• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Wells Fargo Uses Market To Filter Out Innovative Ideas

Our Innovation Stock Exchange had its genesis about two years ago as we brainstormed ways to supplement what we do as part of our daily work. Innovation is embedded in the Technology Information Group's culture; on a daily basis, our team members partner with Wells Fargo's other business lines to deliver innovative products for our customers, such as personalized ATMs, online banking services, and our Commercial Electronic Office portal for treasury management customers.

So we wanted to supplement the great work already under way and get our team members even more excited about innovation. We did some research and came across an idea that everyone really liked: a stock exchange concept in which team members trade shares on innovative ideas. We then researched companies that provide stock exchange software and started the process of developing our first market.

Our first market was wide open -- a small selection team evaluated ideas submitted by team members against specific criteria, and then placed ideas on the market for trading. Based on hundreds of team member "innovation investors," the innovation ideas' stock values went up and down just like the "regular" stock market.

More recently, we ran a second market based on targeted challenges set forth by our six technology councils. Team members submitted innovative solutions to the challenges from these councils, and these were traded on. We took things a step further with this market, and at the end of the council market trading, we sent the top five ideas into a single elimination "playoff round" where our traders invested in these top ideas to choose the ultimate winning idea.

This targeted approach worked so well that we've planned a third market that will launch this fall. In this market cycle, team members will be invited to submit innovative ideas specific to green IT, diversity, and efficiency.

Overall, we've found that this is a creative, successful way to keep team members engaged in and excited about innovation. The free market approach is really why we chose to pursue the stock market concept -- once ideas are placed on the market, it's purely up to the traders to decide on the merit of the idea, which is really the point of innovation. We're proud of the fact that real ideas were generated and some are close to implementation.

Innovation is a part of our culture in TIG and not just a one-time special event. The Innovation Stock Exchange helps team members think of even more ways to apply innovation to their daily work life. The markets are bringing a fun sense of competition to our culture of innovation and engaging hundreds of team members along the way.

Glen Grosslight is senior VP of the Technology Information Group at Wells Fargo. Comment below on Wells Fargo's Innovation Stock Exchange.

« The Education Sector Needs You | Main | Web 2.0 Expo Sessions You Don't Want To Miss (Think Google) »