Igniting the Innovation Spark: How the $12 Lunch Money Incentives Became a Game-Changer

How do we inspire creativity in a world driven by constant change? More importantly, how do we create structures that encourage people to think differently and solve problems in new ways? These questions lie at the heart of effective leadership, and answering them can determine whether organizations thrive or stagnate.

When I first joined work, the organization had a scheme to encourage better ideas and solutions. It was a simple program: every time you submitted a suggestion that was accepted, you received $2. If the idea was implemented, the person executing it earned $10. It was not a very appealing initiative. Most people treated it as just another box to check off, with little focus on submitting meaningful or creative ideas. One suggestion I remember, which reflected this attitude, involved moving a flowerpot from one corner of the office to another. Amusingly, it was accepted and implemented.

Unlike many of my colleagues, I decided to take the scheme seriously. I began documenting every suggestion I made, whether it related to my specific work or broader organizational processes. Each time I identified an area for improvement, I logged it and sent it for approval. At first, my motivation was purely practical—I saw it as a way to earn a little extra lunch money.

Over time, though, something unexpected happened. Most of my suggestions were accepted, and I quickly rose to the top of the program’s leaderboard. Before I knew it, I had developed a reputation as the organization’s “number one innovator.” My name began coming up in conversations about awards and recognition.

The impact went far beyond recognition. As I kept participating, I started noticing patterns in what made suggestions effective. I learned to analyze processes creatively and spot opportunities for improvement. What started as a routine task became a mindset shift. I began taking my suggestions more seriously because being recognized as a contributor encouraged me to seek out better and more deliberate solutions.

This, in hindsight, became my impression amplifier, a concept described in "Innovation Capital: How to Compete—and Win—Like the World's Most Innovative Leaders" by Jeff Dyer, Nathan Furr, and Curtis Lefrandt.

The authors explained that leaders can build frameworks to foster better ideas by focusing on innovation capital, which they defined as the ability to gain resources and support for your ideas. They broke it down into three essential components:

• Human capital: The creativity, problem-solving skills, and persuasive abilities that individuals bring to the table.
• Social capital: The relationships and connections that provide access to resources, insights, and support.
• Reputation capital: A track record of credibility and success, which opens doors to greater opportunities.

The authors further explained that these components are amplified by impression amplifiers—actions that build visibility and credibility for your contributions. These amplifiers could be small, like a suggestion program, or larger, like presenting at conferences or publishing thought leadership. The key is creating systems where individuals have opportunities to showcase their thinking and build their capital.

Reflecting on my experience, I now see that, despite its perceived limitations, the suggestion scheme achieved something meaningful. It provided a structure that encouraged participation and improvement, even if many treated it as a mere formality. By participating, I gained visibility within the organization, built my reputation capital, and developed a more creative approach to problem-solving. What started as a simple scheme evolved into a mechanism for recognizing contributions and fostering better ideas across the organization.

This experience underscores the critical role leaders play in sparking participation and creating opportunities for contributions to shine. Whether it is a suggestion program or a larger organizational framework, the challenge is building systems that inspire participation, accelerate improvement, and reward meaningful efforts.

Here are my three tips for fostering and rewarding contributions:

• Design systems that invite participation. Create clear frameworks, like suggestion programs or idea challenges, that encourage employees to contribute without fear of judgment.
• Celebrate the process, not just the results. Highlighting the effort, thought, and risks behind contributions inspires others to step forward, even if success is not guaranteed.
• Use recognition to build reputations. Publicly acknowledging contributions helps amplify reputation capital, motivating individuals and inspiring others to follow their lead.

Recognizing contributions is like igniting a spark that sets a chain reaction in motion. The spark may seem small at first, like a $12 incentive for lunch, but with the right structures in place, it grows into a flame that spreads throughout the organization. Leaders hold the tools to sustain that flame. By focusing on human, social, and reputation capital—and amplifying these through effective systems—they can transform creativity from an occasional occurrence into an everyday strength.