According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a mere 6 percent of the work force is engaged in knowledge production, or so-called 'creative' occupations. These include engineers, R&D personnel, product and business planners, mathematicians, scientists, writers, artists, etc. Stated in reverse, 94 percent of the workforce is not engaged in innovation, and is instead relegated to roles of knowledge followership. What a shockingly high number, and what a waste!

Imagine a company in which innovation was everyone's job number one, a company in which the culture supported creativity and problem-solving as the inviolate duty of everyone in the firm. In such a firm, everything from corporate strategy to operations would be open to input, ideas, and criticism from anyone/anywhere, regardless of rank. Decisions taken by managers would be made in the bright light of day. Enron-like surprises would be rare.

Enterprise-wide Innovation is an operating model for business innovation, in which the entire population of a firm is involved in the knowledge production process. Rather than depriving itself of the creative power of its entire workforce, a company that practices Enterprise-wide Innovation would routinely tap into it by incenting and energizing its workers to engage in persistent problem solving, day-in and day-out. Companies of this sort would be what Seth Godin of Fast Company magazine calls, 'Idea Farms.'

In the wake of the Enron collapse, Dr. Warren Bennis of USC stated that what businesses now need more than ever are managers who know how to build 'social architectures for openness.' We agree. And this is the same prescription for high-performance knowledge processing and innovation -- an enterprise-wide model for openness, inclusive innovation, sustainable outcomes, and market-leading performance. What the doctor has prescribed is a potion for Enterprise-wide Innovation, and we're the pharmacy. Let us show you how to improve the rate and quality of innovation by implementing enterprise-wide social architectures for openness and high-performance knowledge processing!

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