"ALL THE WORLD IS A PRODUCT:
Create Million Dollar Ideas"!

The World Brings Creativity in Abundance - is your business open to it?

Would you like an idea to save a million dollars in overhead costs?  How about one that could generate 20 million dollars in revenue?

What if the potential of this program is guaranteed
a  return of 10 to 100 times its overall costs?

If you only placed suggestions boxes in every department expecting an onslaught of ideas from your employees, then you made the gravest mistake in tapping into one of the most powerful resources at your disposal.  That type of suggestion program was destined to fail from the get go because unfortunately, it told your employees that you were NOT truly committed to the program or believed they had anything of value to suggest.

The boxes are just a small (but important) part of what is required for a program like this to succeed but there are so many additional "entities" that have to be in place and addressed.  These "entities" (some) include providing guidance, direction and reminders. Without a complete program your company will not get the powerful return that a true program like this has offer.

Let me ask you, were instructions included of how, where and to whom the suggestions go to?  Was an explanation as to what happens with the suggestions. Did you use the right tools that take advantage of basic human nature in which creativity flourishes?  These are just a few necessary pieces to properly implementing a suggestion program that will rival the competition and provide you with that million dollar cost savings or the 20 million dollars more in revenue.

One of the things that hurts a company after spending time and money hiring and training a new employee, is that after a short time, the employee leaves and goes elsewhere. Many times it takes six months to finally begin receiving a return on that employee, taking into account all the training and acclamation an average person requires when entering a new job. You loose money from short time employees. 

Smart business owners realize how important it is for their business to get as much return from its employees and a business has every right to tap into everything an employee brings to the company.  Isn't that why an employee is hired in the first place - the value they bring? 

Short-Term Employees?

Being a business owner you understand the importance and value of always being “best” to your customers and to continually grow and improve your total business.  This improvement must include developing new or improving existing products, establishing new business, reducing costs and attracting and keeping the highest in quality employees. One of the reasons an employee will leave a great company is that they feel the position does not offer them complete satisfaction and they mistakenly think the company may not truly be looking towards the future.  Sometimes employees feel that if they do not have a say, or believe no one is there to listen to their suggestions, then the company and upper management is only looking out for themselves. Of course this is far from the truth.    Why not fully tap into both short and long-term employees, especially if someone can come up with an idea that can save you a significant amount of money?  Maybe an idea to increase productivity?  Here is a little story emphasizing how a creativity program will effect  your business from your employees perspective. Two college graduates stood next to each other in their cap and gown, shook hands, gave each other the respectful hug and two pats on the back and then parted to their home town, a thousand miles apart. Ten years later the two met up and discovered that each, though graduated with the same business degree, had different levels of success. One went to work for a large corporation only to have been lost in the large employee crowd and the daily mundane activities of responsibilities.

NEED AN EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE BONUS PROGRAM? Increase Productivity. Decrease tardiness, sick days & absenteeism.  Increase Safety Surpass Goals Meet or Exceed Budgets

What makes these two graduates so different, especially when they came from similar backgrounds, is their ability (or lack of - in one case) to feel as if they are contributing to their success and the success of a common entity – in this case the company.

The importance and value that one places on having and contributing to a common entity cannot be emphasized enough. Why not take this basic human desire and direct it to the continued success of your business?

But It Requires Too Much Time and Effort

Now, I can just hear hear you say “implementing this type of program reduces productivity because it takes the employee away from their required, and all important, daily tasks”.  And I am sure you do not need your management to be in any more meetings then they already are. 

Guess what?  Give me forty minutes of your time and you will be amazed at how quickly and simple it will to implement this quality of a program. 

Outsourcing

How much outsourcing have you done with consultants?  During this business times, more and more companies are outsourcing many functions to reduce costs, streamline requirements and sometimes get more expertise. 

Let me ask you, who knows your business inside and out better then anyone?  Who has insights to everything going on in your business?  When you do bring in a consultant, who and where do they turn for the needed answers  to the solutions they inform you are required?   Your Employee.

You already have the solutions to many of your problems, concerns and issues, you just need to reach out and ask for them and then provide and avenue to receive them.

Your employees spend at least 40 hours working during the week, they communicate with so many other departments and personal and many times they discuss your business. The water coolers, lunch rooms or break areas are tremendous places for employees to gather and discuss your business. 

