Where Did the Suggestion Box Come From?

The concept of the suggestion box dates back to the 18th century, with some crediting it to a Naval captain and others to a Japanese shogun. Regardless of its origins, a space was defined for new ideas, and people were invited to share their thoughts on how to improve everything from how the Navy operates to how a ruler could improve the common person's experience. The first significant shift happened when companies recognized the value of seeking insight from their workforce, specifically acknowledging that those at the front lines are closest to some of the most solvable problems. The idea evolved to take suggestions from anyone, including customers and the public, even if they didn't know the inner workings of the company or its goals. Incentivizing good ideas by paying employees for their suggestions was first implemented by Eastman Kodak in 1898, which led to the development of other incentivization models, including non-monetary team incentives, professional development incentives, and recognition. The internet changed the game, making it easier to gather, prioritize, build on, prototype, and share ideas through online collaboration, leading to the evolution of open innovation software platforms like IdeaScale.