Practices Preventing Idea Generation by Employees in Hierarchical
Structures1 |
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Hijacking of ideas by the time they make it up the corporate
ladder - when that happens, workers retaliate by keeping good ideas to
themselves, thus slowing down the organization's thinking
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Taking away sharp edges of ideas while they pass up
through a hierarchical structure - when their ideas get honed down to
something that doesn't mean anything, people become discouraged and
state that they either don't have the time or interest in putting
forth their ideas
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Human barriers to change - rejecting good ideas that may change
the status quo and thus threaten personal interests of a corporate
'gatekeeper'
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Though Nobody Argues...
Though everybody agrees that the best idea should win, creating a corporate
environment where the best idea - regardless of origin - does win is an art
not yet mastered by most companies and it prevents them from thinking and
moving faster than their competition.1
Case Study: GE Work-Out
With Work-Out
as part of its DNA, General Electric (GE) has become one of the most
innovative, profitable, and admired companies on earth. At its core, Work-Out is a very simple concept based on the
premise that those closest to the work know it best. When the ideas of those
people, irrespective of their functions and job titles, are solicited and
turned immediately into action, an unstoppable wave of creativity, energy,
and productivity is unleashed throughout the organization. At GE, Work-Out
"Town Meetings" gave the corporation access to an unlimited resource of
imagination and energy of its talented employees...More
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