Ideas don’t build S***, EXECUTE! (Part 2)
Catch up with Part 1 here, if you haven’t already read it.
The story shared in part one is one of many instances that I’ve had an idea and failed to execute. I know for sure you’ve done the same several times. Some ideas that come to you sometimes feel so revolutionary and important that you don’t want to let anyone know because you fear they might steal it, which they might. The question you should ask yourself when you are in this situation is, what will it take to execute this idea?…
Will this idea be easy to copy?
If the answer is YES then I’m sorry, there might not be any viable market. You should ask yourself questions like why hasn’t anyone solved it or attempted to do so? more often than not you will find some people who have either thought of it or attempted it. Your execution strategy at this stage is to learn from such people.
The most successful companies I’ve studied had a significant competitive advantage — network effect, proprietary technology, complex coordination, or barrier to entry of some other sort.
How the idea for this topic came about
I woke up on September 03, 2019 thinking about my plans and the steps I have to take for the projects that I currently work on. It was at that moment that the story I shared in part one came to me. As I kept on thinking about it occurred to me that I’ve always been telling myself that I needed to start a blog for quite some time.
Every time there is a major issue trending (Banking crisis, IPOs, etc) I feel I have something in me to share, but I always find a way to talk myself out of it. Excuses like, you ain’t a good writer, what will you say, what if people don’t like, who gives a f*** what you think, etc. “Do you also feel the same way when you think of starting something (it can be a business, blog, etc)? Well, those are some of the demons that attack when you want to execute. Always execute your demons first.”
Ever felt that you have so much in your mind or so much to say that you don’t know where to start? How to put it all together? You feel you can really express yourself when you’re talking to someone face to face but get lost in your thoughts that you can’t seem to put anything on paper. This is how we always keep ideas locked up in our brains or in our notepads and never do anything meaningful to kick it off the ground.
The big question you might be asking yourself is how do I execute…
You execute by telling people who will be able to hold you accountable about what you want to do, when you will start, launch date, etc. Then start figuring what actual steps to take. Let me share how my execution of launching this medium blog went. “I will use a product development process to explain this — it’s kinda my way of life”
Ideation
Once an idea is conceived in your brain the immediate action you have to take is to write it down. “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” by David Allen, author of Getting Things Done (GTD). Once you have your thoughts down, you start evaluating the idea to see what you will need to put a stake on the ground. This might be looking for a co-founder or an expert in the field you want to operate in. With my story, I had to skip this step and go straight to the next.
Prototype
When the phrase Ideas don’t build s*** came to my head I knew this was the time for me to shoot and think later. I was in a trotro (public transport bus) that morning, and I immediately used Canva to design a flyer for the idea and shared on my WhatsApp status. When I got to the office I open medium on my laptop and started writing and told my colleagues that I’m working on a blog just so that I don’t chicken out as always. In fact, I did the same for this part 2, started telling people I will release this next Tuesday without knowing exactly how I’m going to end the story.
1st User testing
After writing the story, I sent it to 2 of my friends to take a look and give me feedback. One was online and gave me feedback, the other was offline, so couldn’t give me feedback. At this stage, Oga procrastinator will tell you to wait it’s not ready.
Iteration
I went ahead to make the necessary corrections. This is the stage where you put the feedback to use to improve your offering or product. You might be tempted at this stage to let the users tell you what functionalities to implement, but remember it’s your vision. Theirs is to tell you their pain points and yours is to invent the pain killers.
User test again
I got a colleague to go through the writing and help correct a few errors. At this stage, I wasn’t impressed with the ending so I came up with the GOT piece to make it a nice closure. Note that this process never stops. Even after the article was published, I was making subtle changes.
You don’t have to get your product/idea perfect before you push. Push to consumers and continue building.
Launch
Writing this story really felt just like a startup, the first draft of the writing was very scrappy. It never felt like it was ready to be published. I had given myself a deadline which people are holding me accountable to so it had to go live by any means possible. The temptation of procrastinating and pushing the launch forward was always present. This is how you may feel with your idea or your project at the moment. Saying to yourself it’s not ready, let’s postpone the launch. Excuses like, the font size needs to be changed, colour is too bright, there are still bugs that need fixing, etc.
JUST LAUNCH IT… tell your user/consumers it a beta(MVP) and openly asked for their feedback. If your product is solving a real pain point they will still use it.
Feeling entitled with your ideas
I had to focus on overcoming resistance for this story to be published. I believe resistance is the greatest threat to us. Resistance makes our ideas remain ideas. Nevertheless, my experience in the startup environment as an entrepreneur who has started and failed at building a company came in handy and saved the day. As upcoming passionate entrepreneurs, we let our passion for an idea blind us from reality. We think just by having a great idea, we are entitled to other’s listening-ears, deserve the attention of investors, blah blah blah without showing any form of execution or past experiences.
Start executing….
Recommended books
The war of art by Steven Pressfield
Do the work by Steven Pressfield
Both books talk about resistance and procrastination and how to get things done.
Reading Now: The Third Door by Alex Banayan
Kindly follow to get notified when it drops. Leave a comment and let’s get talking…
UP NEXT (Tuesday 17/09/19, 20:00)
I wrote a story last year on how I manage to secure a job over THE VALEDICTORIAN of my year group. Never got the balls to publish it. My fear was some people are going to see it as bragging, but hey I don’t care anymore because I know it might help someone.
