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Turn Your Idea into Reality

Getting Good Ideas Off the Drawing Board

How many times have you thought of a really fantastic idea? Maybe it was something that would revolutionize the way your office operates. Or perhaps it was a great product that would appeal to millions of people worldwide.

Most of us have been in this situation at least once, and we'll probably have to admit that this great idea never became a reality. Sure, it was creative - and it could be done. But we never acted on it.

Why? Why do we think of ideas that we know are good, only to let them sit in the back of our minds - without doing anything about them?

One reason is that putting an idea into practice can seem like a huge amount of work. Even if it's a small idea, most of us see nothing but potential obstacles when we imagine taking action. We assume we've lost the election before we've even started the campaign!

Another reason can be fear - fear of moving out of our current, comfortable space.

In this article, we'll detail steps and tips for turning your ideas into reality...

Full text of this article is available to Premium Members of the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club. If you're a Premium Member, please click here for full text, or sign in below.

Member Sign In: Username: Password: If you're not yet a member, take our FREE tour, and find out how much you get.       Membership has its benefits Take our free tour to find out how to get everything you need to put yourself on the fast-track to life and career success: Comprehensive management and career training with our Extended Toolkit of more than 270 career-enhancing skill-builder articles, and more than 25 Downloadable Bite-Sized Training Packs, teaching you key new skills in focused one-hour sessions. Regular career-success coaching in our Coaching Clinics, helping you explore career issues and build the mindset and motivation you need for lasting success. Completely up-to-date knowledge of the latest ideas with our MP3-based Book Insights(with downloadable transcripts), reviewing recent management and career books in detail. In-depth exploration of career issues in our in-depth, MP3-based Expert Interviews with leading career and management experts, helping you make the most of your opportunities and stay abreast of leading-edge career and management thinking. Your personal, unique, global community of excellence, in which you'll join thousands of like-minded professionals. Learn from their experience, find out what's worked for them and get help when you need it. Help and support from the Mind Tools team, totally focused on helping you make the very most of your life and career – wherever you are in the world. All this, for an introductory fee of US$1 for the first month, and a low monthly subscription! (You can cancel at any time.) Click here for our free tour! >>

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New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club Premium members

Kano Model Analysis - Developing products that delight*
Synectics - A useful backstop creativity process*
Metaphorical Thinking - Using comparisons to express ideas and solve problems*
The Charette Procedure - Brainstorming multiple ideas with multiple stakeholders
Crawford's Slip Writing Method - Gathering ideas from many contributors
Practical Innovation - Managing ideas effectively*
Generating New Ideas - Think differently and spark creativity

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

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