6 Tips for Creating Successful Opportunities

If insights are knowledge, opportunities are wisdom.

Opportunities serve as the starting point for framing challenges and inviting creative solutions against those challenges. But what sets apart a good opportunity from a bad one? In this article, we'll demystify the art of creating opportunities and provide you with six practical tips to make your opportunities as useful as possible.

1. Frame your Opportunities as "How Might We" Questions

In the world of design thinking, "How Might We" (HMW) questions are a powerful tool for reframing problems into opportunities that spark creative solutions. HMW questions encourage open-ended, optimistic, and collaborative problem-solving. By using this approach, your opportunities will generate a multitude of different solutions right from the start.

When crafting HMW questions, there is no one-size-fits-all template, but here are a few examples to get you started:

• HMW help [target group] to [goal] when [context]

• HMW [how to improve] the [service/product/pain point/etc.] for [target group]

For instance, if you've discovered that many young people fail to pay their taxes before the deadline, you can reframe it into the opportunity "How might we ensure more young people pay their taxes before the deadline?" This approach allows for diverse and innovative solutions to emerge.

Remember, while it's not mandatory to include "How Might We" or "HMW" in the title, doing so can serve as a helpful reminder of the question format and keep your opportunities consistent.

2. Focus on the Root Problems of Your Customers

To create impactful opportunities, it's essential to focus on the root problems that your customers face, rather than fixating on desired outcomes or symptoms. To do this effectively, ask yourself "why" to dig deeper into the underlying motivations or behaviors that contribute to the problems you aim to solve.

TheyDo simplifies this process by enabling you to link insights directly to opportunities. By connecting the dots between insights and root problems, you'll gain a clear understanding of the underlying issues that each opportunity addresses.

For example, instead of targeting the number of helpdesk calls, shift your focus to why users are calling the helpdesk in the first place. By addressing the root problems, you can create solutions that have a lasting impact.

3. Avoid Suggesting Solutions in your Opportunities

One crucial aspect of crafting inspiring opportunities is to keep them independent from solutions. Avoid mixing in specific solutions in the title or description of your opportunities. By doing so, you broaden the range of potential solutions that can emerge from each opportunity.

For instance, let's say users are unsure about how to fill in their tax forms. Instead of phrasing the opportunity as "HMW use a chatbot to help users file their taxes," which limits potential solutions to chatbots, reframe it as "HMW help users to file their taxes." This reframing opens up a wider range of solutions, such as simplifying the tax filing process or enhancing user confidence through clearer instructions.

4. Keep Your Opportunities Broad, yet Specific to the Root Problem

The scope of your opportunities can significantly influence the quality and range of solutions. It's crucial to strike a balance between making your opportunities broad enough to inspire multiple solutions and specific enough to address the root problem at hand.

For instance, if users spend a lot of time checking their tax submissions for mistakes, a narrow opportunity could be "HMW help users check their tax submission for mistakes." While workable, this opportunity limits the range of solutions. Conversely, an overly broad opportunity like "HMW redesign the tax submission process" can be overwhelming, leading to difficulties in finding a starting point.

Strive for the middle ground by phrasing your opportunity as "HMW support users to create tax submissions that they feel confident about." This approach allows for diverse solutions while maintaining a clear focus on the root problem.

5. Phrase Your Opportunities Positively

The language you use to frame your opportunities can greatly influence the creativity and effectiveness of the solutions they inspire. Phrasing your opportunities positively generates a more optimistic and growth-oriented mindset, inspiring a wider range of potential solutions.

For instance, instead of saying "HMW make the return process less difficult," rephrase it as "HMW make the return process quick and intuitive." This positive framing encourages your team members and stakeholders to think proactively about growth and improvement, rather than fixating on problems.

6. Make Sure Your Opportunities are 'MECE'

After creating several opportunities, it's essential to ensure they are 'MECE': Mutually Exclusive, yet Collectively Exhaustive. This means that each opportunity should be distinct and not overlap with others while collectively covering all the important root problems.

Creating 'MECE' opportunities helps in prioritization and ensures clarity about which opportunity addresses which problem. Additionally, it stimulates the generation of diverse and distinct solutions that tackle all the important root problems.

Crafting inspiring opportunities is an art that requires intention, clarity, and a deep understanding of your customers' needs. By framing your opportunities as "How Might We" questions, focusing on root problems, avoiding solution suggestions, keeping them broad yet specific, phrasing them positively, and ensuring they are 'MECE', you can spark creative solutions and drive meaningful progress for your customers and business.

Remember, as you build your opportunities, check for duplicates, tag opportunities for easy navigation, and aim for a manageable number of 5 to 8 opportunities per journey. Use the opportunity checklist provided to ensure your opportunities are effective in driving innovation and problem-solving.

Now, armed with these six tips, go forth and craft captivating opportunities that inspire remarkable solutions!