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The most frequent mistake companies make when applying? They fail to focus on a single, representative example of internally grown innovation. Heres some advice on how to produce a more compelling application for Fast Companys Best Workplaces for Innovators 2025. Get Real Jargon won’t win you any awards. Applications that read as if they were written to appeal primarily to an internal audience are not likely to earn high marks from our judges. Use clear language to describe your innovation programs. We’re looking for companies that do more than just talk the talk. Be Current Focus on a recent or ongoing example. We’re looking for current hotbeds of innovationorganizations that are working to sustain a creative culture and aren’t resting on the laurels of a handful of breakthroughs from a decade ago. Be Specific We’re looking to honor companies that are accomplishing real innovation, not merely laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs. In other words, focus on real projects delivering measurable results. Be Precise We want details. Who did what when, and how? How’d the idea come about? What initial hurdles needed to be overcome? How big was the team? How long did it take? How much investment was required? Emphasize Outcomes Tell us exactly what was accomplished and what it means. What are the impacts or implications for the company, the industry, the broader community? Be Democratic Your big idea may have originated in the C-suite, but (full disclosure) we’re a bit biased toward ideas that come from the bottom up, from unexpected sources (think interns) because a) they’re more surprising and make for better stories, and b) they are more indicative of a pervasive culture of innovation that rewards exploration at all levels. That said, wherever the idea originated, the emphasis should be on the quality of the innovation, the rigor with which it was pursued, and the inclusivity of the effort to bring the idea to fruition. Tell a Story Exhaustive lists of initiatives are boring. Pick a project that seems most emblematic of your own particular culture of innovation and tell the story. (See Be precise and Be democratic above.) You can always include at the end of your example a quick list of other significant recent efforts that have benefited from the same culture. Don’t Procrastinate This years deadline for Best Workplaces for Innovators applications is now just a few days away, March 28.
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The bible tells us to love your enemies, and major sports teams seem to be taking that doctrine seriously. Or at least their stadium concession stands are. Fans come to stadiums for the game, but they almost always indulge in the food, toowhich typically reflects the cuisine of their home teams city. But now, baseball and football stadiums have begun offering some local bites of their opponents teams in a bid to sell more concessions. On March 27, Major League Baseballs Opening Day, stadium food for the Washington Nationals will offer a new signature concession item: a platter of loaded nachos dubbed the Stolen Plate Special. The toppings on those cheesy chips will change throughout the season to incorporate the famous flavors of the opposing teams city, according to Levy, the hospitality group behind sports and entertainment arenas. This means more opportunity to satisfy visiting fans, increase sales, and even encourage some “culinary” competition. [Photo: Levy] As chefs, were constantly looking at the world around us for inspiration, says Adam Carter, regional executive chef at Levy who oversees food options at Nationals Park. Local connection is important, but we also find opportunities to incorporate flavors from other cities or regions, especially if we can represent the visiting team during a big series. Counter concessions Baseball isnt the only sport where opposing fans share greasy stadium food. Last year, the NFLs Buffalo Bills unveiled the Battle Boat: a two-foot-long boat of waffle fries that featured one half representing Buffalo fare and the other that of the visiting team. In a a stadium food review video, content creator Cameron Guzzo called the taste phenomenal.” Buffalos massive fry boat changed its toppings with every new opponent that visited the stadium. The Nationals will follow a similar formula to offer fans a taste of the visiting flavors. Sports concessions should be comforting, familiar, and nostalgic, Carter sayseven for visiting fans. The first iteration of the Nats nacho platter will be cheesesteak nachos for their three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Of course, the dish is an homage to Philadelphias famous delicacy. Future Stolen Plate Specials will continue to incorporate different cities famous foods. During the Nationalss series against the New York Mets, the nachos will be topped with everything-bagel chips, pastrami, and swiss cheese sauce to reflect NYCs famous foods. And during the teams series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, hatch chile-braised chicken, chicharrons, and a spicy queso will load the nachos to represent the Dbacks. Fans are prideful when it comes to food, just like they are about their favorite team, says Carter. So we like to tap into that passion in a fun way.
