“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Many of us believe that great ideas definitely lead to success, but this assumption is far from being truth. In order for an idea to have value, we must transform vision into reality.  There are so many ideas floating around, and not enough action.

Every idea might be different, but the execution process is very similar. The actual outcome of any idea relies on the way it is executed and on a series of Action Steps that are captured and then completed.  As much as the Idea itself is important, the execution process is a crucial component that so many of us forget about. We need to remember that creative talent is worthless without a sense of organisation and great execution.

Scott Belsky, CEO & Founder of Behance, has spent years understanding how the most productive entrepreneurs and creative minds operate. In his book “Making idea happen”, Scott provides a set of techniques one needs to turn great idea into something tangible. In 2008, Behance launched Action Method, an “action management” system that has replaced traditional project management practices throughout the creative world. The method begins with a simple principle: everything is a project. Managing your finance is a project, as is preparing your launch party or arranging your upcoming house move. Once you have everything categorized as a project, you can start breaking each one down into its primary components:

Action steps – are the specific, concrete tasks that take you forward: send an email to tony, pay electricity bill, post blog entry etc.

References – are any project-related handouts, sketches, notes, meeting minutes, manuals, websites, or on-going discussions that you may want to refer back to.

Backburner items – are things that are not actionable now, but may be someday.

With the Action Method in mind, we can make better use of online and offline tools that organize information. Without organization and productivity, brilliant ideas never happen. It is important to translate those ideas into actions that will push projects to completion.

It is not about ideas; it is about making ideas happen – Behance

by C. Willems