Albert Einstein once said, “Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.” Alas, you might want to count Bank of America in that population.
Let’s say you had a great idea for Bank of America. I don’t know, say you figured out a better way to value assets (heaven knows every bank in the nation can use help on this front). You didn’t want any money for your idea; you were just a good American chap, who wanted to make his country greater.
So you go to the BofA website with the hope of sharing your great idea with BofA. Guess what? BofA doesn’t want it. In fact, BofA doesn’t want any ideas.
I could not find another bank in the nation that actively and fervently stated that it shuns outside ideas. Here’s BofA’s “Bank of America’s Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy“:
If, despite our request not to send us your ideas, you still do, then regardless of what your communication states, the following terms shall apply to your idea submission. You agree that: (a) your ideas will automatically become the property of Bank of America, without compensation to you, (b) Bank of America can use the ideas for any purpose and in any way, and (c) any information you provide will be considered non-confidential.
That’ll certainly inspire collegiality and goodwill. The bank should change the wording to its policy to: “Talk to the hand.”