Funny you should bring this up...

It's not enough to encourage employees "to be creative"; you have to teach them how. Just yesterday I ran a workshop at Notre Dame High School in Lawrence to teach teachers HOW to find, shape and write stories -- a crucial element in our efforts to attract students, job sponsors and contributors.

Without that commitment to real, hands-on training, asking employees to develop innovative thinking becomes a frustrating (on both sides) exercise in wishful thinking.

It is funny, Jonathan, when you consider that children are incredibly creative. As time goes on, and they go through school and then begin working at jobs and careers, often creativity is put aside. Sometimes, it's the result of having their ideas disparaged a few times. Often, it's the result of becoming practical and focusing on the nuts and bolts of doing a particular job, without allowing creative juices to flow. Sad, that. . .and hard for designers like me to understand. Generating ideas and innovative solutions are a way of life for us. But I do think they ought to be for employers and employees regardless of the business they're in. The greatest inventions in the world came from the flow of great ideas. Let's hope a free flow begins in many businesses. I suspect many good things would result.

Thanks for weighing in with great observations, Jonathan.

Ted, the best creativity and insights can come from within. Nobody knows the company, its capabilities, business processes, competitors, and customers better. A talented consultant can help ask questions, build exercises, and establish other processes conducive for innovation idea generation, among other things.

I think most companies should have some sort of innovation department, that can be just one or two people who not only work with product dev, but also across other departments.
They'd manage blogs, idea portfolios, conduct research, and would be the arbiters of knowledge management within a firm, as it pertains to innovation.

Perhaps some departments already have quality improvements programs and documentation databases. Great! The important thing at that point is to make sure it's at least accessible to the right parties, on demand, and can be easily understood.

I highlighted some additional internal innovation processes at the following blog post (in the context of NPD):
http://tinyurl.com/6986xj

A competitive intelligence friend told me multi-department internal interviews can bring up a LOT of good information from folks who are more than happy to give their opinion and ideas, but are seldom asked. She attributes some of it though to the fact that she's an outsider.

I think the most important thing companies can do is start opening up channels for ideation. Any of the ideas above are a great place to start. I know from experience how frustrating it can be to have an idea to improve something, without an outlet to share the idea. Eventually the idea is forgotten and apathy sets in.

Although, I think it might be hard to pinpoint what channels will be most effective, by looking at it with a wide lens like we are here. Maybe companies should try some trial and error here to see what works best. I think it depends a lot on company culture.

I work at a design firm, and as a group ideation seems to happen more freely and be most valuable when (#2) doodling, scribbling and pinning up pictures is involved.

We launched a company wiki not to long ago to provide a central location for everyone to express their thoughts on their vision for the company, and the ability to do it whenever something hit them, instead of having to wait for the next meeting. So far there has been limited participation.

On the other hand, I've seen the company wiki work wonders in company cultures where people aren't too eager to jump up and voice their opinions during meetings.

A great book on this subject is "Creativity Today" by Ramon Vullings, Igor Byttebier & Godelieve Spaas. http://www.creativitytoday.net
The book is a treasure chest packed full of strategies for effective ideation. It’s worth checking out.

You've brought up some great points, Mario. As you stated so articulately: "Nobody knows the company, its capabilities, business processes, competitors, and customers better." Exactly.

There is a place for outside consultants and companies should not stop soliciting a fresh, outside view of their businesses, their processes, or for solutions to their problems. Objectivity is very important.

Having said that, I'd also submit that given some incentive and encouragement, many solutions can be found within. Some companies do build innovation into their core. Think Apple. . .a favorite of mine and a favorite of most designers, right, Mario? P&G has likewise changed its culture gradually to focus on design for innovative solutions. I expect many other companies will experiment with this and do so over time.

For this to work well, many people need to have access to the information, as you pointed out. And that information has to be intelligable to everyone. Silo busting, anyone? (hat tip to Paul Barsch and Roy Young for their recent articles on this important subject).

Thanks for adding a great deal to this conversation, Mario. I appreciate it.

Chris,

"I know from experience how frustrating it can be to have an idea to improve something, without an outlet to share the idea." You're right. As fellow designers, we ideate all day long. We'd also love to see every company put an emphasis on encouraging the free flow of ideas. As you point out, there has to be a forum for this. Or, some ideas like those cited in the Business Week article.

I think the key to making this a success is to respect everybody who suggests an idea, no matter how far-fetched it might be. Disparaging any of the ideas presented, will squelch further discussion. That's the last thing anybody wants, so companies need to be sensitive to this.

Love your idea of launching a company wiki. It's a great way to encourage participation from the reticent among us. In order to encourage its use, companies need to talk something like this up and let people know they can't wait to get their input. A little push goes a long way.

Great stuff, Chris. Thanks for weighing in with so many well-articulated ideas.

Ted, thanks for initiating this subject. I have been involved in a number of programs, over the years, directed at innovation, creativity, customer service and on and on. They all have great intentions, but generally fail because the company does not follow through. Management often spends lots of money kicking the idea off and then it is abandoned. Worse yet management doesn’t “walk the talk“ and the staff quickly reverts because they know nothing has changed.

The real issue is how to get management to make such changes a permanent part of the company personality. If they are committed it will work.

You're right, Harry. All of the corporate efforts in the world to elicit creative and innovative ideas, as well as solutions to problems, are meaningless unless they are acted upon.

I did not discuss this in my post since I wanted to focus on the idea of eliciting ideas from employees as the centerpiece of the discussion. More companies need to entertain the idea of setting up ways to encourage the free flow of ideas. Of course, as you pointed out, doing that will go for naught if strong ideas aren't acted upon. In the end, that would just dissuade employees from bothering to input their ideas. . .and nothing will change for the better.

Thanks for sharing your insights and considerable experience with us, Harry. I appreciate it.

Ted, enjoyed this post.

Companies not sharing information across silos is definitely a cause for deficiencies in innovation, but there's another silo worth mentioning and that's the silo of individual job roles. Often companies only want output from an individual according to their job role and status -no more and no less. Meaning, if it's not your business, keep out.

Many times, companies hire very well rounded employees who may have, in past lives, had experience in different domains (job roles) and acquired/observed best practices that could be enacted. Sadly, everyone has turf they need to protect and therefore it's easier to hire someone from the outside (not a threat) as opposed to advice from someone internal.

Exactly, Paul. People get pigeon-holed by companies. They are brought in to do specific jobs and they, in turn, do tend to protect their turf from the people who are working in other "departments". That is part of the issue here when referring to silos.

Often, employees see and hear things in their daily work lives that prompt them to come up with ideas. Those ideas shouldn't be discouraged, or disparaged when they are offered. Especially of value: the input of front-line employees who interact directly with the customer.

For the ideas presented in this article and my subsequent post, management has to be open-minded if it is going to develop a more creative atmosphere. And less rigid about where the ideas are being generated. If they did so, don't you think it might help break down silos of every kind?

Thanks for adding a lot to this post, Paul, as always.