“I decided to trust my crazy idea.”
Rashelle Tanner has a well-worn journal with the words “Trust your crazy ideas” embossed on the cover. When a crazy idea came to her to make corporate training videos as good as any binge-worthy TV she’d seen, she opened her journal and got to work.
When I came to Microsoft, I was asked to reimagine our compliance learning programs, including our annual Standards of Business Conduct course, which is required training for all employees and our board of directors.
The course needed to teach employees how to approach ethical challenges with integrity. But first, I knew that the training had to be interesting and had to stick with employees.
I considered the TV shows that people typically binge watch—shows with suspense between each episode; shows with relatable characters, timely storylines, and complex decisions.
That’s when a crazy idea hit me. Could we make the course into a binge-worthy saga that would focus on getting employees hooked on the show and invested in the characters?
I was nervous about making such a drastic change, but after season one launched, it went viral. I received a lot of very positive feedback from employees. Several coworkers from all over the company helped make it a success.
We just released season four, and I keep getting asked what will happen next—but no spoilers!—Rashelle Tanner, from Seattle, Washington
