Listen

Been having a bit of an email chat with Lauchlan MacKinnon about idea management systems (IMS). We've chewed the fat somewhat but where we agree is the vital importance of senior managers listening to & implementing the ideas of the ordinary worker. Now there's all kinds of caveats here ("We cannot equip you with Angelina Jolie this quarter") but ultimately all of us want to be listened to. And an IMS can be thought of as a giant hearing aid. "This is what we see happening, this is what could make it better". Now the critical thing is that some form of listening actually occurs. And by listening, that means ideas received, responded to and implemented where appropriate.

The caveat to this (for me) is that people want their own ideas to be heard. They may or may not listen to the ideas of others. The more distant, alien & disruptive those ideas (& their originators) might be, the less we will accept them. So a tricky part of innovation is to get valuable ideas heard by those who might normally reject them...

Image: Businessweek