It is always hard to let go of an investment before it is too late; this applies to all investments, be it a business, a product line, a personal investment of time, anything. There is a side of us that always thinks our bad investment could still turn around. However, that reasoning is more of a gambling mentality and not an investing one. But, even for good investors, why can it be so hard to let go?

Before we look closer at why we can’t let go, I would like to give you a simple tool to evaluate any investment and determine if it is time to let it go. First you need to know your mission (why your organization exists) and your values (what is important to your organization). Now just ask your self, does or will this investment achieve our mission and or contribute to what we value? Your gut answer to this question is probably right. As we look closer at why investments are hard to give up, I will give you examples of how this test can assist you.

In my experience there are many reason people find it hard to give up on an investment. The first two reasons are time and money invested. We find it tough to see hard costs lost when there is still some hope of return. If your organization exists to make money and you only value money, these are the only two items you need to concern yourself with. But most organization and situations are more complex then that.

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When will the right time come for you to pitch your big idea to that big investor? If you are waiting for it to just happen, out of a random or chance meeting, then go and buy a lottery ticket. If you think that is the only way you will get a shot, you are mistaken.

Think about it from an investor’s point of view. They have a responsibility to invest the money that they are entrusted with wisely. Did you catch that? They have a responsibility to invest; it is their job to give money to people or organizations with great ideas. This bodes well for you getting an opportunity to pitch your idea.

All you have to do is get through the filters. Investors do not have time to entertain every single person with a crazy idea who wants to ask them for money. That is where filters come into play. Investors setup a series of filters to weed out poor investments from those that show greater potential. Most investors use a combination of filters; the bigger the investor the more filters you will run into. A word to the wise, do not try to undermine the filters; they are in place for good reasons. If you try to skip through, you will not get through. Instead work your way through the filters; remember the investor has a responsibility to invest their money.

Here is a list of some of the types of filters you may run into:

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So you need to raise capital to take your innovation to the next level. Few people like to ask for money. It can be uncomfortable and can sour relationships. Don’t worry I am not going to pontificate on the dangers of money. However, I would like to give you ten rules that will assist you in making your pitch to potential investors.

Rule One: Ask for an Investment
Let’s start with the most important thing, you are not asking for money, you are asking for an investment; this means that they provide you with money now in return for something of greater value in the future.

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How do you know when it is time to make a pitch to potential investors? It can be difficult to give up a portion of profits or even worse control over something we have worked so hard for. I will give it to you strait, if you can get over yourself, now may just be the time to make your big pitch to a new investor.

Let’s face the facts…

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In my last post, I brought up the idea that as designers and innovators we must consider our intentions and the consequences of missing intentions. For example, if our intentions do not include being environmentally friendly, we will still have an impact on the environment. Ignorance does not excuse anyone!

For that reason, I have created a list of 30 innovation and design intentions. Sometimes we intentionally create or affect these with our innovations. Other times, by not considering them we influence these factors by our ignorance. Not only do we need to consider how our innovations impact things when they are in use, but how they will continue to influence things when they are no longer useful.

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You are in all likelihood familiar with the standard product life cycle graph. A product increases in popularity, levels out, and then declines. This graph is helpful for countless reasons, but don’t accept the decline stage as the end. Plan ahead with innovation to renew the product life cycle and restart the upward trend.

Here are five ways to intervene with innovation and renew the product life cycle:
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The cost of innovation is not as high as most people think. Innovation doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact in most cases you can innovate on a very small budget; all you need the right mindset. No company should ever exclude itself from innovation due to cost. At a basic level every company can afford to innovate and probably can’t afford not to.

Let’s take a moment to break it down.

First, the goal of innovation is improvement: improving productivity, profitability, sustainability, etc. When an innovation reaches its goal you have a return on your investment. But what is the cost of that investment?

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We have all been there. You are trying to solve a problem; you need a really great idea, but you are stuck in a thought cycle. You know what I am talking about. A thought cycle is where you end up repeating the same thought over and over in your head. An example would be repeating the phrase, “okay, I need to come up with an idea.” Personally my thought cycles are often accompanied by an action cycle. Usually throwing a ball in the air or pacing in my office.

While the intent of a thought cycle is positive, to keep our wandering mind focused, they actually are not helpful to the thought process. The faster you can break out of the thought cycle the sooner you will come up with that great idea.

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