FindingProfitableIdeas
Theprocessofconvertinganewideaintorevenuegrowthhasfiveinterrelatedsteps,eachofwhichrequiresadistinctsetofskillstodowell:
■Ideation—comingupwithnewideasonaconsistentbasis.Manytimes,thisrequireseliminatingsomelayersofbureaucracysothepeoplewithgoodideasfeelcomfortableaboutputtingthemforward.
■Selection—decidingwhichideastofundandpursueandwhichideastoleaveonthetable.TheselectionprocessworksbestiftransparentcriteriaareusedconsistentlyratherthandependingonthemoodoftheCEO.
“Isthisagoodidea?”
“Doesthisideafitwithwhatwe'redoingelsewhere?”
“Dowehavetherightpeopletoexploitthisidea?”
■Nurturing—onceanideahasbeenselected,itneedstobeprovidedwithwhateveritneedstogrowandhopefullythrive.Thiswillrequireablendoffinancialresources,creativity,adaptability,practicalityandsocialskills.Thepersoninchargeoftheprojectmustbewellnetworkedandwillingtoreframetheideaindifferentwayssovariouspartsoftheorganizationwillbuyin.
■Launch—gettingtheproductorserviceintothemarketplace.Usually,thepersonwhocomesupwiththeideaisnottherightper-sontolaunchit,becausetheskillsetsrequiredarequitedifferent.Thelaunchmanagerneedsaseriousbudget,andevenwhenthatisavailable,therearestillthreepotentialproblemsthatmustbeovercome: