Creativity & Idea Generation

One of the tenets of entrepreneurship is the ability to create new and useful ideas that solve the problems and challenges that people face every day. Entrepreneurs can create value in a number of ways: invent new products and services, develop new technology, discover new knowledge, improve existing products or services, and find different way of providing more valuable goods and services with fewer resources.

I. Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities.Innovation is the ability to apply creative solutions to problems and opportunities that enhance or enrich peoples lives.One entrepreneur explains, Creativity is only useful if it is channeled and directed. Leadership expert Warren Bennis says, Todays successful companies live and die according to the quality of their ideas. A small percentage of product ideas prove to be successful products. It is this creativity that is an important source of building a competitive advantageEntrepreneurship is the result of a disciplined, systematic process of applying creativity and innovation to needs and opportunities in the marketplace. Innovation must be a constant process because most ideas do not work and most innovations fail. II.Creativity A Necessity for Survival Creativity is an important source for building a competitive advantage and for survival.Making the inferential leap from what has worked in the past to what will work today (or in the future) requires entrepreneurs to cast off their limiting assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors and to develop new insights into the relationship among resources, needs, and values.A paradigm is a preconceived idea of what the world is, what it should be like, and how it should operate. These ideas become so deeply rooted in our minds that they become blocks to creative thinking, even though they may be outdated, obsolete, and no longer relevant. Can creativity be taught? Research shows that anyone can learn to be creative; everyone can learn techniques and behaviors that generate ideas.

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Reflect and compare creativity to innovation. Try to list the key differences? Think how do these definitions relate to a viable business opportunity?

Creative ThinkingResearch into the operation of the human brain shows that each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently. One side of the brain tends to be dominant over the other.The human brain develops asymmetrically, and each hemisphere tends to specialize in certain functions. The leftbrain handles language, logic, and symbols. The right brain takes care of the bodys emotional, intuitive, and spatial functions.Rightbrained lateral thinking is somewhat unconventional, unsystematic, and relies on kaleidoscope/lateral thinking. This describes the process of considering a problem from all sides and jumping into it at different points.Leftbrained vertical thinking is narrowly focused and systematic, proceeding in a highly logical fashion from one point to the next. Leftbrain thinking is guided by a linear, vertical thought process progressing from one logical conclusion to the next.Those who have learned to develop their rightbrained thinking skills tend to: Challenge custom, routine, and tradition Realize there is more than one right answer Have helicopter skills to rise above daily routine Ask the question: Is there a better way?Entrepreneurs can learn to tap their innate creativity by breaking down the barriers to creativity that most of us have.Entrepreneurship requires both left and rightbrained thinking.

Test Your Entrepreneurial I.Q. exercise that follows.

TEST YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL I.Q.The Entrepreneurial I.Q. Test and the following responses can be used to stimulate classroom discussion on the entrepreneurial profile and related topics introduced in subsequent chapters of the text, or it can be given simply as a handout for selfstudy with the suggested answers attached.Respond by circling True or False to the following statements.1. As a child, you looked for ways of making or earning money instead of relying on an allowance.True False2. I am responsible for my own fate. People who rely on luck are irresponsible.True False3. Just because a product can be sold cheaply doesnt mean everyone in that market will buy it.True False4. I can handle having incomplete information before venturing into a new project. True False5. Statistics support the fact that entrepreneurs who have had family members venture into successful small business ownership before them are more likely to be successful.True False6. When I am passionate about something, I can work on it for days on end, sometimes sacrificing getting the proper rest.True False7. Hard work and a successful financial backing will not ensure the success of a small business.True False8. You should advertise and focus the sale of your product or service to meet the needs of as many people as possible. True False9. When you have an idea you feel will be successful, you rarely let anyone talk you out of it, even if they speak with the voice of reason. True False10. I am not afraid of taking a calculated risk.True False

SCORINGScore 1 point for each TRUE answer. This number represents your entrepreneurial I.Q.910Very good Keeping pace with successful small business strategies in the twentyfirst century will be crucial to successful business survival.7 8Satisfactory Todays fastpaced small business environment wont always let you get away with a few mistakes.0 5Questionable You could lose the farm!

Please go to next page only AFTER doing this exercise.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL I. Q. TEST1. TRUE Innovation is essential to the entrepreneur and often starts at a very young age.2. TRUE Most entrepreneurs are driven by what has been termed an internal locus of control, whereby they take responsibility for all their successes as well as disappointments. Good or bad, they prefer not to rely on luck or make excuses for their various circumstances. As such, they may view people who blame others as weak or unrealistic. These people are seen to have what has been termed as an external locus of control.3. TRUE Successful entrepreneurs know that cutting prices is easily copied by a larger store or corporate chain. Establishing a creative competitive edge is what allows the small business owner to compete for loyal, repeat customers who dont jump to competitors each time a price is lowered a few cents.4. TRUE An ability to handle a little ambiguity is imperative to the entrepreneurial psyche. Operating in the real world where everything is not always under his/her control is a daily requirement.5. TRUE Just as in most things, having a mentor or someone who understands your current challenges can act as a positive catalyst.6. TRUE Successful entrepreneurs are driven with an internal excitement that motivates them when others might be overwhelmed. 7. TRUE Many hard working, motivated entrepreneurs have lost their shirts and Aunt Jennys nest egg by simply failing to clearly establish whether or not a justifiable need existed within the community for their product/service. Eventually startup cash runs out and customers have to start buying.8. TRUE Beating the competition these days requires attracting the right customer with that special innovative flair. Trying to satisfy everybody spreads expertise and advertising dollars too thin.9. TRUE If every entrepreneur allowed someone to talk them out of something simply because it appeared the reasonable thing to do, most inventions would never reach maturity or distribution. Rumor has it that Bill Gatess first Business Plan was not accepted as a feasible idea by his college instructor.10. TRUE A strong trait in the innovative spirit of the American entrepreneur is his/her ability to take on risk.