Food for Thought

Your employees work for you eight hours per day, five days per week. What do you think they are doing the remainder sixteen hours per day and the two days off?  Are you aware that this time can be crucial to the success of your business?  Its potential is so valuable that words cannot explain or empathize enough!

Oh, by the way, employees will be happy to contribute to the success of your business during their off time, only if you have the proper program in place and lay the ground work, during their work hours.

Not allowing an employee to be creative and providing them an avenue to express their creativity through suggestions that they believe are of extreme value and beneficial to the organization, will make them feel as if they are not part of the complete team - the company in whole.

There are two critical steps to take to assure your employees get their fair shake when suggesting an idea. The small price you pay for these two entities will be like gas to fire.  It will make your employee's competitive and entrepreneurial spirit want to come up with ideas after ideas. This desire to help a greater "cause" (your business) will be so strong its impact will effect your business for decades.

Who gets the suggested idea and where does it go?

If you created an employee suggestion program that did not outline and explain who gets the idea, who reviews the idea and who and what determines whether or not the idea gets implemented, then how and why did you expect to get any suggestions at all?

Employees want to be assured of a fair shake and know for a fact that competent and trustworthy individuals are going to truly review their suggestion and whether or not the idea gets implemented or not, they want some feedback.  Otherwise they feel their suggestion is just going to deaf ears. Without this knowledge and feedback their next suggestion (s)  will only be those slang words.

Also, employees do not like going directly to their supervisor to make suggestions and a proper suggestion program should never, ever have the employees supervisor as the first contact for suggestions because of the important role supervisors and employees must maintain to assure efficient productivity.
 

Fact! If you think a janitor or dock worker can't come up with a powerful idea, you are wrong! Every employee has life-experiences that could be the missing link to your next million-dollar savings idea or solve that problem that has been a thorn in your side for a long time.

Costs

What will a new product idea do to your bottom line?  Your company's overall portfolio? How will the shareholders feel when the overall value and market position increases because a flux of new ideas were produced?  How would an increase in profits effect your business because you were able to substantially reduce overhead or operational costs?

What if the cost of properly implementing and maintaining a program of this nature is a fraction of the return you will receive?  What if the total potential return ranges from 10 to 100 times its initial and continued operation costs?

Let me ask you, what is one idea worth to your business?  The answer depends on the value of the idea, right?  Okay, now, what if an idea saved you one million dollars in overhead costs? Or, what if an idea generated an additional 20 million dollars in revenue?  What if you had a couple of ideas of this value, what would they be worth to your business now?

The answer to the worth would have to be "what would it cost to get those types of results"?

What if the answer to that is a fraction of any savings or revenue generated? 

Now, what if you also gained a value that cannot be measured by dollars.  For instance, improved employee morale, longer-term employees, an environment that increases productivity, less absenteeism, and possibly an increase in trademarks and patents.  How would you value these type of intangible returns that you can receive?

However, every investment does require an outlay of money and with this program, your outlay costs only to implementation will not even reach 10 percent of the million dollars saving that could be generated - if that is the only idea ever suggested and implemented.

Take into account that you can expect a return to be 10 to 100 times  greater then your overall costs. Now what if you did get an idea that did save you one million dollars or produced additional revenue of 20 million dollars?  Then your costs will far out do the 100 times greater of a return.

A proper employee suggestion program can generate these types of ideas!.

But I Already Have Idea Committees

Okay, you have idea committees and wonder why you should establish a suggestion program.

How large are these committees? How often do they meet? Is there enough time to truly focus on new business development and improvement? 

Take into account the mind of management.  Management, especially upper management, is focused on the important and necessary rules, precedent and company deals.  Because of this type thinking they may not have the same ability of the worker who has a mindset that is free from this type of thinking. 

Also, sometimes situations and circumstances do not allow currently established committees or development groups to come up with all the needed answers because of being to close to an issue which can restrict the creative process and therefore strain the solution.

Now what if you continued using your same development committees, but now, add one hundred more thinkers into the equation?  Perhaps one thousand more thinkers?  ALL FOR FREE.  How do you think having that many more brains, focusing on your areas of importance, will effect and impact the outcome?

It is my opinion, based of the research completed of growth type businesses, there needs to be committees continually focusing on new business and product development and it is important to continually add to your product mix long before your current products reach the end of their life cycle.

Furthermore, these type of idea committees need to stay focused on their agendas and therefore may not be the right group that has the ability to focus on other  issues effecting the company.  They may not even know what other issues are effecting the business or are in need of being addressed by the business because there work scope is in a completely different area.

