Big Business Ideas Are Born In The Bathroom

Top business leaders throughout Britain are more likely to get their best ideas in the bathroom than the boardroom - a MORI Captains of Industry survey of chairmen, chief executives and managing directors has revealed.

Almost 2,200 years after Archimedes first shouted "eureka", the 3M commissioned survey discovered that around one in eight British bosses still found their inspiration in the bath. This was more than in the office (11%), although hours spent travelling provide their best thinking time of all (39%).

The survey was carried out through interviews with corporation heads up and down the country and showed a strong national pride in British achievements. Two thirds of them believe that the UK is second only to the US as being the most innovative country.

Microsoft was singled out as the most innovative company in the world, with 3M the runner-up ahead of Glaxo Wellcome and Sony.

Overwhelmingly, corporate leaders believe innovation gives a business competitive edge as well bringing other key benefits such as efficiency, cost-effectiveness and increased profitability. The majority believe that innovation relies on companies having an organisational culture open to new ideas.

"We are delighted to see that the role of innovation is so widely recognised and valued by Britain's top leaders," commented 3M UK technical director John Howells. "3M's own innovation is driven by a global target to achieve 30% of sales from products less than four years old.

"Innovation is the key to prosperity in tomorrow's commercial world. The challenge for all companies is to promote a 'can do' culture and successfully unlock the imaginative potential of a capable workforce".

Business leaders see the most valued characteristics of an innovative employee as determination and motivation above pure creativity. Only 17% of those interviewed believed that education played a crucial part.

Despite travelling giving them time for inspiration, most do not regard either the car or the aeroplane as the major innovation of the 20th century. The largest majority (63%) thought the computer had brought about the most dramatic change of all.

A cure for cancer is joint top of their wish list of 21st century inventions, along with an innovative solution to improving public transport for all. Only 7% of business leaders hoped for new inventions to improve their own personal transport.

Technical details

The MORI Captains of Industry survey was conducted with chairmen, managing directors and financial directors of companies from the FTSE 500; the top 500 by turnover, and the largest 100 organisations by capital employed. The fieldwork for the survey was conducted during Sept-Nov 1999 and 102 face-to-face interviews took. place.