The corporate culture that inspired this opinion by one of America?s leading chemical industry financial analysts evolving more than a century ago when an enterprising young man of 25 bought the fledgling National Gum & Mica Company in New York City. The year was 1895. The price was $1,200. While it is not as famous or visible to the general public as General Electric, Coca-Cola, DuPont or Procter & Gamble, the history of National Starch and Chemical Company is no less worthy of analysis on several levels: business strategy, technological innovation, managerial process, human resource management, and financial performance. Only a handful of companies founded before the 20th century are still doing business today. Fewer still can look back on a successful foundation of growth, innovation and stable leadership. It is a story worth telling because in the fast paced economic environment of the 21st century, the fundamental policies and strategies established long ago by the leaders of National Starch and Chemical are still being practiced today. They were forged and honed at the dawn of another period of rapid change, when a ?new economy" was emerging based on radical new technologies, such as electric energy and the telephone, the automobile, refrigeration and the moving assembly line. Nimble feet and flexible thinking were no less important in business than they are today. Minor edge wear and corner bumps. Pages are unmarked. One crease on the spine.