Agile PLM - The CIO's Guide to Oracle Products and Solutions - page 37

4. Be open to serendipity : The authors discuss how Scotchgard was
invented by accident. My own company practices this technique.
Several of our products were developed by accident by employees
playing around with programming code. As a manager, it is very
important that I be open to this sort of novel product development.

5. Diversify your stimuli : Employees should strive to rotate into every
job they are capable of doing to induce intellectual cross-pollination.
This is not a new technique, as it has been practiced for years within
the high-tech industry. Rotating jobs is also a tenet of quality man-
agement systems, including ISO 9001.

Another recommendation is to get to know people who might
spark your imagination. However, this is a personal preference not
shared by everyone. The challenge as a manager is, therefore, to
somehow provide employees with a diversity of stimuli that might
take them in new and different directions. This can be done by using
some of the techniques in Step 6.

6. Create opportunities for information communication—otherwise
known as “meet and greet” : Salespeople are natural networkers.
These folks sign up for every event and learn a great deal by doing
so. Other employees are somewhat less motivated to leave the office
to attend industry-wide gatherings, particularly as the employee gets
older and has additional familial responsibilities.

Ideas to promote intellectual stimulation include:

1. Fund memberships to professional organizations

2. Fund subscriptions to trade and other magazines

3. Invite a variety of speakers to monthly staff meetings

4. Host industry events so that staff doesn't have to travel to get to
them

5. Promote teaming within the company

6. Provide collaborative technologies such as a corporate intranet,
video conferencing capabilities, instant chat, etc.

7. Fund continuous training

8. Fund higher educational opportunities