During the last challenge you listed a maximum of ten interesting and potentially successful ideas. Now it’s time to rank them and take a decision. The How-Now-Wow matrix is a selection tool in which a group weighs up each idea based on two parameters. Draw a 2-by-2 matrix – the horizontal axis represents the originality of the idea; the vertical one how easy it is to implement.Label the quadrants as follows: NOW – Blue ideas: easy-to-implement ideas that solve problems and result in incremental benefits. HOW – Yellow ideas: those that are a breakthrough in terms of impact, but impossible to implement right now given your current resources. WOW – Green ideas: those that have the potential for orbit-shifting change and that you can implement given your resources.

Within your team choose what business idea you’ll build, using the Dot Voting method. Here’s what you have to do:

1. List the ideas you shortlisted during the previous phase on large pieces of paper stuck around the room.

2. Give each player three blue, three yellow and three green sticky notes, or three marker pens, one of each colour.

3. Ask each player to stand up and vote for the three best ideas in each category, by placing a sticky note under each idea they choose, or by making a mark with the coloured pens. Remember, blue means Now, yellow is How, and green is Wow.

4. Finally count the number of notes under each idea to categorize it. The highest number of notes of a certain colour categorises the idea under that colour.

5. In case of a tie: If the number of blue notes is the same as the number of green ones, the idea is blue and if the yellow and green notes are equal, the idea is green

6. Place your ideas in the matrix according to their colour.

7. You now have a bucket of Wow, green ideas to work on further. If you don’t have any ideas in this quadrant, focus on the blue Now ones. If you only have one idea in this quadrant, your choice is already made.