This week, ReadWriteWeb asked their readers via an online poll, “How does your company manage ideas?”
Despite many problems with the poll (the sample was RWW readers only, there’s no data about respondents, nor any indication how many participated), we found two key insights in the results.
The Undisputed, Clumsy King
As expected, email reigns supreme and remains the undisputed champion of idea management. This is natural and expected. Even if this poll has a margin of error of 10%, that means that somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of all organizations use email to “manage” idea submissions from employees.
Email remains the lifeblood of organizations, the place where all strategic topics and tactical items are discussed, up and down the organizational ranks. There’s no reason to assume that innovation-related conversations have escaped the clutches of email as discussion platform.
We see this firsthand, as many of the organizations using Kindling sought a dedicated solution after outgrowing an email-based approach to sharing ideas. Ultimately, email becomes insufficient to fully empower an innovation community—it’s too closed, too noisy and doesn’t allow for collaboration easily.
“Actually, We Don’t Want Your Ideas”
The surprise in the poll was the frequency of the response, “We don’t solicit ideas from staff.” A full 25%! That means somewhere around 1/4 of organizations are not actively seeking input from their staff on how to cut costs, improve the running of the business, or articulate ideas born out of customer interactions. (Which many employees will interpret as disinterest in their ideas altogether.)
The latent, untapped power in those non-existent conversations is staggering. As our customers know, those unspoken ideas can literally transform businesses and redefine industries.
The Opportunity
We believe it will soon be unimaginable for an organization to employ a talented workforce and *not* create a space for them to submit, discuss, debate, and collaborate on ideas. We see a near future where, on your first day at a new job, you’re shown your desk, given a bathroom key, access to your email, and the location of the idea management workspace. We’re ready.
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