The Impact Equation book cover picture

Here are some criteria for determining if an idea is good from Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s book The Impact Equation (affiliate link):

1) What’s the goal of the idea?

2) How does this idea fit my existing framework?

3) How much work does this idea add to my life?

4) What will it take to accomplish this idea?

5) What additional resources do I need to make this idea work?

6) How will I know whether to keep going or quit?

7) When will I be done?

Also, good ideas make you feel something, attach themselves to other concepts in the brain, and fulfill a need.

The idea here is that with all these things working together you’re invested and engaged enough that you want to push it all the way through vs. trying to brute force or “will your way” through–neither of which I’ve found to be very successful.

And more good questions from Page 117….

  • Do I have a market for this?  Do I know how to reach the people who might want this?
  • Do I have the resources and time and proclivity to do this?
  • Is this something people will pay for?
  • How sustainable is this business?  Can I do it for a while?
  • Is this business salable?  Can I turn it over to someone later on?

A lot of these questions nicely compliment Avinash Kaushik’s career manifesto.