Comic Relief Who says work can't be fun? Not these employers.

When Robert Shillman showed up to a meeting of the Cognex Corp.board of directors wearing a King of Hearts costume, he solidifiedhis reputation as an offbeat, zany CEO. But there was a good reasonfor his wacky outfit: "It was Halloween, and our company ruleis that everybody shows up in costume, no matter who you aremeeting that day," explains Shillman.

Besides, Shillman's board well knows that "Dr.Bob," as employees call him, is no ordinary CEO. Shillmancloses staff meetings with a salute borrowed from the Three Stoogesand has added a game room packed with pinball machines at companyheadquarters. One year, he gathered his workers to watch him andhis top executives--dressed in `rapper' outfits--perform achoreographed dance to celebrate Cognex's "many brokenrecords."

What kind of records were broken? Fast-track growth in bothrevenues and profitability. That's because Cognex--involved inmachine vision, a high-tech process that lets computers"see"--may seem like a playground to outsiders, butit's a competitive powerhouse. Last year, it took in $104.5million in sales, with a 22 percent profit margin. That was nofluke--the year before, Cognex's profit margin hit 25.7percent.