INSTANT MBA: Everyone Should Contribute To The Company's 'Eureka Moments'

By Mariana Simoes

Business Insider - May 8, 2013

Today's advice comes from our interview with Liz Elting, co-CEO of TransPerfect:

"For me, being creative when it comes to taking the company to the next level is no less important after 20 years as a business owner than it was when I was still an entrepreneurial graduate student with a passion for languages and technology. Today, I have access to the collective brain power of more than 2,300 employees across six continents. If you have the resource of a purpose-built team, then you have a million ideas at your fingertips."

Elting says no idea should go to waste. It doesn't matter where the idea came from, everyone in the company should be able to share their thoughts, regardless of where they stand on the corporate ladder. She calls this company policy collective innovation and believes every business should apply the same principle to their workplace. The idea is to empower all employees so that your workers can begin to think big, collectively. That way you're encouraging everyone to come up with the 'Eureka moments' or breakthrough ideas that will ultimately benefit the entire company.

"An idea is great not because of the title of the individual who generates it, but because of the way that idea can help the entire organization reach a certain goal. We have seen it happen repeatedly in the company’s history, and we are formally launching a company-wide initiative employees drive our 'Eureka moments' ."