15.6.05

Innovation Capture

At work we've been thinking about capturing creative energy and innovation from our front-line staff. I read this article and it made me think in simple terms, is a pad and paper enough for capturing innovation? What do we do with it once it's captured? what if all the suggestions are rubbish and who are we to decide that they are rubbish?

My idea, not exactly a bombshell, is to develop a think-pad ... effectively a re-writable mouse pad that's formed of sheets of 80gsm paper and glue-bound so that you can tear them off when full. If you put just enough prompts on there then hopefully people fill them in during the day. If you formalise the process with a reporting line (every evening a line manager collects up the top-sheets and reviews them in the next day's ten-minute meeting) then the ideas get an audience. As long as this feedback is owned and acted upon then momentum is maintained huh? It even regains some valuable desk 'real estate' ... linking in with the 5S guide to visual management.

Are there any fatal flaws in this plan?

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