Gaining Leadership Backing for Your Innovations
Employees with innovative ideas can face challenges in getting their projects approved and funded. Some companies, like Google and 3M, actively support employee-led initiatives by allocating time for employees to pursue their own projects. Research suggests that this appr…
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Companies like Google and 3M support employee-led initiatives by allocating time for employees to pursue their own projects, which can improve employee performance.
Imagine you have a great idea for a new product at your company, but it's not in your department. You can either wait for someone else to pick it up or try to push it forward, even if you're not sure what it means for your current job. Some companies, like Google and 3M, support employee-led initiatives by giving employees time to work on their own projects, which can improve employee performance.
Analysis
Bootlegging and Skunkworks Projects
At some companies, managers know about employee-led projects, but they deliberately turn a blind eye, allowing them to continue. Some employees persist through bootlegging or skunkworks projects. Bootlegging projects have not been approved by a manager or funded by the company. Skunkworks projects involve a small team within the company that has been given authority and funding to secretly research and develop potentially groundbreaking innovations during their off-hours.
The term comes from Lockheed's Skunk Works division, set up in 1943 in a rented circus tent to build the P-80 fighter jet in secret. It took just 143 days. The 3M Post-it Note came out of the company's '15 percent culture,' described as a permitted bootlegging policy. It gives employees paid time off to pursue their own ideas. The company traces the philosophy to its longtime president and later chairman William L. McKnight.
Company scientist Arthur Fry used the policy in 1974 to turn a colleague's dormant adhesive into the first Post-it prototypes, after his own bookmarks kept falling out of his hymnal. There are several examples of high-visibility skunkworks projects. At Apple, Steve Jobs pulled resources from other projects to secretly develop the Macintosh computer.
Steps for Building a Network of Promoters
Imagine this: You have a strong idea for a new product for your company. Your coworkers encourage you to move forward because they believe it could be the organization's next big success. The idea clearly falls outside your department's responsibilities, however, and you have no role in the product line. What should you do? Sit and wait for 'the right group' to pick it up, or push the idea forward without knowing how or what it might mean for your current position?
Such situations occur frequently. Many end up as missed opportunities, even though they could have significantly advanced the company's technological or market position. Some organizations actively support such initiatives, allocating specific periods during the workday for employees to focus on developing their own ideas.
Companies known for that include Google and 3M. They allow employees to pursue projects with a portion of their time, such as one day per week. Research that I conducted indicates it pays off for employee performance.
Key points
- Some companies, like Google and 3M, actively support employee-led initiatives by allocating time for employees to pursue their own projects.
- Research suggests that this approach can improve employee performance.
- Bootlegging and skunkworks projects can lead to groundbreaking innovations and improved employee performance.
- Companies should consider supporting employee-led initiatives to stay competitive and innovative.
Companies that support employee-led initiatives can potentially create groundbreaking innovations and improve employee performance, leading to a more successful and innovative organization.
If companies do not support employee-led initiatives, they may miss out on opportunities for innovation and improvement, leading to stagnation and decreased employee performance.
