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DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS14

step two: generating new ideas The second step is the

generation of new ideas. Building on the insights and information
developed in step one, this step uses a further combination of intuitive
and rational techniques to develop a range of possible solutions to the
business opportunity defined at the previous step.

The six mental workouts and their related routines available in the
Mind Gym include the use of stimulus materials, upside-down
thinking, analogical thinking and checklists. The techniques will help
you generate a significant quantity of ideas which can be clustered into
groups and carried forward to the next step. Consistent with the
iterative nature of the idea development process, we show how insights
from this step may also cause you to go back to step one and redefine
the opportunity yet further.

The case study on Howard Head, whose innovations revolutionised the
worlds of skiing and tennis, demonstrates the power of challenging
convention and the elegant effectiveness of analogical thinking. The
case study on Thomas Edison showcases an innovator par excellence
who effectively created the industries of electricity supply, sound
recording and motion pictures.

step three: evaluating and selecting ideas The third

step involves evaluating and selecting the emerging and crystallising
business ideas. It typically follows a two-phase process, with a coarse-
screen exercise followed by a more detailed, finer-screened evaluation
of those ideas which survive the first phase. Frameworks to undertake
this process include criteria grids, flowcharts, weighted criteria grids
and the idea compatibility matrix.

the third step involves evaluating and
selecting the emerging and crystallising
business ideas

The criteria to use within the different frameworks can be separated
into two broad categories: business-focused, such as the existence of a
viable market opportunity, and person-focused, such as your attitude to
risk.

As with all the steps within the idea development process, the
evaluation and selection step combines left-brain analytical thinking