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ORLANDO, Fla.—Google is often showcased as the poster child for workplace creativity and innovation, in no small part because early on—in their pre-IPO statement of intention, no less—the company declared that, “Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.”
Yet most conventional companies will never be a Google. Few have the deep pockets to subsidize perks like free gourmet meals, on-site dry cleaning and haircuts. But not all parts of an innovative work culture are a result of staggering fiscal returns; the larger themes can be adopted by any organization looking to boost employee innovation and morale.
Takeaways from Googles model that could be applied to any enterprise include a culture of trust, creativity in the recruitment process and a regard for the creative process so strong that every employee is expected to allocate 30 percent of their time to innovation.