Turning Ideas into Reality

In my experience, most of the energy and activity that happens in innovation initiatives is focused around getting ideas. but ideas do not deliver value until they are implemented. Often, organisations don’t focus effort on the execution of ideas until they have them. As a result, many ideas fail and are never used.

To overcome this, the outcome wanted before asking for ideas must be clear. Consider what is actually needed and what resources are available. If you only have the ability or resource to implement a few ideas, make this clear at the start; otherwise you could annoy some very engaged people!

Beginning with a clear idea of the desired outcome can substantially improve success. If I enter a prize draw, I expect to know how many winning tickets there are; it’s the same for innovation. Communicate the outcomes to your audience so they know the rules. However, even when you know what outcome you want, implementation is still hard work, as you are trying to change the status quo.

So, here are five tips to help increase your chances of idea implementation.