Posted by Duncan on May 16, 2012
Ron Ashkenas's post It's Time to Rethink Continuous Improvement, published recently in the Harvard Business Review Blog post brought up an interesting issue. When formulating your continuous improvement strategy, do you remember to challenge the basic assumptions?
"Too many continuous improvement projects focus so much on gaining efficiencies that they don't challenge the basic assumptions of what's being done. For example, a six sigma team in one global consumer products firm spent a great deal of time streamlining information flows between headquarters and the field sales force, but didn't question how the information was ultimately used. Once they did, they were able to eliminate much of the data and free up thousands of hours that were redeployed to customer-facing activities."
Posted by Duncan on May 12, 2012
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. - Eleanor Roosevelt”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Hat Tip: Uk voice over founder (who sent in the quote).
Posted by Duncan on May 04, 2012
I love this business suggestion, gotten from an employee working in Brazilian marketing company Groupo Four Media. The employee spotted that after drivers grab the ticket from the machine when entering a parking lot, they often place the ticket in their mouths.
So the suggestion is that businesses who sell food or perfumes might want consumers to smell their lovely products aroma rather than the usual unnatural smell/taste of a ticket. This is an excellent example of the type of creativity that goes on in an organization that encourages employees of the business to make suggestions.
It reminds me somewhat of the First Flavor's Peel n' taste marketing solutions:
Peel 'n Taste® is the innovative and cost-effective sampling system that provides consumers with a sensory sampling experience via flavor strips that replicate a brand's taste and aroma.
Hundreds of ideas flow through Vetter each day, why not see if your employees have a suggestion like this one, give Vetter a no risk trial today! You can call us ( +1-415-830-3767 ) or use the chat window down in the bottom right to find out more.
Posted by Duncan on April 30, 2012
Q. Why has Winnebago had such success with it's suggestionbox scheme?
A. Possibly because of the support given to the scheme by the company's CEO, Bruce Hertzke. Here's a clip from the book 'Ideas are Free' about the enthusiastic support shown by the CEO:
Bruce Hertzke, CEO of Winnebago Industries, almost never travels on Fridays. Friday mornings are reserved for a special morning coffee gathering of all those who have had an idea implemented during the previous week, together with their managers. As the suggesters arrive, they are photographed with Hertzke. These photographs are published in the next issue of the company newsletter along with a brief description of each idea.
Management buy-in and support for any suggestionbox scheme is so key to its success. At Vetter we can help you get your scheme off to a roaring start, the first step is to start a free suggestionbox trial.
Posted by Duncan on April 22, 2012
We're very excited to announce that last Friday our redesigned Vetter site went live!
Here's a high level look at what's changed:
Why not login and see the changes yourself: https://www.getvetter.com/users/sign_in