How Crowdsourcing took GE from Implementers to Innovators

The definition of what makes a great C-level executive often differs immensely. However, one similarity that can be said for most great company leaders is that they all know one key concept to be true - encouraging and acting on employee suggestions is a sure-fire path to increased profitability.

Among the most notable is Jack Welch. In 1981, when he became CEO of GE, the company was a well known "GNP Company" - a manufacturer whose revenue expanded at the same rate as the American economy. When he left in 2001, the company had experienced double digit growth for his 20 year tenure as CEO and was, with a market cap of $597 billion, the world's largest corporation.

So, what was Jack’s secret? The short version of his vision is below and the longer version is documented here:

1. Import the best ideas into the organization
2. Reward employees who bring in the best ideas
3. Celebrate new ideas

Now, more than a decade after Welch's departure, it appears GE is continuing down the path for success that he built. The company has openly embraced the concept of crowdsourcing to capture and act on the best ideas - with a specific focus on 3D printing in manufacturing - and they have had terrific results.

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

GE issues these challenges by conducting global contests. The first, in what will hopefully be a series of successful crowdsourcing ventures, was called 3D Printing Design Quest and it tasked participants to "completely reimagine" the bracket and hangers in GE jet engines to achieve a 30 percent reduction in weight.

To incentivize the contest, the top 10 winners would receive $1,000 each. The eight designs that performed the best in tests would divide an additional $20,000 prize pool.

Did this small investment pay dividends? Only if you consider that the winner, M Arie Kurniawan, an engineer in Indonesia, reduced the weight of the bracket by 84%, from 4.48 pounds to 0.72 pounds. In so doing, he blew by the 30% reduction target and delivered results almost triple of the request.

For his efforts, Kurniawan received $7,000 in prize money. Seven other designers were selected to divide the balance of the $20,000 prize pool. In all, entries were received from 56 countries and nearly 700 bracket designs were submitted. Ten finalists received $1,000 each.

As an industry which typically requires huge amounts of capital investment, aerospace is filled with financial boondoggles. But, as GE's innovation contest shows, a comparatively small investment in rewarding innovators can go a long way. In terms of delivering an impact, this new technologically advanced bracket will be used in GEnx jet engines, which sell for $500 million each. How much would you pay to get an 80% improvement in one piece of that?

The second contest, called 3-D Printing Production Quest: High Precision and Advanced Manufacturing, asked participants to use 3D printing to manufacture “highly precise and complex parts” for healthcare. The winners, Martin Leuterer from EOS, Rob Snoejis from LayerWise and Bernhard Tabernig from PLANSEE, won a combined $50,000 after finding new ways to produce complex parts using refractory metals.

These innovations will be used in GE's medical imaging division, a department that operates on the global market and is expected to reach $35 billion in revenue by 2019.

These contests further reinforce for what we've been saying at Vocoli for years. Employers looking to increase profitability should look no further than implementing a system to issue challenges to their workers, evaluate the feedback, implement the best, and reward the contributors. Doing so is as sure-fire an investment as putting money in GE stock from 1981-2001.

If your organization is ready to challenge your team to innovate better, give the Vocoli Team a call at 888.919.5300 today.