Several companies have created internal innovation programs to tap a new market for fresh ideas. Companies such as AT&T and Whirlpool are giving their employees a chance to share and implement ideas in a number of ways.
Did you know that you can send text messages from connected cars and smart trash cans? And that the idea originated with AT&T employees? AT&T’s internal innovation program called the Foundry allows employees to experiment with new ideas.
(Curated from Forbes.com)
“Not many people know that AT&T has a program called the Foundry which is designed to accelerate innovation. They have developed several centers with a $100 million investment where employees basically get a chance to experiment with pretty much anything they want. One of their goals is to shorten the innovation life-cycle for products or services that might take two years to launch to under six months to launch. From what I was told, employees at AT&T have the opportunity to come up with an idea and then pitch it in a meeting of executives just like an entrepreneur looking for funding would pitch VCs. Products from the Foundry include “Cascade” which allows you to send and receive text messages from any connected car, home automation and security solutions, smart trashcans, and more.”LinkedIn also created an internal innovation program.
“Once a quarter any employee at the company can come up with an idea, put together a team, and pitch an idea to an executive team. If the project is approved the team then gets to spend up to 3 months turning that idea into an actual product or service. These ideas can be anything from internal tools to HR programs to technology improvements. The goal here again is to give employees a chance to get their ideas and their voices heard and to make it easy for anyone to be able to turn an idea into a reality.”Innovation at any level is essential. How does your company encourage innovation?
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