Target Opportunity
A target opportunity is the specific customer need, pain point, or desire that a team aligns around and focuses on solving.
Why do teams need a target opportunity?
Without aligning around a target opportunity, team members may generate solutions for different problems. One person might be solving for navigation issues, while another focuses on discovery problems—leading to scattered effort and unfocused solutions.
Choosing a target opportunity ensures the entire team is solving the same problem and can collaborate effectively.
How do you choose a target opportunity?
Teams select a target opportunity by prioritizing opportunities row by row on the opportunity solution tree.
The process:
1. Map out multiple opportunities on your opportunity solution tree
2. Compare opportunities row by row (rather than asking "Is this opportunity worth pursuing?" ask "Which of these opportunities looks best?")
3. Select one opportunity as your target
4. Generate solutions for just that one target opportunity
This is a strategic decision that uses compare-and-contrast thinking rather than "whether or not" thinking.
What is the power of focusing on a single target opportunity?
Once teams select a target opportunity, they generate solutions for just that one opportunity—rather than spreading ideas across multiple opportunities on the tree.
This focused approach:
- Ensures you generate lots of ideas for solving a single opportunity
- Allows you to push past obvious ideas to more innovative solutions
- Prevents spreading effort too thin across multiple problems
- Enables deeper exploration of the opportunity
When you give yourself permission to focus on one opportunity and generate many solutions for it, you're more likely to discover breakthrough ideas.
How should you compare solutions within a target opportunity?
Solutions should only be compared when they address the same target opportunity.
When evaluating solutions, ask: "Of these solutions, which is most likely to deliver on the target opportunity?"
If solutions ladder up to different opportunities, you're not comparing apples to apples. First make a strategic decision about which opportunity is more valuable, then generate and compare solutions for that single opportunity.
Are target opportunity decisions reversible?
Opportunity decisions are two-way door decisions. Once you choose a target opportunity and start exploring solutions, you can always walk back up the tree and choose a different opportunity if you learn the first choice wasn't optimal.
This makes it safe to commit to a target opportunity—you're not locked in permanently.
Learn more:
- Prioritize Opportunities, Not Solutions
Related terms:
- Assessing Opportunities
- Opportunity Solution Tree
- Solutions
- Strategy
Last Updated: October 25, 2025