He was known for his mind-bending illustrations, plainly-stated storytelling and brash responses to criticism. While Maurice Sendak was considered a colorful and controversial figure, his Where the Wild Things Are and Chicken Soup with Rice delighted and fascinated childhood readers for decades.

Sendak could have been in one of his own beloved works—an honest, bizarre and amazing character who saw the world through a vivid lens. He never patronized children through his storytelling, instead presented the world to be what it was: dark, hopeful, heart-breaking, mysterious, beautiful and tangled.

But did you know Sendak’s most well-known work could’ve been published with another name? Where the Wild Things Are was originally titled Where the Wild Horses Are. But, he couldn’t draw horses, so the title of the book changed and the “things” that ended up in the story were inspired by Sendak’s immigrant relatives. (He drew the “things” the way he saw his relatives when he was a child.)

He also insisted that he didn’t write for children. Sendak instead said he was inspired by and absorbed by one question: “How do children survive?” He shared that obsession with children’s book historian Leonard Marcus in 2002. He may have unearthed the answer to the question on his own decades earlier in 1972: “Children do live in fantasy and reality; they move back and forth very easily in a way we no longer remember how to do.”

Sendak became familiar with the resilience and flexibility of the childhood psyche while working as a window dresser for FAO Schwartz. Many years before, he and his brother tried to get the toy store to buy their handmade toys. At the age of six, he also wrote a book with his 11-year-old brother Jack called They Were Inseparable.

Collaborations were a big part of his career. In 1975, he wrote the lyrics for Carole King’s music for the 1975 movie Really Rosie. The musical score was Sendak’s only work as a lyricist.

Despite acclaim and the wide popularity of his books, he was never interested in notoriety. He was interested in telling the truth—in creating art. Sendak once said: “I know my work is good. Not everybody likes it, that’s fine. I don’t do it for everybody. Or anybody. I do it because I can’t not do it.”

Sendak passed away earlier this month, leaving journalists worldwide to flood airwaves, television stations and websites with his vibrant story and vibrant work. His compulsion to make sense out of life resulted in great work that influenced and inspired generations of readers.

Think telling someone they’re doing great work on the job doesn’t make a difference? Research says otherwise. In an economy where money is tight, positive feedback can help keep employees motivated. In fact, according to a recent survey by Kelton Research nearly 50% of working Americans say they would rather be appreciated than have an opportunity to advance in their careers.

The study also found, with escalating workplace demands, employees aren’t feeling valued by executives and superiors. Nearly 70% of working Americans complain they haven’t received useful feedback from their supervisors in the last six months and over 80% haven’t established their career goals with their superiors.

But it’s easy to turn those numbers around. Appreciation doesn’t have to be a grand gesture or a huge raise. A little recognition from leaders goes a long way toward employee satisfaction and motivation. Something as simple as making time to stop by an employee’s desk to speak to them face to face can help close the communication gap and empower employees to perform well in their roles. Here are a few other ideas on ways you can keep employees motivated and engaged at work.

Remember special days: Never let a birthday or anniversary pass without recognition. Let your people know you care about them as individuals and it will help foster camaraderie in the company.

As the proud designers and creators of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team rings since 2000, we know that only moms have what it takes to raise an Olympian. We’re happy to recognize achievement of Olympic proportions.

UPDATE: Proctor & Gamble is also issuing $1,000 Visa cards to all moms of Olympic and Paralympic athletes to help offset the travel costs to London to see their son or daughter compete in August. Does it get any cooler than that?

Half a lifetime ago, I was a receptionist. A reluctant one. I was, however, grateful to have a job at a small advertising agency in Beverly Hills where people brought donuts every day and the owners brought their schnauzer. And here’s the best part, looking back: despite the fact that they’d hired me to answer their phones, the nice folks at Klein/Richardson didn’t see me as a receptionist either. They sent me to night school ad classes to learn how to be a copywriter.

Not only that, they let me play along with the “real” creative teams as they developed ideas for a huge upcoming three-million dollar pitch. And then, they liked some of those ideas well enough to allow me present them to a room full of stunned Japanese gentlemen, after I’d hung up their coats, gotten coffee, and put the phones on auto-answer.

I think we won that account on a strange combination of innocence and audacity.

Well, dear reader, that is how I became a copywriter. But this isn’t about me. It’s about learning to see. And not knowing the rules. And believing in people enough that they become what you believed they could.

