24 Judge ideas carefully
After you have generated 50 or more ideas for your task or project, you now need to judge your ideas and find the one or two best ideas that are worth implementing. Often you will find it useful to pick the top three or five ideas, ranking them in order so that you will have a second and third alternate idea ready if anything happens to remove the first idea from the project.
The best way to rank your ideas is to keep two things in mind:
- You will want to select the idea that will produce the most benefit in completing the challenge or solving your problem.
- You will also want to select an idea that will be the easiest or least costly to implement.
These are just two criteria for judging and ranking your ideas, but this common combination of criteria is often referred to as looking for the “low hanging fruit”, as seen in the chart below.
Another way to view this approach is to perform a cost/benefit analysis. This analysis consists of identifying the potential costs and benefits of implementing an idea and confirming if the benefits outweigh the costs. If the return on the investment of the implementation is not large enough to justify the costs, then another idea should be selected. The challenge of using this approach is estimating with accuracy the dollar value of the costs and benefits.
Watch the video below about how to do a cost/benefit analysis.
There are other criteria that you may need to consider when you are judging your ideas and they would depend on your particular context and circumstances. Perhaps some of the following examples would be important criteria for you:
- Is the idea morally correct?
- Does the idea fit into the overall mission and values of the organization?
- Can we implement the idea within the timelines given?
- How interested are you personally in investing in this idea?
- Has this idea been implemented before within the organization?
What criteria would you use to judge your pool of ideas to rank the top 3 ideas?
When you consider purchasing something that costs more than $100, do you consider and compare the costs vs. the benefits of acquiring that item or service? Does it help you make the best choice?
Personally, I have developed the habit of using a cost/benefit analysis every time I face a significant decision in my life. What helps me to separate the trivial decisions from the significant ones, is that I ask myself if the consequences of my choices are going to make a difference in my life one year later. If I decide my decision will not affect me beyond a year, I treat decision as trivial and make a quick decision and more one. If I decide the decision could make a significant difference in my life beyond a year, I essentially weigh the costs vs. benefits of each alternative that I am considering very carefully.
Challenge:
Identify at least 3 criteria that will help you rank the top three ideas in your pool of ideas from the previous pages.
Share your top three ideas with your collaborators or a friend for feedback.
