A Non-Lean Suggestion System

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Thinking of employee suggestions, I had a flashback this week. Back when I worked at General Motors, we had a typical non-lean suggestion system. People could fill out a form with the idea, in triplicate, keep the green copy, something like that.

I left the company for grad school in 1997. I recall receiving a letter in the mail at least a year afterward, it might have even been early 1999 as I was getting ready to graduate.

The letter was a formal rejection, from GM, of my employee suggestion. That's a perfect illustration of what NOT to do with a suggestion program.

It was a perfect reminder to me about why I was NOT going back to that company.


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If you’re working to build a culture where people feel safe to speak up, solve problems, and improve every day, I’d be glad to help. Let’s talk about how to strengthen Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement in your organization.

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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. Mark's latest book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award. He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean, previous Shingo recipients. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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