Definition:

The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness:firms

are keen to encourage creativity

Sources of new ideas for Entrepreneurs

Sources for new ideas

Managers can try to search actively for new ideas by looking for inspiration from the following
sources.

External sources: customers; lead-users (user solutions); patents/inventions; competitors;

suppliers; acquisitions; trade fairs and conventions; published information; trade magazines;
outside consultants; channel members; universities; government; law/regulations.

Internal sources: internal R&D; employees; engineering/IT; shelved ideas; complaints systems;
customer service; sales force.

Ref: http://qpc.adm.slu.se/SNPD_ver2/page_19.htm

Entrepreneurs frequentl y use the following sources of ideas:

1. Consumers the potential consumer should be the final focal point of ideas for the
entrepreneurs. The attention to inputs from potential consumers can take the form of informally
monitoring potential ideas or needs or formally arranging for consumers to have an opportunity
to express their concerns. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the new idea or the needs
represents a large enough market to support a new venture.

2. Existing Companies with the help of an established formal methods potential entrepreneurs
and intrapreneurs can ev aluate competitive products & services on the market which may result
in new and more market appealing products and services.

3. Distribution channels members of the distribution channels are familiar with the needs of
the market and hence can prove to be excellent sources of new ideas. Not only do the channel
members help in finding out unmet or partially met demands leading to new products and
services, they also help in marketing the offerings so developed.

4. Government it can be a source of new product ideas in two ways firstly, the patent office
files contain numerous product possibilities that can assist entrepreneurs in obtaining specific
product information, and secondly, response to government regulations can come in the form of
new product ideas.

5. Research & development Entrepreneurs own R&D is the largest source of new idea. A
formal and well-equipped research and development department enables the entrepreneur to
conceive and develop successful new product ideas.

Ref: https://abhishekkatiyar.wordpress.com/2005/07/21/sources-of-new-ideas-for-
entrepreneurs-2/

Ref: http://glencoe.com/sec/busadmin/entre/teacher/creative/stimulate/index.htm

Games That Stimulate Creativity

Everyone has some degree of creativity. Each of these exercises will help your students
increase their ability to solve problems creatively. Select from the 11 exercises in the
pull-down menu above.

While completing the exercises, students shouldn't race through just to see the answers.
They should work at each game until they develop the perspective necessary to play it
well. Each exercise is designed to demonstrate an important point that should be
mastered before going on to the next challenge.

Try to keep students from becoming discouraged. In learning to master creative problem
solving, the best wayand sometimes the only wayis to learn through mistakes. Fear
of making mistakes is often the most inhibiting attitude to effective problem solving.
 Creative Problem Solving: Heuristics,
Brainstorming, Synectics, Value Analysis

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic

A heuristic technique (/hjrstk/; Ancient Greek: , "find" or "discover"), often called

simply a heuristic, is any approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a
practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals.
Where finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical, heuristic methods can be used to
speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution. Heuristics can be mental shortcuts that ease
the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb,
an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, stereotyping, profiling, or common sense.

Stereoty ping is a type of heuristic that all people use to form opinions or make judgments about
things they have never seen or experienced.[25] They work as a mental shortcut to assess everything
from the social status of a person based on their actions to assumptions that a plant that is tall, has a
trunk, and has leaves is a tree even though the person making the evaluation has never seen that
particular type of tree before.

Neuroheuristics (or Neuristics) studies the dynamic relations between the complex knowledge
acquired by neuroscience by means of an approach not reducible in an expertise since it is
continuously renewed at every stage of progress towards scientific discovery.

Social heuristics as a tool of bounded rationality are thought to guide behavior and decisions in
the social environment.[1] Social environments tend to be characterised by complexity and
uncertainty, and agents with limited informational or cognitive resources may rely on simple rules of
thumb to make decisions. The class of phenomena described by social heuristics overlap with those
typically investigated by social psychology and game theory.

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for
a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.

Origin: Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn began developing methods for creative
problem solving in 1939. He was frustrated by employees inability to develop creative ideas
individually for ad campaigns. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions and
discovered a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of ideas produced by employees.

two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being :

1. Defer judgment,

2. Reach for quantity.[2]

Following these two principles were his four general rules of brainstorming, established
with intention to :

reduce social inhibitions among group members.

stimulate idea generation.

increase overall creativity of the group.

1. go for quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate
problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the
greater the number of ideas generated, the bigger the chance of producing a radical and
effective solution.

2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'.
Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a
later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to
generate unusual ideas.

3. Welcome wild ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, wild ideas are encouraged to
have. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending
assumptions. These new ways of thinking might give you better solutions.

4. Combine and improve ideas:As suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". It is believed to

stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association

TYPES
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming
Nominal group technique[edit]
Main article: nominal group technique

Participants are asked to write their ideas anonymously. Then the facilitator collects the ideas and
the group votes on each idea. The vote can be as simple as a show of hands in favor of a given
idea. This process is called distillation.

After distillation,(refining) the top ranked ideas may be sent back to the group or to subgroups for
further brainstorming. For example, one group may work on the color required in a product.
Another group may work on the size, and so forth. Each group will come back to the whole group for
ranking the listed ideas. Sometimes ideas that were previously dropped may be brought forward
again once the group has re-evaluated the ideas.

