At the NRF Big Show, Terry Jones, the founder of Travelocity.com and founding chairman of Kayak.com, said the best ideas come from customers and those who work most closely with customers.
In a session exploring innovation in today's rapidly changing environment, Mr. Jones quoted Curtis Carlson, CEO of SRI International: "Frankly, innovation from the top is orderly but dumb, and innovation that comes from the bottom is chaotic but smart."
He added, "The best ideas come from the clerk dealing with the customer, the person in customer service, the programmer, etc. — from the bottom."
The idea for flight paging (receiving an e-mail when your plane is delayed) came from a Travelocity customer service person who was "tired of answering the phone." A programmer thought up sending travelers e-mails when flight prices were reduced.
Unfortunately, ideas from lower-level employees are frequently silenced by a "bozone layer," or an "impenetrable layer of middle management that stops great ideas from moving upward."
Mr. Jones, who recently launched Wayblazer.com, called on leaders to make extensive efforts to solicit ideas from the lower ranks while openly praising any that work and not punishing any that fail.
"The bozone layer will disappear because middle management will understand that you care and do want change and you are willing to change and accept risk," said Mr. Jones.
Customers are also "talking about new ideas all the time" and all employees should be working to bring the good ones to fruition.
Travelocity.com had an actual phone booth in its hallway with a line to customer service calls serving as a symbol for listening to the customer. All employees — "from the guy in the mailroom to me" — had to listen to two customer calls a month. Later in a meeting, staff would first try to improve processes at the company to avoid those type of calls in the future. But employees were also asked to consider: "What did you hear from customers that could drive our business forward?"
At Kayak.com, any e-mails would be sent and dealt with by programmers, although they get paid much more than customer service attendants. Said Mr. Jones, "It gets everybody in touch with the customer."
Finally, Mr. Jones urged the crowd to "look beyond what's immediately apparent" in exploring ideas. Riskier, "transformative" ideas have proven to be the bigger future sales drivers than safer investments closer to the core of the business. Said Mr. Jones, "Being comfortable isn't good for innovation. You have to feel a little scared."