Center for Social Innovation

It was an important day at Habitat International Inc. in Chattanooga, Tenn. Factory workers, who manufacture indoor and outdoor grass carpet for putting greens and patios, were expecting some bigwigs. A group of 60 from Walgreens Co. was on its way to unlock Habitat’s management secrets. How did leaders cultivate a workforce with practically no turnover or absenteeism, with such skill that there never was a back order and the defect rate was less than half a percent? What’s more, the company’s profits rose every year for the past decade, even during the recession.

The visitors were ushered into a workplace humming with music, its walls covered with floor-to-ceiling murals and steel animal sculptures. There were basketball courts, fishponds, a dance floor, and pinball machines. Habitat CEO David Morris, rebel-with-a-cause businessman and college dropout, singled out a ... Read more