In late winter of 1989 Alan Robinson and I were working on an article dealing with the power of front-line ideas. Alan had recently returned from Japan where he had been given exceptional access to a number of Japanese manufacturers, and had been able to study their processes in depth. His research had convinced him that part of the key to the manufacturing efficiency of these leading Japanese companies was  »  Read More

Can $5 screw up an idea system? Recently we visited a company known for its creative products in order to study its idea system and innovation processes. The company is well-managed, the leader in its field in North America with every Fortune 500 company as a customer, and a significant player in several international markets. While its employee idea system was getting some good ideas, the company’s managers  »  Read More

As Leonardo da Vinci observed, problem-sensitivity is a key driver of ideas. Ideas come from problems and opportunities, so to have more ideas you have to train yourself to see more problems. One way to do this in an organizational setting is to come up with fresh perspectives on the work that you and your team do. A number of years ago, we were at the headquarters of Dana Corporation in Toledo, Ohio. At the time  »  Read More