A Model For Creative Success

MARCH 24. Today the area we worked in was much smaller and more difficult. On the left end, I had to spend a lot of time going up and down scaffolding. It was frustrating having to climb up and down the clumsy support. A lot of time gets waisted, the scaffolding is in the way of my view when I back up and I could not back up very far. The client is okay with the time I take to get things right, but I want this project finished, yet it also has to be right. Right, but not necessarily perfect. It has to have the right look and feel. And yes, we're getting there.

I had an interesting conversation with a tool and equipment salesman today. I don't recall the gentleman's name (not very good at remembering names), but I consider the man a friend. Two or three times a week, he will stop by to discuss the company's needs and always tell me how much he admires the murals I paint for Novatek. I made the comment today, that with three murals for Novatek this year, it seems that I have become part of the fabric of the company. I also said that I like to think that my murals have had a profound influence on the corporation's success.

For example; Recently, I took a look at Novatek's website. Some stats and a chart on their site show the number of patents that were awarded to Novatek since it's founding back in the 1950's. The past ten years in particular, the chart shows a sharper increase in number of patents awarded to them, as compared to the slow, but steady accumulation of patents from previous decades. In other words, Novatek has gained most of their patents, from their 500+ company total, in the past ten years. The client has also been honored as the top inventor in Utah several years in a row and I think his company is the top Utah business for cranking out the most inventions per year. Pretty impressive. Ten years ago would have been 2001, the year I started painting murals for the company. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Do my murals deserve this much credit for their success? It's one of those things you can't for sure put your finger on, but where would the company be today without our mural product on their walls?

I asked the tool salesman to tell me how he honestly feels when he walks into other machine shops as compared to Novatek's. He said their are other shops just as clean, with bright colored paint on the walls. Some of these shops even have larger skylights than Novatek's. He likes to go their too. The environment is comfortable and nice. In these places, the moral is noticeably higher and the employees are proud of their work and their workplace.

He has also been in other shops that have metal shavings all over the floor, which get stuck in the bottom of his shoes before he leaves, or is greasy and grimy all over and dark like a dungeon. Often, in these shops he has noticed low moral and the employees just want to get their paycheck and get the heck out of there as soon as the bell rings. If I remember right, I think he also indicated that he has heard from more Novatek employees about how much they like their company than from other employees from other companies.

With Novatek's successful business model, the CEO goes more than the extra mile to create an environment which inspires high productivity, inspiration and huge success with his employees various projects. Some people might criticize his "extra mile" efforts, calling them too extreme or the murals, a frivolous waste of money. But when comparing spending tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on these extras, to the tens of millions, hundreds of millions or even billions in return profits, are my murals a waste of money? Novatek's business model works and perhaps, we play an important role in it.