How do you make your ideas actionable?

1 Define your goal

The first step to make your ideas actionable is to define your goal clearly and specifically. What problem are you trying to solve or what opportunity are you trying to exploit? Who are your target customers or beneficiaries? What are their needs, preferences, and pain points? What are the criteria for success and how will you measure it? By answering these questions, you will have a clear direction and scope for your idea generation and evaluation.

2 Generate multiple ideas

The next step is to generate as many ideas as possible, without judging or filtering them. The more ideas you have, the more likely you will find some that are original, useful, and feasible. You can use various techniques to stimulate your creativity, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, SCAMPER, analogies, or reverse thinking. You can also involve other people with different perspectives and backgrounds to enrich your idea pool.

3 Evaluate and select ideas

Once you have a large number of ideas, you need to evaluate and select the best ones to pursue further. You can use various criteria to assess your ideas, such as novelty, relevance, feasibility, desirability, and viability. You can also use various tools to compare and rank your ideas, such as SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, or matrix diagrams. You should aim to select a few ideas that meet your goal and have the most potential for success.

4 Develop and test ideas

The next step is to develop and test your selected ideas in more detail. You can use various methods to elaborate and refine your ideas, such as sketches, prototypes, storyboards, or business models. You can also use various methods to test and validate your ideas with your target customers or stakeholders, such as interviews, surveys, experiments, or feedback sessions. You should aim to collect and analyze data and feedback that can help you improve your ideas and make them more feasible, desirable, and viable.

5 Implement and monitor ideas

The final step is to implement and monitor your ideas in the real world. You can use various strategies to plan and execute your ideas, such as project management, agile development, or lean startup. You can also use various strategies to monitor and evaluate your ideas, such as performance indicators, customer satisfaction, or return on investment. You should aim to track and measure your results and impact, and make adjustments and improvements as needed.

By following these steps, you can make your ideas actionable and turn them into successful solutions or opportunities. Creative problem solving is a skill that you can learn and practice to enhance your innovation and productivity. What are some of the ideas that you want to make actionable? How can you apply creative problem solving to achieve them?

6 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?