Type A Learning Agency

'Ideas are free'
Incite an innovation riot!
by Gretchen Hartke

If ideas are free, then why do so many companies struggle when it comes to tapping into this renewable resource? We've all seen those little suggestion boxes mounted on our company walls, but have you ever submitted an idea? Of course if your answer is no, it doesn't mean you've never had an idea; I'm guessing that you've had thousands of them. So, what's stopping you?

Ever since William Denny put up the world's first suggestion box in his shipbuilding company in 1882, suggestion boxes have become the method of choice around the world to collect employee ideas. The only problem is, they don't work. As Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder's well-researched book Ideas are Free: How the Idea Revolution is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations points out, the suggestion box sends a not-so-subtle message that ideas are not part of everyone's job, rather coming up with ideas is optional.

This idea harkens back to the turn of the 20th century when Fredrick Taylor introduced science to management. The premise of his approach was that it was management's job to "think" and the worker's job to "do." This system of management may have been successful on the assembly line, but it hardly incites the kind of innovation today's companies need to stay competitive.

Ideas are Free may challenge some assumptions you have about suggestion systems. For example, many companies put a suggestion system out there to capture big ideas — those home run ideas that generate hundreds of thousands of dollars. The authors make a convincing case that companies should instead seek "small" ideas because it's "simply impossible to achieve excellence in performance without the ability to pay attention to detail, an ability that comes only from large numbers of small ideas."

In addition, Robinson and Schroeder make it clear that contrary to popular belief, monetary reward systems are not the best way to elicit ideas. They cite several examples where monetary reward systems led to damaged morale, unethical behavior, and fraud. Furthermore, their research shows that the most powerful incentive for an employee is to know that his or her idea will be considered fairly and implemented if it's deemed worthwhile.

In example after example, the authors demonstrate that companies that implement front-line employee ideas are companies that come up with innovative and successful strategies. For example, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections saved $56,000.00 a year by switching from film to digital cameras—a suggestion they received from one of their prison guards.

But, Ideas are Free isn't all stories and research. It provides a blueprint for what's necessary to create a powerful suggestion system. One of the most useful sections in this book are the "five actions you can take today (without the boss's permission)" that appear at the end of each chapter. For example, in the chapter entitled "Focusing on what matters most," the authors suggest that instead of asking for general ideas, readers focus on collecting ideas related to the core values of their organizations.

For any manager interested in creating an environment that encourages ideas, Ideas are Free: How the Idea Revolution is Liberating People and transforming Organizations is an engaging and practical resource.

Robinson, Alan G. and Dean M. Schroeder. Ideas are Free: How the Idea Revolution is Liberating People and transforming Organization. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2004. 218 pp. US $24.95. 1-57675-282-8.