Making Those Great Ideas HAPPEN

Don't let that next great idea fall by the wayside - only for your competitor to sniff out and pick up. Carry that idea from conception through execution through five simple steps:

1. Avoid a Reactionary Workflow - Rather than focusing your effort on reacting (to phone calls, e-mails, tweets, etc.), stay proactive to get ahead. One way to do this might be scheduling yourself some time to focus on that big project - rather than the 37 other daily, routine items you need to accomplish.

2. Strip Projects to Three Primary Elements

      A: Action steps

      B: Backburner items

      C: References

   

3. Measure Meetings With Action Steps - During your next staff meeting, have everyone share the progress on the project individually to show the steps that were overlooked. This will also create a sense of accountability.

4. Reduce Your Insecurity Work

"Insecurity work is stuff we do that (1) has no definable outcome, (2) does not move the ball forward in any way and (3) takes up so little time that we can do it multiple times a day without realizing it. Still, it puts us at ease."

5. Survive the Project Plateau - The Project Plateau is when deadlines and project management overtake the excitement for the idea. This is often when new ideas appear to de-rail the original project.


If even coming up with an idea seems like an uphill battle, watch this brief video about coming up with great ideas...