Focusing on the communication process, the United Nations has initiated a global crowdsourcing campaign to collect ideas that can help against the spread of COVID-19. Given the global nature of the call, the hope is that this will lead to work that will engage and inform people across different cultures, languages, communities and platforms.
Many employees are practicing social distancing by working from home. This new environment prevents the free flow of ideas, especially those originating from informal hallway conversations and coffee breaks. The lack of ideas coming from the organization hurts innovation processes and quite frankly, the main operations and firm practice too. How can we maintain the flow of ideas at a (social) distance? This article offers advice on maintaining connection, interaction, and idea generation in virtual settings.