This Episode:
(00:00:00) Introduction to Tom Mendoza 鈥 Damon welcomes Tom and sets the stage for a conversation on leadership, culture, and resilience.
(00:03:00) Leading Through the Dot-Com Crash 鈥 Tom recounts how NetApp navigated a stock drop from $156 to $6 and the leadership decisions that helped the company rebound.
(00:10:30) The Power of Culture and Employee Loyalty 鈥 How NetApp built a culture where employees stayed, even in the toughest times, and why trust in leadership matters.
(00:16:00) Recognizing Employees and Leadership Through Service 鈥 Tom shares his philosophy on catching people doing something right and the impact of a simple thank-you call.
(00:27:00) Five Key Leadership Principles 鈥 Tom discusses the pillars of a great culture, including attitude, candor, recognition, leadership, and embracing change.
(00:42:00) Encouraging Risk-Taking in Organizations 鈥 How leaders can create an environment where employees feel safe taking risks and driving innovation.
(00:50:00) Lessons on Leadership, Family, and Legacy 鈥 Tom reflects on the lessons he hopes to pass on to his children and what makes a great leader in today鈥檚 world.
About Our Guest:
Tom Mendoza was instrumental in transforming NetApp from a startup to a multi-billion-dollar enterprise over his 25-year career. As President from 2000 to 2008 and later as Vice Chairman, he led the company through remarkable growth, increasing revenue from $600,000 to $1 billion in just six years. Mendoza championed values-based leadership and a high-performance culture, which helped NetApp earn the #1 spot on Fortune鈥檚 Best Companies to Work For list in 2009. A sought-after speaker on corporate culture, Mendoza frequently lectures at leading institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, and Notre Dame, where he endowed the Mendoza College of Business.
Resources Referenced:
by Susan Lucia Annunzio
Dave Botterell鈥檚
, Harvard Business Review author
on LinkedIn
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