The five step guide to becoming a millionaire. (From The Argus)

The five step guide to becoming a millionaire.

3:41pm Friday 28th May 2010

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By Melanie Farmer - Sussex Innovation Centre »

You have a project that you think would work really well. Maybe it’s something to rival the iPad in novelty and coolness like the SONY OLED? What now? Most people tell someone like a friend or family member, then panic a bit. Maybe you mortgage your house, risk your marriage, sell the family dog and still don’t get anywhere. There is a better way.

This blog is for those of us who love thinking up new ideas but don’t want all the nightmare and risk that go with launching them. My suggestion as an alternative? Wherever you work, pitch the idea to them. If it is actually related to your industry (eg: you are an engineer at Toyota and think a flying car would be great) then all the better. The British Library is a rich source of market intelligence so you can most likely find out what’s going on already in terms of your idea. This will make it easier to talk them round to how brilliant your idea is.

Then, you want the right support. Many project teams, once given the green light, fail because they have not been properly resourced. Studies show that a heavyweight project team is one way to cut through red tape and fast track an idea.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE YOUR IDEA REALITY: 1) An executive sponsor - someone on the board or influential of the board championing your project along. They will remove obstacles along the way and remind the board about your great idea.

2) A heavyweight project leader - Someone with power and influence in the company. A director of one of the functions of the organisation, ideally. They don’t have to be there every minute but they do need to be able to break rules.

3) A team - This would ideally be formed of representatives from technical, marketing, finance and operations. This way, cross company impact is accounted for.

4) A vision - You have got to get the team behind the vision. “We’re making a flying car” sounds pretty cool to me. So does landing a man on the moon. You get the idea. The heavyweight project leader is there to communicate this and get the troops on board for the challenge.

5) A contract - This is a plan really that talks deadlines, milestones and so on. Importantly, it should be agreed/negotiated and signed by team members. A word about rewards? Recent evidence shows that bonuses lead to a worsening of performance. A better approach, it is argued, is to reward unexpectedly, immediately and often. Praise is worth far more than we realise as well.

There you have it. Break a leg.