Day 97: Never Have I Ever... Gone To Work In Dr. Suess' Willy Wonka Wonderland

The bleak gray elevator doors slid open and my eyes were literally assaulted with every shade of every color of the rainbow. It was like I had been living in a cave for years and suddenly walked out into the bright sunlight as I stepped out of the elevator at Catalyst Ranch in downtown Chicago.

I'm not sure what I expected when I showed up at this off site meeting place billed as "whimsically designed," but I certainly didn't expect what I saw when I got there. Never have I ever went to work in Willy Wonka's Wonderland after it had been taken over by Dr. Suess. This meeting space was absolutely colorific and toytacular (yes, to describe this space, I had to invent words. It was that awesome.)

Nothing in this space matched or really made sense. There were open umbrellas near a full hat stand. Every single wall was painted a different bright color or covered with a bright tapestry, and every tabletop held up something, whether it was a multicolored tablecloth with mismatched plates or toys and markers. No coffee cup matched another one, and it was hard to concentrate on anything because my eyes kept darting to the tables surrounded by all kinds of chairs, the pillows of all shapes and sizes piled atop and around the bright couches and lining the hammock in the corner.

I was at this off site meeting for a day-long brainstorming session because I've been recently appointed to a team to come up with new ideas for products my company should develop for consumers. The consultants we hired wanted us to meet in this particular space because it's supposed to foster creativity, and I found that it did just that. As the team and I were sitting in a circle each on a different type of chair, I found myself coming up with ideas from the most random places, including a toy I found on one of the tables and what we had for lunch.

The potential inspiration was even in the restrooms. The stalls were covered with magnetic words for people to form sentences, there were pictures and photos taped to the walls, and ornaments hanging from the handles.

As the brainstorming session came to a close and we all massaged our temples to alleviate the dull headaches that had inevitably formed after using the full extent of our brains for a too-long period, I felt completely exhausted, yet satisfyingly productive. I know there were some amazing ideas in this session that I seriously can't wait to see grow and come to fruition because I love being on the ground floor with major projects.

And for that reason and my more, I maintain that all meetings should be held in Dr. Suess' Willy Wonka Wonderland. How much fun would that be?