Sometimes our ideas for a new business may be groundbreaking, but without proper execution, our plans will remain just that plans. The hard part, of course, is transforming that idea into a product or service that is clearly understood, and valuable to the consumer. This transformation can only occur through well- planned and systematic execution. Our column has 2 major terms that need to be interpreted. First-term is IDEA and second is REALITY. Plato is an Idealist in the sense that only Ideas are real and nothing else. Ideas only exist. But Plato is a realist also, in the sense that, Ideas do not depend for this existence on the human mind, but they are self-existent. But this definition of Plato was in the context of 2500 years ago. In today’s context, Idea must hold a different meaning for the verification of its practicality.
What is Idea? As a kind gesture, our CEO Mr Deepak Menaria invited the panel to put their points on Idea. Shreyas told that Idea is something that hits you when we see something. Whatsoever comes in our mind as a form that is called Idea. Niranjan sees it as a concept or thought to solve the problem. At a very basic level, it’s everywhere but with the entrepreneurial mind, we can play with it at a large scale to solve the problems of humankind. For Vyshnavi, its thought process based on observation. For Akash, only those thoughts are Ideas in true meanings that can solve the problems. It can be a combination of old-new thoughts. It’s can be old wine with a new bottle. Deepak Sir tried to make us understand in a very practical way. He told that his 5 years old son uses ‘Idea’ word so many times in a day. It’s a very common thing and subjective. It’s not tangible and at the passive level. It can be a piece of imagination. It can inspire, motivate and can be an opportunity and action. At the entrepreneurial level, it’s a solution. It is a need that can be fulfilled. It’s a gap that needs to be addressed. It can be an improvement that needs to be executed.
Second major term is REALITY. What is Reality? Akash formulated that it can be touch and smell and money and corporation etc. Dikki told it the sixth sense. Anything that exists in space is reality. Something that exists in true form. Entrepreneurial minds take the courage to take things forward. He is like the parent to give birth to reality. Ajay told that the processes are reality. We have to understand the product first. There can be a different process to present it in the market. Akash told that validation is important. After that only, putting the energy in the mechanism from idea to reality gets fruitful. For Nilesh, it’s about burning cash. The journey from Idea to Reality is moreover burning cash. Shreyas emphasized on the out of box idea and validation is the key for the successful journey from Idea to Reality. Suhasini ma’am guided us with her long experience that small prototypes are needed to be tested first. We should start it all on a small scale. Troubleshooting and gradual approaches are brutally needed. Dikki talked about the experience and knowledge while working with Lemon Ideas. Niranjan told that he’s working with the IT industry for a long time. For him, the prototype is the first step to reality. Tangible value added to it makes it more real.
Deepak Menaria sir put 6E for the journey from Idea to Reality.
- Explore
- Empathy
- Experiment
- Execute
- Enjoyment
- Evolve
Plotting out the concrete steps needed to get from (A), your idea, to (Z), a tangible product or service. It’s very likely that the road map we envision today will change as a result of different circumstances along the way, but without a clearly defined goal and vision, our forward progress will stall. Applying a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis can be an effective way to determine if our idea is worth pursuing. Also ask ourself if apparent strengths might become weaknesses, or if there’s a way to convert a threat into an opportunity. At the same time, assess current market trends to gauge if your new product or service idea genuinely offers something that’s creative and useful to consumers. If we’ve hired wisely, we have creative people with the skills to bring our ideas to fruition. Give our team the freedom to comment on both the idea itself and our road map for moving it forward. Communicate with them the ‘why’ behind your idea so they can begin to see their own roles within the venture. According to leadership training consultant Paul Kerr, ‘Leaders, who cannot define what they want to be accomplished, can hardly expect others to understand their strategy and participate in their projects with any level of meaningful contribution. The more specifically we can define our expectation, the better it will allow employees to wrap their minds around what they’re supposed to be working toward.
Feedback is very necessary to avoid becoming too insular and convinced our idea is perfect the way it is. Constructive criticism can help eliminate potential hazards or obstacles before they arise. Even with the best-laid plans, we can expect to hit a bump in the road from time to time, so maintaining flexibility and pivoting along the way is key to success. While putting a plan together and communicating it with your team, also think of a viable Plan B should changing conditions require you to adopt an alternative strategy.
In last and almost the most important, as you and your team hit milestones, take time to celebrate. This helps solidify team spirit and keeps employees focused on accomplishing the next step. I remember one of the scenes from the movie Alexander. When the military of Alexander was revolting against him at Hindukush range then he made the arrangement to crush their heads with stone. But the logical discourse between them was quite psychological. Commander told Alexander very politely ‘we love you most as our leader. Some of us are fighting for you for 15 years. We dreamt to live a happy life with our family from the looted money of Persia and Sparta. But you are keeping us indulged for war and war and war. We are tired now. Let us enjoy the loot.’ So the celebration is a must. We have heard about the ‘Reinforcement Theory’ of Burrhus Fredric Skinner. The behaviour of individual towards positive consequences tends to repeat. It gives the spirit to the team to go great in work culture. Before we know it, we’ll be marking the big event itself. The launch of an exciting new product or service that began as a simple idea and became reality due to your well-executed road map.
By
Vaibhav Singh
Hindu College. University of Delhi
New Delhi – 110007
Phone. +91-9455599489
