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1795 : STEP THREE – EVALUATING AND SELECTING IDEAS

of the job specification to create a short list of candidates who will then
be assessed using a range of complementary techniques, including
interviews, assessment centres and psychometric tests.

It is rare that a company relies on one single technique: it is impossible
for the recruitment process to guarantee absolutely a successful
appointment, and if the recruitment process takes too long, good
candidates are snapped up elsewhere.

business-focused criterion 1: existence of viable
market opportunity The first criterion asks whether a definable

market opportunity exists for your proposed product or service.

added-value advantage We saw earlier how the recently published
study of three decades of enterprise policy in the Tees Valley had
highlighted the risk of ‘me-too’ products or services driving competitors
under on price before themselves suffering an early corporate death,
without an added-value proposition to sustain their life.

You therefore need to be sure that you can demonstrate an added-value
advantage and that your product or service meets a genuine need for
which customers will be prepared to pay. The importance of customers’
willingness to pay was poignantly illustrated in an earlier section by
the SAM wheelchair, an innovative and socially valuable product
which could not generate sufficient demand, however, to justify the
financial investment required by Sunrise Medical.

market size Your immersion in the market during the fact-finding
phase in step one of the idea development process will now allow you
to answer critical questions about the size of the proposed market and
its dynamics – is it growing, static or declining? Entering a declining
highly competitive market normally represents a quite different
challenge and risk to entering a high-growth new market.

competition You need to identify your competition and assess likely
competitive reaction – will it allow you to survive? You should never
underestimate the magnitude and intensity of competitors’ potential
responses.

you should never underestimate the
magnitude and intensity of competitors’
potential responses