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Real estate multimillionaire Barbara Corcoran reveals she offered employees elephant rides, in-office massages, hot air balloons, and even a Bentley to create a fun and loyal company culture at The Corcoran Group. It’s in stark contrast to today’s hardcore management tactics. But the results speak for themselves: the company is now raking in $20 billion in sales and had virtually “no turnover” with agents lining up to work for her firm.
Many bosses are trying to squeeze out the best business results with intense layoffs, five-day RTO mandates, and talent poaching from competitors. Some, like Meta, hope that $100 million signing bonuses will entice top performers to join their mission and breed loyalty.
But Barbara Corcoran’s multimillion-dollar success wasn’t achieved by ruling with an iron fist—she believes there’s more to winning over employees than massive payouts and tough love.
The real estate mogul started building up her real estate empire, The Corcoran Group, at just 23 years old, with the goal of creating the largest brokerage in New York. And she says got there by rewarding her employees handsomely for their hard work along the way—even buying her top broker a Bentley.
“It wasn’t about the car, it was about making her feel like a star in front of the whole company,” the Shark Tank investor wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “And you bet it worked! Everyone started competing to get my attention too.”
She sold the real estate firm in 2001 for $66 million—her lucky number—and today it’s still raking in $20 billion in sales under parent group Anywhere Real Estate. Looking back, she says, “Fun is the most underutilized tool in business.”
“People are the most creative when they’re having fun, and we had more fun than anyone else,” Corcoran added. “I stopped advertising to hire because people were lining up to work at The Corcoran Group! Fun builds loyalty, and we had no turnover.”
The ‘crazy’ perks: hot air balloons, wild parties, and in-office manicures
Some employees may feel like they’re living the dream with unlimited PTO, offices with beer on-tap, and swanky retreats to international resorts. But all those perks pale in comparison to working with Corcoran.
Corcoran’s “crazy” benefits didn’t stop at luxury cars—she even brought massage spas and safari adventures to her employees during the workweek.
Clocking into The Corcoran Group’s office came with many freebies beyond the typical healthy snacks and Nespresso coffee; the now-76-year-old real estate tycoon would offer anything from yoga, blowouts and massages to ping pong tables, free lunches, and manicures.
While many other companies still skirt around offering bare-minimum childcare perks, Corcoran would even bring in laundry machines and babysitters to support the working moms at the real estate firm, “for the moms who felt stressed at work.” She wrote: “If it made the team happier, I made it happen.”
The former CEO would even take her staffers out on trips whenever she could afford it, including bussing her 600 agents to the country for mid-week picnics—and they were no laid-back affair with charcuterie boards and gingham blankets. Each had its own “crazy gimmick,” including 60-foot hot-air balloons, 5,000-pound elephant rides, and spitting camel safari fun. These events would feel extravagant to most penny-pinching bosses hoping to keep their employees happy with the occasional happy hour—but Corcoran believes her staffers should enjoy the spoils of their success.
“Why not?” she wrote, reminiscing on her fantastical picnics. “We worked hard, and we deserved to play hard too.”
There were also smaller things that Corcoran did to build morale; she regularly recalled throwing “the wildest parties in town,” and keeping a “good idea jar” in the office, where she’d reward each good idea with a dollar.
“Big, small, crazy, it didn’t matter,” Corcoran continued. “If you spoke up, you got a buck. It wasn’t about the money, it was about building a team where ideas flowed and efforts were rewarded over results.”
In the end, the money didn’t matter; it was all in the name of motivating her workers. Even when she gave out gold ribbons to staff who closed a million-dollar sale, instead of cold hard cash, everyone first laughed at the idea, she wrote—“Until the first ribbon was claimed, and jealousy kicked in fast! By the end of the month, desks were covered in gold ribbons.”
“Recognition motivates people more than money.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
