Start An Idea Journal

Teresa Torres uses the story of a skier who tried to build a snowboard that worked like skis, despite lukewarm feedback, to show how product teams fall into one-idea-at-a-time thinking. Drawing on the Heath brothers' book Decisive, she argues that evaluating several ideas at once, called multitracking, leads to better decisions and less attachment to any single option. Because generating good options is a learnable skill, she recommends keeping an idea journal to capture ideas as they occur and build the habit of generating alternatives on demand.

01Key takeaways

• Evaluate several ideas side by side rather than judging each one in isolation to reduce attachment.
• Pit alternatives against each other so you can compare qualities and combine the best elements.
• Recognize that the urge to stick with the first workable path is natural and needs deliberate resisting.
• Keep an idea journal, using whatever tool you always have on hand, and capture ideas as they happen.
• Set aside about ten minutes a day, such as morning or bedtime, to write down and expand on ideas.
• Treat idea generation as a skill that improves with practice, building confidence over time.

02Key sections

The snowboard that wasn't wanted

A skier-turned-engineer built a snowboard with ski-like precision despite friends' negative reactions, illustrating how people push ahead with unwanted ideas. The example highlights that the two sports attract different crowds and that few people want the hybrid.

Multitracking over sequential evaluation

Research cited from Decisive found that companies weighing several ideas simultaneously made better decisions than those evaluating ideas one at a time. Comparing options reduces attachment and enables mixing elements to create stronger ideas.

Why teams resist generating options

Exploring multiple paths feels like wasted effort, and people naturally want to stay on the first promising solution. Overcoming this urge is necessary for consistently creative and better product options.

Keeping an idea journal

The author recommends capturing ideas in a notebook or app, and suggests dedicating ten minutes daily, such as in the morning or before bed. Writing down related ideas strengthens the ability to generate ideas over time.

Building confidence in creativity

Torres describes learning the practice in a college design class and discovering she already had many ideas. Consistent practice builds confidence that ideas can be generated on demand.

03From the post

“This post is part of a series about making better product decisions. I have a friend (a skier) who decided that snowboarding needed to be more like skiing. He thought that snowboarding looked fun, but he didn't want to give up the precision of two skis. Being an engineer,”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.