As CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner had a policy that any employee could come to his office and pitch an idea. He believed that breaking down hierarchical barriers allowed innovative ideas to come from anywhere, and it worked. Disney invested in many of those pitches, some of which became the kernels for films like The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas. 
At Heroku, we know our employees are full of innovative ideas waiting for investment. That’s why any engineer can propose a project through a process we call Research Grants. If the proposal is funded, that engineer gets about two weeks to experiment with their idea and create a work product that can lead to innovative new technologies or even...