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Catalyzing Innovation:

Ideas that allow people to act more independently

By Jonathan Vehar

(continued from page 1)

26. Eliminate all offices and doors. Management workspace closest to the center of the building and low-level employees workspaces closest to the windows… that way it encourages management to spend more time near where the lower level employees reside.

27. Create a great “break spot” where employees want to gather for Starbucks coffee or snacks. This facilitates the informal communication that results in improved work.

28. Eliminate all desks. All workspaces are to be created as collaborative work environments. Think round tables and no status barriers (e.g. big wooden desks as management shields).

29. Create a system where employees can easily get together for impromptu work meetings… it should not require pre-planning to schedule a conference room eight days in advance when you need to solve a problem right now!

30. Have a paging system that can summon all employees together quickly for instant brainstorming sessions when there is a need for breakthrough solutions (like the bell that summoned all 75 employees to a central workspace when there was a problem while designing the first Dodge Viper sports car).

31. Every morning, work teams get together to generate suggestions from employees about how to improve projects, quality, work life, etc. The ideas would be recorded. The group leader would then take the ideas to a management council that also met every morning. All ideas from every group would be shared. A decision would be made on every single idea to implement it, study it further, or kill it. Immediate feedback is given to the teams so that individuals were informed about the decision about their ideas. Employees are informed about what happened to their idea. If an employee does not get feedback on their idea within two weeks, they get $1000.00. (used at Honeywell with great success. Lots of ideas got implemented.)

32. Employees who catch supervisors not providing PraiseFirst: PPCO-type feedback (i.e. Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, Overcome concerns) on projects and reviews earn $20 from the supervisor for each occurrence.

33. On a monthly basis, all employees are recognized for their contribution to the organization. Employees submit their accomplishments for the month. Rewards are given out randomly to all employees, ranging from dinner to pens to lottery tickets.

34. Employees are expected to work outside the office (e.g. home, Starbucks, diner, park, etc.) one day per month to explore new ideas and concepts.

35. At the development stage of all projects, the idea must be presented to the staff for an idea-building session to find ways to make the solution even more compelling, impactful, and delightful.

36. Once a month, employees get together to review all offerings to decide what is to be eliminated. This happens across departments to increase the likelihood that other departments can see the forest for the one that only sees the trees.

37. Employees are expected to reject any project that is not bold and audacious enough. Dull, simple, lowest-common denominator projects are to be farmed out to others who aren’t responsible for the organization’s big, hairy, audacious goal(s).

38. Employees are allowed to swap roles on projects if there is a better fit that they are more interested in. This fosters better ideas and more commitment to the project.

39. Employees may sit in any and all meetings of other project teams in order to suggest improvements or builds to the project.

40. All meetings must begin with a joke or fun story. (Dirty and/or offensive jokes are not permissible without express approval of everyone in the room determined by blind ballot). Starting the meeting by having fun creates better conditions for working together.

41. Employees start an anonymous list of things that get in the way of them doing their jobs effectively, efficiently. Suggestions are posted for how to eliminate these impediments on a message board that is reviewed each week by management. If ideas are not reviewed and feedback is not given for each suggestion, each employee receives $50.

42. All ideas/suggestions/solutions that are proposed and rejected by management have a second chance in a peer review committee. This committee can bring the idea to the management member’s supervisor with a very strong recommendation.

43. All teams that meet target timelines/budgets receive a 50% salary bonus. All salaries begin the year reduced by 25%.

44. All solutions that are universally agreed upon by everyone without a vigorous prior debate are to be rejected out-of-hand.

45. Any conversations about other people in the organization without them present cost all people who engage in the conversation 10 demerits.

46. During each project meeting, one idea that can be branded “heresy” must be proposed with a rationale for why it makes sense. The group must consider the merits of all heretical notions.

47. Have “Meeting-free Fridays” to allow employees time to work and think and clear off their desks.

48. Allow flexible hours for people who (like Bob) work and think better in the Morning… they can start their day at 6:30 am and then leave work earlier. For people (like Jonathan) who think best in the evening, let them start their day later at 9:30 am and then leave work after they’ve had a chance to work when everyone else is gone for the day and it’s quiet.

49. Empower people to take “Idea Sabbaticals” where they leave work once a week 2 hours early and bring a note-pad with them to…anywhere!

50. Kraft’s “Core Hours” idea, where meetings can only happen during certain parts of the day (e.g. 10am – 3pm) so that people have time to work and create when they’re not in meetings.

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© 2004 Jonathan Vehar

About the Author | More by Jonathan Vehar
Jonathan Vehar is a Senior Partner at New & Improved, an organizational development firm focused on the people skills for innovation. He has had the pleasure of contributing to the development of people for over 15 years at companies like: Disney; GE; Johnson & Johnson; Kraft; McDonalds; Pfizer; and Texas Instruments; and various business schools. Jonathan believes that the secret to innovation is deliberately searching the value in all new ideas…and plenty of good food.

03/07/07