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 advantage
Entrepreneurship 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creative thinking, even though they may be outdated, obsolete, and no longer relevant.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.

How Creative Are You? Can you read these?

Hundred
Chun

Hundred

Chun

Hundred

Chun

Hundred

Chun

Hundred

Umph Umph Umph

R

H
S

Of the Spirit

E
W
S

Stand

Scholar

Grace.

S P

I
R

S Media

Intensity

2 1111 STO CK

THEBLUEFACE

Objection
Ruled

Roll Roll
Roy Roy

Tomb of 210 , N

Key: Fortune 500; Scattered Showers; Triumph of the spirit; Grace Period
Rhodes Scolar; I understand; Spring Break; Media Bias
Two for one Stock Split; Blue in the Face; High Intensity; Spread Sheet
Objection Over ruled; Rolls Royce ; Tomb of Tuten-Khamen

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

Think

Creative Thinking
Research 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

False

2.

I am responsible for my own fate. People who rely on luck are irresponsible.

True

False

3.

Just because a product can be sold cheaply doesnt mean everyone in that
market will buy it.

True

False

I can handle having incomplete information before venturing into a new

project.

True

False

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

False

When I am passionate about something, I can work on it for days on end,

sometimes sacrificing getting the proper rest.

True

False

Hard work and a successful financial backing will not ensure the success of
a small business.

True

False

You should advertise and focus the sale of your product or service to meet
the needs of as many people as possible.

True

False

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

False

True

False

4.
5.

6.
7.
8.
9.

10. I am not afraid of taking a calculated risk.

SCORING
Score 1 point for each TRUE answer. This number represents your entrepreneurial I.Q.
910

Very good Keeping pace with successful small business strategies in the twentyfirst century will be
crucial to successful business survival.

78

Satisfactory Todays fastpaced small business environment wont always let you get away with a few
mistakes.

05

Questionable You could lose the farm!

Please go to next page only AFTER doing this exercise.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL I. Q. TEST

1. 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 logical
3. Blindly following rules
4. Constantly being practical
5. Viewing play as frivolous
6. Becoming overly specialized
7. Avoiding ambiguity
8. Fearing looking foolish
9. Fearing mistakes and failure
10. 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 value
2. Embracing diversity
3. Expecting creativity
4. Expecting and tolerating failure
5. Creating an organizational structure that nourishes creativity
6. Encouraging curiosity
7. Create a change of scenery periodically
8. Viewing problems as challenges
9. Providing creativity training
10. Providing support
11. Developing a procedure for capturing ideas
12. Talk and interact with customers
13. Look for uses for your companys products or services in other markets
14. Rewarding creativity
15. 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 creative
2. Give your mind fresh input every day
3. Observe the products and services of other companies, especially those in complete
different markets
4. Recognize the creative power of mistakes
5. Notice what is missing
6. Keep a journal handy to record your thoughts and ideas
7. Listen to other people
8. Listen to customers
9. Talk to a child
10. So something ordinary in an unusual way
11. Keep a toy box in your office
12. Read books on stimulating creativity or take a class on creativity
13. Take some time off
14. 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. Transformation
4. Incubation
5. Illumination
6. Verification
7. 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 members
2. Company rank and department affiliation are irrelevant
3. Have a welldefined problem to address
4. Limit the session to 40 to 60 minutes
5. Appoint someone the job of recorder
6. Use a seating pattern that encourages communication
7. Encourage all ideas from the team, even wild and extreme ones
8. Establish a goal of quantity of ideas rather than quality
9. Forbid evaluation or criticism
10. Encourage idea hitchhiking
Mindmapping 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 problem
2. Write down every idea that comes to your mind use key words and symbols
3. When idea flow starts to trickle, stop
4. 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:
o Center: Problem to be addressed
o Left: Driving forces
o Right: Restraining forces

Score 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.

10