How do you generate and evaluate new ideas?
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— The LinkedIn Team
Generating and evaluating new ideas is a crucial skill for entrepreneurs who want to create value and solve problems in the market. But how do you come up with original and feasible ideas that match your goals, passions, and resources? And how do you test and validate them before investing too much time and money? In this article, we will share some practical tips and tools to help you generate and evaluate new ideas for your entrepreneurial journey.
Brainstorming techniques
One of the most common ways to generate new ideas is to brainstorm with yourself or others. Brainstorming is a creative process that involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging or filtering them. There are many brainstorming techniques that you can use, such as mind mapping, SCAMPER, reverse brainstorming, or the 5W1H method. The key is to choose a technique that suits your style, topic, and purpose, and to follow some basic rules, such as setting a time limit, writing down everything, and encouraging wild and diverse ideas.
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How to become good at ideation? 1. Reverse the assumption Reversing your assumptions broadens your thinking. You may often look at the same thing as everybody else, yet see something different. Many creative thinkers get their most original ideas when they challenge and reverse the obvious. Take Uber: The assumption was that you need to wave your hand to get a cab. Tinder: The assumption was that you must physically meet people first to start dating 2. Ask yourself what sucks? Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital talks about this question that he often asks on a daily basis "What sucks." Most of the discoveries and hacks were made because someone looked at the existing system & said well, that sucks.
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Idea evaluation criteria
Once you have a list of potential ideas, you need to evaluate them and select the ones that are worth pursuing further. There are many criteria that you can use to evaluate your ideas, such as novelty, feasibility, desirability, profitability, scalability, or alignment with your vision and values. You can use a simple matrix or a scoring system to rank your ideas based on these criteria, or you can use a more structured tool, such as the lean canvas, the business model canvas, or the value proposition canvas, to map out and compare the key aspects of your ideas.
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Not every idea is going to be good. That's why you have to iterate and refine. Remember that evaluation is an ongoing process. Don't hesitate to iterate and refine your ideas based on feedback and insights.
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Customer discovery
Another important step in evaluating your ideas is to conduct customer discovery, which is the process of finding and validating the problem-solution fit and the product-market fit of your ideas. Customer discovery involves talking to your target customers, understanding their needs, pains, and gains, and testing your assumptions and hypotheses about your value proposition and business model. You can use various methods to conduct customer discovery, such as interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments, and you can use tools such as the empathy map, the customer profile, or the problem-solution fit canvas to analyze and synthesize your findings.
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The LEAN startup method for evaluating market readiness is a step I never skip! I recall too well that early in my career, the only way to test a market's interest was to get the product market ready and hope. Flipping the order to validate before building is far less expensive. And you'll be more willing to abandon or pivot if you aren't yet too invested in product development.
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Prototyping and testing
The next step in evaluating your ideas is to build prototypes and test them with your customers. Prototypes are low-fidelity versions of your product or service that allow you to demonstrate and validate your solution and get feedback from your customers. Prototypes can be anything from sketches, wireframes, mockups, or storyboards, to landing pages, videos, or physical models. The goal is to create something that is fast, cheap, and easy to iterate, and that captures the essential features and benefits of your solution. You can use tools such as the prototype canvas, the feedback grid, or the validation board to plan and document your prototyping and testing process.
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As with your original ideation, testing your prototype needs a variation of your target audience. This is the best way to correct for any biases you may have had when developing the prototype.
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Iteration and pivoting
The final step in evaluating your ideas is to iterate and pivot based on your learning and feedback. Iteration is the process of making small changes and improvements to your solution and testing them again with your customers. Pivoting is the process of making a significant change to your solution, your customer segment, or your business model, based on the evidence that your current idea is not working or not optimal. You can use tools such as the lean canvas, the business model canvas, or the value proposition canvas to track and communicate your iterations and pivots, and to measure your progress and performance.
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that something does not work and that has failures brings us closer to the best version... the important thing is not how many times you fall down but how many times you are able to get up.
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Learning and reflection
Generating and evaluating new ideas is not a linear or one-time process, but a continuous and iterative cycle of learning and reflection. As an entrepreneur, you need to be open-minded, curious, and flexible, and to embrace uncertainty and failure as opportunities to learn and improve. You also need to reflect on your own strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and motivations, and to seek feedback and support from others, such as mentors, peers, or experts. You can use tools such as the learning journal, the personal SWOT analysis, or the entrepreneurial self-assessment to document and enhance your learning and reflection process.
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Acknowledge that progress isn't always linear. Celebrate the small wins, new insights, and lessons learned throughout the process.
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Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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Don't write for yourself. Write to educate, entertain and inspire your target audience. Develop content that solves problems for them and adds value to their life or business. No one wants to be sold to.
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