How to Evaluate and Select Business Ideas Within the Workplace

All too often, business ideas are shot down due to a lack of imagination. Just as it takes an open mind to develop new ideas, it also takes an open mind to effectively evaluate those objectives. Typically, you want to choose at least one idea as a useful solution that you can develop a practical business around!

Evaluating new ideas can be relatively easy or relatively complex, depending on the task presented. For example, when you are purchasing a new car, you wouldn’t base your decision on only one criterion, but rather many categories that make up a good vehicle. The same goes for evaluating business decisions.

Your first step in the evaluation process is to create a list of “yardsticks” for measuring your ideas. In doing so, it is crucial to avoid any judgment and logic. This will help your team brainstorm endless ideas. Once this is successfully completed, you can then begin to use your judgment to rule out unrealistic goals.This is an important exercise that is frequently overlooked by entrepreneurs.

We have come up with 5 evaluation techniques to select your very best ideas after brainstorming:

• Impact on loyalty
• Feasibility
• Speed of implementation
• Competitive advantage and can’t be copied easily
• Financial impact: reflecting the cost of resources as well as the quarterly reporting reality

From Ideas to Implementation

When evaluating and implementing new ideas, consensus is crucial. This is because if individuals within a group feel as if their voice isn’t heard, there will be an overall drop in commitment. Listening carefully to other people not only builds clarity and understanding, but it also builds trust within your team. At the end of the day, we are here to solve a problem, not spark a debate.

Here are some valuable tips for converging by using consensus skills:

• View differences in perception as constructive
• Listen carefully to what others day about an option
• Explain exactly what the words within an option mean to you
• Build on points of agreement.
• Evolve words that bridge small differences
• Give unusual options a good hearing
• Focus on making good selections, not protecting turf
• Work towards full group participation
• Say what you think
• Don’t let higher status or more vocal people swing the group

Sometimes this evaluation process does not lead directly to the implementation phase. Rather, it points you in new directions and approaches you wouldn’t have even imagined without thoroughly brainstorming new ideas. The power of one’s imagination is the key to a successful business!

Interested in learning more about ways to improve the environment of your business? Learn about the Basadur Profile and see how a quick evaluation of your team can lead to significantly better results.