I was reading my July issue of Business 2.0 last night. The lead story, "The 50 People Who Matter Now" is about the innovators, executives, moguls, entrepreneurs, and assorted others that are impacting our futures with their ideas and inventions.

While the snipits on each of the 50 movers and shakers were interesting, what really caught me eye was a picture of the "technology petting zoo" - their words not mine - created by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton for their employees at the firm´s Mclean, VA. headquarters. According to the article, the consulting firm has a 1000-square foot room full of cutting-edge gadgets and software - some even in beta - for employees to tinker and test.

This is certainly a novel approach to keeping ones employees current on the latest technology and services to help them perform more effectively and efficiently. If you can´t go to the store, bring the store to you I guess you could say. And customers might even think that your company and your employees are committed to continuous improvement. Not such a bad message to send.

But you could also argue that the technology petting zoo along with the zoo director (yes, they have one) is a retention and attraction tool. What candidate would not be impressed with unfettered access to an inventory of the latest and greatest widgets and gadgets? So you might want to think about creating a technology zoo on your corporate campus.

But hold off on selling cotton candy, peanuts, and taffy ....it might be a bit much.