Everyone wants to hit one out of the park with a solution that is so elegant, so profound that it stuns by virtue of its brilliance. But really, how often does that happen? And when it does, how long before the competitor picks up on it? There are many more benefits to be gained by gathering and implementing small ideas.
Despite the heroic lore of invention, a big idea rarely comes in a single, flash-of-brilliance moment. It starts as a smaller idea that requires exploration and development. And every big idea requires lots of small ideas, not only to develop it into a workable solution but also to exploit its potential fully. Often the only sustainable advantage a company realizes from a major new innovation comes from the hundreds or even thousands of smaller ideas associated with it that really make it work, build upon its capabilities, and truly integrate it into the organization. If the managers in your organization are incapable of listening to and acting on large numbers of small ideas, it simply cannot achieve excellence in performance. |
And remember, the people in the best position to come up with all of these small ideas are the people directly working with the problems every day--your front-line employees. They can make you look very good if you only let them. And best of all, their ideas are free. People have lots of ideas and want to share them. They don't need to be bribed. They want to solve problems, make their work easier and more productive, and be part of a winning team. The biggest reward you can give them is to listen to their ideas, take them seriously, and use the good ones.
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