In the technology sector, LinkedIn launched the Incubator program in 2012, which was an evolution of its Hackdays bahrain email database free, where one Friday of each month employees could present their own ideas. In fact, the Incubator was a plan that was born in one of these days and ideas came out of it as an internal communication tool that was implemented in all the company’s headquarters and that LinkedIn has been supporting with funding in several rounds. Sources from the technology itself argued that this project allowed them to maintain a policy of innovation and stimulus similar to those of start-ups and that large corporations often dilute in more bureaucratic processes and measures.
Even more open is the Kickstart program whereby Adobe offers its employees two-day creativity workshops to develop their creativity. But not only that, any of the participants has a budget of $ 1,000 to implement their plan. Thus, each employee receives what is known as an “innovation kit” and a credit card. In addition, it enables a communication channel between employees and executive management to share the results in real time. Adobe’s stated goal is “to foster an entrepreneurial attitude at all levels, giving employees permission to experiment,” so all failures are allowed without penalties. Curiously, this program was born from the initiative of Serious Magic, a software company that was acquired by Adobe in 2006.
A few years ago, the Swedish multinational Ericsson presented its Idea Boxes program, because, in the words of Magnus Karlsson, who was Director of Innovation and Development of the company, “good ideas do not arise when people sit together in a room and think the same, but when they flow between profiles with different situations and points of view ”. As a result of this intention, a flat system was born, without hierarchical control, where the 110,000 employees from 180 countries that Ericcson had found a kind of suggestion box.
To carry out Idea Boxes, Ericsson developed its own tool in which any worker could locate and comment on the idea of a colleague. Its operation, explained by Karlsson himself, was similar to that of a social network. As a result of that approach, 60,000 ideas were born that ended up being implemented in Ericsson’s day-to-day life and that affect processes or tools. Of course, they reached the Ericsson routine after a long and detailed process in which workers had to develop not only the R&D section, but also had to propose aspects related to supply, sales or associated marketing. to your project. Finally, Idea Boxes ended up being integrated as one more piece of the processes, being a key pillar in the company’s culture of collaboration and innovation socialposts.
