“We have to get everybody in the organization involved. If you do that right, the best ideas will rise to the top.”
—Jack Welch
Harness the energy, ambition, and talent of your team members or risk losing them. Donna Wells, vice president of sales at Shutters Wholesale in Alpharetta, Georgia, shared an example of a millennial employee who said she was planning to leave the company because she had exhausted the available growth opportunities. Donna challenged the employee to come up with a plan outlining what she could achieve if supported by company management. The employee followed through, setting up an aggressive yearly sales plan that took the company into new markets and then successfully achieved those goals within just four months.
Once a quarter, Facebook has a Hack Day. (Hack is a positive term that means someone who can figure things out—a very successful programmer.) On Hack Day, every employee, no matter what his or her job, can work on something of his or her own choice to make Facebook a better place, helping to serve and deliver value to customers. Stuart Crabb, global director of learning, said he wished he could bring everyone in to experience Hack Day. “We have a group of very committed people already, but they explode with excitement on Hack Day with the fun of pursuing their own ideas. This empowers employees to feel there are no limits and can take on the world,” said Crabb. During one of their Hack Days, employees conceived Facebook’s legendary “Like” button, which is now a major part of the Facebook brand.