The Genius Hour

http://www.danpink.com/archives/2011/07/the-genius-hour-how-60-minutes-a-week-can-electrify-your-job

Lots of people believe that a single individual can’t make a difference in an organization.



Each week, employees can take a Genius Hour — 60 minutes to work on new ideas or master new skills. They’ve used that precious sliver of autonomy well, coming up with a range of innovations including training tools for other branches.
Of course, an hour a week for every employee isn’t much time. But it’s an hour more than most of us get. And Jen makes it work for at least three reasons.

Implementation matters. Jen admits that “it’s hard for our industry to see ways to offer autonomy,” and for good reason – credit unions are highly regulated and by necessity must be conservative. As a result, good ideas often blossom – and then wither from inaction. Jen works like a fiend to see that the best ideas get implemented.