How can you apply Getting Real-ish ideas inside a big company? Here’s an idea: Go rogue. Pick something and do it under the radar. Create something in a few weeks that normally takes a few months. Do something in a way that works better than the status quo (or shows the promise of working better), Then you won’t need to convince anyone with words — the results will speak for themselves.
Hot off my Axl vs. Frank analogy, let’s go for another music comparison: Imagine you’re the drummer in a band. If you ask the bandleader for permission to do something different, it starts a whole conversation that may result in an argument or your idea being shot down. But what if you just do what you think is best? What if you switch to the ride cymbal during the chorus or use brushes instead of sticks? If it sounds good, it sounds good. Everyone can agree on that.
That’s the approach you want to aim for. Take things out of the theoretical realm and put them into practice. Don’t waste time debating when you could be doing and trying instead.
Best Buy’s Blue Shirt Nation
Electronics retailing giant Best Buy offers one of the most innovative workplaces around. And much of it is because bold employees there decided to go rogue.
For example, Steve Bendt and Gary Koelling are the creators of Blue Shirt Nation (BSN), the massively successful online community for Best Buy employees. Within a year of creating the site, 20,000 (of Best Buy’s 150,000) employees had signed up. They meet there and share knowledge, best practices, ideas for improving the stores, and more.
And Bendt and Koelling did it all under the radar. They didn’t pitch it. They didn’t ask for permission. They just built it. Steve Bendt explains:
BSN started with an idea that we couldn’t get sponsored. When the site went live in June of ‘06, Gary had funded the whole thing on the QT. For the domain name and a year of hosting, it cost a hundred dollars. The software that built the site was free. There was one user, the administrator.
And the site is moderated by the community itself. There really hasn’t been much need for moderation though. Since the launch, BSN has only had to take down a total of three posts. Bendt says fears that executives might have had about letting employees speak openly never materialized:
The fear factor that so many executives seem to have with open forums did not materialize on Blue Shirt Nation. We put the responsibility on the community and said, “Listen, don’t be stupid and take care of each other.”
Words of wisdom there: “Listen, don’t be stupid and take care of each other.” Man, it’d be great to see more companies encourage employees to think that way.
Guerrilla ROWE
Blue Shirt Nation isn’t the only time that Best Buy employees innovated by going rogue. The entire culture changed thanks to two other employees who used stealth practices to push the company toward a “results-only work environment” (ROWE).
Years ago, Best Buy was your typical “big and uptight” company. Workers had to get there early and stay late. They sometimes had to sign out for lunch and include their restaurant locations and ETAs. Some had to track their work in 15 minute intervals. Employees complained they were tired of working killer hours, not having a personal life, and dealing with unsustainable levels of stress.
Two people in HR, Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler, realized things weren’t working and decided to experiment. So they met in private and came up with the idea of a ROWE that judges employee performance on output instead of hours. Then they dribbled it out slowly, under the radar in pilot trials.
It started in a few departments: No standard office hours. No schedules. No mandatory meetings. The covert guerrilla action soon began to spread virally and became a revolution within the company.
If the company had waited for a top down edict, it would never have happened. In fact, CEO Brad Anderson actually only learned all the details two years after it began transforming his company!
How did Best Buy employees overcome that classic executive fear: “What if we lose productivity?” By showing results. Chap Achen, who oversees online orders, came up with performance metrics that measured how many orders per hour his team was processing at different locations. Within a month, Achen could show the experiment was working. Offsite workers were processing 13-18% more than onsite ones. As time went on, the experiment proved to be an even bigger success – job satisfaction and retention were the highest in the division’s history. Who’s going to argue with that?
Results are similar throughout the company. Turnover has fallen drastically. Productivity is up an average 35% in departments that have switched to ROWE. And employee satisfaction is way up too.
Amazing what a difference a couple of rogue employees can make. If these guys can do it at a company as big as Best Buy, what can you get done at your workplace?
Walker Hamilton
on 11 Feb 09How could the ROWE ideas be applied to a company that charges clients for hours worked? Filling out time-sheets all-day, every-day can be a bear (and make employees think/feel that their pay/performance is based on their “billable hours”). Is there a better way?
