{"id":572,"date":"2015-10-26T01:06:52","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T01:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwright.net\/dwc\/?p=572"},"modified":"2015-10-26T01:07:55","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T01:07:55","slug":"ideas-to-action-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/davidwright.net\/dwc\/?p=572","title":{"rendered":"Ideas to Action Template"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ideas are the engine of growth and progress. \u00a0But turning good ideas into action isn\u2019t always as easy as it looks. To achieve an idea-driven workplace \u00a0where ideas become reality requires a good process and software.<\/p>\n

Managers strive for collaborative environments where ideas are encouraged, considered, and put into action. The Ideas to Action Template is designed to manage ideas, build trust and buy-in. The \u201clevel playing field\u201d of anonymous Discussions, surveys, and IdeaSets can foster significant gains in sharing, trust, and ideation.<\/p>\n

Software \u2013 do we really need it?<\/strong> What about a good old-fashioned white board?<\/p>\n

Effective ideation processes remove rank and allows everyone, regardless of seniority or title, to contribute to the process. Software is the best way to do this, allowing anonymous, synchronous ideation across all participants.<\/p>\n

Software also accelerates the process. When we talk, either in person or in conference calls, only one person can talk at a time. Cloud-based tools allow everyone to contribute simultaneously, generally producing a flood of concepts that are instantly documented.<\/p>\n

Collaborative processes can often be broken into steps. The GroupMind methodology is to apply software tools to each step of a given process, helping teams attain results.<\/p>\n

Action planning.<\/strong> There are many models of planning and project management that are designed with specific types of projects in mind. From Agile Planning to Backward Goal Setting, there are many approaches to putting ideas into action.<\/p>\n

GroupMind Ideas to Action Template<\/strong>
\nGather and prioritize issues and set up an action list with owners and due dates using\u00a0Folder,\u00a0IdeaSet,\u00a0CheckVote, Matrix or Grid, and\u00a0Discussion.
\nMeeting Tool #1:<\/strong>
\nFolder<\/strong>
\nBasic organizing tool to hold data that results from an Idea to Action process.<\/p>\n

Meeting Tool #2:<\/strong>
\nIdeaSet<\/strong>
\nThe GM IdeaSet tool overcomes ideation barriers with a simple interface that allows everyone to contribute multiple ideas, drop them into buckets.<\/p>\n

Meeting Tool #3:<\/strong>
\nCheckVote<\/strong>
\nCheckVote is a simple yet effective prioritizing tool that allows participants to distribute checkmarks onto topics. A participant might have ten checks to distribute, use three of them on one topic, two checks on another topic, then one each on topics they deem less important.
\nMeeting Tool #4:<\/strong>
\nGrid<\/strong>
\nOnce a team has generated and prioritized ideas, the GM Grid can help turn ideas into action. The GM Grid is a simple, flexible project management tool that uses standard project start and stop dates, duration, responsible, links to resources, quick sorts, and more.<\/p>\n

Meeting Tool #5:<\/strong>
\nDiscussion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Discussion tools have become very popular across the internet because they do a good job of mimicking our verbal communications with serial responses to previous comments. Many news websites have discussion sections following their articles where readers can share their opinions.<\/p>\n

The GM Discussion Tool serves a similar function, allowing a manager to set up the Discussion with ideas generated by the team. This keeps ideas in front of the team and offers a chance for in-depth review of all aspects of the idea or action plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n