Believing the company could distinguish itself by the way its employees comported themselves, House and Siebel demanded from the start and demand to this day high standards of professionalism in everything from business objectives to dress and physical environment. There are no scraggly, barefoot techies in shorts and tee shirts tossing Nerf balls through baskets hanging in office doorways. People are required to dress appropriately for the job they do. Employees who face customers must wear ties and jackets, hose and heels. Everyone arrives on time and prepared for meetings.
Doors are always open, even conference room doors.
We had done it before We have a bias for action, and we lead by example, personally illustrating the behavior we want. You have to do it. You can t just say it For a relatively new company, we have a very disciplined approach. It s a return to rational, old-fashioned values. And while other technology companies might dot-bomb around them, House sees Siebel growing and thriving in the future while holding its core values intact.