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Over the years, the label M.M. LaFleur has gone beyond helping its customers look good for the officeit’s also helped them find new professional opportunities during hard times. During the pandemic, it launched a Slack channel to help customers who had been laid off find a new job. It hosts networking events so customers can get to know other women in their industry. And now, as the Trump administration lays off thousand of government employees, M.M. LaFleur is rallying the troops to provide support. The New York-based womenswear brand first realized something was amiss in January, when it saw sales dipping in its two stores in the Washington, D.C. area. These stores serve women who work in politics and government, along with the lobbyists and lawyers whose work intersects with those fields. D.C. is our second biggest market after New York, says Sarah LaFleur, the brand’s founder and CEO. We could tell that there was a lot of anxiety among our D.C. customers because of the looming job cuts. [Photo: M.M. Lafleur] The team began to think about how they could help these customers. It has already hosted a résumé review session. It has brought in authors who are experts on changing careers and building confidence. And it is hosting an event where people can get professional headshots taken for just $30. Sarah LaFleur, the brand’s founder and CEO, believes these efforts to support customers are crucial to building a lifelong relationship with them. And more broadly, she feels these efforts keep her, and her employees, passionate about their work. If you asked us to measure the ROI of these events, I don’t think we could, says LaFleur. But helping women is the reason we got into this business. Unfortunately, there are likely to be many more government job cuts, and workers in other industries are expected to lose their jobs because of the new tariffs. M.M. LaFleur’s approach offers a new model of corporate social responsibility focused on a brand’s immediate community and customers, rather than issues further afield. [Photo: M.M. LaFleur] An Unusually Intimate Approach While most brands try to cultivate relationships with their customers, they tend to do so at a distance, using social media. But from the start, M.M. LaFleur has taken a much more hands-on approach that is more common in very high-end luxury brands. M.M. LaFleur is known for creating Bento Boxes for customers, full of outfits they like. A team of stylists put these boxes together, and try to build personal, long-term relationships with their customers, helping them navigate through life changes, from new jobs to pregnancies. These stylists are at the frontlines of our business, says LaFleur. They have heard a lot of stories from D.C. customers struggling with this period of instability. [Photo: M.M. LaFleur] The brand also throws lots of store events that are centered around career development. They offer an opportunity for women to make friends and build their professional network. Over the years, customers have found jobs and met collaborators through these events and, at the end of each, M.M. LaFleur connects attendees by sharing everyone’s contact information (with their approval), so people can forge relationships outside of the brand. Indeed, this culture of intimacy has helped the company when it faced its own troubles. Last year, I reported about how M.M. LaFleur faced an an existential crisis when its lender went under and its working capital was about to dry up. In the end, a group of female investors, who happened to be customers, rallied together to invest $3 million in the company to keep it afloat. Now LaFleur wants to use the brand platform to bring together female investors for other startups in need of funding. For LaFleur, this intimacy with customers is key to building a long-term relationship. We don’t just want to be there at one point in your career when you need a new outfit, she says. We want to be there for all the twists and turns, and this means, being there for you in the difficult times as well. [Photo: M.M. LaFleur] Customers Affected by DOGE Cuts Now, there are many people facing hardships because of the Trump Adminitration’s mass layoffs. So far, more than a hundred thousand federal jobs have been cut. While these roles are spread out across the country, many are concentrated in the capital. The M.M. LaFleur team has hosted its $30 headshot event in other stores in the past, but now it seems D.C.-customers are in particular need of this support. A link to the event was posted on a resource board for job seekers in the federal government, and spots were filled within hours. Now the D.C. store is planning to offer two more of these sessions. To help attendees feel their best, there will be makeup artists on hand to provide touch-ups. And M.M. LaFleur’s stylists are there to help them put together an outfit that they feel will best represent them on their job hunt. In the past, government jobs have been fairly stable, so they’ve been in these roles for years, says Maria Costa, M.M. LaFleur’s director of brand, who has been involved in crafting these events. Now they need to apply for new jobs. It can be very emotional for them because they haven’t had to present themselves in this way for a long time. [Photo: M.M. Lafleur] M.M. LaFleur has also partnered with a local woman-owned bookshop, Old Town Books, to help program other career events. It brought on authors to talk about how to perfect your pitch at an interview, how to reduce your mental load during times of stress, and how to crack the confidence code. It also hosts résumé review events with career coaches. These are similar to events that M.M. LaFleur has done in the past. But in D.C., they have taken on a new urgency, as customers are struggling. But given that the brand has the infrastructure and experience to effectively throw these events, the in-store team can do more of these events quickly to keep up with the demand. For LaFleur, these events aren’t just good for customers and members of the community. They keep her and her team passionate about the work that they do every day. And she thinks this is valuable. We make clothes, but our mission is about much more than clothes, she says. We’re in the business of empowering women to thrive in the workplace.
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E-Commerce
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