[eddyparkinson]

1) write it down and review after a day or two.

2) Do home work, search for the best current way to solve the problem.

3) scale matters, a jet engine was a big improvement over a propeller engine. Focus on big ideas

Reference - this is how someone who has PhD is taught to evaluate an idea. http://www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/chinneck/thesis.html

4) Einstein was well known for saying that he had so few good ideas, he did not need to write them down. He had learned how to measure the value of an idea.

As a side note, I also feel very good ideas, ideas that offer at least 100% ROI are so rare that you will know when you have one. 100% ROI is a tough call, but I would only spend time on ideas that offer 100+% ROI.