Planning the next big thing, Pt. 2

If you read this post where I discussed how I ‘officially’ plan an idea from the concept stage to the “ok, I think I’ll do it stage.” After that beginning stage, you transition to the “So What Now?” stage. It’s comprised of three fundamental questions:

1. On the way there, I thought of this…I reserve this one for trying to delve into things that come to me after I’ve begun the development process. Sometimes, it’s a helpful tool when I’ve fleshed out a project far better than I anticipated or took it in a direction that I didn’t initially believe it would go. This gives me the chance to go further into where it’s headed and to redirect the deal if it needs to be done at that point.
2. But this is a problem to keep in mind…Obviously problems will crop up at all times, but here is the opportunity to lay out a few of the things that you might not have envisioned and how you’ll deal with them maybe. 
3. So what now? If you’ve redirected the project, a chance to lay out what’s next. Or to solidify plans and list action steps.

The three questions should help you along as you’re developing your idea to start to prod yourself into thinking of the things that you can come up with on your own. It’s obviously not the same as the collaborative process, which will yield other things, but it’s helpful for yourself as the project lead to be able to flesh out what’s going on moving forward.

The best thing about this is to be methodical and to keep yourself focused on the goal, because sometimes as you go through a project it barely resembles it original self as you get towards the end if you’re not careful. This is a chance to frame the idea from the start and then to constantly develop from the basic premise of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. It also forces you to constantly attack the idea.

If you’re an idea maven, coming with ideas is very easy to do. Executing them can be the difficult part and this process is focused on the execution and completion, rather than the dreamstorming (which is a whole ‘nother post completely) which can go on forever if you let it.

How I plan the ‘next big thing’

Prior to leaving for my current job, I developed this little sheet where I asked myself five questions about anything I wanted to do when it came to project/business stuff. If I don’t complete this sheet, it is not a project that I pursue any further.

The five questions are:

What I want to do
Why I want to do it
How I’ll do it
How I’ll eat doing it
My pipe dream after I’ve done it

Admittedly, it’s still a new thing and it’s very possible that I’ll jettison the whole idea after a while. But so far, I like it because it forces me to be less excited about an idea. Not in practice, but in terms of the sheer possibilities that abound and worrying more about ‘how cool it would be if I pull it off’ and instead, focusing my energy onto how I’ll get from point A to point B and so forth. The last question My pipe dream after I’ve done it is reserved for “what will you do if you actually pull it off? What is your goal beyond just setting it up and actually getting it going? What will you do after that?”

I wonder if other people have their own ways of “checking themselves at the door” when they’re in the midst of plotting a side project or something, especially those among us who are full-time idea spinners who run their own startups.