On August 29, Steelcase Corporate Strategists Troy Machiela and Ryan Schmidt joined us via Google Hangout On Air to share their journey on an experiment called ARISE. Arise is a $150,000 fund investing in the growth ideas of Steelcase employees globally. Employees submit ideas that they believe will help the company grow, and selected recipients are given $10,000 and 120 days to pursue their idea however they desire.

They received a total of 45 ideas and six ideas were selected to move forward with the $10,000 and 120-day experiment. One of these ideas was based on the vote of Steelcase employees while the other five ideas were based on a juried panel looking at desirability, feasibility and viability. The juried panel was made up of Troy, Ryan, and six other thought leaders from various disciplines throughout Steelcase.

Throughout the process of Arise, Troy and Ryan encountered great discoveries that propelled the company forward as well as issues that impeded the results of the selected ideas. However, they were transparent in sharing their lessons learned with the company. Why? Because they want to drive a culture of risk-taking and experimentation, a culture of open innovation in the workplace.

To discover more about the experiment and the results, we invite you to view the broadcast below.

Thanks to all those who watched the live broadcast and participated in the Twitter Chat! If you missed the live broadcast of Experimenting Open Innovation, you can also watch it on Workspring’s YouTube page.