guest hosts: robinson + schroeder

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 3 comments

Guest Hosts: Ideas Are Free II

BY Heath RowMon Jun 7, 2004 at 9:11 AM

I'd like to thank Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder, co-authors of Ideas Are Free, June's Readers' Choice selection, for joining us as guest hosts last week. I've created a stand-alone category that compiles all of their ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 4 comments

Understand the Source

Fri Jun 4, 2004 at 7:23 PM

Unfortunately, Paul's experience is all too common. Too many suggest schemes become black holes for ideas - and nothing shuts ideas down faster than managers not following through on them. Understanding the perspective of those ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 2 comments

Can Strict Idea Policies Lead to Corruption?

Fri Jun 4, 2004 at 2:59 PM

The whole issue of how to set the right level of expectations for ideas is less complicated than it sounds. All that companies like Boardroom are doing is saying, in a way that works for them, "if you work here, you are expected to ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 2 comments

Black Market Ideas

Fri Jun 4, 2004 at 12:02 PM

Mark raises an interesting question that comes from the Boardroom Inc. examples in Ideas Are Free. Boardroom requires every employee to offer a minimum of two ideas each week, or the employee loses his or her quarterly bonus. While ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

Ideas and Quality of Personal Life

Fri Jun 4, 2004 at 11:13 AM

Mark brings up the point that a poorly designed system only leads to frustration on the part of employees. This can be part of a larger problem - learned helplessness. When employees have learned through experience that they can have ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

The Thrill Ride

Thu Jun 3, 2004 at 9:01 PM

I could not agree more with Birgitte's comment. Employees offer ideas because they want to see them used. That's how Idemitsu Kosan (whose idea system has consistently been ranked as one of the top two or three in Japan) and Milliken ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 4 comments

Ideas and Quality of Personal Life

Thu Jun 3, 2004 at 7:01 PM

One of the more far reaching ... and maybe reaching too far ... findings to come out of the Ideas Are Free study was that a great idea system not only improves the quality of employees' work lives, but it also impacts the quality of ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 2 comments

The Biggest Idea Killer of All

Thu Jun 3, 2004 at 4:59 PM

A number of conversations today about how the ideation process can be so easily skewed bring up perhaps the biggest distortion factor of all: rewards. It's long been known that the prospect of an extrinsic reward undermines a ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 5 comments

Where Good Ideas Come From

Thu Jun 3, 2004 at 1:32 PM

In my earlier comment about where ideas come from I was referring more to a constituency of people - those on the fringes of their organizations, such as part-timers, temps etc. - who were a great source of ideas but are often not ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 4 comments

Are Idea Systems Biased?

Thu Jun 3, 2004 at 11:43 AM

One of the interesting pieces of information that we uncovered while doing the research for Ideas Are Free was that some idea schemes show a strong gender bias. This was particularly true with the suggestion systems we saw in Sweden. ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 2 comments

The Virtual Box

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 7:03 PM

Heath brings up an interesting point about his company's corporate parent having an on-line "virtual" suggestion box. Historically, suggestion boxes were put in place more as a tool to help improve the culture of the company than to ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 4 comments

Ideas from the Fringe

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 6:49 PM

Re today's conversations about where good ideas come from, some of the best ideas come from the people on the fringes of organizations: the new hires, the temporary workers, the third-shifters, the interns, the retirees etc. The ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 3 comments

Shoot the Suggestion Box II

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 3:38 PM

The suggestion box sends some not so subtle messages. One is that ideas are not part of everyone's job - they are optional. Employees are not expected to come up with ideas for improvement. But just in case they do, there is the box ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

Lean and Mean Idea Processes

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 3:04 PM

The concept of an Idea Forum, suggested in an earlier conversation, is a great one. It boosts the quantity and quality of ideas, speeds the response time to them, and develops everyone involved into better problem solvers. Dean ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 4 comments

Shoot the Suggestion Box

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 12:58 PM

Unfortunately, Roger's experiences with a poorly run idea system are more the rule than the exception, it seems. Ever since William Denny put up the world's first suggestion box in his shipbuilding company in 1882, suggestion boxes ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 1 comment

The System is the Secret

Wed Jun 2, 2004 at 10:51 AM

We often encounter managers who challenge a key message in Ideas Are Free -- that a systematic approach to handling employee ideas is required. Typically these people tell us something like this: Every one of our managers ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

Walking the Line

Tue Jun 1, 2004 at 8:54 PM

I am enjoying these discussions and have two comments. The first is re the discussion about maintaining a balance between centralized control and decentralized application of local knowledge and experience. John points out and I ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

Traps of the Trade

Tue Jun 1, 2004 at 6:08 PM

Jeff and John bring up some good points. When it comes to getting ideas, we seem to be our own worst enemies. Either our views of what our jobs as managers should be (solving problems and coming up with ideas ourselves) or the way we ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 3 comments

Ideas and Culture

Tue Jun 1, 2004 at 10:52 AM

I saw that article on Studs Terkel. Wasn't it great? It also mentioned a recent study by the Conference Board, which showed that the percentage of workers who were satisfied with their jobs had dropped off 20 percent since 1995, and ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | Comment

Studs Terkel's Writing Still Works

BY Heath RowMon May 31, 2004 at 8:04 PM

Funny you should mention Studs Terkel, Alan. Just today in the New York Times, Adam Cohen considers the meaning of Terkel's work 30 years after Working was first published. When America begins to pay attention to its unhappy work ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 5 comments

Introduction

Mon May 31, 2004 at 6:54 PM

Hello FC Now readers, Dean and I have been looking forward to guest-hosting FC Now for several weeks now. We have a lot of things to share, and hope to spark some interesting and informative discussions. Our book Ideas Are Free is ...READ»

GUEST HOSTS: ROBINSON + SCHROEDER | 3 comments

Guest Hosts: Ideas Are Free

BY Heath RowThu May 27, 2004 at 6:13 PM

Next week, Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder will join contributors to FC Now as guest hosts. The authors of Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations, Robinson and Schroeder wrote the ...READ»