Unlocking knowledge
“The first thing I had to do was work on transforming the company into a learning culture,” says Ridge. “The employees had been used to the same style for 29 years, and within the company, information was power. There were silos of knowledge out there, and unconsciously, people were holding onto it. It was impacting sales because hidden in there was the knowledge of what was working and not working in the international markets.
“I needed people to learn to share this information and learn that they could do that without repercussions so we could move forward.”
Ridge had to teach people to not be afraid to fail and he had to earn their trust by showing that he would not take adverse action if they tried something new without success. He knew that time and his actions would handle one part of the challenge, but he had to coax employees to begin stepping out on the limb.
“I initiated a monthly reward contest for providing the best new idea or tip,” says Ridge. “The first month, I only received a couple of entries, but as people started to see that it was safe, we got more and more.”
There was also an incentive. The employee who submitted the best new idea that first year won a trip to visit all of the company’s operations and locations around the world. As Ridge demonstrated that he was open to new ideas, he began to earn the staff’s trust. He further demonstrated his commitment by offering another prize at the end of the second year, and once he was armed with the information that he needed and employees that were no longer risk-averse, he was ready to take on the world.