Rethink: Are suggestion boxes for problems or solutions?

The trust lesson hidden inside an office artefact

Dear Rethinkers,

Over the weekend I was clearing out my parents’ loft and finding all kinds of forgotten knick-knacks. They’ve lived in the same home for 36 years, so you can imagine the boxes that have accumulated in the attic. It’s quite emotional and confronting, clearing out all that “stuff.”

Buried in one dusty box was something that really made me laugh: a mushed-up suggestion box. I remember making it when I was about eight or nine. The plan was to take it to school and ask all my fellow students how we could improve the school. There it was... an early sign that I loved designing feedback systems!

Finding that squashed-up cardboard box in my parents’ loft made me pause. The suggestion box is such a simple idea, yet at its heart, it’s about something deeply human: the need to feel heard.

But a suggestion box is only as powerful as the trust you create by acting on what people share. Without that, it’s just a slot for paper and unspoken frustration.

Of course, this sent me down a curious rabbit hole:

• Who on earth first came up with the idea of a suggestion box?

• And are suggestion boxes better used to raise problems or solutions?