"Use Creativity to Think Outside the Box"
from Companies Don't Succeed, People Do
by Bob Nelson PhD
"The most important thing I learned from big companies is that creativity gets stifled when everyone's got to follow the rules." —David Kelley
Communicate the goal, then let the team figure out how to get there. When Carmen Villarma, president of The Management Group, a property management firm based in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, needed to rent out a new 416-unit apartment complex in a hurry, she approached a group of millennial employees at the company with a challenge. "Here are the keys to the office," she said. "You can work whenever you want; you can do whatever you need to in order to get this apartment complex rented."
The team of young workers rose to the occasion, making several YouTube videos, launching a Twitter campaign, and hosting parties for open houses. They succeeded in getting all units in the complex rented in record time. The group received sales commission for their work and decided to celebrate their success with a group trip to Las Vegas. Although one of the team members didn't meet her goal on the project, the group wanted her to come to Las Vegas with them because she had supported other team members along the way. When they returned from the trip, the group was ready for the next challenge, asking Carmen, "Do you have any other apartment complexes you need rented out?"
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