Trickle-Down Blue-Ribbon Innovation Doesn't

"Don't create a new group or organization within your company whose job is innovation."

Right away, I liked that dictum from Silicon Valley investor, Marc Andressen. It seemed like common sense to me. I have worked in all levels of management over the years and can't say that any one level has a monopoly on good ideas. Some dysfunctional levels shut themselves down in protest to mismanagement or lack of interest, and others may make good suggestions and are not listened to. In either case, woe to the organization who limits new ideas to a blue-ribbon task force. The Wall Street Journal editorial page column, "Notable & Quotable," (Feb 21-22) pulled Andressen's quote about the culture of innovation from his new free e-book, The Pmarca Blog Archives (select posts from 2007-2009) and a post about retaining good people:

"This (blue-ribbon group assigned to innovation) takes various forms, but it happens reasonably often when a big company gets into product trouble, and it's hugely damaging.

"Here's why:

"First, you send the terrible message to the rest of the organization that they're not supposed to innovate.

"Second, you send the terrible message to the rest of the organization that you think they're the B team.

"That's a one-two punch that will seriously screw things up.

"Instead, focus on boosting the innovation culture of the entire company...

"In general, the intangibles that keep great people are: the quality of the people they're working with, the interestingness level of their projects, and whether they are learning and growing (note: this assumes the company does want to retain its best people. Sometimes I wonder).

"The tangibles are: winning, and a high stock price (the value of the company to the stockholder).

Successful leaders, to quote self-help author Robert Collier, know that success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. Perceptive leaders know that innovation from the front line of an organization is more likely to improve the company than a board room full of vice-presidents and their coat-holders. Sometimes the innovations are what we at the college call Big Hairy Audacious Ideas. But more often, they are just a minor improvement of a mundane process. Both are important; both need to be nurtured and celebrated.