There are some in every organisation: those quirky types with unconventional ideas, contagious energy, and a nose for innovation. They are rare, don’t fit in, and are exactly what you need to make progress. Do you try to tame them, or do you dare to give them space?
Wild geese
In the 1960s, IBM’s then-CEO, TJ Watson Jr., said: “We are convinced that any business needs its wild ducks. And in IBM, we try not to tame them.” Watson referred to the story The Wild Goose by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. The story is about a man who starts feeding wild geese that migrate south every fall to spend the winter there. As the years pass, some geese stop migrating and stay in Denmark close to the man who feeds them.
The geese fly less and less. After three or four years, they have become so fat and lazy that they can hardly fly anymore. Kierkegaard’s message is clear: you can tame a wild goose, but you can never make a tame goose wild again.
IBM Fellows
Watson recognised this. He believed that the wild ducks in his organisation are the ones who think outside the box, get things done and take on new challenges with great pleasure. Trying to tame them by making them work in the rigid structures of an organisation would kill all the innovative power in the organisation. And so, in 1962, Watson launched the ‘IBM Fellows’ program. With this program, he wanted to stimulate creativity among the technical professionals in their company. Only employees who consistently delivered exceptional performances were eligible for the title.
The program is still running today, and about four to nine people are appointed each year. This brings the total to only 339 employees who have ever become IBM Fellows. But this small group of people adds tremendous value to the company. Together, they have generated almost 10,000 patents, received five Nobel Prizes and five Turing Awards, and published many articles in scientific journals. Of course, they also have achieved some breakthroughs for IBM, such as the IBM Selectric typewriter, the Watson supercomputer, and the Fortran programming language.
Please, no micromanaging!
The IBM Fellows are innovators who are not bound by standard rules and procedures and are not micromanaged. They are free to explore new ideas, take risks, pursue passion projects, get funding if needed, and pull in talent from other teams. But these people aren’t loose cannons.
Francis G. ‘Buck’ Rodgers, a former IBM executive, described IBM Fellows as follows: “They’re not afraid to stand up in a meeting and challenge a speaker, but when they do, they do it in a constructive way. Their tenacious persistence—and guts—help keep a company young and exciting.”
Dare to turn things around
Unconventional thinkers are catalysts for change and innovation in any organisation. Unfortunately, most of the time, they are not given the space to move freely. Instead of creating a role that brings out the best in them, they are expected to operate within the confines of their job description. They wither away and quickly become mediocre employees. Or worse, they check out mentally and leave.
At IBM, they have found a way to get the best of both worlds. How do you treat your wild ducks?
This article was originally published in Dutch on CHRO.nl – the platform for HR executives.
MT/Sprout
November 1, 2024
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