Ideation:

How do you know if your good idea is the next big thing?
Whether you are an intrapreneur, working within an existing business, or an
entrepreneur looking to create a business startup, or a student creating an idea
for a class project, this question is the one that should drive you to find
answers. Unfortunately, it is not a question that can be answered on its own. It
takes answering a bunch of other questions of your potential customers, of your own
motivations, and of your idea as well. Two key qualities required to begin this
journey include curiosity and creativity. As a communicator or a student at a mass
communication program, you should already possess an innate curiosity about
people, storytelling, and problem solving. Creativity is a skill that can be
cultivated as an individual or as part of group or team exercises, to develop
unusual connections, breakthroughs in processes, or insights that lead to product
development. Often, the journey to a good idea begins with asking “What if?”
∙ Ideation is the process of coming up with an idea. It is using creativity and
questions like “What if?” to imagine ways something can be done differently.
∙ The ideation stage is critical to ensure that you are generating good ideas from
the start. ∙ It involves seeing problems and opportunities, brainstorming around
the problems you identify, and doing research to test your assumptions about the
market, your customers, and your idea.
∙ Refining that initial idea involves assessing the market, looking at trends, and
asking questions (and more questions)—and learning from potential customers,
investors, and research whether your idea is a good one.
∙ The design process consists of a series of steps to test assumptions and ideas.
Ideation falls within a larger design process that begins with understanding who
you are serving; empathizing, understanding, and defining the needs of that target
audience; then ideating around what is needed.
❖ According to 2012 research by Harvard Business School instructor Shikhar Ghosh,
75% of venture-backed startups fail. Ideas are like opinions—everyone has one.
❖ If the founders of those failed companies could have answered that question as to
whether their idea was the next big thing…well everyone wants that guarantee. But
entrepreneurship is risky. Startups are risky.
❖ You and your team are using your time and your intellectual property (ideas) to
create something new.
❖ Generating a great idea from the start is part of a larger set of success factors
such as the expertise of the founders, the competitive landscape, speed to market,
and other factors.
These other success factors include:
∙ The composition of the team itself;
∙ The execution of the concept. Is the team adaptable, effective and efficient?
∙ The structure or business model shows a clear revenue path and immediate revenue
stream; ∙ The structure of funding; and
∙ The timing of the idea and its entry into the marketplace.
❖ What ultimately matters most is not the idea, but the ability of the team to work
together, execute and test an idea, and get their idea out into the marketplace.
❖ So the ideation stage is about minimizing the risk of failure by coming up with
ideas that the world needs or wants. Successful startups begin with a quality
idea, one that is novel, encapsulates a “truth,” and will have good barriers to
competitors.
❖ Students will often come to me and say, “I’ve got this great idea, but I’m afraid
to share it because someone might steal it.” I often coach students that their
fear is preventing them from finding other teammates, coaches, potential
investors, and mentors.
❖ Timing and execution are king; ideas, well, everyone has one. So if you’re
hoarding your ideas, you are limiting one of your key assets, which is timing.
Scanning the Environment
∙ always on the lookout for problems, opportunities and new ideas, observing what
is happening around me, listening to what my neighbors are talking about, and what
people are struggling with in their everyday lives.
∙ And as Hall suggests, we can “proceduralize creativity” by increasing the
juxtapositions, the opportunities for the collisions of disparate ideas that might
spark the next idea.
Individuals, teams, and other groups use brainstorming and ideation to come up with
better ideas.
∙ ideas that speed processes, ideas that create new products, ideas that create
innovations, and ideas that solve problems.
∙ But usually that activity happens in a vacuum —a team sits around a whiteboard
coming up with ideas. With human-centered design, inspiration comes through
exploration of actual people, their problems, and their needs.
∙ So ideation is like an incubator for experimentation. The better you become at
asking questions of potential customers and getting them answered quickly, the
better you can be at shaping your idea into something that meets a need.
The simplest I’ve used asks founders to ask themselves three questions:
∙ Feasibility: Can we do this?
∙ Viability: Should we do this?
∙ Desirability: Do they want this?
The most valuable design sits at the intersection of these three questions and will
help guide you in positioning your ideas to meet market needs.
The Media Innovation Landscape
Media innovation and entrepreneurship brings together journalism, technology, and
business to create new projects inside and outside of traditional media
organizations. For the media industry, there are significant opportunities in the
disruption to business models and technological changes. This seismic shift in the
monolithic news and information business has created a landscape that has allowed
new forms of journalism and technology to emerge, driven by innovation, creativity,
and entrepreneurship.
The media industry has had to respond to new devices and convergences.
∙ Existing companies have had to innovate and design products to maximize the
mobile experience for users of their content and products. Think about news apps
such as BBC News for traditional news entities that expanded their existing brand
into a new device.
∙ We can also point to startups like Flip Board, a tool designed solely to solve
the problem of making reading content easier on a mobile device.
∙ Mike McCue, the founder of FlipBoard, says he never intended to start another
company after he sold his prior company TellMe to Microsoft. His new company
started by asking the question “What if?” that started him thinking about
redesigning the web interface from scratch.
SWOT Analysis
If so, how? Conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
analysis from the point of view of the competition. Do this for each close
competitor, large or small, until you clearly identify your niche and are able to
refine your target market.
∙ SWOT can also uncover areas of the business that are holding you back, or that
your competitors could exploit if you don't protect yourself.
∙ A SWOT analysis examines both internal and external factors – that is, what's
going on inside and outside your organization. So some of these factors will be
within your control and some will not.

