A popular trend in organizations these days is the promotion of ideas, inventions, and innovations. Smart companies are realizing that fast growth and big profits no longer come from having the most efficient factories or by being the biggest in the industry. These organizations have learned that it is no longer good enough to just be the biggest in the market and that the big profits are in untapped, new markets. As a result, organizations are turning to their employees, partners, and customers for great ideas.
So what do you do if you have a great idea? An idea that just sits in your head is worthless, but an idea shared with a community has the opportunity to become great. Hopefully you are part of an organization that embraces change and encourages or at least listens to new ideas. If you are, there’s a much greater chance that your idea will eventually become a reality. The best case scenario is your organization already has a program in-place to share and promote ideas. If this is not the case, then perhaps your first great idea may be to setup such a program in your organization.
Unfortunately many of us are part of organizations that don’t embrace change, don’t innovate, and are not interested in your ideas. These companies usually stand on the position that if it works, don’t change it. While this strategy may be successful for while, no winning strategy will last forever. Eventually changes in the environment or the marketplace will change the rules of the game and the winning strategy of yesterday will become obsolete.
So what do you do if your organization doesn't want to hear your ideas? The sad truth is there is a very high likelihood you will never change your organization’s way of thinking. These companies have become too complacent in their success and are too afraid to take risks. The best you can hope for is that your company lasts long enough for you to find an organization that will listen to your ideas.
Once you do find the right organization, share your idea with as many people as possible. Describe it in a way that tells a story about how it will increase profits or reduce costs. Fine-tune your story to appeal to the audience you are sharing it with. For example, Bob in Finance wants to hear how your idea will lower the organization’s costs or increase cash-flow, while Shelly in Operations wants to know how your idea will save her time.
Not everyone will like your idea. Don’t be discouraged by naysayers that don’t get or like your idea. Ask them what they don’t like about it and what they would do to make it better. Use their feedback to sharpen the idea and to give them a sense of ownership of the idea.
Give your idea a name. It is much easier to spread the word that your company is going “Agile” for example, than to explain that your company is embracing an iterative development process to improve time to market, software quality, and customer satisfaction.
Lastly, it’s okay if your idea doesn’t work. If you are fortunate enough to see your idea come to fruition and it fails, don’t be discouraged. Not all ideas will be successful. You learn far more from your failures than from your successes. A smart organization will realize this and give you another chance. Just make sure you have more great ideas than bad ones. So go out share your ideas and make change happen.