So you see, this story is really about you. And the things you can do to unlock potential in employees every day. Here are some things I learned through my experiences:

#1. Get good at envisioning employees beyond their role. What are their gifts? Where do their passions lie? It’s easy to forget, given the wealth of powerful employee recognition solutions available, that nothing replaces a pair of human eyes when it comes to spotting potential.

#2. Support employees with tools and training. Send promising talent to school.  Provide leadership coaching for good managers to get better. Host a class that teaches team building and helps teams to work together more effectively.

#3. Create opportunities for practicing new skills, backed up by good modeling and mentorship.  It doesn’t cost much to let junior people try their hand at senior-level projects. And seeing how others approach these assignments is invaluable.

#4. Reward great work. No matter where it comes from. Especially if it comes from someone unexpected. It’s a good way to assure you’ll get more of it.

#5. Believe all the way. One last thing:  the ideas we presented that day weren’t brilliant.  (In fact, they were pretty terrible.) But we were stunning. Our team of merry innocents was on fire and the clients were blown away. Nobody told us we couldn’t win and so we did.

Teams that click don’t fall from the sky. It takes time and focused effort, but keep going and your consistency will pay off. Enjoy our teamwork tips for powerful team building ideas to inspire, develop and challenge your team. Click to read more below for this week’s teamwork tip, founded in the research from O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and get your team on track to breakthrough performance.

The Jar Lunch: Once a month, take a team lunch together. Choose the restaurant by placing team suggestions in a jar and pulling one out each time you go.  Challenge your team to get adventurous.

For more team building activities, see last week’s teamwork tip.

Giving your office a facelift could lead to changes in your corporate culture. Offices around the world are creating unique spaces that reinforce a company’s brand identity and atmosphere. We think our top 8 picks are pretty nifty examples. Take a photo tour with us to find out how organizations from Berlin to Nebraska are developing corporate cultures through great design.

And for more inspiring ideas, follow O.C. Tanner on Pinterest.

By the numbers. A data firm in Nebraska deals with them daily and decided turn work into a source of inspiration.

Growth from the ground up. You wouldn’t think corporate culture would be important an anti-establishment media organization like MTV, but it’s quite the opposite. MTV Berlin’s brainstorm space sparks ingenuity for employees so they can deliver creative work to their audience.

See the forest through the trees, and everything in between. Marketing software and consulting agency Hubspot blended its signature orange with a minimalist design to link its 38,000 square-foot space in Massachusetts.

Get on the wall. California-based Yelp pelted its office walls with the company’s logos to emphasize the importance of a corporate culture. Designers coordinated the organization’s workspace with quirky furniture and colors to create a visual representation of Yelp’s brand identity.

Into the blue. A pop of color and creativity from some Dutch interior designers. This conference room draws attention and crowds to be a calm, cool place to gather.

Out in the open. Sydney’s Macquarie Investment Bank encourages collaboration, celebration and transparency with flexible work spaces, “meeting pods” and a 10-story atrium.

On target. If you understand Legos’ corporate culture, you understand the company’s brand. Legos’ offices in Denmark combine color and childhood whimsy to create a space that keeps the company values of fun, creativity and innovation top of mind.

In it together. Desks designed to show a Hamburg, Germany agency’s interconnectedness inspire professionals as they work on campaigns for Mercedes-Benz, Chanel and more.

Teams that click don’t fall from the sky. It takes time and focused effort, but keep going and your consistency will pay off. Enjoy our teamwork tips for powerful team building ideas to inspire, develop and challenge your team. Click to read more below for this week’s teamwork tip, founded in the research from O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and get your team on track to breakthrough performance.

There’s something magical about your porch: To really play like a team, let them see your life up-close. Invite team members and their significant others to your house for a meal or barbecue. Welcoming teammates into your private space is one of the highest compliments you can give.

For more team building activities, see last week’s teamwork tip.

In his new book Imagine, Jonah Lehrer provides hope for those who feel they missed out on the creative gene. Lehrer examines the science behind how the brain functions in certain situations. He also looks at what external factors influence the creative process for individuals.

So what came from his extensive research? Lehrer discovered everyone has the ability to be creative. “Creativity shouldn’t be seen as something otherworldly,” he writes. “It shouldn’t be thought of as a process reserved for artists and inventors and other ‘creative types.’ The human mind, after all, has the creative impulse built into its operating system, hard-wired into its most essential programming code.” Channel that creative genius inside to create the greatest work of your career.