Implementing Ideas FAST Is Everything

Implementing Ideas FAST Is Everything

When you are in business, coming up with ideas is essential, but it’s not enough. You need to implement them. The time span from coming up with an idea until you implemented it, is called “Speed of Implementation”.  And how you implement this concept in your business decides how successful you will be. The faster you implement new ideas, the more successful you will be.

Why is the speed of implementation so important?

New ideas can lead to new products, new marketing campaigns or any other way to generate more income and differentiate yourself from competitors. In today’s market, reacting to new developments fast can be key to cementing your space in your industry.

When your customers show an interest in having a new course or buying an additional service, you need to serve this need fast. Because if you don’t do it, somebody else will. And your customers will not wait forever. If you don’t serve their needs, they will start looking somewhere else.

Your speed of implementation can differentiate yourself from competitors. During the Corona crisis many restaurants and bars lost massive revenue because they were waiting to see what will happen, while other businesses immediately switched to build or expand their delivery options.

The ability to make use of current trends can generate a lot of awareness and new eyes on your products and services without having to spend extra money for marketing. Thus, keeping an eye on trends, thinking about how to implement this idea in your business and implementing them fast, will enable you to win a competitive advantage and new customers.

But if that is true, why do so many people procrastinate getting things done?

What keeps people from implementing ideas fast?

• Most people are not action takers. They hesitate and think about an idea for way too long. Is it a good idea? Could this work? Even though I advocate for assessing ideas on their feasibility, overanalyzing will not make it better. At a certain point you just have to make a decision – move forward or drop it.
• Many people are also stuck in their day-to-day routine and don’t make time for implementing new ideas. Their day is so full of other stuff that they just don’t seem to find time to get it done.
• Others are easily distracted. Before they even get a chance to implement their ideas, they already got a new one. These people are so busy creating new ideas that they cannot keep up with implementing the ones they already had before.
• And others love to talk about their ideas – ideally with as many people as possible – but they don’t take the action that is necessary to get it done. In this case, there is often a lack of understanding that implementation matters more than the idea itself, or the person is just too afraid or concerned to actually act on their idea. People that need validation from other people often lack the self-confidence to just do it by themselves.

Which of these 4 is holding you from implementing your amazing ideas?

If you tend to over-think, get an accountability partner or a coach that pushes you to move forward.

If your daily schedule is too full to work on implementing new ideas, you should start blocking time in the morning, before the everyday happenings takes over.

However, if you generate more ideas than you can implement, first of all prioritize your ideas. Which one is the most feasible one? And start implementing this one. Alternatively get a team to implement your ideas.

Finally, if you always talk about your ideas and never do anything about, well: Shut up and get it done!

Now, let’s have a look at how you can increase your speed of implementation.

How to increase your speed of implementation?

Step 1: Track your ideas

If you don’t write your ideas down, you will forget them. Just create a simple table or a dedicated idea notebook. Paper or electronically is up to you. Just make it work! Such a table should include:

• The idea itself (detailed so you still understand it after 3 months)
• The date you came up with the idea
• Status of implementation
• Current responsibility (in case you work with a team or outsourced the implementation)
• The date of implementing the idea

This will help you keep track of your ideas and see how you are doing in implementing them. Also, it makes sure that nothing slips through and you get transparency on how long you really need to get an idea implemented.

Step 2: Schedule time to implement ideas each day

If your day is 100% full of operational day-to-day tasks with no time for any innovation, you have a problem. You need to free up some time to work on your ideas. Depending on the other things you work on, plan 1-3 hours each day to work on implementing new ideas.

Step 3: Schedule a time block in your calendar to get back to a specific idea

In many cases, you will not have time to get it done immediately. I know that there are some “gurus” out there, who are telling you: “Do it immediately.” This would imply that whatever you do right now is not important. And I don’t buy that. Focus is more important than intelligence, therefore, I want you to focus on what you do. If you come up with an idea that you can’t implement right away, schedule when you will pick up the idea. And then start working on implementing it during your focused, scheduled time.

Step 4: Track your progress to increase your speed of implementation

Your tracking sheet will be of great support here. If you realize that many of your ideas are still not implemented after an entire month and you also don’t see a chance to get it done, make an assessment: Is the idea worth being implemented? If yes, are the other things that you work on really more important? And if they are more important, then you may want to consider outsourcing or delegating the implementation. A team always gets done more than an individual. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Look at the ideas that are on hold for too long and put somebody in charge of getting it done. This way, you can move forward even if you personally don’t have time.

And that’s how you get ideas implemented as fast as possible.