By: Chuck Frey
Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder, co-authors of the new book, Ideas Are Free, are big believers in the power of small ideas. To help organizations unlock the potential that could be contained in even the tiniest of ideas, the authors suggest that managers get into the habit of asking themselves these questions.
Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder, co-authors of the new book, Ideas Are Free, are big believers in the power of small ideas. They enable the employees of an organization to become comfortable in submitting, implementing and managing their own ideas.
But they have several even more important benefits: Small ideas help to make all employees more attuned to big ideas when they do present themselves, and they enable employees to take their own ideas and those of others and look for ways to enhance or improve them into big ideas. To help organizations unlock the potential that could be contained in even the tiniest of ideas, the authors suggest that managers get into the habit of asking themselves these questions:
Can this idea be used elsewhere in the organization? “Sometimes a single small improvement idea can be used in many other places, vastly multiplying its initial impact.”
What other ideas does this one suggest? “Every small idea should be eyed as a possible clue to a bigger one. Using the small idea as a stepping stone, a larger problem or opportunity can sometimes be unmasked.”
Are there any patterns in the ideas that have come in? “Often a significant problem or opportunity gives rise to multiple small ideas. The connection between them may be seen in patterns in the ideas that have come in.”