∙ How to Do a SWOT Analysis

Avoid relying on your own, partial understanding of your organization. Your
assumptions could be wrong. Instead, gather a team of people from a range of
functions and levels to build a broad and insightful list of observations.
Then, every time you identify a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, or Threat, write
it down in the relevant part of the SWOT analysis grid for all to see.
Let's look at each area in more detail and consider what fits where, and what
questions you could ask as part of your data gathering.
Strengths
∙ Strengths are things that your organization does particularly well, or in a way
that distinguishes you from your competitors. Think about the advantages your
organization has over other organizations. These might be the motivation of your
staff, access to certain materials, or a strong set of manufacturing processes.
∙ Your strengths are an integral part of your organization, so think about what
makes it "tick." ∙ What do you do better than anyone else? What values drive your
business? What unique or lowest-cost resources can you draw upon that others
can't? Identify and analyze your organization's Unique Selling Proposition (USP),
and add this to the Strengths section. ∙ Then turn your perspective around and ask
yourself what your competitors might see as your strengths. What factors mean that
you get the sale ahead of them?
Remember, any aspect of your organization is only a strength if it brings you a
clear advantage. For example, if all of your competitors provide high-quality
products, then a high-quality production process is not a strength in your market:
it's a necessity.
Weaknesses
∙ Weaknesses, like strengths, are inherent features of your organization, so focus
on your people, resources, systems, and procedures. Think about what you could
improve, and the sorts of practices you should avoid
∙ Once again, imagine (or find out) how other people in your market see you. Do
they notice weaknesses that you tend to be blind to? Take time to examine how and
why your competitors are doing better than you. What are you lacking?
Be honest! A SWOT analysis will only be valuable if you gather all the information
you need. So, it's best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as
soon as possible.
Opportunities
∙ Opportunities are openings or chances for something positive to happen, but
you'll need to claim them for yourself!
∙ They usually arise from situations outside your organization, and require an eye
to what might happen in the future.
∙ They might arise as developments in the market you serve, or in the technology
you use. Being able to spot and exploit opportunities can make a huge difference
to your organization's ability to compete and take the lead in your market.
Think about good opportunities that you can exploit immediately. These don't need
to be game changers: even small advantages can increase your organization's
competitiveness. What interesting market trends are you aware of, large or small,
which could have an impact?
You should also watch out for changes in government policy related to your field.
And changes in social patterns, population profiles, and lifestyles can all throw
up interesting opportunities.
Threats
∙ Threats include anything that can negatively affect your business from the
outside, such as supply-chain problems, shifts in market requirements, or a
shortage of recruits. It's vital to anticipate threats and to take action against
them before you become a victim of them and your growth stalls.
∙ Think about the obstacles you face in getting your product to market and selling.
You may notice that quality standards or specifications for your products are
changing, and that you'll need to change those products if you're to stay in the
lead. Evolving technology is an ever present threat, as well as an opportunity!
∙ Always consider what your competitors are doing, and whether you should be
changing your organization's emphasis to meet the challenge. But remember that
what they're doing might not be the right thing for you to do. So, avoid copying
them without knowing how it will improve your position.
Be sure to explore whether your organization is especially exposed to external
challenges. Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems, for example, that could
make you vulnerable to even small changes in your market? This is the kind of
threat that can seriously damage your business, so be alert.