Opportunity Before Execution

Ever notice how some ideas click with your team instantly while others fall flat? The difference isn't always about the quality of the idea. It's how you frame it.

From working with many early-stage businesses, I've seen a common pattern: someone is really excited about an idea, but the idea itself is not strategic. It's an idea of how to execute on something without answering "why should we do this?"

For example, "We need to create a microsite for our customers to learn about our new product feature." Microsites are great. I love microsites! But what is the real underlying opportunity here and the business objective?

Let's say there's a new product feature and you want your customers to upgrade. Maybe your customers are other businesses. A well-crafted 1-pager sent by the sales team could get the job done while offering another touch point. Maybe sales can send an email and you can test different product messaging to see what resonates best.

Depending on how  you execute the idea, the level of effort, the efficacy, and the opportunities for feedback from your customers are not the same. You have limited time and resources. Before you even get to the execution stage, you need to focus on the strategic value of your ideas.

This post outlines a generalized approach that makes defining the strategic value of opportunities and executing ideas much more effective. This approach will transform how your ideas are received and how impactful they become.

The idea is simple: separate the opportunity from the execution.

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Please note: if you're not used to this way of thinking, separating the opportunity from the execution may feel like "more work" up front. This is true. It is more work to do any planning and strategy at the beginning of a larger project than to skip this process entirely and just start executing a solution.

If there's one lesson startup founders learn the hard way, it's that your first approach may not connect with your customers' needs. Product-market fit is not guaranteed. Similarly, your first idea for marketing a product feature may also not connect. The whole point of this approach is to invest a little more time at the beginning, when the idea is rough but you think it's worthy of being defined more, to increase your odds of success achieving your business goals.

1: Lead with the Opportunity

So, you have an idea. You think it could be really good for your business. If the idea is larger than a simple task, i.e. something that multiple people will work on, start by answering these fundamental questions:

• What specific problem are you trying to solve?
• What goal(s) will be achieved?

Think strategically about how your approach builds on or differs from what already exists and how this idea fits within your company’s larger vision.

Start an opportunity brief to write this out.

2: Validate

Test your opportunity hypothesis like a scientist. As part of validation you can:

• Ask if the underlying problem is real, significant, and urgent for your business. If it is, write down why.
• Identify signals that indicate whether the problem is widespread or limited to a small subset of your customers.
• Gather feedback from people on your team and your customers.
• Look for early indications that might challenge your assumptions.

Put everything into your document. You can even add a section using an established framework that helps further define and validate the opportunity such as:

• Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)
  Consider the "job" your customer is hiring your solution to do. Are you solving an urgent, meaningful need for them?
• Lean Startup Methodology
  Focus on what a minimal viable product (MVP) would be to further test your assumptions and gather data. What’s the smallest experiment you can run to validate the opportunity?

3: Identify Multiple Solutions

Once you've confirmed the opportunity is valuable, start brainstorming multiple approaches:

• Consider a range of possible executions. Avoid locking in on the first idea.
• Rate each approach for effort, time, cost, and potential impact.
• Identify the pros/cons: what are the potential downsides, and how might you mitigate them?

Ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. You can always choose a combination that balances speed, cost, and the potential for meaningful insights and feedback.

Prioritize options that:

• Provide the quickest and clearest signals about whether you're on the right track.
• Let you gather specific feedback that can improve the next iteration.
• Require minimal investment for maximum learning.

Pitfalls to Avoid

• First-idea bias
  Falling in love with your first solution limits your perspective and closes off potentially better alternatives. Your initial concept is rarely your best. Treat it as a starting point, not a conclusion, and be open to better options.
• Ignoring warning signals
  Pay close attention to feedback. If you're seeing lukewarm interest, or input that challenges your core assumptions, don't ignore it.
• Over-doing the process
  Not every project needs an opportunity brief. There's an element of using your own discernment and common sense to decide which tool in your toolkit is appropriate. You don't need a stapler to cut a cardboard box.

Why Separating Opportunities from Execution Works

Defining an opportunity, thinking strategically about how to validate it, getting feedback, and assessing the range of ways to execute on the opportunity before jumping into execution, is a recipe for almost everyone at early-stage companies to move project ideas forward effectively.

The process doesn’t have to be heavy-handed or time-intensive. You can write an opportunity brief in under 30 minutes and share it for quick feedback with relevant people on your team.

Why bother?

Well, there are many advantages to separating opportunity from execution. If you do this well you’ll:

• Have better buy-in on your ideas
  Would you rather uncover something you didn’t think of in an opportunity brief or after you’ve spent time and effort executing an idea with flawed assumptions?
• Empower your team
  Giving others the opportunity brief allows them to build on your ideas with their unique perspective and experience.
• Spark collaboration
  When your team understands the opportunity and shares the same context, they can contribute solutions you might never have considered.

Work is more fun for everyone when you all can really engage with the core ideas and problems to solve, not just execute someone else’s vision.

How to Practice This Approach

If you catch yourself diving straight into execution details when ideating, pause and ask:

• What problem am I actually trying to solve?
• What's the underlying opportunity here and how can I validate it quickly?
• Do other people on my team understand the opportunity?
• Have I explored a wide enough range of potential solutions?

Hope you find this post and the accompanying opportunity brief template helpful. Please let me know if you have any feedback!