IV. Barriers to Creativity There are many barriers to creativitytime pressures, unsupportive management, pessimistic coworkers, overly rigid company policies, and countless others.The most difficult hurdles to overcome are those that individuals impose upon themselves. In his book, A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger von Oech identifies ten mental blocks that limit individual creativity. They are as follows:1. Searching for just one right answer 2. Focusing on being logical3. Blindly following rules4. Constantly being practical5. Viewing play as frivolous6. Becoming overly specialized7. Avoiding ambiguity8. Fearing looking foolish9. Fearing mistakes and failure10. Believing that Im not creative

Questions to spur the imagination:1. Is there a new way to do it?2. Can you borrow or adapt it?3. Can you give it a new twist?4. Do you merely need more of the same?5. Do you need less of the same?6. Is there a substitute?7. Can you rearrange the parts?8. What if you do just the opposite?9. Can you combine ideas?10. Can you put it to other uses?11. What else could we make from this?12. Are there other markets for it?13. Can you reverse it?14. What idea seems impossible, but if executed, would revolutionize your business?

V.How to Enhance Creativity New ideas are fragile creations, but the right organizational environment can encourage people to develop and cultivate them.Ensuring that workers have the freedom and the incentives to be creative is one of the best ways to achieve creativity.Entrepreneurs can stimulate their own creativity and encourage it among workers by: 1. Including creativity as a core company value2. Embracing diversity3. Expecting creativity4. Expecting and tolerating failure5. Creating an organizational structure that nourishes creativity6. Encouraging curiosity7. Create a change of scenery periodically8. Viewing problems as challenges9. Providing creativity training10. Providing support11. Developing a procedure for capturing ideas12. Talk and interact with customers13. Look for uses for your companys products or services in other markets14. Rewarding creativity15. Modeling creative behavior

Food for Thought: Reflect and list why these 10 activities would be beneficial to the creative process. Write against each what limitation may occur if that attribute was not present.

You can enhance individual creativity by using the following techniques: 1. Allow yourself to be creative2. Give your mind fresh input every day3. Observe the products and services of other companies, especially those in complete different markets4. Recognize the creative power of mistakes5. Notice what is missing6. Keep a journal handy to record your thoughts and ideas7. Listen to other people8. Listen to customers 9. Talk to a child10. So something ordinary in an unusual way11. Keep a toy box in your office12. Read books on stimulating creativity or take a class on creativity13. Take some time off14. Be persistent

Food for Thought:: Reflect how you might apply these techniques to your daily life while at IoBM. Can they be used in professional life?. Should they be used in professional live? Try and prioritise them for yourself: Just put 1 against the one you think is most important in your view. Put 2 against the next. And so on

VI.The Creative Process Although new ideas may appear to strike like a bolt of lightning, they are actually the result of the creative process. The creative process involves seven steps:1. Preparation 2. Investigation 3. Transformation4. Incubation 5. Illumination 6. Verification7. Implementation

Food for Thought:: Have you ever experienced creative process. Apply that example through the seven steps of the creative process to see what level of fit there is.

VII. Techniques for Improving the Creative Process Brainstorming is a process in which a small group interacts with very little structure to produce a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas. For a brainstorming session to be successful, an entrepreneur should follow these guidelines:1. Keep the group smallfive to eight members2. Company rank and department affiliation are irrelevant3. Have a welldefined problem to address4. Limit the session to 40 to 60 minutes5. Appoint someone the job of recorder6. Use a seating pattern that encourages communication 7. Encourage all ideas from the team, even wild and extreme ones8. Establish a goal of quantity of ideas rather than quality9. Forbid evaluation or criticism10. Encourage idea hitchhikingMindmapping is an extension of brainstorming. Mindmapping is a graphical technique that encourages thinking on both sides of the brain, visually displays the various relationships between ideas, and improves the ability to view the problem from many sides. It relates to the way the brain actually works. Rather than throwing out ideas in a linear fashion, the brain jumps from one idea to another. In many creative sessions, ideas are rushing out so fast that many are lost if a person attempts to shove them into a linear outline.The mindmapping process works this way:1. Sketch a picture symbolizing the problem2. Write down every idea that comes to your mind use key words and symbols3. When idea flow starts to trickle, stop4. Allow your mind to rest a few minutes

Force Field Analysis: A useful technique for evaluating the forces that support and oppose a proposed change. Three columns: Center: Problem to be addressed Left: Driving forces Right: Restraining forcesScore each force (-1 to +4) and add them.

Food for Thought:: Identify an unmet need that you feel exists in the marketplace. Use one of these techniques to suggest potential solutions to meet that need.

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