Product Development

Using Trello to Organize Ideas, Track Process, and Take Action

If sticky notes are 3M’s gift to random thoughts and ideas, and the Internet is Al Gore’s (ha) gift to communication, Trello is Trello, Inc.’s perfect union of the two; a web app combing the simplicity of sticky notes with the power of the Internet; a gift to anyone who wants to organize their ideas and turn them into reality.

Want to skip the foreplay? Sign up here and play with it. It’s free.

Note: I don’t make a penny for recommending this tool. I just love it that much.

If you’re not ready to dive in, here’s why you should consider it.

Your Ideas are Worth Nothing, Unless...

I’ve written before on just how valuable your ideas are.

Bottom line up front?

If you haven’t taken action on your idea, it’s worth precisely nothing.

Many ideas have infinite potential, but never amount to anything because their creator didn’t execute. It’s easy to understand why. One of the most challenging things to do is take that first step toward transforming an idea into reality. We fear perfection, success, and failure all at the same time. We are overcome with indecision when facing a forest full of trees to cut down.

 As such, any app that captures your ideas, if it’s to be worth anything, must also help transition your ideas smoothly into execution.

This is why I love Trello. It’s an idea organizer, process development, project management, and general productivity tool for turning ideas into reality and getting shit done. 

Trello, the Kid-Friendly Productivity Tool for Grownups

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Think of Trello like an online whiteboard (called a Board) you can cover with sticky notes (called Cards). Your whiteboard is divided into columns (called Lists)—one for each step in your process.

Trello can support multiple Boards, and each can be customized to fit any stepwise process that works for you.

  • Turning Ideas Into Reality - From idea generation to research to a project plan.
  • Managing Sales - From lead to opportunity to sale to revenue.
  • Project Management - From project charter to execution to review to project close.
  • Writing - From idea to research to draft to published to marketing after.

Your Cards are the thoughts, ideas, and tasks that you need to track through your process. They are the digital "sticky notes" containing a title, description, notes, labels, assigned team members, due dates, and other tracking tools necessary for small business projects. Create new ones, delete old ones, move active ones between the columns to represent where each task lies in your process. You can even view the cards with due dates on a calendar. Oh, and if your Card is a bigger task that requires multiple actions to complete, you can list action items within and track them to completion. 

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 It’s Time to Take Action

Trello is free to use for teams, making it perfect for creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses with less than 25 employees. For businesses working in distributed environments, the Trello app on iOS and Android interfaces perfectly with their web app, allowing teams to access their Trello board anywhere they have an Internet connection.

Remember, your ideas are worth nothing if not executed.

And if you don’t have a process for turning your ideas into reality, it’s about damn time you created one. Trello might be exactly the app you are looking for to help you get organized, get productive, and transform ideas into action. 


About the Author

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Michael Mehlberg

Co-Founder | Technology, Apps, and Wicked Cool Productivity Tools

Mike Mehlberg spends most of his productive hours playing with cool apps that would make him more productive, if only he’d use them for real work. Want to get organized and maximize your time? He knows an app for that. Contact him at mike@moderndavinci.net to get organized, get productive, and make the most of each day.

How to Prioritize Product Features Your Customers Will Pay For

How to Prioritize Product Features Your Customers Will Pay For

Half of us were annoyed. The other half were pissed. 

“We have to let users ‘undo’. Our product is useless without it," I argued (I was on the pissed off team in case you’re wondering).

“But nobody is going to NOT buy our product just because there’s no undo," came the response.

We argued far longer than we should have, debating the intricacies of an undo button and whether our engineering team should develop this one feature for our customers.

After multiple meetings, half a dozen arguments, and hurt feelings all around, a decision was finally made.

Sort of.

Top 7 Small Business Topic Posts of the Year

Top 7 Small Business Topic Posts of the Year

I’m a big believer in looking back, reflecting on what has gone well, and building on that in the new year to get closer to my goals.

When I look at Modern da Vinci, the growth we’ve seen is incredible. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track, but more importantly, it’s a sign that the small business community is as vibrant as ever.

Here are some incredible statistics from 2016:

  • Average reading time is up 21.45% over last year.
  • Bounce rate is down 35.14%.
  • 521.74% more page views this year over 2015.
  • 850.70% increase in new visitors in 2016!

These statistics are obviously exciting for Seth and me here at Modern da Vinci. But more so, these statistics should make you proud. Proud to be a small business owner. Proud to be part of an ongoing conversation with owners like yourself, all learning and growing together.

We’re excited for what’s to come in 2017. We’re looking forward to growing more with you and finding new small business owners like yourself to learn from.

But before we end 2016, it’s worth reviewing the top posts in each of the five areas for a growing, thriving small business.

Don't Get Caught in the Innovation Trap

Don't Get Caught in the Innovation Trap

So many of our ideas are built on the thoughts and insights of others. But no matter where they come from, not all ideas stick. Not all ideas generate revenue or increase market share. The ones that do succeed are the ones that solve specific customer problems.

If you’re spending all your time innovating and not listening, it’s just a matter of time before you’re no longer relevant. In fact, if you haven't asked yourself with the last six months what has changed about your customers, your markets, and your industry, you’ve taken your first step towards innovating solutions that nobody needs. 

Don’t get caught in the innovation trap. Listen first. Create and innovate later.