How do you eat an Elephant?

... one mouthful at a time.


And that's really what Innovation is all about as well. Looking at the enormity of the task at hand - to launch an new idea - can seem very very daunting. There are two things that are required to take the fear out of the task...


Firstly, break the task down into bite size morsels. It may seem counter intuitive, but start at the end, as this will focus the attention on the goal. Clarify what is the objective and think SMART - though I like to change Achievable with Ambitious as I believe Achievable is already connected with Realistic.


Once you have the goal set, work back and think about the things that are required to make that task happen. For example, if I set out that I wanted to make a cup of tea, I would first off define how I like my tea. Then I would have to work out the steps in the reverse order... serve the tea, stir the tea, put milk back in fridge, add the milk, take the milk out of the fridge, dunk the tea bag, add the water, place tea bag in mug, find mug, turn the kettle on, fill the kettle... Now I have the work flow set out, run through it in the correct order and see if it makes sense or if anything is missing. Now all that is left to do is to add in accurate timings & allocate resources to the

The second thing you need is perseverance & determination. And bags of it. Some little tools to help here... set time limits on each of the task outlined above. Make commitments to others, as you are more likely to do them. Allocate time during the week to do them (e.g. a Sunday evening). Keep it alive by constantly referring back to it, perhaps by keeping a copy of the plan in a workbook and checking progression daily - this will ensure that there's a sense of achievement & progression which in turn will revitalise the energy & input into the project - a virtuous engine.

Its simple... but that of course is how so many ideas have come to life... not in one big gulp, like a gigantic python with a dislocating jaw, but more of patient and determined single bite at a time.

Ignorance is bliss....

Last night I interviewed an ex employee of a potential customer to understand in a bit more detail the operations & workings that go on behind the scenes, and I'm back on the rollercoaster again...

First of all, my assumptions about how the customer operates have been confirmed. The systems and procedures are even more detailed than I suspected, which means the implementation of my idea will be even easier. Brilliant!!!

The other side of that coin, is that it actually becomes easier therefore for the customer to go & do it themselves. My idea would have little or no intellectual protection as its

So this then presents me with some dilemmas to ponder...

• Do I still go ahead as is, and take the risk that they might nick the idea?
• Do I think about how I could get them on board without developing their own idea?
• Do I make the idea more complicated to make it difficult for them to copy for themselves?
• Do I change tack completely, and develop a strategy that minimises their input?
• Do I go to them with the idea and develop jointly?

Just in that one conversation I have gleaned so much yet its also rocked my confidence - I've wondered if I am right to take time off work, never mind go ahead and seek investment & launch!!!

I need to reflect that I am now in a better place than I was before yesterday, and that now I can quantify their systems and have identified the risk of them taking this idea on their own as more realistic. Ignorance may be bliss, but I now have the power to make the right choice...

The first £100...

A few weeks ago I told one of my friends about my business idea as he has himself started his own business about 8 years ago.

And he gave me some great advice... concentrate on making the first £100.

This is has been invaluable for several reasons:

1. Focus on the achievable
2. By focusing on the achievable, it means it won't get too complicated, either in the start up or as an ongoing concern
3. By making it achievable, it means it can be tested and the offering in turn revised prior to full set up

And I've shared this principal with my buddy and it seems to have helped him as well, making it easier for him to see how he can start rather than wondering about how to get scale behind the business. It now provides a basis for building the self propelling business model he has adopted...

Its shaped my business plan, as I now have a solution that without it I would have immediately discounted and helps me transition my thinking from big business to the nimble entrepreneur. I can also set something up to make £100 quite easily, where as before I needed several hundred thousand pounds just to make a test. Now I can test quickly and easily with little / no risk and all the upsides from testing in order to get stacks of cash from investors to get to the next stage.

So focus on making the first £100, and everything after that will fall into place...

First step taken...

Today I have taken the first step on the voyage... and immediately I am thinking of Dr David Livingstone's famous quote "I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward." I really don't know where this will end up but I do know I am making progress...

My first step in making my dream come true was to apply for time off from my employer - now there's no guarantee that this will be granted, but at least it makes me feel that I am making things happen.

Today is a bit of an anti-climax. I thought there might be a profoundness to it all, a feeling of destiny achieved, but in actual fact its just another day. Its exactly what it was like when I went to Japan last year... bit of trepidation, then off, then a kind of panic once I was there and then get stuck in and then success. I'm hoping the end is the same...

So interesting times ahead...

Qu'est-ce que c'est "Buddy"?

This week, I took action on an idea that had been in my head for a couple of days, and its transformed & energised my business plan tremendously!

I've buddied up with an old colleague who is also at the same stage in thinking of starting his own business and we have dedicated 2 hours a week to bounce ideas around each other's business plans.

