Don’t Forget to Share!

I was recently reading an INC magazine article on the 30 best examples of innovation from business over the past 30 years.  One common theme that was consistent in many of the companies profiled was to drive new innovation and strategy by just sharing.   Yes, that’s it, just share with to your employees and suppliers.     Seems simple enough, but most businesses are not willing to share information because they’re afraid they’ll be divulging some great competitive secret, or that they’ll gain nothing by sharing.  Honda started a program where they go out to their supplier base and share their best practices.  Honda realizes that a healthy supplier base makes for a healthier Honda.  At Springfield Remanufacturing (from the INC article), they share all key business data by literally opening the books for all employees to see.  This gives the employees a better sense of ownership and allows them think about how their actions will impact the bottom line.   The more your employees and suppliers know, the more they’ll feel a part of the bigger picture.  An employee satisfaction survey was distributed at a large insurance company and the number one answer chosen when asked what impacts morale the most was not salary or titles, but simply being kept in the loop.   So that simple rule you learned in kindergarten still holds true, “don’t forget to share”!