Books - Robinson Schroeder

Ideas Are Free

This best-seller has become a “cult classic” for leaders and managers invested in building cultures of improvement and innovation. It was the ﬁrst book to extensively research and articulate the surprising power of front-line ideas for performance improvement. It also showed the limitations of traditional approaches to gathering employee suggestions, and how the poor performance of these approaches has blinded managers to the value of front-line ideas.

Ideas Are Free introduced the concept of high-performing idea systems into mainstream management. Based on extensive ﬁrst-hand research and work with more than 300 organizations worldwide, in dozens of industries, the book identiﬁes what works, what doesn’t, and why when it comes to encouraging, getting, and implementing large numbers of front-line ideas.

“In their groundbreaking new book …Robinson and Schroeder have a message for today’s overburdened, stressed-out managers and supervisors: the solution to your problems is closer than you realize – it lies within the people who work for you.”

“You have an opportunity to make major improvements in your business by following the basic guidelines set forth in this book. I rate this book 5 1/2 stars, a first in this category. It's that powerful. (Only the Bible and the Constitution receive 6 stars.)”

“'Ideas Are Free' makes the compelling case that wasting ideas results in diminished performance and employees who aren’t fully engaged with their work…This empowering book is a refreshingly simple examination of how corporate creativity can happen…”

“In the drive to stay competitive, too many managers overlook the greatest source of new ideas – their own front-line employees. 'Ideas Are Free', a clear and concise prescription for turning an organization into an idea machine…will inspire any manager who believes, as I do, that only the innovative thrive!”

“Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder provide an invaluable blueprint of how to unlock one of the great assets that is frequently untapped in business – employee ideas. 'Ideas Are Free' is a must read for every manager.”

The Idea-Driven Organization

The Idea-Driven Organization builds on the foundation laid by Ideas Are Free. While Ideas Are Free focused on what works, what doesn’t and why when it comes to tapping front-line ideas, this book focuses on how to do it. Incorporating a decade of further research and work in an expanded set of organizations around the world, the book begins by showing why 80% of an organization’s improvement potential lies in the creativity and ideas of front-line employees. It then turns to how to set up, lead, and grow idea processes that will have organization-wide impact on performance, innovation, and the quality of employees’ work lives.

“The Idea-Driven Organization is so reasonable that the magnitude of its change message is easy to miss. The richness of the examples from all over the world make it fun to read and the authors convincingly demonstrate the power of incorporating front-line line thinking into your organization.”

“This book is indispensable for any leader who wants to truly engage his or her employees.”

“No one has captured the rationale and how-tos for achieving business results through front-line involvement as elegantly and convincingly as Schroeder and Robinson have.”

“Business leaders’ biggest challenge is to unleash the creative energy of every employee to identify and solve problems every day. Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder explain how great leaders make it happen.”

Practical Innovation in Government

Whether people want more government or less government, everyone wants efﬁcient government. Traditional thinking is that improving the efﬁciency of government requires running it more like a business. But government is not a business. Practical Innovation in Government shows that this approach merely replaces old problems with new ones, and results in little overall progress.

Drawing from the largest study of government performance improvement in decades, Robinson and Schroeder found that the predominant private sector approaches to improvement don’t work well in the public sector, while practices that are rare in the private sector prove highly effective. The highest performers in their study had attained levels of efﬁciency that rivalled the best private-sector companies. Practical Innovation in Government shows how government leaders – from the front-line to the top – can radically improve the performance of their organizations.

“Robinson and Schroeder have written one of the most important books in decades on improving government performance. A must-read for leaders at all levels who want to make their organizations better, faster, and stronger.”

“This fantastic book shows how to finally overcome the soul crushing effect of bureaucracy and its twin forces of complexity and powerlessness. With great clarity and insight, it chronicles the inspirational stories and counterintuitive methods used by front line champions to fight and fix the systems our citizens depend on.”

“FINALLY, after all the hand-waving on how to improve government performance, a book that hits the target! Based on crucial insights from extensive research, Alan and Dean show how public-sector managers can create real, sustainable operational improvement by turning front-line supervisors and staff into the primary agents of change.”

“This inspiring, relevant, and timely book turns the way we think about transforming government upside down. Rich with insightful principles and counterintuitive concepts, it is an unparalleled resource for any government manager who wants to make a real impact.”

“There’s nobody better to teach you continuous improvement than Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder. This well-researched book shows government managers how to make their units flat-out more effective in the services they provide. The authors’ previous books have helped so many in the private sector. I look forward to this book having even more impact in the public sector.”