By 1995, Kingston had made enough successful hires to reach $1.3 billion in sales. That prompted Tu and Sun to take out advertisements in the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times saying, “Thanks A Billion!” and listing each employee name. They ran similar ads thanking their suppliers and distributors.
“That was not some well-planned marketing thing,” says Tu. “We figured we have to say something about it. And then maybe the best way to do this is ‘Thanks A Billion!’ in publications all over the world.”
The next year, after 80 percent of Kingston was acquired by Softbank Corp. of Japan for $1.5 billion, Tu and Sun allocated $100 million in employee bonuses.
Not surprisingly, two years later, Kingston began a run of five straight years as one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Kingston has won similar recognition for its work environment from other publications, but Tu shies away from the publicity.
“I don’t want to discredit being listed,” says Tu. “But I think if we start becoming conscious of it — we have to be listed every year — maybe we are doing something that has less substance, and that’s not good.
“Just let it happen. If you do the right things, it will keep the value. The most important thing is that we feel we are doing things the right way.”
That thinking continues to work for Tu and Kingston Technology.
“We are all born equal,” says Tu. “We all have the same desires and pain and happiness. It’s all about coming to work together. Hopefully, what we have done means something to ourselves and other people. Hopefully, we have made some difference in some people’s lives. That’s the success.”
HOW TO REACH: Kingston Technology, www.kingston.com
