Learn from real-world examples of leveraging front-line ideas to drive growth, streamline operations, and achieve tangible results.
15 minutes. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to know if a project will be successful or not. I’m not talking about the ones where a prospective customer asks for a primo solution by tomorrow on a shoestring budget. Those don’t stand a chance. I’m talking about the ones where the requirements, budget, and timeline are reasonable, and everyone seems to be aligned. Even those aren’t guaranteed to succeed. Let’s talk about the conditions that make success more likely.
I had my eye on a company for several years – taking every opportunity to connect with the owners online or in person. Something was different about them. I could tell by the way they behaved and told their story it wasn’t just hype. I knew we could be an ideal technology partner for them when they had a need. Finally, one of the partners accepted my request for a meeting.
They realized their strategic growth objectives would stand a better chance if they utilized technology to streamline their operations. Specifically, by implementing custom software to improve production scheduling, automating order entry, and digitally transforming the entire flow from receiving to production to quality control to shipping, they believed they could triple their output without hiring more staff. It was a tall order and all of us at the table shared a healthy amount of skepticism, but within 15 minutes I knew the project would succeed. How?
Once the partners shared their vision for what they wanted to accomplish, we took a walk. First, we met with the production manager. They made sure we knew each other’s names and told us to talk as often as needed to be successful. The production manager joined us for the rest of the walk. As I took notes, we stopped at each area in the plant as they asked the receiving team, setup team, machine operators, and so on to explain their processes and share how they thought they could be better. Everything I believed about this organization was true. They really did have a culture that valued their people and their ideas all throughout the organization.
The first project has been successful – tangible results that are a story for another time. Technology improvements that failed in the past are now becoming a reality as ideas are being contributed by dozens of people. If it’s that easy, why don’t more companies operate this way? That’s a great question, and one that’s addressed in the book The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas by Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder.[CG1] The authors suggest that feelings of superiority, lack of trust or respect, and poor communication often prevent leaders from involving the front-line in ideation. The book suggests some elaborate systems to build an idea-driven organization, which in our experience can be intimidating or unattractive to some.
“Technology improvements that failed in the past are now becoming a reality as ideas are being contributed by dozens of people.”
Creating a culture of innovation and continuous improvement doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. You don’t need an idea box or idea tracking software. You don’t need a program to offer incentives for the best idea. In our experience, this type of transformation can happen incrementally. It starts with leaders who decide to respect and trust their front-line employees and value their ideas. Through one-on-one conversations with the people who are closest to the opportunities for improvement, you begin to share the vision of what success looks like for your organization while increasing engagement of front-line workers who desire to be seen and heard.
The future is bright for organizations who adopt this mindset. The upside is 4x the good ideas1, an engaged workforce, and in this case tens of millions in additional annual revenue. Not everyone will believe it can work for them. We’ve seen it work time and again. Read some examples at https://www.kellerschroeder.com/heroes/ and fill out the form on the page to request a free consultation. It would be our honor to share how we partnered with these front-line transformation heroes to make big impacts in their organizations.
¹ Robinson, Alan G., and Dean M. Schroeder. The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-up Ideas. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2020.
Written By:
Rob Wilson
Principal Consultant Greater Nashville Area
Applications Solutions Group
