That's bad enough. It was, after all, one of the nation's premier growth companies. It could be again. But the odds are certainly longer than they were back in March of 1997. So buy and hold doesn't always work, even with high-quality stocks.
Successful investors do it.
Warren Buffett, the wealthiest investor in the world, is known for holding companies for a very long time. And index funds, which have been exceptionally successful for more than a decade, also do very little selling. You should be aware, however, that Buffett likes to have some measure of control over the companies in which he invests. For example, Buffett is a director in Coca-Cola, which gives him some say in how the company is run. When you have that kind of inside access and control, you have an edge that other investors don't.