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About
Program Highlights
How to recognize and exploit opportunity in a downturn.
The role values play in successful transitions.
How visualizing the future helps formulate strategy.
Voted the Number 1 company to work for in 2009 by Fortune magazine, NetApp has successfully navigated through every major cycle in business: from the frenetic mentality of a startup, through the tumultuous period of the dot-com boom and bust, and finally to the relative stability of a mature enterprise organization. The company’s core values of candor, integrity, teamwork, and simplicity not only contributed to Fortune’s ranking, notes Dave Hitz, but also helped it transition through these growth phases—and thrive.
To survive and grow through business cycles, NetApp transformed itself from a technology startup into an enterprise vendor, diversifying in both products and customers. Now, in setting a strategic course and planning for future growth, Hitz uses a habit he developed of visualizing “the future as history.” Describing the future in the past tense, including the real steps needed to get there, helps prepare the company and employees for the inevitable transformations to come.
Dave Hitz and James Lau founded NetApp in 1992, and as executive vice president, Hitz is responsible for the future strategy and direction of the company. Earlier, Hitz worked at Auspex Corporation and MIPS Computer. Before his career in IT, Hitz worked as a cowboy, getting valuable management experience by herding and branding cattle. He holds a BS in computer science and electrical engineering from Princeton University.
How to recognize and exploit opportunity in a downturn.
The role values play in successful transitions.
How visualizing the future helps formulate strategy.
Voted the Number 1 company to work for in 2009 by Fortune magazine, NetApp has successfully navigated through every major cycle in business: from the frenetic mentality of a startup, through the tumultuous period of the dot-com boom and bust, and finally to the relative stability of a mature enterprise organization. The company’s core values of candor, integrity, teamwork, and simplicity not only contributed to Fortune’s ranking, notes Dave Hitz, but also helped it transition through these growth phases—and thrive.
To survive and grow through business cycles, NetApp transformed itself from a technology startup into an enterprise vendor, diversifying in both products and customers. Now, in setting a strategic course and planning for future growth, Hitz uses a habit he developed of visualizing “the future as history.” Describing the future in the past tense, including the real steps needed to get there, helps prepare the company and employees for the inevitable transformations to come.
Dave Hitz and James Lau founded NetApp in 1992, and as executive vice president, Hitz is responsible for the future strategy and direction of the company. Earlier, Hitz worked at Auspex Corporation and MIPS Computer. Before his career in IT, Hitz worked as a cowboy, getting valuable management experience by herding and branding cattle. He holds a BS in computer science and electrical engineering from Princeton University.
