Translating Ideas into Business - A Sanity Checklist
I’m a big believer in lists (although when I find myself making lists of lists - it’s really time to quit for the day).
Here’s a quick Sanity Check list for would-be entrepreneurs. Before you start maxing out your credit cards or looking for investors, think how you would answer these:
1. How is it (idea, product, technology) different?
2. Is it different enough?
3. Why would anybody care about the difference?
4. Who would buy it (and why)?
5. What are your potential customers doing now? (to solve the problem, accomplish the task.)
6. How many would buy it? (potentially)
7. Would they buy more than one?
8. How are you going to sell it? (if through third parties - what third parties? Why? Can you afford a multi-level pricing and margin structure?)
9. How are you going to deliver it?
10. Support it?
11. How long will it take to get to market? (It will always take longer than you think…and what will be going on while you’re developing and building?)
12. What external factors (economic, political, environmental, etc.) could impact your opportunity?
13. Can you afford to fail? (your wallet, your quality of life, your family)
14. Are you passionate enough about it to take a deep breath and jump - knowing you could fail?
There are, of course, a lot more you’d have to answer for a biz plan, including barriers to entry and how to overcome them, channel planning, sales strategies for target markets, etc. - but this should get you started.
More perspective in Tom Evslin’s vonradio podcast - Ten ways to know whether you’re an entrepreneur.
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June 6th, 2005 at 3:12 pm
That’s brillant - someone else in the world who loves list - so do I Mary - here is mine;
Things I believe with a passion - not in priority order
1. Staff at the front line know all the answers all the time
2. The words “managing people� should be exorcised from the workplace. Nobody “manages� people any more - people manage themselves.
3. If a manager has any job at all in 2004 it is to move heaven and earth to make it easier for front line staff to do neat work
4. Get other people to do bits of your job - they usually do it better than you
5. Management is simple
6. Leadership is not - it is an art form
7. The basics are the new cutting edge
8. I’m not convinced leadership can be taught
9. Give all the budget to front line staff ….yes I did say all the budget
10. Complexity is merely the sum of simple parts
11. Forget MBA think MST (Masters in Story Telling)
12. We are all Chief Executives of our own future
13. “Powerlessness is a state of mind - not a state of reality� Tom Peters
14. I don’t know what “a big organisationâ€? means in 2004
15. I would take a pay cut for some leaders ….I would not follow some leaders if they doubled my wages
16. Our greatest motivation is always from within
17. The older I get the more I like words like “difference� and “diversity� …and the less I like words like “right� and “wrong�
June 7th, 2005 at 10:58 am
Good points. I tend to agree that leadership can’t be taught - the inherent capabilities have to be there…and there are different types of leaders needed/wanted for different situations (Churchill was beloved during war, dissed during peace.)
Re people not wanted to be managed, can manage themselves. Hmmm…depends on definition of “manage” and the person’s personality. Some people really do want all the details and be assured that it’s safe…others just want to be let out of the barn to run. Keep an eye out for my upcoming e-letter re “managing people” - and would appreicate your comments.
June 8th, 2005 at 3:08 am
Great Mary - look forward to the e-letter
I like constructive discussion and you provide an interesting challenge to my views which I welcome.
As regards ‘managing people’ - in 35 years in healthcare I never considered that I ‘managed’ anyone - they ‘managed’ themselves with my support.
‘Coaching’ … NOW THAT is something else … I ‘coached’ many people and like to think I helped them achieve what they are capable of and indeed much more.
You will not be surprised to know I prefer the term ‘coaching’ to ‘managing’ – to me ‘managing people’ implies control and that always restrains talented people.
Keep up the excellent work Mary - I like your site.
Take a look at Simplicity today - http://simplicityitk.blogspot.com/
My beloved partner Annie is running in the Race for Life next Wednesday - a UK National Charity run for women to raise funds for Cancer Research - take a look and tell your friends
June 8th, 2005 at 7:49 am
Trevor,
Ah - it’s all in the definitions, isn’t it? “Manage” as in the Frederick Taylor control model - or “manage” as in enable, empower, and support? Hmmm… I’ll always vote for and support the second. When I was a manager, I felt my role was to provide covering fire for my people so they could do their thing. I was the escalation point, not the dictator. Re coaching: Here in the U.S., however, “coaching” is getting a bit of a negative spin…way too many people have jumped in doing “life/business coaching” with little to no real skills (other than they were out of a job and are “good with people.”). Good luck to Annie - we do similar in here in the U.S.
September 11th, 2005 at 10:53 am
Mary,
It IS all in the definitions. In my early research comparing the effectiveness of various counseling techniques with college students, the counselors in my study were asked to define their own therapeutic approach in order to comprise my comparison groups. Their self-definitions proved at significant odds with their actual style; a discovery that allowed a correction that “saved” my hypothesis. Throughout my 30 years as a psychologist I have discovered that the person who says “I am the kind of person who…” most typically is not. To “walk our talk” is tough for us mortals. As chair, I presided over our Board of Psychology in the task of providing the legislature with a “definition of practice” statute for psychologists. This entailed defining not only “what is a psychologist?” (relatively easy) but also “what does a psychologist do?” (much more challenging). I recently went through training to add “Coaching” to my repertoire of skills. Sadly,as I have discovered, not all “coaches” have had any training. None is required. There is no regulatory Board or protective legislation. The consumer is left on his/her own in a laissez faire environment. Though there are certifications available, none is required and “cerification” requirements vary. Some certifying agencies are reputable, others are questionable and the consumer has no way of knowing which is which or who is who. Apologies for such a long response; I, like Clements, didn’t have time to compose a short one.