How to develop tiny skills-based workshops to test market ideas
Hi,
In the last newsletter, I discussed a method of getting insight into problems called the Question Burst Method.
This time we’ll discuss how to test your ideas before investing tons of time and energy into them.
I. How to develop tiny skills-based workshops to test market ideas
Director Christopher Nolan had a cornfield problem.
The script the film Interestellar called for a cornfield at the foot of a mountain range. However, despite an extensive search, they couldn't find such a location.
Just shoot with CGI, right?
But Nolan says practical effects are more fun for the actors. “There’s nothing more dispiriting than showing up to a green screen. The magic is not there.”
So, instead, he found a field near a mountain and spent $100k to plant corn. A more budget-minded director might have experimented with a test plot of land before making this investment.
But Nolan had no need for caution since the movie's budget was massive. What’s an extra $100k when you are spending over $100 million?
But not everyone has massive resources to experiment with new ideas. That’s why we ordinary folk need to test small. One of the best ways to test a new idea is to create a tiny, skills-based workshop, which I call a skills session.
These workshops take only a few hours to produce and allow you to determine if your idea has legs.
There are three steps to preparing a short skills session.
A: Find a tiny skill
B: Deconstruct using the documentary approach
C: Outline (with the WWH Framework)
Let’s start with finding a tiny skill.
A: Find a tiny skill
As an expert in your field, you have dozens if not hundreds of skills you deploy each day that let you produce results. You only need to choose one skill to teach in a skills session.
How do you decide?
You do it by going small.
You choose a skill you can deploy in about 10-15 minutes. Why such a small timeframe? It’s because when you teach a novice it will easily take them twice or three times as long to learn and apply it. And in a 90-minute workshop, you’ll need to make time to teach it and have them practice a few times.
Another factor is struggle.
The skill needs to be something you struggled to learn or something you’ve witnessed others strugglig to learn. That way you know the workshop will have value. You can save others from this struggle.
And finally, it’s a skill you can deploy to get consistent results. This means you have a system even if you haven’t boroken it down into steps yet. Which leads us to the next idea about how to discover your process.
B: Deconstruct with the documentary approach
If you’ve gotten very good, then how you do your work may have slipped past your awareness and into the realm of mystery. Fortunately, there is a way to discover the steps even if you’ve achieved this level of mastery.
You deploy the skill, and as you do, you document as you go.
You can document by writing or by recording an audio. This becomes the first draft of your instructions to a novice. But we’re not quite done.
Next, you test out your instructions by attempting to follow them yourself.
Notice if you’re doing things that are not spelled out in the instructions. When that happens, add these details. Notice if your own instructions lead you astray. If that happens, adjust the instructions until they lead you down the right path. Now you have a skill and the steps to accomplish this skill, next we determine what information to share.
C: Outline (with the WWH framework)
To ensure we share the minimum information to help students along, we outline our workshop with the WWH Framework which consists of asking What, Why and How.
- What is the concept? Give it a name.
- Why is it useful/important? Give them a few reasons.
- How do you use it? Give them the framework you created earlier.
Answer each question in your outline and you’ll have shared just the information a beginner needs to learn your skill.
And make sure they try the skill in the workshop, that way you know how well your framework worked and you can help them when they need help.
With this approach, I spend 1/3 of the time teaching the skill, 1/3 of the time having them practice and 1/3 of the time with feedback and discussion.
To sum up
To test an idea, find a tiny skill to teach, deconstruct that skill by documenting yourself as you do it, then create the workshop outline using the WWH Framework.
You’ll discover if your idea works before you invest time in creating a course or other product.
II. Two ways I can help you
The Atomic Course Blueprint - Want to create a course without the usual overwhelm? Try creating a tiny course. Find out more here.
iPARA: How to organize your digital life for action- Is digital disorganization keeping you from reaching your goals? What if just four folders could let you not just stay organized but actually get things done. See for yourself here.
That’s it for this week. I’ll see you next week with another issue.
Still here?
I really appreciate you.
If you really want to make me feel great, email me to say hi or leave a comment. It keeps me motivated to produce each issue.
Great simple concept. Awesome