Background

Observations of management feedback and innovation brainstorming processes show that innovation ideas are often not formulated properly, in many cases being expressed in a vague and uninteresting manner, and are usually presented in a tense and nervous atmosphere. One reason for this may be that the employees who formulate the development ideas, the idea generators, have a completely different image in their minds than what they put into words and try to convey to the manager, the decision-maker. On the other hand, further distortions may occur during communication, whether written or verbal, such as the location, time, and company circumstances, which can weaken the message's impact and fundamentally influence the emotional attitude of both the idea generator and the recipient. All of this can be significantly influenced by the recipient's preparedness, openness and suitability to receive the idea. Furthermore, workplace conditions such as pressing deadlines, other management priorities, administrative burdens or even personal challenges can also affect the understanding of the idea's significance. The originator of ideas certainly does not take all these obstacles into account when formulating their proposal, as they prepare to communicate and disseminate it and, in a startup-style twist, watch the manager's reactions and feedback intently during the pitch. At this point, they need to create an atmosphere of trust and receive reassuring, encouraging looks in order to control their emotions. Experience shows that the most important thing in the idea phase is for colleagues to listen with sufficient patience and be able to present their development proposals under the right circumstances.

 

Goal(s)

Through the effective communication of innovative ideas, we primarily aim to provide guidance on how to formulate development ideas appropriately so that they do not end up in the "idea graveyard" prematurely. The secondary goal of the method is to increase confidence and strengthen decisive action by formulating development ideas in the form of statements.

 

Target group(s)

Employees and managers working in all departments of the company who occasionally or regularly formulate development proposals, or whose job requires a proactive and entrepreneurial attitude.

 

Brief description of the method

Ideally, the formulation of development proposals should be embedded in a full-day or half-day workshop. The recommended size of mixed teams of employees and developers is 6-10 people. It is advisable to start the workshop with presentations on different types of innovation and the innovation challenges and focus areas of the business, so that employees and potential innovation project owners are clear about management expectations and how they relate to the business strategy. A few examples of corporate innovation can provide a good model for project leaders in terms of developments that have already been implemented or are currently underway. If such model projects are not (yet) available, it is advisable to analyse the innovation project of a competing domestic or international company with the help of the workshop moderator. Of course, participants may not be familiar with all the details of the project, but their creativity will be enhanced if they have to imagine how it happened, what underlying considerations the project was based on, and how the project owner presented it to their manager.

 

In fact, if we have a well-formulated, complex sentence, we can present our development idea at any time. However, it is a good idea to practise the wording thoroughly – which does not mean memorising it – so that we appear confident, which can already be half the battle. Based on the experiences of corporate and startup training courses,1 we need to formulate a so-called statement sentence well enough, which combines concise answers to the following questions:

 

Of course, it is not expected that every detail of the project idea will be perfectly thought through in a workshop or brainstorming session, so it is advisable to treat the answers to the above questions separately, note down the most appropriate combinations, and then memorise them.