Improving Business with Firm Wisdom

From an article in BusinessWeek:

Yet rather than ask managers to come up with a fix, Pitney Bowes (PBI) executives put the challenge to the workforce. Within days, employees proffered a solution that the company then implemented. "It goes far beyond management deciding to change and to innovate, and there are so many good ideas that could be acted on that are with the people who are right there every day, dealing with customers," says Pitney Bowes Chief Executive Officer Murray Martin. A measurable increase in customer satisfaction was "almost immediate."

Under pressure to add growth while keeping research costs in check, companies are striving to get better at tapping in-house expertise. Pitney Bowes, AT&T (T), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), and MetLife (MET) are using software and other tools to mine the collective intelligence of their workforce, organize the resulting suggestions, and then predict which ones are most likely to succeed.

Since 2008, Pitney Bowes executives have asked workers to tackle 42 different challenges and received about 3,000 ideas. The company has implemented or plans to put in place about 700 of those, Martin says.

This is just another example of how a big business is using firm wisdom to innovate and build for the future. They are laying the digital foundations that will become the most useful tools they have at their fingertips tomorrow. All it takes is time and dedication.

So why are you still waiting? When will you get your firm wisdom?

One final thought from the same BusinessWeek article:

Pitney Bowes welcomes ideas that can result in changes large or small. To entice employees to aim high, it created a competition called Innovation Idol, modeled on the talent-search TV showAmerican Idol. The effort culminated in an event where backers of the six best promising ideas made onstage presentations to senior management. Martin, clad in a mask of Simon Cowell, the harshest judge on the TV show, was so impressed with the pitches that he chose to fund two of them on the spot.

You need firm wisdom. Buy the book or call me today to get started. (305) 423-9574

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