3M is the company whose culture uses a “15% rule” for innovation time. The practice encourages employees—especially technical and research staff—to spend up to 15% of their working time exploring projects connected to their own ideas and interests.
The policy grew from 3M’s long-running belief that creativity needs freedom. It was formalized around 1948, although stories about employees pursuing useful side projects go back earlier in the company’s history. Rather than requiring every experiment to succeed, the approach gives researchers room to investigate problems that may not fit neatly into an existing product line.
The best-known result is the Post-it Note, which emerged from 3M research into a low-tack adhesive and an employee’s search for a practical use for it. Other 3M innovations also reflect the company’s willingness to let technical workers follow unexpected leads.
The “15% rule” is sometimes confused with Google’s former “20% time.” Both are innovation-time ideas, but the 15% formulation is strongly associated with 3M and predates Google’s better-known policy.