Lesson #6
“GOYA”—The Only Way to Really Test an Idea
So you have this idea that you think will work. You even have a champion or two who will help you bring it to life. Then what? Well, don't hire research people just yet to borrow your watch to tell you what time it is—in other words, the obvious. You should instead begin by undertaking a process in which I'm a big believer: GOYA, or Get Off Your Ass.
GOYA means that you take that idea and start testing it. You go to places where people shop and buy; walk around and watch how they do it. You envision how your idea would make it better, easier, and faster for people to do something that they're currently doing poorly, with difficulty, or slowly. You see if your concept has legs. Most important, you determine how to make your idea work, and how to improve it. It is imperative that you don't fall in love with the “how”—just with the expected results. Though every great idea starts in a particular way, most take an unexpected turn—usually several—along the journey. Those entrepreneurs who fail are the ones who neglect to keep an open mind and don't constantly conduct their own smell tests to ensure that things are falling into place.
We opened our first OfficeMax store in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The main reason that we chose this location was because it was close to both the office and my home. I knew I had to be close to the location, because I wanted to visit as often as possible. After all, a first store ...
