Ten ways how to stimulate and disseminate improved ways of working

“[I]nnovations spread quickly when organizations focus relentlessly on selecting and spreading ideas in ways that ease the burden of thought and action for everyone involved.” The quote comes from a thought-provoking article in the McKinsey Quarterly, 2008, No. 4, at 131, by Stanford professors Hayagreeva Rao and Robert Sutton. That sentence started me thinking about how a general counsel can “select and spread” progressive management ideas.

Require and publish a cost-saving idea every quarter from every managing lawyer (See my post of Dec. 21, 2008: try a method and report on it.).
Design self-study and team-teaching activities (See my post of Feb. 19, 2009: collective learning by a leadership group.).
Similarly, assign pre-reads for retreats and offsites.
Push lawyers to call other law departments, ask them questions about how they manage something, and report back (See my post of Feb. 12, 2008: retreats and conferences with 8 references.).
Experiment deliberately with different practices and study the results (See my post of March 25, 2008: deliberate experiments by law departments.).
Hire consultants to share new ideas and variations on old ones (See my post of Jan. 1, 2008: consulting with 15 references.).
Put on “creativity hats” (See my post of Aug. 28, 2006: six hats of decision-making.).
Play an active role in professional networks and groups (See my post of Sept. 22, 2008: social networks such as Legal OnRamp, with 7 references.).
Read widely and with an open mind in the business literature and circulate articles.
Frequent thoughtful blogs (See my post of Feb. 15, 2009: send URL permalinks of thoughtful posts.).