This paper reports empirical findings of an initial series of field case studies aimed at identifying and modelling the organisational characteristics and cultural qualities of excellence in top Australian-owned information technology firms. A common set of critical success factors, missions, and core business activities was identified by executive managers and owners of 10% of the top Australian IT firms. Management described other organisational characteristics including size, revenue, growth projections, the role of software, information systems functions, project teams, customer relations, organisational resources and technology uptake. Staff were asked to identify and describe cultural aspects of the organisations such as the importance of key individuals, orthodoxy, watershed events, key functional values and beliefs, folklore, rites and rituals. They provided metaphors for the organisation culture, the organization itself, their manager an employee, the ideal work environment, and the ideal manager.