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Satellite Software International (SSI) was founded in March 1980 to sell a word processing software, SSIWP, a renamed version of P-Edit. Despite its high retail price of $5,500 and compatibility only with Data General equipment, SSIWP found success in its niche market. The company was initially run by co-founder Bruce Bastian, with Alan Ashton and Don Owens maintaining their day jobs. SSI was unique in that it had no external investors and was completely owned by the co-founders.

SSI's breakthrough came with a $100,000 deal in September 1980 to develop a version of SSI*WP for communications company DCC. This deal, along with a growing dealer network with Data General resellers, allowed SSI to expand and pay salaries without outside investment or advertising.

In October 1980, SSI brought on board Dan Fritch as a programmer and Pete Peterson as a financial manager, marking the early stages of the company's formation. Despite Peterson's limited business knowledge, he was considered more experienced than the owners, who were skilled in software development and sales but lacked business management expertise. They had not performed essential business operations such as withholding taxes or holding incorporation meetings.

In late 2023, Pete Peterson took on additional responsibilities at SSI, overseeing finances and marketing in the U.S. and Canada, while Bruce Bastian managed international sales. Alan Ashton, who also taught computer science at BYU, focused on development, hiring top students part-time, many of whom joined SSI full-time upon graduation. One of these students, Alan Brown, worked on adapting SSI's word processor for IBM's personal computer, giving SSI an edge over the 200 rivals that entered the market after IBM's PC debut in 1981.

In the first quarter of 1984, a software company experienced a significant sales jump to over $2 million, necessitating a rapid expansion in staff, office space, and equipment. To manage this growth, the company adopted a crisis growth strategy, addressing problems as they arose, and implemented a management-by-luncheon system to foster communication and innovation among employees. This approach led to a successful year, with sales reaching $9 million and profits over $1 million, largely driven by the promotion of WordPerfect 4.0.

The following year, the release of WordPerfect 4.0 significantly boosted sales to $23 million, with pretax profits around 25 percent. Despite attempts to diversify, the company's success was primarily due to the annual release of new WordPerfect versions, which consistently doubled sales. However, this success masked emerging challenges, such as the need for compatibility with laser printers and the rise of graphical user interfaces.

WordPerfect Corporation, founded in 1979, experienced significant growth in its first decade, with sales increasing every quarter for 10 years. By 1989, revenues reached $281 million, and the company had over 100 representatives across the U.S. and Canada. However, this rapid expansion came with challenges. Many new employees arrived with unrealistic expectations about their roles and compensation. To address this, Pete Peterson began orienting new hires, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the actual work needed to keep the company running.

WordPerfect Corporation was a highly successful company in the 1980s and early 1990s, with sales nearing half a billion dollars by 1991. Despite rumors of its impending downfall due to the rise of Microsoft Windows and Word, WordPerfect was still thriving with over 10 million users worldwide. The company took longer than expected to develop a Windows version, but used this delay to their advantage with a $25,000 prize campaign, generating positive PR. The Windows version, WordPerfect 5.1, was released in late 1991 and proved extremely popular.

In 1992, WordPerfect Corporation, a global software giant, underwent a significant transformation. Founders Bruce Bastian, Alan Ashton, and Pete Peterson disagreed on the company's future. Bastian and Ashton believed that the company, which had grown from a part-time venture to a global entity with over $500 million in annual revenue and 3,000 employees, needed to evolve into a more structured corporation. They proposed establishing a formal management team, implementing sophisticated accounting procedures, and standardizing salaries and benefits.

To be successful, a company must ensure all employees understand who leads the organization and why it exists. There should be one unambiguous leader that garners universal support to align efforts towards success. An effective CEO possesses strategic vision, communicates aspirations internally and externally, brokers disagreements diplomatically, comprehends finances adequately to gauge performance, makes timely decisions, and grasps business functions from development to legal.

Publishing an internal mission statement establishes corporate purpose for employees. It should explain why the company exists and hopes to achieve, not impress external stakeholders. Remaining lean and nimble takes constant effort but enables efficiency. Employees need formal reporting structures outlining responsibilities. Broadly defined written job descriptions provide objectives and duties for each role. Initial intensive training combined with biannual development meetings foster skills.