My featured short story for August, is about Charlie and is taken from my book – Loose Ends :
Charlie went to bed.
The world moved on but he didn’t.
The world missed out.
His idea was brilliant!
In my story, Charlie has had a brilliant idea – I wonder what it was? Sadly he ‘moved on’ before he could develop and share it. Therefore Charlie, his family and potentially the world, missed out on his idea. It could have come to nothing or it could have been the current day equivalent of something amazing such as discovering penicillin or splitting the atom!
There are so many issues the world needs to solve such as :
- A cure for the common cold
- Growing enough food for everyone to be able to eat
Have you ever had a brilliant idea and then forgotten about it? Perhaps you’ve jotted it down and then never found the time to do anything with it? If your idea is sound, you could be sitting on a pot of gold!
How do you come up with and develop a brilliant idea?
Here is a simple process to work through :
- Be observant and open minded
Learn to recognise an issue that needs to be solved ie log jam in production
- Listen to customers and staf
They are likely to identify an issue ie reduce or re-use products that are wasted
- Identify what is currently happening and what is needed
Identify the current steps in a process and investigate whether the result can be achieved in a different way ie making rather than buying in a component
- Test the idea
Create a mock-up, conduct market research or discuss with colleagues to assess how good the idea is.
- Eliminate bad ideas quickly
Once you have tested an idea, evaluate it rationally and dump it if it won’t work. Try to avoid wasting time and effort .
- Timing of ideas
Consider if your idea could be put into practise now ie remove an unnecessary procedure or is it an idea for future development ie driverless cars
If you have an idea and want to take it to market, there are specialist companies such as www.davison.com who can offer help.
Good luck with your brilliant ideas. Let me know how you get on. If you need some help to sort out your ideas, please contact me by email.
E: barbara@barbarahibbartcoaching.co.uk
www.barbarahibbartcoaching.co.uk
Loose Ends is available from Amazon ISBN 9781532922879