Smart ideas for tough times: The 50 companies that make up our annual ranking nurture cultures that value creative people in good times and bad

• Podcast: Behind the Magazine’s Cover
• Table: Innovation by Region

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Good management is always difficult, but motivating employees to remain happy, secure and productive, while facing the realities of these crazy economic times, is a challenge even for the most seasoned managers.

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What makes it so great?

Storage retailer pays sales employees 50% to 100% above industry average. Nearly one-tenth of all employees take advantage of “family friendly” shift, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., allowing for school dropoffs and pickups.

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Observe firemen fighting fires, platoons of soldiers in combat situations, sports teams playing at their best. They refer to times when they felt they were tapping into something much larger than themselves. Their description sounds as if they were talking about a field of intelligence that has been created by the group and that they can all tap into. I refer to this as "collaborative intelligence," or CQ: the ability to harness the energy and intelligence of groups or teams.

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Many businesses struggle with employees who resist cooperating, squabble repeatedly, or basically just won’t work together. Managers recognize the importance of employees working together and reaching goals. They can tell when it is happening, but many don’t know what to do when it isn’t happening.

Training is often the Band-Aid applied to this situation. Employees report being sent to “teambuilding” or “communication skills” workshops, but often nothing changes. Unfortunately, the business wanted change and paid for change, but all it got was attendance. The key to building teams is addressing the underlying factor necessary for all teams and relationships — trust.

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When you launch a company, the organizational structure you select–-corporation, limited liability corporation (LLC), partnership, sole proprietorship–-will likely feel like one of the more mundane decisions you make.

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