THE PRINCIPLE

There’s a hard-working staff ready to be employed – in your mind

If you’re lucky enough to employ a development person, an engineering department, computer programmers, marketing and salespeople, public relations consultants, accountants and every other kind of staff required to turn your idea into reality, congratulations, you can jump ahead to the next section. For most of us, though, there is no staff or at least not enough to cover all the functions described.

That’s why you have to be the staff. In other words, you have to be able to switch your viewpoint or perspective at will, to consider your project from all of these vantage points as you develop it. Even if you are not an expert, probably you have enough of an understanding of each function to give yourself valuable input as you go along.

The goal is to avoid, for example, a product that is beautiful and functional but can’t possibly be produced at a price that makes it competitive with similar products already on the market. You may think nobody makes such a mistake, but a couple of the contestants on the Dragons’ Den TV series were selling terrific ethnic food but didn’t seem to realise, until the ‘Dragons’ pointed it out, that they were selling the product for less than it was costing them.

If the members of your imaginary staff are given the chance to have input at the major stages of the project, you will be able to anticipate problems and often to correct for them as you proceed.

Here are the core perspectives you need to consider:

• The engineer’s: Is the product or service able to provide the desired function efficiently and effectively?
• The designer’s: Does the product’s or service’s form or format support those functions and create an aesthetically agreeable experience?
• The marketing person’s: Does the product or service have an appealing personality that will make it a strong brand?
• The salesperson’s: Does it have a unique selling proposition (something that sets it apart from the competition)? Does it compare favourably with similar products or services?
• The accountant’s: Can it be produced at a reasonable cost? Is there enough money to cover the development and marketing?

You don’t need to have all the answers right from the start. Every innovation encounters obstacles relating to one or more of these factors, and sometimes you have to forge ahead and trust that you’ll find solutions down the line. However, the sooner you alert yourself to possible problems, the more likely it is that you’ll find solutions. That’s a good reason to convene regular meetings of your staff – even if they’re all sitting in your chair.