A light bulb has just gone off, and your obsession has begun. Your idea is innovative, challenging, and exciting — and the thought of actually doing something about it terrifying.
You may find yourself questioning what’s next? Is the idea enough? Will the vision and ideals behind it get lost in execution?
Facing the idea vs. execution challenge is daunting, but luckily you have us. Mark Romain Berg as a favorite, keeping up to date with the latest business trends and build a great network to help with the execution of your great ideas.
All Great Things Have a Beginning
Some things take mere moments in creation to capture the minds and imaginations of those thinking them up. A stroke of pure genius and the idea is born. The biggest problem with even the most brilliant ideas is they occur to millions of people every moment of every day.
Sometimes these ideas get careful cultivation, watered, and fertilized with great attentiveness. These ideas grow from a brainchild to a tangible object that can be shared with many others. As an entrepreneur, having wonderful ideas and facilitating them to bring them to life is kind of what you do.
While having the grand “idea” is fairly simple, executing its steps to bring the idea to fruition certainly is not. Like many have said in the world of business, “As sad as it may be, we do not live in a vacuum.”
You may be running your own successful business and have brilliant business ideas. Still, without proper preplanning, crucial collaborations, and careful and constant maintenance, the idea ends up losing its forward motion and ceases to exist.
Eyes on the Prize
Soon after your good idea is born, the execution phase should begin. The goal is not to rush your dreams but to not allow the vision to become stagnant and obsolete. Begin a to-do list that includes all the important facets of execution:
- Who do you know? Consider a contact list of possible collaborators. There will likely be tasks that you will need to delegate to someone with more expertise in a particular area. Figure out who you know that would fit the bill for any of these tasks.
If you come to find that you don’t personally know anyone with expertise in the domain you are looking for, start networking at local business groups until you find who you need. Execution requires a good team, so make sure you surround yourself with people who possess the skills you need to successfully execute. - Get the lay of the land. Research possible competition, as there is likely plenty. The truth is, most ideas don’t live in a vacuum either and are already being executed somewhere by someone. The ideal is to find out what competitors are doing that has worked, what hasn’t, and — most importantly — what can you do to set yourself apart.
- Discuss amongst yourselves. Reach out to trusted associates to run by your idea.
Ask them for honest, constructive criticism. Ask them to look for pitfalls that may not be accounted for. Ask them to run through it with a fine-tooth comb. Then note all of it — work through the challenges they presented and what steps will overcome them. - Build your business plan. A good business plan and model is the staple of any new business venture. Dreaming and thinking are great, but these things aren’t what make things happen.
The “idea” is the foundation — you can’t have execution without it. But the house is the execution. You won’t have a place for your idea to live without building its home’s great structure and bones with a great business plan.
Idea vs. Execution: Maintenance
You’ve come so far — you’ve researched, planned, and started the execution process. You might be thinking, “Wait, did you just say started the process?”
Although you have worked so hard so far to put your idea through its paces, execution is a forever process. The life of the concept is dependent on maintaining its execution.
Your execution is much like the idea that generated it: individual, unique, and requires constant and careful attention. While you’ve created a great plan, being flexible in its implementation with well-developed contingency plans helps you weather the most difficult challenges.
If you set out a clear execution path, it helps make the ride easier and more enjoyable.
- Perfect is the enemy of good. Working on your business plan can be mesmerizing. You can get caught up in the most finite details of your business that cause you to never take the first steps towards execution. Focus on what you can control and offer as a product or service today versus five years from now.
- Always look for new avenues. There can be no growth in stagnation and stillness. Your idea may have found itself in a particular niche, which is fine. However, always be considering new and innovative ways to get your idea to new users or even new markets.
- Don’t be afraid to rebuild. Your business model and plan that you create at the outset of execution works well — in its own time. As you grow and evolve, this model and plan will need to evolve as well. It may even require you to tear the whole thing down to its roots and rebuild as market changes or other influencers occur.
- Get techie! We live in an incredible time of technological advancements. Even if your idea doesn’t involve these technologies, your implementation and execution can make great use of the newest tools. There are great CRMs, SEO/SEM management systems, and other data organizers and collectors to optimize your execution.
- The connection is key. Staying connected to your idea and its users is the most important part of your idea’s execution. Establishing a good methodology to measure successes and areas of opportunity may involve great analytics.
More important is information that comes straight from the horse’s mouth. Creating great direct communication with those making use of your brilliant idea will help it flourish in its execution.
Looking For the Pot of Gold
As is clear, it’s not about pitting the idea against execution. Ideas are many, small, large, useful, frivolous, and the list can go on and on. Without meticulous execution, the idea fades into the background like an individual star in a clear night sky. Without that bright star, though, there is no beautiful night sky.
Find your home for conversations just like this with other entrepreneurs here at Romain Berg. We have cultivated innovation in business operations in the Twin Cities and beyond and we share all the best in today’s trends with our members. Go into your ideas and your execution equipped with tools for success by becoming a member today.
