Vosges Haut-Chocolat

A 100-person, $12 million luxury chocolate maker in Chicago

The Challenge: Encouraging employees to innovate and act independently.

The Answer: Inspiring employees and giving them a break from routines.

How It Works: Founder and CEO Katrina Markoff dedicated an unused mezzanine as a space for yoga, meditation, and other quiet and renewing activities. Yes, there is a weekly yoga class. But this spring, employees began gathering on Fridays to watch a speech from the annual TED conference, where superachievers from all walks of life get up and talk about whatever they want for 20 minutes.

Cost: $150 for the yoga class. TED speeches are free on the conference Web site.

Inspired Acts: A customer service worker inspired by the TED talks found packaging that was both greener and less expensive than what the company had been using. Eventually, Markoff moved her out of customer service and into a full-time job pursuing green initiatives. “When employees are the ones coming up with these kinds of ideas, then I know what I’m doing is working,” she says.