Suggestion boxes don’t work

We all love a good suggestion box.

At Chiltern Railways, it was called “Innovation Platform”.

But despite Chiltern Railways being a very innovative firm, it didn’t work.

They never do.

The best frontline insights rarely arrive as fully formed proposals. They come as badly articulated hunches.

Teams need to be empowered to work up their ideas before being asked to share them.

Take Action

If you’re a leader

Ditch the box. Give permission instead. Let people follow their nose on a problem, even if they can’t articulate the full fix. In summary: be willing to fund a hunch.

If you’re a team member

Don’t be disheartened if your first idea’s a bit shaky. They always are. Work out the smallest experiment you can do to learn a little bit more, and do that. Don’t worry yet about how to resource the whole thing.