Identify both kinds of opportunity
/There are two kinds of opportunity. The first step in bringing your vision to life is to identify both.
Everyone has a process to identify opportunities. You’ve heard customer requests— whether one offs or unanimous, innovations from colleagues who just want to do things in a better way, new things that are working out for your competition, or stuff you’ve read in the news.
Constant vigilance for new ideas is one process that separates leaders from followers. (We’ll look at other processes soon.) It all boils down to two kinds of opportunity.
Ideas that you’ve identified but have not yet brought to life.
Ideas that have yet to be uncovered.
You may think that you’ve enough on your plate with the first category. The work of vetting these ideas, deciding which to shelve, and getting on with the work of bringing the rest to life may take up all of your business’s upgrade capacity.
But there’s an important question that often goes un-asked about innovation funnels.
Ideas are like running water. If they are flowing—good ones are being realized, new ones nourishing the funnel—then you have a river. But if the good ones are being neglected and the funnel is not being constantly replenished—you have a swamp.
Check youR flow
Consider this check list:
Do you have a list of upgrade opportunities for your business to pursue?
Is this list reduced on a regular basis as opportunities are implemented?
Is the list increased on a frequent basis as new opportunities are added?
Do the opportunities that you implement generally realize value for your business over time?
Higher you get down the list, the better you score.
What did you score? How can you score better?
Trusting Technology is a book about forming ideas, exploring opportunities with customers and colleagues, and building your future together. Order your copy here.