Employees Have The Best Ideas

Stop moving so fast. Slow down and talk with your people.

Howard Schultz is the driving force who made Starbucks successful. Recently he took charge of the company again. He's at his best when he thinks like an underdog, according to a recent BusinessWeek article. (The last page of the article has my favorite insights.)

So how does he get ahead? He's paranoid, like Andy Grove of Intel. He says, "I love being the underdog." Then he listens to and inspires his people. He concludes with passion, "...It's not marketing, research, consultants, it's just the experience."

So he gives some employees a small budget and asks them to open a store to compete with Starbucks. It's called 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea and it opened on July 24.

BIG IDEA: Think about it: What's the best competitor you can have? Answer: One you own.

Will it be successful? It depends how you define success. It has stimulated a positive rush of emotion for Starbucks employees who either developed the concept shop or know about it. It's like, "We're back. We not done yet. Watch out."

The bottom line: Your employees have your best ideas. What are you doing to encourage, develop and fund them... before they get frustrated and compete with you, or a competitor gets the same idea and hits you where it hurts.

Meeting Ideas

Employees Have The Best Ideas is about challenging your people to practice LOI: Live It - Observe It - Improve It. Engage your people to motivate them to be their best and to learn from them so your company achieves its best.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to challenge your people to identify your next business thrill ride:

• Consider the way we deliver products or services - what could we do differently that would thrill our clients?
• What are the three aspects of our business model where competitors succeed most often?
• What is one product or service we could add that would benefit existing clients and also attract new clients?
• How could we lower the cost, shorten the time and/or improve the quality of three internal processes?
• If you could have any idea fully funded, what would you pursue with the next 3-12 months of your life?

As always, consider inexpensive awards from their Wish List for great ideas.