Ideas Are FreeAchieving Organizational Excellence with

Employee Ideas

Ownership Thinking2011 Annual Conference

Dr. Dean M. Schroeder

The new normal: Uncertainty, ambiguity & the need for rapid change.

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of

thinking we used when we created them.”

Albert Einstein

The Key to success today is flexibility, innovation and constant improvement…

Rapid Learning

Time

Impr

ovem

ent

Normal Learning Rate – 2%

Speed of Learning

Impr

ovem

ent

What if you could learn faster?

Speed of Learning

Time

Impr

ovem

ent

What if you could learn faster?

Speed of Learning

Time

Competitive Advantage

So what is Organization Learning?

Organizational Learning isimprovement in:

• People’s knowledge (and their ability to use it)

• Company policies, procedures, & systems

• The technology and tools the company uses

• Organizational mindset – the way things are viewed – core assumptions & beliefs

How do we speed our natural learning rate?

In Idea-Driven companies –80% of learning comes from

your front-line people

Black Belt€1.5 Million

Green Belt Project€1 Million in Savings

Idea System€8 Million in Savings

Organizational Learning at Coca-Cola Stockholm

Examples Of Idea-Driven Organizations

Scania 50 ideas/employee/year15% improvement rate

Autoliv 65 ideas/employee/year14% improvement rate

Clarion Stockholm 67 ideas/employee/yearNear 100% occupancy

Milliken Corporation 110 ideas/employee/year

Boardroom 104 ideas/employee/year7X average productivity

Key Lesson fromThe Ideas Are Free Study

more than 150 companies visitedin 17 different nationsin a wide range of

industriesover 1000 interviewsmore for the new book

1) Set the foundation withstandard work

2) To After Small Ideas!

Why do people offer their ideas?

1. To make their job easier2. To contribute to a winning team3. For personal pride in

achievement4. For the recognition and respect

Why do people offer their ideas?

3) Avoid Percentage Rewards

4) Use a Good System

You can’t expect rapid learning to happen organically or simply with rhetoric.

Not asuggestion

box-type system!

Our favorites systems…The Idea MeetingThe Idea Board

The Clarion Hotel Stockholm: Ideas from the Bar October 2008

1 Marco Get maintenance to drill 3 holes in the floor behind the bar and install pipes

so bartenders can drop bottles directly into the recycling bins in basement

2 Reza When things are slow in the bar, mix drinks at the tables so the guests get a show

3 Nadia Many customers ask if we serve afternoon tea. Currently, there is no hotel in the entire south of Stockholm that does. I suggest we start one.

4 Tess Have an organic cocktail. Customers often ask for them, and we don't offer one.

5 Nadia Clarion conference and event sales staff often meet prospective customers in

the bar. Give the bar staff information in advance about the prospects so they can be on alert and do something special

6 Tim Whenever the bar introduces a new cocktail, have a tasting for the restaurant

staff, just as the restaurant always does when a new menu or menu item is introduced, so servers know what they are selling

7 Fredrik When the bar opens at 9:30 in the morning, many guests ask for vitamin shots (special blends of fruit juices). Let's put these on the menu.

8

Nadia Have maintenance build some shelves in an unused area in the staff access corridor behind the bar for glasses. Currently, there is so little space for glasses in the bar, that they are stored upstairs in the kitchen, and it takes 30 minutes for one of the two bartenders to go and get glasses, which means lost sales.

9 Marco In the upstairs bar, we have to spend an hour bringing down all the alcohol

from upstairs when we open and putting it away when we close. We wouldn't have to do this if locks were installed on the cabinets in the bar.

10 Marin On our receipts, when guests pay with Eurocard, it says "Euro". This

confuses many guests, who think they have been charged in Euros instead of Kronor. Get accounting department to fix the way the receipts are printed.

11

Nadia The bartending staff often act as concierges, telling people about the hotel, local shops, restaurants, and attractions, and giving directions. The hotel has a concierge video which it shows on its website. Offer this on TV in all hotel rooms.

12

Tess Currently we close at 10 p.m. on Sundays, and many guests complain about this. But because we have a red dot on our liquor license from a single violation many years ago, we must have four security guards in the bar to be open after 10 on Sundays, and this is too expensive. Apply to have red dot removed, and then we can stay open with only one security guard.

13 Nadia - CC The late night security guards are sometimes curt and rude to the customers

(the security service is subcontracted. These guards should be required to take the same "Attitude at Clarion" training that all Clarion staff take.

14 Marco Increase the font size and make clearer that the coupons conferences give out are for discounts at the bar, not for free drinks.)

15 Nadia Have the kitchen mark the ham pre-wrapped sandwiches that the bar sells.

Bar staff currently have to cut them in half to tell the difference between them and the ham and cheese sandwiches.

16 Marin Put an extra beer tap in the bar, so we can sell more beer. Currently, there is only one, and it is a bottleneck.

17 Nadia Have maintenance put some sandpaper safety strips on the handicapped

ramp in the bar. Children currently use it as a slide, and the bar staff has to deal with minor scrapes and cuts on a daily basis.

18 Nadia Give the bar staff information about how many guests are staying in the hotel, so they can stock and staff the bar appropriately.

Idea Meeting

Sample Idea Board

PyromationForte Wayne, IN

Autoliv

Link front-line ideas to strategic objectives!

5) Focus Ideas Where They Matter Most

What Makes What Makes Good Metrics?Good Metrics?

What Makes Good Metrics?What Makes Good Metrics?

• Clear Strategic AlignmentVertical and Horizontal

• Drive Bottom-line Performance• Buy-in – Leaders to Front-lines • Meaningful to Front-line• Actionable with Ideas • Balanced Set – 3 or 4

Chip Set ExampleChip Set Example

1. Sales per associate2. Orders arrived on-time

and correct3. Inventory turn rate

6) Make Ideas a Regular Part of Everyone's Job

Hold People Accountable

Training sessions that point out a new perspectives or insights that will lead to more and better ideas.

7) 7) Use Use Idea ActivatorsIdea Activators

“3-R” Activator Training

ReduceReuseRecycle

Results?No Waste to landfill since May 2004!Millions in annual savings!

EnvironmentStrategyStructure

Budgets/PoliciesProcedures/Systems/Practices

Skills /Supervision/Rewards

Behavior

LEADERSHIP

CULTURE

8) Aligning the Company for Ideas

Dr. Dean M Schroederdeanmschroeder@gmail.com

deanmschroeder.com(219) 464 8133