When most organizations with an idea management system run into an obstacle and/or opportunity that needs to be resolved or addressed they run an idea campaign. A lot of people with different perspectives and experiences are invited to collaborate on the topic and asked to generate creative ideas. Is this approach good enough? Simply stated: No.
A subsequent post will highlight how to design a successful idea campaign. The focus of this post is to highlight that the concept that you want more than ideas; you want their INSIGHTS! You want to know: 鈥� What made you think of that idea?鈥� 鈥淗ow did you come up with the answer?鈥� 鈥淗ave you seen this before somewhere?鈥� You want to know the 鈥淚鈥� in front of the idea.
In addition to the title and description, a well-crafted idea form should always have at least one supplemental field to capture the insights behind the contribution. This is where you will often find the 鈥渋nvisible鈥� invention/idea. It's a new way of thinking, a spark to creatively see new avenues to address your issue. These insights are just as powerful and far-reaching 鈥� if not more so 鈥� than the 鈥渧isible鈥� idea. This perspective is what is typically missing from the core team sponsoring the idea campaign. If they find a great idea, but lack the understanding on how best to further refine and develop the idea(s) then the odds of a successful implementation can be greatly reduced.
So, the next time you run an idea campaign, make sure you ask the audience for the 鈥淚鈥� of the idea and focus the commentary and collaboration around both the idea and the insights. Make sure you also reward and promote 鈥渃omments鈥� equally to ideas. In doing so, you'll significantly increase your chance of finding actionable contributions that can help you move your initiative forward.