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How to Make Ideas Actionable

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“Nothing will work unless you do.” –Maya Angelou

What is an actionable idea? According to InnovationManagement.se, an actionable idea consists of three characteristics: sponsorship, observability, and measurability. In this article, we will explore ways to make ideas actionable.

According to Entrepreneur.com, there are four steps in order to make actionable ideas: Don’t fear failure, refine your idea, develop a plan, and don’t give up. Oprah Winfrey once said, “What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God’s way of pointing you in a new direction.” Failure is a part of life. When you learn to embrace that, everything changes. You’ll be able to confidently move forward and make your ideas a reality.

Refining your idea is a critical part of creating actionable ideas. I suggest asking yourself these following questions as you think about your idea:

  1. What are my objectives?
  2. What are my core values when it comes to this idea?
  3. Why do I want this idea to come to fruition?
  4. What do I hope to accomplish?

Developing a plan, according to Entrepreneur.com, consists of three elements: Action steps, backburner items, and references. According to the article on Entrepreneur.com, author Scott Belsky says, “Action steps are tasks that can be articulated and are verbs. These are the steps that you’ll want to put into action, assign to a timeline, and do.” Backburner items are “ideas that randomly come into your head.” References are “notes, articles, and supporting documents.” These are all important in developing a plan.

The last step, according to the article on Entrepreneur.com, is don’t give up. So many people quit before their ideas are realized. Vincent Van Gogh once said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” Silence the voices in your head by persevering towards your goal. Life is hard, but not impossible. Keep going.

What is one thing you can do today to make your ideas actionable? Write it down and take action!