Innovation: transition from bottom-up to top-down innovation

IN the last issue, I discussed the issues involved in Bottom-Up Innovation (BUI). BUI is just as the term implies; innovation that originates anyplace by anyone in the depths of the organization; it requires an organizational culture that allows freedom, but also with business discipline. Bottom-Up innovators include those few constructive mavericks who have the courage and the physical and emotional resources to take a concept, that may not be particularly acceptable to the status quo or impact a current profitable product line negatively, and demonstrate some level of feasibility. BUI allows organizations to replace the idea box with those few people who will dedicate their personal time, effort, and knowledge to prove a point that will be denigrated by the naysayers.