The Rack We Built:
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Creating Company Culture
In 1998, the thought of launching a startup in San Antonio was ludicrous—but that didn’t stop Rackspace’s founders from planting their flag in the heart of Texas. Just over two decades later, the scrappy little underdog that no one believed in is a billion-dollar business with more than 6,000 employees worldwide.
One of the first ten account managers hired at Rackspace was Lorenzo Gomez. He was there when the company became the host for YouTube and saw the decade-long stretch where each month brought one-hundred new hires.
The rocket ship growth was exhilarating but exposed Rackspace’s early flaws, including avoiding customers at all costs. When the mission shifted to becoming one of the world’s greatest service companies, everything changed. Suddenly, Rackspace had a rallying cry—“fanatical support”—and a culture that few companies could match.
The Rack We Built is Lorenzo’s recollections from those days, told only as he can tell it: through stories packed with style, heart, and humor. With the principles in the book, you can create the type of culture that makes people want to volunteer their best.
Biographies & Memoirs | Professionals & Academics
“Your core values will determine the entire culture—and therefore, success—of your organization. It’s important to get them right.”
Podcasts
Hear Lorenzo speak about The Rack We Built on these podcasts.
Video
Listen to Lorenzo discuss The Rack We Built in his keynote speech for San Antonio Startup Week.
Other Books by Lorenzo
Tafolla Toro
Alternating between shocking stories from his youth and letters written to his 12-year-old self, Lorenzo shows young people how to retake the battle of their mind by dealing with what is true and dismantling the lies that lead to self-deception.
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Cilantro Diaries
Lorenzo went from the stockroom of a grocery store to the boardrooms of two private companies without a college degree. In his inspiring and humorous true story, he shares the steps he took and the guiding principles that got him to the top.
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The Bully in Your Pocket
Within these pages, Lorenzo Gomez not only imparts practical wisdom for dealing with the scourge of cyberbullying but also shares poignant narratives illustrating how this issue has profoundly affected today’s youth and even himself.
Read More ›