Here's how it works - we take it in turns to focus on each other's idea - being coach, mentor, challenger and inspirer of the other one. We bat around the topics that are bugging us, that are stopping us from progressing, and examine new ways round those barriers we have encountered. In essence, we are helping each other through each step of the journey. At the end of the session a committment on what is to be done in the next 2 weeks is made, with a penalty that if you don't do it then you put £20 on the table - so there's a strong motivation to move forward!

Its a classic quid pro quo arrangement - in return for me helping him, he helps me. Its not competitive (well so far its not been!) because we are looking at completely different things as a business and we know the value in helping each other out.

So far there have been 5 benefits for me...

1. Sharing the load - I can now share my problems, worries & frustrations with somebody who is also in the same boat, who I know won't be judging me or who I worry won't want to invest in my business plan, where as in the past I've been trying to justify why my idea is great!
2. Challenging my perspective & offering a fresh perspective - I've been carrying my business idea around in my head for just over a year and I've "landed" certain ways of developing my idea, and in just one session I've re-considered those ideas, making them something that can actually happen by my impact, not waiting for somebody else to stump or the cash or make something happen - it is now in my own hands!
3. Excitement & re-energised - The new ideas and the challenges have made me not only feel more confident in my idea, but also that I don't need to wait for other people for me to realise this idea. I can take small steps on my own, making it less of a leap when I need others (i.e. money men!) to come on board.
4. Committed - I now know I have a number of smaller tasks to complete in the next two weeks and have a defined deadline, which makes me more commited
5. Less scary - by breaking the tasks down into things I can do right now, and making them to be delivered in the next two weeksmakes them far more tangible, and makes me feel that I can make it happen.

So I would strongly advocate getting to know somebody that also has a business to develop, ideally at the same stage that you are at, and get stuck in!

Danger! Danger! High Voltage!!!

Dreams can be dangerous things... if you don't have ambitions & dreams then life is simple, stable & satisfying.

However, by even daring to dream, life completely changes. If you have an ambition but don't realise it, then it leaves the potential to be unsatisfied in life - to feel you've been cheated out of something that you never had anyway...

Having an ambition, means that you will at some point have to make a choice between the simple life and the life where you can achieve your ambition. And that choice is not a free choice, as there are costs involved in that choice, mainly risk.

And that risk is multifaceted in my experience... I first of all have some financial risk, in that I may lose money in the project, and I may loose my safe & secure job. But its only money (what's £30k over a lifetime!!! Answer - its £30k!) and I can make a living at some point by doing something, and I hope that even if this fails my experiences through this will allow me to be more attractive in the labour market place.

Secondly, and quite high up there, is the fear of failure and the resulting loss of pride & face. This is a bit more difficult to mitigate, and is intrinsically linked to ambition. There is an interesting link between pride, vulnerability and ambition. Vulnerability is something we all want to avoid, but with ambition there comes a time where you have to be vulnerable, and to be frank if its not scary enough is it really an ambition. To quote a female colleague... "if its comfortable, its not big enough!". To succeed we need to be vulnerable and accept we are vulnerable and to take the risk on. Its a bit like soldiers fighting in the front line - I watched a programme the other day about soldiers trapped in a firefight in a house in Iraq, and when the relief came they couldn't find the right house, so the trapped patrol leader jumped out of the house and ran down the street (filled with shooting militia!!!!) to signal the drivers of the armoured personnel carriers where the house was. When asked later why he did that, he said something along the lines that he felt he was dead anyway, and that the only way out was to risk it... Now that's making yourself vulnerable! But it was worth the risk as all his patrol escaped unharmed.

The other risk is that I am used to working in a wider group in a corporate lifestyle. I will have to forgo the benefit of being in a collective where I can hide from the storm, pass the buck, prevaricate and celebrate other people's achievements as my own (not that I need to do that, since I am so good, obviously!). And for awhile I will be on my own. I will not be having lunch with close colleagues everyday. I will not be chewing the fat. I will not be moaning about senior leaders in the business and the craziness of their ideas. I will be the leader of my own destiny, and its my crazy idea!!! I risk social exclusion from a group I am very close to...

But at the end of it, this risk or danger is all in the mind. By staying put there is a danger in that too. There is a risk of not having ambition can lead to becoming complacent, and facing the same risks, or in actual fact, a bigger danger than if I had ambition. Lets take the example of the turkeys at Christmas - for their whole life they have a simple life in that they get fed, run around a farm (lets assume they are free range!), and are offered security from any prowling foxes or other predators. But what if the turkey had an ambition to run off the farm and live a life less ordinary... it would give up regular safety, food and friends but be more or less master of its own destiny. Now we all know what happens to farmed turkeys - they get suddenly & without warning, culled for our festive dinner! But what about the turkey with ambition - it might have been gobbled up by the fox or it might have died of starvation, but it might have just escaped the danger and achieved its ambition...

So, all in all, I need to put myself in danger! Its the only way I will be in danger of making a change in my life and living the life I want...