To run a proper employee suggestion program, in my opinion, it takes a dedicated individual, let's say a "Director of ESP" to build and maintain the required trust with employees and all management levels, coordinate the required entities changes, keep the program credentials and oversee and assist in the evaluation of the incoming suggestions.  The cost of this person will easily be offset by the value of the submissions this program could produce.

You understand the value of your accountant? Engineer? Sales Representative?  The Director of your Suggestion Program not only provides a valuable service to your organization but also can provide a measurable and significant return to your overall business.

Creative Suggestion Curve

Do you know there is a "bell curve" associated with a suggestion program?  Just like the product life cycle curve, the curve associated with a suggestion program is vital to understanding the meaning of what the number of ideas that are suggested.

The advantage to the suggestion program curve is that to a degree, you can maintain its life just by completing a few simple tasks that trigger the employee into a creative mode.

Though the worker may initially suggest ridicules ideas and thoughts, the significance and importance of them cannot be emphasized enough. This is a sign that creativity is active and about to be extremely logical or much more in-depth in the coming short time.

Being creative is the highest in mental activity and sometimes it takes someone without institutional knowledge and training, but who has a wealth of training in "life experiences" that can provide the missing link to a surplus of ideas. Don't even under estimate the janitor's creative ability.

WWII  &  Dot Com (s)

Think back on the last century, how different it was then, compared to today.  How many new products can you think of that are here today that were not a century ago?  Take a few minutes and remember WWII and how quickly new products came to surface and then developed and used in the short span between 1930 - 1946.  It is amazing how ingenuity can happen when so many are focused on the accomplishment of one item.  It rivaled the competition!

During the Dot Com area of the 1990's, a tremendous amount of new product ideas flourished, unparalleled to this day. People flocked to these companies in droves with the dream and passion of making a significance and playing a part in a new type of industry. 


Not since WWII has there been this degree of excitement, rich with creativity!  And the amount of ideas created in such a short period of time was astonishing to witness.

Why?        Why Not?!!!

In both circumstances described above, there were entities put in place to tap into the creativity of EVERYONE. Importance, a cause, attitude, and most importantly, an OPEN MINDED attitude!  There was no bad idea!

WWII the importance was freedom and the defeat of a tyrant. The government looked at so many product suggestions and even created criteria for new products with stringent deadlines.  The world was at stake. Competition was high and the enemy was being just as creative.

And people flocked and came forward. People felt they couldn't do enough or get their fast enough. Creativity and ingenuity helped to achieve victory.

The Dot Com companies instilled the same degree of creativity within their business.  These companies let EVERYONE know how important their creativity meant and was valued.  They had such an open mindedness that some companies let their employees bring a musical instrument to work, and if stressed out, let them sit and play it to relax.  And people flocked to these companies.

Fortunately WWII ended.  Unfortunately the DOT COM area ended.  Both left people wandering and wondering.  The "high" and "excitement" of being creative and has left a number of people with great potential searching for a chance to contribute to a cause. 

But nothing can replace the highest form of self-worth,
except the highest form of self-worth - creativity.

Unfortunately, there are even more people who have never been given the opportunity to flourish there creativity, because they never worked for a Dot Com company.

What are you waiting for?

Further Thoughts

Everyone starts out with some degree of entrepreneurial or competitive spirit.  However, human life experiences could have flourished or squelched this spirit during the course of life - as explained above with our two college graduates.  Why not provide an avenue that brings out everyone's entrepreneurial or competitive spirit in a way that benefits your company?

Here is where you ask yourself, "do my employees really have anything to contribute that would be of value to the organization"?  "Should I just leave in place the current creative entities and not bother'?

The answer to these two questions can be summed up as: do you want to grow your business?  How successful and profitable do you want to be?  Do you have all the answers to all your business needs? Do you truly want to stay ahead of the competition?  Do you want to take advantage of every aspect of our business?

Why It Is Important to Your Business
 

An employee suggestion program will provide a business a wealth of ideas that can positively effect its overall market position, improve its bottom line and allow it to keep its quality employees -  if the program is complete, properly implemented and maintained!

For your FREE, NO OBLIGATION EXPLANATION and EVALUATION, just complete the form below.  You will be contacted shortly to arrange a meeting of your convenience.

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A must for Companies looking to generate a wealth of value
through is most valuable resource - the employee.