Disordered Cogitations

The Endless Innovation blog pointed me to a Computer World article that cites an innovative business practice at IBM:

On Jan. 1, IBM rolled out companywide "ThinkFridays," a block of Friday afternoon time free of nonessential meetings and interruptions. (Workers in the U.S. also try to honor ThinkFridays overseas.) IBM programmers, who are spread across three continents, started using ThinkFridays a year ago to research new technologies or work on papers or patents, says Tim Donofrio, an IBM vice president. He says it's "a mental break from the endless phone calls, e-mail and instant messages," enabling employees to get done at least some of the work that tends to get pushed into nights or weekends.