Cubicles to Cosmos
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The Launchpad for Intrapreneurial Minds.
Where Ideas Orbit and Knowledge Ignites.
Mc Donald's Happy Meal
In 1977, St. Louis regional manager, Brams began trying a new meal just for kids. He pitched his boxed idea to management, and two years later, McDonald’s rolled out its first circus-themed Happy Meal. The result: Happy Meals have become so essential to McDonald’s business and brand identity that 3 million Happy Meals are sold every day.
Crowdcraft by Airbus
Airbus was opened to different idea creators and inventors around the world by Crowdcraft, a crowdsourcing and crowd staffing platform to find solutions to technical challenges. The platform connects problems to problem solvers, seeking to reduce work time and cost through more efficient ways for buyers to access goods and services.
3M – Post-it Notes
The Post-it note, one of the most iconic office supplies, was invented by a scientist named Dr. Spencer Silver, who worked for 3M, a multinational conglomerate corporation. In 1968, He was attempting to create a super-strong adhesive for use in the aerospace industry. However, what he actually developed was a low-tack, pressure-sensitive adhesive that stuck to surfaces but could be easily removed without leaving residue.
PwC – Citizen-led Innovation
In 2019, amidst the context of pandemic recovery, acknowledging the potential economic advantages of proficient upskilling initiatives, PwC underscores the necessity for organizations to prioritize the enhancement of their workforce’s digital skills. This commitment is exemplified through Digital Lab – a collaborative platform where individuals actively crowdsource and disseminate their personally developed solutions, encompassing bots, data models, and automated workflows.
Xerox – "Earth Awards" program
In 2010, Xerox had been looking at how they could become a greener company, so they decided to turn to their employees for solutions. The printing suppliers wanted to encourage a company-wide focus on becoming more sustainable, so they announced the ‘Earth Awards’ program, challenging employees to think up innovative solutions towards saving company resources whilst benefitting the environment. Xerox employees collaborated and innovated around new ideas, helping their company to save $10.2 million as well as eliminating 2.6 million pounds of waste.
Gmail
Gmail is often given as a shining example of Google’s involvement with intrapreneurship. With their legendary 20% time policy allowing employees to utilize part of their work hours for personal projects, Paul Buchheit took that chance to create Gmail, which went on to become an important piece of Google’s lineup. It is probably one of the most notorious and successful intrapreneurship examples in the world.
Google’s Gmail, launched on the 1st April 2004, was the first true landmark service to emerge from Google since its search engine debuted in 1998.
The Texas Instruments - Speak & Spell
In the late 1970s, Paul Breedlove, an engineer at TI, was tasked with developing educational electronic toys as part of a team effort. However, as a curious and creative person, he pursued a side project to create a unique learning device.
Starbucks
Starbucks, founded in 1971 had a mission to become a “third place” to go, to provide a relaxing environment and experience for its customers. One barista decided to start writing the names of customers on cups. The result: The idea was shared with the corporate office. Months later, this ‘first-name’ approach became a standard at every Starbucks store. The company has since launched designated advertising efforts to promote this personalized touch. Today, this ‘first-name’ approach is used four billion times a year at 30,000 locations globally.
Swan Vesta - The Matchbox Millionaire
In the early 1900s, Swan Vesta faced challenging times until a factory worker proposed an idea that transformed the production process, saving millions of pounds. Initially undervalued, as a mere factory worker, the worker persisted until given the chance to present his idea, which ultimately revived the company.