David Duran
on 11 Feb 09As my mother in law likes to say: “Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission”
Keith
on 11 Feb 09I would fully recommend against this advice if you are unsure how your “rogueness” is going to be viewed by those with decision making power (if that’s not you).
In many companies the rogues are skewered. Given the economic crisis facing most businesses, unless you see a quick and decisive payoff for your rogue actions…you’re risking more than “begging for forgiveness.”
Andrew Mitton
on 11 Feb 09Look what happened to Circuit City. I guess the lesson is that in this economy you have to be like Best Buy or else die.
Watch out
on 11 Feb 09Good idea, but in a company that is hidebound such an idea is dangerous. I once worked with a small group under the radar and got canned for the effort. Seems by improving communications abilities we were “wasting time that could have been used promoting the company’s goals”.
We never missed a deadline, always did what was asked. However, since we had the time to create this product, clearly we must have been capable of doing more than was asked of us. We should have gone back to our boss and said “please may I have some more work, sir?” We lost our jobs because we didn’t ask for additional “company approved” work, even though we did all that was asked of us. That we created something terrific was given no consideration at all.
The product we created two years ago has since become a central point for communications within the company.
I got canned.
APM
on 11 Feb 09If the BSN is so good, so worthwhile, why is it that folks at BestBuy don’t know sh*t? I’ve been to BestBuys in WI, IL, North and Southern CA, and I’ve never found a BestBuy employee that could answer my questions. Sure, 1/7th of the employees are part of the BSN, but from big cities to small I’ve never found any employees that know what they are talking about or come up with solutions. All I’ve ever heard about BestBuy has been negative or that they have no knowledge; then my experiences back that up. So, good idea, BSN, built it and they will come kind of thing, I just don’t think that they employees are sharing knowledge, I think they are sharing cop outs and horror stories.
Anonymous Coward2
on 11 Feb 09The lesson to be learned here, in light of the comments, is to pick your battles.
This is good advice if you believe you can make positive change and keep your job. If you’re reasonably certain you’ll be reprimanded then implement your good ideas with a better employer.
Michael
on 11 Feb 09I am doing this very thing with Highrise – slowly taking over departments until people who never know what’s going on are a minority.
ML
on 11 Feb 09We should have gone back to our boss and said “please may I have some more work, sir?” We lost our jobs because we didn’t ask for additional “company approved” work, even though we did all that was asked of us. That we created something terrific was given no consideration at all.
I think an important thing to consider: Is this the kind of place that you really want to work at anyway? I know, it’s a tough economy. And I know we can’t all work in dream workplaces. But still, does that mean you have to settle for shit? Do you have to work someplace that’s so fearful of new ideas that people who do good work get fired for going outside the lines? At some point, isn’t it better to be fired or quit than to stay somewhere miserable?
Mat
on 11 Feb 09A lot of times, going rogue will work even in strict organizations (like mine) but there is a caveat…do it on your own time to avoid the “you could have been more productive” – then not only are you being productive during “regular” hours, you’re showing more “dedication to the company” by working privately at no pay to improve the company.
This has worked for me so far.
Rainbird
on 11 Feb 09In my experience the problem is not that such under-the-radar solutions weren’t built, but in fact there are too many. Which leads to the following problems.
(a) Conflicting solutions arise. Business objects are represented in slightly different data, which acts_as_timebomb for the later need for data transformation layers, and the whole raft of miscommunication.
(b) Those ‘prototypes’ are never thrown away but subsequently cobbled together with a bizarre web of interfaces.
(c) A layer of Excel reports overgrows the whole mess, further adding to the complexity and further dimming the hopes of ever getting rid of that pile of … problems.
Bottom line: I’ve seen too many under-the-radar projects that individually did a remarkably well job of solving some tiny problems, only to – as a whole – create one big, ugly problem for the companies in terms of operating and maintaining those systems, delaying the more robust solutions while costing a ton of money for all sorts of analysis projects and task forces.
One of those projects will probably serve you well. Too many of them will try to kill you—and in a big company there tend to be a number of those systems.
