What is the Idea Napkin?
The Idea Napkin is a tool for people who want to start and lead something impactful – whether it’s a trendy restaurant, a high tech venture, a social business, any old project at work, or a personal project of passion.
It’s for those of us still sitting on a bit of a hunch, who don’t know where to take it next. It’s for the quiet leaders among us mustering up the courage to leap on one of so many ideas. And it’s for you if you’re already working on something that you want to make better.
Begin by literally sketching your idea on the back of a napkin – but with some help and a little bit of discipline.
Get your idea written down!
One of the biggest challenges smart, hard working people face when they want to start something is actually starting it – we’re often scared or unsure about how to take that first step. The Idea Napkin gets you over this psychological hurdle by providing a canvas for your idea and by taking you through it step by step.
Clarify and advance your thinking
Unlike the back of a real napkin, this tool helps you work through the key components of a good early-stage idea – using best practices in entrepreneurship and innovation. By understanding and working through each of these areas, you can clarify and advance your thinking.
Collaborate and get feedback on your idea
You can use our Virtual Design Space or Google Docs versions of the Idea Napkin to easily share your idea with others, to collaborate with your team, and to get the feedback you need to make the idea even stronger. (Or – if you prefer kicking it old school over a cup of coffee – you can print the PDF version and work though your idea by hand.)
Do you teach / coach tomorrow’s leaders?
This is a great tool for facilitating a conversation with an employee, manager, innovator, or entrepreneur. It guides conversations, forms the basis of a lesson, captures and defines ideas within a portfolio, and boosts a practical ideation or strategy session.
What's under the hood?
- Free canvases (templates) for the Idea Napkin (in PDF and Google Docs formats)
- Free advanced templates for use as you progress (also in PDF and Google Docs formats)
- Explicit relationships to related tools such as the Value Proposition Wheel, the Idea Model, and those for assessing your idea
Also available to you and your team:
- Versions for use in our Virtual Design Space
- Related courses and mini-courses
- Educator and coaching resources