There is nothing new in this book …
Yep … the authors talk about the same things that many of us have been talking about for years and even decades … Here’s my “nutshell” synopsis of what Robison and Schroeder have to say:
Many employees at the lower levels know much more about how parts of the business works than their managers .. and the further up the food chain, the more true this is … Many managers do not use or even ask for the wisdom of their employees …
Many little ideas implemented can add up to huge savings and awesome improvements in business operations … and individually take less effort and resources than “flavor of the month” showy, but temporary efforts …
Soliciting good ideas is not an event, but a cultural shift in the organization that requires careful planning and constant nurturing … it’s a lifestyle, not an initiative.
If you do not implement employee ideas, employees will learn not to share their ideas with you, no matter how good they are …
Our own hubris as leaders and managers is the problem and we have to learn to be humble …
It’s all about trust … leaders trusting employees and employees trusting leaders, which is not always easy or quick …
I have heard this all before in several different places at many different times. These are ideas we have discussed and reflected on in professional gatherings and informal sessions over a beer.
So why bother reading this book? The ideas are not new and many of us know this is how we ought to be leading and managing. What makes this leadership book so darned different from all the others?
One simple reason …
Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder are not just commenting on what we all should be doing. They have been and are doing it … and their book is a brand-new and valuable roadmap …
The Idea-Driven Organization does not just exhort us once again to do the right thing … it provides detailed and useful examples of how organizations around the world are already doing it, along with an adaptable and results-oriented framework to do it in your organization.
Let me just say that within one day of starting to read this book, I was quoting it to the leader of an organization in which we are engaged in a profound reorganization of the structure, our mission, and our culture … and I was extremely grateful to have it at hand on the table during the discussion.
I would share more, but I want to get back to devouring this excellent book that is speaking to the heart of my own and other’s experiences. If you really want to jump-start your empowerment with a solid business-based model, here you go … I promise you will not regret it, unless you are so anchored in top-down leadership that you cannot let go.
Loving yet another solid and valuable collection of results-based leadership thinking in the Heartland ….
John
About the Authors
Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder are award-winning authors, consultants, and educators. They are the co-authors of the bestseller Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations. Between them, they have advised hundreds of organizations in more than twenty-five countries around the world on how to improve their creativity, innovativeness and overall performance. Their first book, Ideas Are Free, was voted the Reader’s Choice by Fast Company magazine and selected as one of the 30 best business books of the year by Soundview Executive Books. On March 31, 2014, Robinson and Schroeder will release their second book together, The Idea-Driven Organization (available on Amazon). Follow them on Twitter – @alangrobinson and @deanmschroeder and visit their website – idea-driven.com.
Usual Disclaimer: I received a preview copy of this book … and I am very happy that is so. If I did not believe what I say above, you would never see this post or anything else about this book with my name attached.
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