Nice idea but not quite recommended…
Eric
on 11 Feb 09“It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission” -Attributed to Grace Hopper-
Beyond the humor value of the above, it’s pretty clear the “go rogue” approach has been esteemed effective for some time…
Leah
on 11 Feb 09The folks at Best Buy were only somewhat under the radar, at least regards to ROWE. Among other things, their pilot projects were run in partnership with the University of Minnesota, so they were able to provide academically-credentialed reports every step of the way. I think it’s a good example of getting the right level and amount of approval – it’s that balance that allows you to be “rogue” without also being fired.
Dave
on 11 Feb 09Speaking of drummers reminds me of the joke:
What is the last thing a drummer ever says in a band? - “Hey guys, let’s try one of my songs”
Anonymous Coward
on 11 Feb 09It works, until it doesn’t work.
http://www.cioupdate.com/insights/article.php/3497786/SOX-and-CIO-Accountability.htm
As one CIO I used to have said: “I don’t look good in an orange jumpsuit.”
Sean Clauson
on 11 Feb 09Earlier in my programming career, I’d have an idea, and then I’d email my boss for permission to implement it. More often than not, I’d never get his “ok”.
At some point, I realized that asking for permission was, in reality, just asking my boss to take responsibility for any consequence of my actions. This realization completely changed my approach…
...I no longer ask for permission when I have an idea - I just go forward with it. This doesn’t mean that I don’t keep my boss “in the loop”; rather, where I’d use to write “can I do this?”, I now write “I’m going to do this - let me know if there are any concerns.”
I know that if I mess up too badly they’ll show me the door, but I’m confident that the profitability of the ideas I’ve pursued “under the radar” will offset most reasonable mistakes. If not, I’ll show myself the door.
Erich
on 11 Feb 09Here’s the only challenges I have with this idea, as someone who has gone rogue, on occasion.
First, unless you work in an environment where there is demonstrable resistance to new ideas or in an environment where management expects you to come up with new ideas on your own, this is wrong.
Looking at the band analogy …
First, you might want to consider if you want to be in a band where you can’t propose new cymbal usage to the band-leader. Second, if you work an environment where you regularly bounce ideas off the “bandleader,” arranger or song-writer, deliberately subverting his writing is highly disrespectful. I would dare say that it’s immature. Third, if he has such a seriously rectum-embedded piece of cellulose that you can’t talk to him about cymbals, he’s likely to go all Christian-Bale on your butt if you suddenly introduce crown-ride.
Second, going rogue should never replace or delay the work that you’re actually supposed to be doing. Sticking with the band analogy, If you’re supposed to be playing a meringue beat but stop to throw in a cowbell solo, ‘cause you thought it was a better way to go, you prolly should be stuffed in tom case and dumped in the alley. Similarly, if the dead-line for product slips ‘cause you’d created your own private skunk-works in the conference room B, you suck.
Finally keep it with the realm of the reasonable. Introducing an Erlang implementation of the company’s big bread-winner product is likely to go over as well as “The Big Man” deciding to stretch his altissimo chops inin the middle of “Jungle Land.”
Just my thoughts.
David R
on 11 Feb 09Not a fan of Best Buy. They PUSH Monster Cables on you. Their salespeople are worthless.
:)Drew
on 11 Feb 09“I think an important thing to consider: Is this the kind of place that you really want to work at anyway? I know, it’s a tough economy. And I know we can’t all work in dream workplaces. But still, does that mean you have to settle for shit? Do you have to work someplace that’s so fearful of new ideas that people who do good work get fired for going outside the lines? At some point, isn’t it better to be fired or quit than to stay somewhere miserable?”
Spoken like someone with a lot of job opportunities and little to no debt. I certainly think that we have to be willing to sacrifice for our own well-being (such as giving up a stable job because you are “putting up with [too much] shit”), but you don’t seem to realize that many people have circumstances where leaving a job where they “settle for shit” would just mean stepping into deeper “shit” in a loss of medical benefits, no way to pay for their kids needs, no way to keep their debt from swallowing them up… etc. How about a little social awareness there, champ?
I’m all for idealism, but sometimes the choice is just between swimming in shit or drowning in it.
Mike
on 11 Feb 09“Take things out of the theoretical realm and put them into practice. Don’t waste time debating when you could be doing and trying instead.”
