The Opportunity Profile (OP) working session occurs when one or more opportunity profiles research activities have been completed. It is necessary before the four page write up of the OP can be prepared. The purpose is for a group to understand and examine the evidence and analysis done during the one month deep-dive, to debate the assumptions, evidence, implications and opinions of the OP, to 'shape' the opportunity into the best one possible and then to finally decide if the opportunity is worthy of moving on to a detailed assessment and analysis.

Springboard - Understanding the opportunity

A presentation of all the information, knowledge and opinion that has been gathered in the one-month (40 hours) of research. This typically ranges from 10 to 20 slides and tells the story of the need to serve this need.

Debate - Probing pro's and cons

A full debate of the Pro's and Con's of pursuing the opportunity. Each debate 'prompt' is a proposition that reflects one aspect of the opportunity. Members of the group are assigned to the Pro side and the Con side and must represent that perspective as best they can, even if they have the opposite opinion!

By forcing the issue (and the attitude) to be both pessimistic and optimistic, its possible to create a more balanced insight - and often to say the unspeakable. This method is meant to find not only the 'gorilla in the room', but also the various monkeys as well.

The point of each Debate Prompt is to focus attention on a critical aspect of what the makes the opportunity a good one or a poor one. Creating Debate Prompts is simplified by 'black hat' thinking - namely, "why is this opportunity unattractive?". By taking the perspective of a curmudgeon, it is easier to enumerate a half a dozen to a dozen reasons why this opportunity should not be pursued. (Natural optimists find the opposite to be true, and that approach works as well.) This list of negatives (or positives) - and their logical counterpoints - becomes the list of debate prompts.

As an example, consider the opportunity for an energy company to pursue solar power solutions. A curmudgeon might say, it's too expensive, it works only in limited geographies, and it is unreliable when it does work. Voila - three debate prompts are revealed:

• Cheap vs. Expensive - Cheap says: "New technologies are driving costs down, and history shows that this curve will overtake conventional technologies in a matter of time." Expensive says: "Non-renewable resources may be limited, but not in the foreseeable future. Basics like oil, gas, and coal also have a technology curve and will always be cheaper than photoelectric technologies".
• Narrow vs. Broad - Narrow says: "The sun shines only half the time when the weather is good, and often not at all when it's bad. No sun means no power, and certain geographies just don't get enough sun to make solar power economical." Broad says: "Modern photoelectric cells can squeezeenergy from even small amounts of light - furthermore, there's no requirement to be always on. Energy from peak times can be stored for later use."
• Reliable vs. Unreliable - Reliable says: "Solar power generators require no moving parts, are completely renewable, and can be kept running without skilled labor. The sun may not always shine, but considering the alternatives, solar cells are very reliable." Unreliable says: "Photoelectric technology is some of the most sophisticated material science on earth. Modern systems are susceptible to the 'bath tub curve' and will reveal how failure prone and nascent the technology really is. Solar power is simply not ready for prime time."

Shaping - Making the opportunity optimal

Discussion of the various opportunity dimensions and where the focus should begin in an assessment. An example of some dimensions may be things like 'Developed or Developing countries' or 'Consumer or Commercial'. The group make a judgment of what the 'best' focus for the specific opportunity is.

Decision - Worthy of Continuing Investment?

Once the discussion ends, a completed OP is created reflecting the discussions and conclusions of the group. A decision is then made on whether a 3-4 month Opportunity Assessment will be undertaken.