You’ve got a good idea and you know it — congrats!
But even good ideas can be made better.
Here are a few quick questions to help you fine-tune your idea and take it to the next level before you unleash it on the world.
1. What’s the desired result of your idea?
When you bring your idea to life, how will it impact people who consume it? How will it change them? Enrich them?
The difference between a good and great idea is often the results it generates for others.
Take a moment to consider exactly what your idea intends to accomplish and ensure you optimize it to do so.
2. What are your assumptions?
Every idea is based on a set of assumptions, but those assumptions are often incorrect.
Question your idea’s assumptions —consider which may be false and whether inverting or removing some of them might improve the idea.
3. Will your idea give people something they value?
I might love making hip hop-themed bird houses (I don’t, but theoretically I might), but that doesn’t make it a great idea.
Building Biggie’s Bird House might create value for me (doubt it), but is unlikely to create value for others.
In order to come up with a great idea, you must first understand what people value. (Speaking of which, here’s an easy way to learn that.)
Think about what the target audience for your idea values and check that against the value your idea is designed to provide. If they don’t match up, your idea (or your target audience) needs some tweaking.
4. Is your idea unexpected?
Great ideas stand out from the crowd.
Something about them is unique, different from ideas that have already been shared by others.
Will your idea surprise people? Will it contradict the conventional wisdom? Will it get noticed?
If not, it’s probably not great.
5. How can you simplify your idea?
The difference between a good idea and a great one is often the removal of an element.
Rather than look for additions to your idea to make it better, consider what could be removed from it.
The more you remove, the clearer your idea’s value becomes, the easier it is for others to grasp, and the more likely it is to succeed.
6. What problem does your idea solve?
Great ideas solve problems. They don’t just illustrate problems or complicate them, they solve them.
Consider the problem your idea will solve and whether it’s a problem your target audience even knows exists.
If not, then figure out how to make them aware of the problem. Because nobody’s going to be interested in a solution to a problem they don’t know exists.
ONE LAST TIP…
This post isn’t the only way I can help turn your good idea into a great one.
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