James Goodnight SAS

for saying no to Wall Street (repeatedly) and yes to the people who really matter

Jim Goodnight is no stranger to readers of Inc. In 1982, SAS, the software company Goodnight founded in 1976 with fellow North Carolina State graduate student John Sall, was No. 15 on the Inc. Private 100, which evolved into the Inc. 500 the following year. By 1986, SAS had achieved Inc. 500 Hall of Fame status, having earned a place on the Inc. 500 list for five consecutive years. Today, SAS is a $1.3 billion company and the world's largest privately held software company, and while it long ago graduated from our list, it is now an almost yearly fixture on lists of the best companies to work for. Goodnight, by the way, was No. 62 on Forbes' most recent list of the 400 wealthiest individuals. And he still has no intention of sharing any of it with Wall Street.

"The fact that we're private means that we can make long-range decisions," says Goodnight. "We don't have to be worried about quarterly profits or about pleasing Wall Street. We just please our employees and our customers." So when the economy forced most other companies to lay off employees in 2001 and 2002, Goodnight took a contrarian's approach. "We decided there were so many people looking for jobs that we should take the opportunity to bring in some really first-class people," he says. "We accepted that our profits would be down, but that we would build for the future." SAS increased its domestic work force by 8.5%. And 2003 brought double-digit revenue growth.

Those new employees landed more than just jobs. They gained entree into one of the most progressive corporate cultures in the country. SAS's headquarters in Cary, N.C., looks more like a college campus than most college campuses do. There's a 77,000-square-foot health and fitness center, playing fields for soccer and softball, an on-site medical clinic, a dining hall with live piano music, two daycare centers, an eldercare referral service, unlimited sick days, and a masseuse who makes the rounds several times a week. Goodnight's explanation for this largesse is fairly simple: "If we keep our employees happy, they do a good job of keeping our customers happy." If SAS has a relatively low profile for a company of its size, that's because its software is employed mostly in corporate environments, in serious jobs. Companies use it to gather and mine huge amounts of data for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, anti-money-laundering programs, customer-relationship marketing, pharmaceutical research, and copious other applications.

Recently, Goodnight created a corporate division called SAS in School, which develops Internet-based software for classroom use and reflects his intense passion for education reform. More of that passion can be seen in his co-founding of a private day school, called the Cary Academy, which Goodnight hopes will be emulated for its small class sizes and extensive use of technology. The academy uses SAS in School's software, as well as SAS's athletic facilities. "We're a big brother to the school," says Goodnight. "All corporations should get involved in the school system. The future of our country is in producing highly educated people. Otherwise we'll lose our high-tech jobs to India and China."--Donna Fenn

Donna Fenn is a contributing editor.

1. Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
   because "optimism is essential"
2. Betsey Johnson, Betsey Johnson
   for her stylish life
3. Russell Simmons, Rush Communications
   for his powerful example
4. Scott Cook, Intuit
   because he learns, and teaches
5. Sergey Brin & Larry Page, Google
   for their integrity. And, well, for Google
6. David Neeleman, JetBlue
   for creating an airline fit for humans
7. Tom Stemberg, Staples
   for doing it exactly right
8. Jack Stack, SRC Holdings
   for going naked
9. Judy Wicks, White Dog Enterprises
   because she's put in place more progressive business practices per square foot than any other entrepreneur
10. Davin Wedel, Global Protection
    because he's a lifesaver
11. Pat McGovern, International Data Group
    for knowing the power of respect
12. Steve Jobs, Apple Computer, Pixar
    because we like to be seduced
13. Lance Morgan, Ho-Chunk
    because a man must make his own arrows--Winnebago proverb
14. James Goodnight, SAS
    for saying no to Wall Street (repeatedly) and yes to the people who really matter
15. Stella Ogiale, Chesterfield Health Services
    for doing good while doing well
16. Rhonda Kallman, New Century Brewing
    for seizing opportunity-- again and again
17. Laima Tazmin, LAVT
    because she's a lot like other kids--and then again...
18. Laura & Pete Wakeman, Great Harvest Bread
    for living a little --no, a lot
19. Andra Rush, Rush Trucking
    for rolling up her sleeves
20. Kathleen Wehner, Cirrus Aviation
    for refusing to quit
21. Frank Venegas, Ideal Group
    because he parlayed a little bit of luck into a lot of good fortune for others
22. Dan Wieden, Wieden + Kennedy
    because he's a true independent
23. John Sperling, Apollo Group
    because he stirs the pot, and apparently always will
24. John Stollenwerk, Allen-Edmonds
    for his commitment to U.S. workers. We also love the shoes
25. Mel Zuckerman, Canyon Ranch
    for showing the way

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