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Contents CHAPTER 1

What’s Your Idea?

• The Big Picture of Your Idea
• The Napkin Drawing Tool
• Tell Me More
• The Idea Scoping Tool
• Create Visual Language

NEW AND NOVEL IDEAS REPRESENT A WORLD FULL OF PURPOSE
and possibilities. They are pioneered by innovators with passion to
advance their fields, save lives, and impact the world. These ideas
break new ground and challenge conventional thinking. They often represent
a future that we have only imagined.

For these reasons, communicating the value The polite nod leads you to believe people are
of these ideas to others can be challenging. engaged with you in conversation, but that
Innovators often find this a real stumbling is not the case. The best way to immediately
block. They are intimate with and passionate get your audience engaged is to draw them
about their idea and they want to share the a picture. This may seem counterintuitive,
details about it. But that’s precisely not the but it’s true. A simple picture of your idea
formula for success. helps people who are not subject matter
experts make a personal connection. With
Getting too deep into the technical details at this context, they can engage with you in
the early stages can draw out what is known conversation as you move into more detail.
as “The Polite Nod”. That’s the nod people
give when they don’t understand what In this chapter, we introduce you to two
you’re talking about and they don’t want to tools to help you paint the big picture of
admit it. Rather than getting into a detailed your idea and then scope out the supporting
conversation, they simply nod politely. points to showcase the value of the idea.

Communicating the commercial value of a new
idea is counterintuitive for most researchers,
scientists, and engineers.

What’s Your Idea? 1-3