Electronic Theatre Controls creates a small town within its Middleton building

Fred Foster, CEO of Electronic Theatre Controls, loves to give tours of the company's 250,000-square-foot building in Middleton. He talks lovingly about the building as a town, beginning with its stunning "town square," walking down the streets (corridors) and describing the departments as neighborhoods.

This makes the company's story compelling, personal and interesting, and explains ETC's low personnel turnover and high sales success rate.

Business leaders faced with a building project can enrich their company's message and culture by thinking of their buildings as towns and not just as a lifeless arrangement of departmental boxes.

The town square

The heart of every town is its town square. ETC's square is the three-story lobby of the building and is also the crossroads of the main circulation corridors, the town's "streets."

The tall square is painted to resemble familiar buildings and the small departments that face the square are designed to look like real storefronts.

The reception desk is a full-scale replica of a famous painting of a diner (Edward Hopper's "The Nighthawks"). Once someone has experienced this dramatic space, they'll always remember where the center of "town" is and always feels connected to the ETC community.

Meet me at the corner

Leaving the town square and walking the corridors, the visitor notices there are no offices or formal conference rooms at any of the building's corners.

Foster dislikes and discourages both status seeking and formal meetings. The corners -- where the corridors or roads meet -- are all open spaces for casual conversations or quiet reflection.

There are only three kinds of work spaces housing the office staff:

• A generous workstation.
• A small office with a glass door.
• A few large offices.

The workstations are near the borders of the office space, so the staff working there has the most light. The offices reside on the inside of the building, which keeps the status perceptions low.

Neighborhoods

Thinking of departments as neighborhoods builds company spirit. Like any town, each neighborhood has its own personality and at ETC that means different kinds of lighting, furniture, and features, but all reflect the company's shared theater culture.

For example, everyone in the service neighborhood understands the show must go on, which means that if a customer's curtain time is 7 p.m., all of the lighting must be up by 7 p.m. and not a minute later.

This culture, reflected in the show posters and racks of spotlights and control panels, is what has earned ETC its fantastic reputation for service.

Small-town USA

Like any CEO before committing to a building project, Foster stopped to consider if staying in Middleton was the right thing for the business. He also knew he could cut costs by going offshore.

But like so many other leaders in the Capital Region, he knew he could keep and build a great workforce here.

By controlling all the manufacturing at home, he knew ETC could always provide the kind of attentive service and specialized products that are expected of a market leader. The ETC "town" belongs in the Midwest.

Bringing it home

Every leader must do what they can to make everyone in and connected to their organization feel special and proud. This takes creative thinking and new perspectives.

Electronic Theatre Control used the ideas of town life to give the citizens of its building a special pride of place.

Derrick Van Mell is principal of Van Mell Associates, management consultants specializing in strategic facility decisions. Steve Steinhoff is executive director of the Neighborhood Design Center, helping communities become great places.