Take your own advice Matt, let’s get that WYSIWYG editor up and running in Basecamp!
anon-e-mouse
on 11 Feb 09Speaking as somebody who used to work at BBY Corporate, ROWE works largely because a lot of employees don’t really contribute that much value. A typical day for most employees was 6 hours in meetings and presentations. A lot of the real “work” was done either by Accenture, or by contractors. Now that they’re in a massive layoff mode, and all their contractors have been let go, they don’t really have a lot of people left with any real hard skills.
GeeIWonder
on 11 Feb 09But still, does that mean you have to settle for shit? Do you have to work someplace that’s so fearful of new ideas that people who do good work get fired for going outside the lines?
There’s probably an argument to be made that, quite to the contrary of indicating an ability for people to ‘go outside the lines’, the self-policing of a BSN is great evidence of a culture where the ‘fear of new ideas’ or the threat of a readily deployed ‘stick’ prevails.
This reeks of asking people to wear ‘flare’ ala Office Space.
Jeff
on 12 Feb 09“How about a little social awareness there, champ?”
That’s fine, society always needs its share of cogs to keep the wheels turning, I guess.
Drew
on 13 Feb 09“That’s fine, society always needs its share of cogs to keep the wheels turning, I guess.”
Society also needs people who can empathize with an individual for whom a bad job is better than what will happen if they lose that job.
Martial
on 13 Feb 09Why aren’t you a superstar? Why don’t you have your pick of jobs? If you are reading and commenting on this blog (of all the blogs in the world!), then you have education and resources to put to work for your life. Make a five-year plan to build yourself and get out of that crappy job. You can do anything for five years – especially when you know it will end. Live with the bad job just as long as you have to and not one minute longer.
Lawrence Krubner
on 14 Feb 09“What if you switch to the ride cymbal during the chorus or use brushes instead of sticks? If it sounds good, it sounds good. Everyone can agree on that.“
Are you joking? You talk like “sounds good” is some kind of objectively measurable thing. It isn’t. That’s why creative differences tend to run hot.
I used to work at a music studio (I was the programmer on the website. I got to listen to many bands record.). The band members could often agree on the sound they were going for – that is why they were in a band together. But they also, often, disagreed about the sound they wanted.
Most of the time, the bands I was listening to were recording an album. They might record several versions of a song, but in the end they had to pick one as the official version. And that is when the fighting got tough.
Lawrence Krubner
on 14 Feb 09“Spoken like someone with a lot of job opportunities and little to no debt.“
At least in America, we probably need a broad-based public and private campaign to warn people about the dangers of debt. That debt is dangerous was once a deeply rooted cultural ethic. During the post-war boom, when times were flush, it probably made sense for the average citizen to increase their standard of living by borrowing against future earnings so as to acquire certain major life-enhancing assets, such as a house. But the post-war boom was unique, and it ended a long time ago. The comfort that then developed regarding debt seems maladaptive in an environment where income volatility is dramatically higher.
David
on 15 Feb 09“Electronics retailing giant Best Buy offers one of the most innovative workplaces around.”
Is this a joke? BB is like Walmart – they do an extraordinary job of creating efficiency. But don’t expect to find a single sales person in the store who knows anything about anything. Most of their “sales people” are teenagers because that’s “efficient” – they can pay them less. They are in fact so lacking in knowledge that they are infamous for spreading some of the most hilarious urban myths out there – such as telling people they will need to “refill their plasma televisions”.
I can’t even count the number of absurd things I have heard customers being told at Best Buy, such as the teenager explaining to people that a composite cable will do just fine for HD, or that a comb filter is “like having a fiuner toothed comb” it combs the TV picture sharper”.
Innovative? Yes, if by innovative you mean unleashing another corporate behemoth that has figured out a way to remove every last vestige of product knowlegde and helpful service in order to increase margins.
Marissa
on 15 Feb 09Leah,
True, BBY partnered with the U of M regarding ROWE but only AFTER ROWE was created and started to spread subversively through the corporate campus.
As a former BBY corporate employee, ROWE is one of the best things that happened to me both professionally and personally. After ROWE, I received genuine recognition for my work. I believe that I was promoted at a faster rate because of the focus on results instead of other less meaningful indicators that exist in a traditional work environment. I only wish that BBY had been able to give ROWE a chance at the retail level…to modify it to fit the customer-facing employees who can make such a difference in terms of company performance.
This discussion is closed.