At this time of year (or shortly for some) we are able to pause for a moment to take a good long look at what we’ve done since starting 2008. I plan to spend a few days sitting on the beach doing just this. What earth shattering, ground breaking ideas did you come up with this year? If you are at the top of the tree, how many ideas like this made their way up to you? Which of these did you take a stand for and push through the approval chain to bring to fruition? Chances are likely that it is none or not many.

Is it the case that pushing boundaries is not part of your job description? Should it be? But doing just that could mean the end of your job, or at least it may feel like it. It is understandable that you don’t want to mess with the status quo. It is safer to stick with the way something has always been done rather than insisting on a new and better way.

I think the fear of stirring the pot stops many a good idea from even leaving the mind of the thinker. Wouldn’t it be easier for an independent ideas consultant to come in, with no weekly paycheck at risk and uninhibited by company politics, to sift out the great ideas and make the hard pitch. Similarly, without the need to cover ones own ass, there is great liberty to think openly and freely, so this consultant role could be extended to that of the creator of the ideas, with the right input of course. Food for thought.

Whether the great ideas gets implemented by the powers that be, well that is another question entirely!

From all of us here at The Sponge, have a merry christmas (or whatever it is you celebrate!) and a happy and prosperous new year!