Around 2001 two human resources staff at Best Buy, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, created the Results-Only Work Environment, or ROWE. It judged employees on their performance, “not their hours logged or on-site attendance.” Its rule was: “Results are the only measure.” The two founders later wrote a book about it.
In 2013 Best Buy ended ROWE during a corporate restructuring. A company spokesman explained: “Particularly in a turnaround, what matters is the ability of employees to collaborate and work together.”