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Payments Innovation Courtesy of Walt Disney

It may sound surprising, but despite my current position as VP Marketing for Multi Service I spent a few years with Disney. For anyone that has ever worked for the mouse, there are hundreds of legacy stories about Walt Disney. Everything from what is in “The Vault” (Original animation art? Cryogenically frozen senior citizen?) to secret passageways in the Utilidors. My favorite story is about Walt Disney’s epic leadership skills and ability to inspire innovation in his creative staff. Supposedly, one day Walt was touring an office of “Imagineers” with a senior manager. (Imagineers are the artist/engineers that create theme park attractions.)  Among the hubbub of conversations, sketching, and general commotion a particular man was sitting quietly staring out the window. Walt asked about the man’s quiet manner and lack of industry. The manager responded, “Well, he designed the Pirates of the Caribbean.” Disney supposedly replied, “Get him a bigger window.”

I have no idea if the story is true but I love the message: The environment in which we work is tied to our ability to create inspired and innovative ideas. And given that we at Multi Service pride ourselves on our ability to deliver inspired and innovative solutions, it is critical that we provide our teams a physical environment that is equal to the task. And certainly after the year we spent refreshing our corporate brand our space can and should be a reflection of our brand image.  While our current offices are functional, conveniently located, and casual the layout and décor lacks imagination and sparkle.

This morning Martha and I got to spend the morning with Architects and other Multi Service staff working on the layouts for our upcoming office renovation. The idea exchange was passionate; the ways we are re-thinking our physical space are innovative and exciting! There are SO many clever ideas - from using magnetic-dry erase boards to hide 3 foot deep storage cabinets so that a single space can act as both functional storage and creative work space to the new Outdoor Patio where you will definitely find me enjoying lunches on warm spring days.  It’s going to be beautiful for sure. But more importantly, it will be a space that inspires creative problem solving, fresh thinking, and business innovation.

Jenny says that Multi Service is a place where we make Unicorns; I say Multi Service is a company with bigger windows.

--Liz