When Employee Initiative Meets Forward-Thinking Management

Corporate bureaucracy often creates blinders within the very departments where creativity and innovation is most critical. In an article for RealClearMarkets, Proven Media Solutions founder Dustin Siggins described how Sherwin-Williams, the most recognized paint brand in America, lost an employee to an upstart competitor ready to invest in dynamic marketing strategies.

Investigating the firing of Tony Piloseno by Sherwin-Williams, Dustin uncovered how the 22-year-old with over one million TikTok followers became a blockbuster hire for a family-owned Florida paint company. As a part-time retail employee, Piloseno had proposed new marketing approaches to Sherwin-Williams, but his ideas were quickly dismissed. Shortly after, he was fired for using his company discount to purchase paint for his social media content. However, after his story went public, Florida Paints co-founder Don Strube quickly discovered the young entrepreneur’s talent and hired him.

According to Strube, whose younger family members were  followers of Piloseno’s online content, his new hire is “a gem because he makes paint so much fun.” Strube told Dustin, “The most important thing is to keep your eyes open… With streamlining comes missed opportunities, and you miss gems.”

Now Piloseno is finishing his college degree virtually from Florida while his new employer benefits from his dynamic marketing talents. Meanwhile, the Sherwin-Williams marketing department appears remained stuck “watching paint dry.”

Read the full article here.