Alpeon Magazine Alpeon | Page 53

TESTING | personal development || a) novelty and b) attractiveness, but c) feasibility is low, the possibility of implementation is high; investors will be motivated to seek or supply the necessary resources. The effectiveness of the NAF method of evaluation comes from the fact that its criteria zero in on the qualities possessed by genuinely promising ideas. Usually, com- mercial propositions are evaluated in the abstract: “good,” “interesting,” or “not very.” Many ideas are winnowed out for various reasons, including because they are seemingly difficult to implement. Such errors are easily avoided when you analyze your situation with the NAF method. What works out in practice? It’s understandable that mega-projects in the develop- ment of which strong countries, transnational corporations, or billionaire philanthropists have interests should look about like this: a) novel b) appealing c) hard to accomplish. Alternative fuels, drones, medicines for fatal illnesses, 51 and artificial intelligence would be examples of such proj- ects. They take decades to accomplish and eat up unimag- inable budgets. These are global, big-science ideas. But what to do if you are far from saving the world, but only want to build your own little business? In that case, the results of your NAF test have to be completely different: a) relatively novel, b) relatively attractive, and c) easily accomplished. After all, a small or mid-sized business doesn’t have NATO’s budget at its disposal—it has to survive here and now, often while still paying off debts. Do you want to know about the small percentage of ideas that win the golden moment of glory? There’s that rare confluence of circumstances, one chance in a million, when the idea you’ve tested will be a) novel, b) beautiful, and c) actually accomplishable. Apply the NAF methodology in practice, and you’ll find that you can always tell t he “firebird” from the “chicken.” ALPEON.COM