Ideas Die in Silence
A new Outthinker survey reveals what really drives breakthrough ideas, engagement, and profits—from the inside out.
This audio was recorded by AI:
Our goal at Outthinker is to connect and transform business innovation through learning from industry experts and utilizing data-driven insights. In preparation for our upcoming Outthinker Summit in Dublin, Ireland, on April 28, we conducted a study of hundreds of employees across various industries, company sizes and income levels to better understand how ideas move through businesses.
The results were shocking and offer valuable insight into how employees across organizations—from lean teams to massive enterprises—engage with innovation. The data provides a compelling wake-up call for leaders looking to supercharge innovation, boost engagement, and drive competitive advantage.
Below are the three most impactful findings—and what they mean for your business.
1. 80% of Employees Hold Back Most of Their Ideas
Yes, you read that right. Across all company sizes, four out of five employees share less than half of their ideas.
This figure alone should stop any innovation-driven leader in their tracks. Imagine the creative horsepower sitting idle across your departments. Ideas that could improve efficiency, reduce costs, grow revenue, or reinvent your customer experience are being quietly shelved in your people’s minds.
Innovation doesn’t just come from R&D labs or expensive consultants. Often, it’s the frontline employee who spots the friction point your customer is struggling with, or the operations team member who sees a way to cut waste with a simple tweak. These are the gold nuggets that too often go unspoken.
Let’s do some rough math. Consider a company of 1,000 employees. Let’s say each employee has just one valuable idea per year that could save or generate $5,000.
If 80% of those ideas aren’t shared, that’s $4 million in unrealized potential—every year.
Now scale that to 10,000 employees. You’re looking at $40 million in lost opportunity annually.
Companies that recognize this gap are turning it into a competitive edge. Adobe’s Kickbox program is a great example: they give employees a literal red box containing everything they need to generate, prototype, and test a new idea, including a six-step innovation framework and a $1,000 prepaid credit card they can spend however they choose. No approval needed. It’s trust and empowerment in a box—and it works.
What you can do:
Create low-friction pathways for idea sharing—like anonymous submissions, Slack channels, or encouraging the use of voice notes as a tool to capture spontaneous ideas.
Reward idea contribution, not just execution—create a culture where contributing ideas feels like winning.
Train managers to be idea champions, not gatekeepers.
Regularly showcase ideas that have led to results in company-wide communications—it creates social proof and encourages others to speak up.
2. Large Companies Are Better at Encouraging Full Idea Sharing
Employees at companies with more than 10,000 employees were significantly more likely to share all their ideas—and far less likely to share none.
At first glance, this may seem counterintuitive. Don’t large companies stifle creativity with bureaucracy? Not necessarily. The data suggests that when big firms invest in infrastructure and dedicated innovation programs, it works.
Salesforce runs an internal innovation program called “IdeaExchange,” where employees (and customers) can vote on and submit product ideas. It's a built-in prioritization system for internal creativity.
In contrast, employees at smaller companies (under 5,000 employees) were more likely to share none of their ideas, suggesting a lack of clear channels, trust, or processes to support internal innovation.
The implication is clear: structure enables innovation.
What you can do:
Borrow from the big players: Formalize idea submission programs. Create innovation councils. Launch “hack days” or cross-functional ideation challenges.
Communicate clearly that ideas are not just welcomed—they are essential.
Develop internal ambassadors who encourage idea sharing, especially in teams that may feel disconnected from strategic decisions.
Structure doesn’t kill innovation—it supports it. Give people a framework, and they’ll fill it with brilliance.
3. Culture Is the #1 Barrier to Innovation
Across all company sizes, the leading reasons for not sharing ideas were:
“I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
“I didn’t think it would be taken seriously.”
“No one asked.”
Read that last one again: “No one asked.”
This data point is critical. It suggests a cultural issue—people don’t feel empowered, encouraged, or even invited to contribute their thinking.
It’s not about capability. It’s not about workload. It’s about belief.
People hold back because they fear judgment or irrelevance, or because their company has not made idea-sharing an active, visible part of how the business operates.
Culture plays a critical role in how ideas are shared and acted upon. Netflix, for instance, has embedded radical candor into its culture—open, direct feedback is expected and respected at every level, regardless of role or seniority. This approach fosters psychological safety, where employees feel empowered to speak up without fear of backlash. It’s not just tolerated—it’s encouraged.
Amazon takes a different but equally powerful approach with its principle of “disagree and commit.” Employees are encouraged to voice bold, even contrarian, ideas—especially when they challenge leadership. Once a decision is made, everyone aligns and moves forward, but the culture makes it clear that spirited debate is a strength, not a liability.
In both cases, these companies have institutionalized mechanisms that promote innovation by normalizing internal dissent and open dialogue.
What you can do:
Ask. Often. Everywhere. Start meetings with “What’s one thing we could do better?”
Normalize imperfection—ideas don’t need to be polished. It’s okay if they’re rough, risky, or even wrong.
Train leaders to respond with curiosity, not critique. The way an idea is received in its earliest stage makes all the difference.
You don’t need a bigger think tank—you need to unlock the one you already have.
Mine for Gold
The takeaway is simple but powerful: the ideas your business needs are most likely already inside your organization—unspoken, untapped, and unheard. When employees don’t feel invited, supported, or safe to share what they see and think, innovation dies in silence. But when you build the right culture, structures, and habits, those silent insights become your loudest competitive edge.
At Outthinker, we believe innovation isn’t a department—it’s a mindset embedded across the organization. The leaders who will win in the future are the ones who listen better today. If you’re serious about driving transformation, don’t just ask for ideas—create a system that proves you mean it. The results might just speak louder than words.
For more information into data-driven insights, competitive advantage analysis and internal innovation, visit Outthinker.com.