Around 1200 AD a Chinese-Mongol engineer came up with the idea of adding a silk shirt underneath their leather armor.  The resulting insulation drastically cut the injury and death rate of Genghis Khan’s army from arrow wounds.  Because the loose silk shirt would trap arrow heads and stop them from penetrating the skin.   

If the arrow happened to penetrate the skin, Mongol warriors and doctors could easily pull the arrow from the wound, because it was wrapped in the silk cloth.

It was this small idea that turned the Mongol army into a undefeatable force.  An idea that may never have been realized had it not been for a visionary (but ruthless) leader named Genghis Kahn. 

Getting more ideas through the pipeline

According to Vincent Carbone of BrightIdea, it’s the small ideas that are lost in the Enterprise.  And over time these small ideas can add up to significant revenue generation or cost reduction opportunities.  

If you haven’t heard of BrightIdea, it’s worth a look.  They facilitate the entire innovation management process from idea to product launch.  They look at the entire innovation lifecycle and help companies develop a more holistic view of the organization’s idea initiatives. 

BrightIdea’s key value proposition is getting more of the best ideas to market (or internal). 

BrightIdea At a Glance

According to Carbone, adoption equals more communication programs.  It also means having the system in place to implement the best ideas or communicate why they are not being used internally or brought to market. 

In fact, BrightIdea believes through their research that the #2 reason employees leave their companies is because their ideas aren’t being heard.  Carbone emphasizes that companies need to execute and implement the best ideas.  By far execution outweighs everything else.  It send a message to the company that they are making a difference so continue to participate.

The Executive View

Carbone insists the best approach to bringing innovation management tools into the organization is a bottom up approach.  Yet, having an executive view into the entire innovation process is critical to keeping the decision makers engaged and funding the best ideas.

It’s also important that strong Executive Management exists to have the courage to bring these ideas to market.  Like Khan 800 years ago, some of the best ideas may be coming from your engineering teams.  Unlike the Mongols however, your staff may feel it’s a waste of time to bring these ideas up because there’s not a good support system in place to bring them to market. 

As they say, everything has a limit, ideas can’t be developed into products without strong executive support.    

Why every idea should be treated like a sales lead

If every company treated their ideas like they treat their sales leads, corporations would be vastly more innovative.  According to Carbone, companies are just starting to reorganize  themselves around this future reality.  They are asking their employees for ideas on what to develop next.  They have a system in place to analyze, track and report on the idea, then they bring it to market. 

BrightIdea therefore is trying to build a CRM platform for ideas.  Like CRM, they want to report on an idea’s deal size (market potential), who’s developed the idea and metrics around the success rate.

If BrightIdea succeeds in building a IRM (innovation relationship management) solution, their concept may have some legs.  I see some challenges with this approach (namely the organizations ability to organize change management teams) to bring ideas to market both internally and externally, but the IRM platform approach does look interesting. 

Enterprise Champion Recommendations

Expect a lot of resistance to adoption of these types of tools.  Have a well thought out adoption map that starts at the divisional level and expands into other departments before going enterprise-wide. 

Some Key Takeaways 

• Make sure the first couple of ideas get implemented fast and publicly.  Falling down here will set you back months.
• Publicly recognized the best ideas and shower attention on the idea owners.  This will encourage others.
• Get executive support for moving past the pilot phase.  Set a few high level goals and after success get an executive sponsor to help move your innovation management model to other departments or divisions.
• Report on any cost savings or revenue increases as a result of your ideation program.  Saving money or increasing sales always receives a lot of attention. 

Remember, introducing new solutions into most companies is hard.  You’re putting your reputation at risk.  Yet, not taking advantage of opportunities is worse.  With a careful, well thought out plan, you can make a significant impact on your organization by introducing innovation management tools like BrightIdea into your organization. 

Like Khan’s army however, be prepared to take a few arrows.