So What Is A Good Enough Idea Then?
By: Ishita Mehta
Tags: Customers, Good Ideas, Product, Product Management, Growth

So What Is A Good Enough Idea Then?

It is good to have ideas but a business needs good enough ideas to grow.

One of the questions I remember asking myself over and over during the initial time as a junior product manager was “So what is a good enough idea then?” There were so many times that my boss would tell me that “Ishita, these ideas are good but they won’t work for us.” Honestly, after hearing this a couple of times, I felt discouraged. However, because a good product manager is one who gladly accepts where they are going wrong and does whatever it takes to do things right the next time, I started thinking to myself about how I can actually bring good ideas to the table. After some time of brainstorming and researching, I came up with a checklist that I would now like to share. So let’s get to it!

1. It solves an actual user problem

Right off the bat, I can tell you that your idea will be given a big “NO” if it doesn’t solve your customers’ actual problems. I repeat “actual problems”. Of course, as a product manager, you are going to always try to make your customers’ lives easier. However, it can happen many times that you assume something to be a problem and work on it when in reality, it isn’t even bothering the customers. This is why it’s extremely important that you are constantly engaging with the customers to know what is working for them and where they feel that the product team can improve. There are several effective ways to do this and you can find them here.

2. You have done the market and competitor research

Just as important it is to listen to your customers, it is equally necessary to listen to the market and competitor trends as well. Every product that is in the market is made with the hope that it will survive and thrive in the competition. This is possible when you, as a product manager, are well aware of what is happening around the product. From carrying out analysis of external factors that can affect the business to keeping an eye on what your competitors are up to, this will allow you to see whether your ideas are good enough to compete and win.

One very classic example that I want to mention here is the story of Nokia. Once upon a time, Nokia as a brand was doing great. It was a top brand when it came to hardware quality. Their products were durable as well as robust. However, where Nokia went wrong is that they didn’t keep up with the trends in the software world. They felt that they could work on smartphones much later and still be very much loved. Clearly, this was a bad idea that resulted in what we know is history.

3. There is practicality in your idea

I won’t say that it all comes down to practicality for a product because a lot of the product innovations were once considered to be impractical. Having said that, a certain amount of feasibility should be present with the idea you have in mind for the product. The reason for this is that if you don’t have the resources, time, budget, expertise, and anything else you need to ship the idea with quality, that good idea will never be implemented. In other words, you will end up with a great idea on paper and that’s it.

Speaking about practicality, I want to talk briefly about my own experience. As I look back at the times when I would share ideas for product enhancement, I realize that half of the time they got rejected due to being impractical. The problem wasn’t that the idea didn’t have a chance to improve customer journey but the problem was delivering it in the given time and budget.

4. Alignment with business objectives

A quote that is coming to my mind right now is “Stop getting distracted by things that have nothing to do with your goals” (anonymous). I feel that this is something that can easily happen if the business objectives are not kept in mind when brainstorming for ways to enhance the product. As constant innovations continue to be the trend, it is possible to come up with a set of ideas that are incredible but unrelated to the core values of your product. So if it has ever happened that the ideas that you brought to the table were rejected by the management, this can possibly explain why.

I want to quickly discuss an example of an idea that is wonderful but not useful to the business. Let’s suppose that you are a product manager for a music app. In order to increase the revenue, you come up with the idea of having tie-ups with restaurants so that customers can get discounts. While this can work, remember that you and your team need to majorly focus on improving the music experience as this is the core value that your app offers.

5. It’s challenging but exciting

Last but not the least, one way to be confident that your idea is possibly going to get a green signal from the whole team is if the idea is challenging but exciting at the same time. Let’s be honest. It is pretty boring for anyone whether it is a designer, programmer, tester, or others if they are doing the same sort of work for every project. Correct me if I am wrong but during the time the team works, everyone hopes to enhance their skills by exploring the different approaches there may be in their respective job. That’s how one grows after all!

I know that I previously spoke of the need to consider practicality during the brainstorming phase. However, sometimes it is good to be in the uncomfortable zone because if things work out, it could mean the kind of success that will be remembered for years to come.

Wrap up

Somewhere I feel that ultimately it comes down to this- there are endless good ideas that you can implement to wow your customers and create more value for the business. However, you and your team can only work on so many at a time. This is why it is important that you are taking the time to identify the right ideas to work on. These don’t have to be many in number but they do need to help your product stand out more.

Before I go, I would like to share what I would say if someone asked me “So what is a good enough idea?” My response would be: “Well, a good enough idea is the one that has the potential to bring a significant difference in the lives of the customers and can be shipped with quality in time. After all, customers are going to love or not love what you deliver rather than just your ideas!”

If you have come this far into the article, firstly thank you! I would now love to know your thoughts on what makes an idea good enough. Do you agree with the ones above or do you have something else that you would like to say? Let me know in the comment section below! Cheers!

This post has been published on www.productschool.com communities.