Suggestion schemes can work provided people on all sides know that:- all ideas from everyone will be listened to
- every idea deserves thanks
- some ideas will not work
- a forum for ideas assists the process of innovation.
Recognition (and selection) of ideas to be pursued should be on
the basis that the idea can show:- originality of thought
- ultimate benefit to the customer
- business potential
- quality improvement
- cost savings
- viability in implementation.
In sieving ideas, three questions should be asked (as Henry Ford did):
1 Is it needed?
2 Is it practical?
3 Is it commercial?Project teams can drive an idea forward to its successful innovation
by remembering three strategies which work and they are to:
1 recruit a senior sponsor
2 run a pilot project or experiment
3 present innovation as a gradual/incremental development.Brainstorming (getting a large number of ideas from a group in a
short time) can produce ideas (which then have to be sieved and
tested) and Alexander Osborn’s rules are hard to beat:- Suspend judgement – no criticism or evaluation
72 The John Adair Handbook of Management and Leadership