The company also has a “Superstar” program that recognizes employees for exemplary work. Nominated by their peers, winners have their biographies and photos posted throughout the company and have lunch with Tu and Sun.
“We just wanted to make sure that the people are being heard and respected,” says Tu. “We always want to think about decisions we’re making and how they may cause pain for other people.”
So far, the decisions have been good ones — in 2004, the company broke $2 billion in revenue. But that success hasn’t kept Tu and Sun bottled up in ivory towers. They don’t just have an open-door policy — they have a no-door policy, opting to work in cubicles among their employees and department heads.
“It’s a very open environment,” says Tu. “We all sit outside in the open and have these cubicles. David has his, and maybe 20 feet away, I have mine. We are very visible. The cubicles are not high, maybe 3 feet tall.”
Sun made the move before Tu, who had to be coaxed out of his fishbowl by his partner.
“One day I just moved my desk out there,” says Tu. “I was a little bit skeptical, but after a month, I never wanted to work in offices anymore.
“When you sit next to people, you break the barriers. There are no titles. The advantage is communication. You don’t have to go out of your office or call someone on the phone from your office. That’s horrible.”
