At KEYGroup we are proud to recognize local people or organizations that exemplify the attributes of Vibrant Entrepreneurial Organizations.

The “Steel Heart Award” for December 2006 goes to…

Davison Design and Development for replacing employee cubicles … with a tree house

Competition is stiff these days and most employees feel pressured to produce within a high-stress work environment. Vibrant Entrepreneurial Organizations try to find ways to encourage high productivity while minimizing stress, but few go to the lengths of Davison Design and Development. In lieu of the traditional “cubicle farms,” with endless rows of dull, uniform workspaces, Davison’s 60,000 sq. ft. facility is replete with unusual features like waterfalls, moats, and offices tucked away in a "pirate ship," a “cave” and in a “castle.”

This unique workspace -- called ‘InventionLand’ -- is designed to foster ultra-high levels of creativity and innovation. Davison Design helps develop products for inventors and corporations through research, industrial design, computerized simulations, product samples, packaging, presentations and royalty management. Davison-designed products have been sold in stores such as Home Depot, Target, JC Penney, Linens 'n Things, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods, AutoZone, FAO Schwarz, and Dunham Sports.

The CEO and founder of Davison Design and Development, George M. Davison III, says that his goal was to “Get creative people out of cubes.” Davison himself works out of a space called ‘Thinktank Treehouse,’ which is suspended on a large artificial tree located over a stream fed from a waterfall.

As Davison explains, “InventionLand is made to inspire creative people. It was built to move belief out of the intangible mental realm and into the physical world. If you're walking in it and living in it, it's easier to be creative. It's more than a place, it's a state of mind.”

So congratulations to Davison Design and Development for building an innovative environment that, in the best practices of a VEO, maximizes employee productivity while minimizing stress. For more information about Davison Design and Development, visit http://www.inventionland.com/.

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