Loud Thinking March 04, 2015 at 02:59PM

THE MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY: Harvard Business Review

March 4, 2015

Set Clear Goals When You Ask Employees to Innovate

Sometimes leaders fail to establish guidelines for innovation because they believe that creativity is all about giving people freedom. But if you don’t specify what kind of ideas the business will actually invest in, you’ll end up with a lot of ideas to reject. For better results – and fewer disgruntled employees – direct your employees toward problems that are relevant to the business and tell them what kind of ideas are most likely to receive management’s support. Explain the type of outcome people should aim for. For example, are you looking to increase market share or improve quality or simplify a process? And give people an indication of what a “good enough” idea is – e.g., a target year-one revenue number or a required minimum percentage for improvements. Don’t forget to go over any limitations and no-go areas, and provide a time frame for creating results.

Adapted from “Get More Actionable Ideas from Your Employees” by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg and Paddy Miller.

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