It is important that the facilitator be trained in this process before attempting to facilitate this
technique. The group should be primed and encouraged to embrace the process. Like all team
efforts, it may take a few practice sessions to train the team in the method before tackling the
important ideas.

Group passing technique[edit]

Each person in a circular group writes down one idea, and then passes the piece of paper to the
next person, who adds some thoughts. This continues until everybody gets his or her original piece
of paper back. By this time, it is likely that the group will have extensively elaborated on each idea.

The group may also create an "idea book" and post a distribution list or routing slip to the front of the
book. On the first page is a description of the problem. The first person to receive the book lists his
or her ideas and then routes the book to the next person on the distribution list. The second person
can log new ideas or add to the ideas of the previous person. This continues until the distribution list
is exhausted. A follow-up "read out" meeting is then held to discuss the ideas logged in the book.
This technique takes longer, but it allows individuals time to think deeply about the problem.

Team idea mapping method[edit]

This method of brainstorming works by the method of association. It may improve collaboration and
increase the quantity of ideas, and is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are
rejected.
The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the
ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this consolidation phase, participants may
discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas.
During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well.
Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and/or take action. [3]

Directed brainstorming[edit]

Directed brainstorming is a variation of electronic brainstorming (described below). It can be done

manually or with computers. Directed brainstorming works when the solution space (that is, the set
of criteria for evaluating a good idea) is known prior to the session. If known, those criteria can be
used to constrain the Ideation process intentionally.

In directed brainstorming, each participant is given one sheet of paper (or electronic form) and told
the brainstorming question. They are asked to produce one response and stop, then all of the
papers (or forms) are randomly swapped among the participants. The participants are asked to look
at the idea they received and to create a new idea that improves on that idea based on the initial
criteria. The forms are then swapped again and respondents are asked to improve upon the ideas,
and the process is repeated for three or more rounds.

In the laboratory, directed brainstorming has been found to almost triple the productivity of groups
over electronic brainstorming.[4]

Guided brainstorming[edit]

A guided brainstorming session is time set aside to brainstorm either individually or as a collective
group about a particular subject under the constraints of perspective and time. This type of
brainstorming removes all cause for conflict and constrains conversations while stimulating critical
and creative thinking in an engaging, balanced environment.

Participants are asked to adopt different mindsets for pre-defined period of time while contributing
their ideas to a central mind map drawn by a pre-appointed scribe. Having examined a multi-
perspective point of view, participants seemingly see the simple solutions that collectively create
greater growth. Action is assigned individually.

Following a guided brainstorming session participants emerge with ideas ranked for further
brainstorming, research and questions remaining unanswered and a prioritized, assigned, actionable
list that leaves everyone with a clear understanding of what needs to happen next and the ability to
visualize the combined future focus and greater goals of the group.
Individual brainstorming[edit]

"Individual brainstorming" is the use of brainstorming in solitary. It typically includes such techniques
as free writing, free speaking, word association, and drawing a mind map, which is a visual note
taking technique in which people diagram their thoughts. Individual brainstorming is a useful method
in creative writing and has been shown to be superior to traditional group brainstorming.[5][6]

Question brainstorming[edit]

This process involves brainstorming the questions, rather than trying to come up with immediate
answers and short term solutions. Theoretically, this technique should not inhibit participation as
there is no need to provide solutions. The answers to the questions form the framework for
constructing future action plans. Once the list of questions is set, it may be necessary to prioritize
them to reach to the best solution in an orderly way.[7]

"Questorming" is another term for this mode of inquiry.[8]

Challenges to effective group brainstorming

Blocking:

Main article: Production blocking

Because only one participant may give an idea at any one time, other participants might forget the
idea they were going to contribute or not share it because they see it as no longer important or
relevant.[15] Further, if we view brainstorming as a cognitive process in which "a participant generates
ideas (generation process) and stores them in short-term memory (memorization process) and then
eventually extracts some of them from its short-term memory to express them (output process)",
then blocking is an even more critical challenge because it may also inhibit a person's train of
thought in generating their own ideas and remembering them.[16]

Collaborative fixation: Exchanging ideas in a group may reduce the number of domains that a
group explores for additional ideas. Members may also conform their ideas to those of other
members, decreasing the novelty or variety of ideas, even though the overall number of ideas might
not decrease.[17]
Evaluation apprehension: Evaluation apprehension was determined to occur only in instances of
personal evaluation. If the assumption of collective assessment were in place, real-time judgment of
ideas, ostensibly an induction of evaluation apprehension, failed to induce significant variance. [6]

Free-riding: Individuals may feel that their ideas are less valuable when combined with the ideas of
the group at large. Indeed, Diehl and Stroebe demonstrated that even when individuals worked
alone, they produced fewer ideas if told that their output would be judged in a group with others than
if told that their output would be judged individually. However, experimentation revealed free riding
as only a marginal contributor to productivity loss, and type of session (i.e., real vs. nominal group)
contributed much more.[6]

Personality characteristics: Extraverts have been shown to outperform introverts in computer

mediated groups. Extraverts also generated more unique and diverse ideas than introverts when
additional methods were used to stimulate idea generation, such as completing a small related task
before brainstorming, or being given a list of the classic rules of brainstorming. [18]

Social matching: One phenomenon of group brainstorming is that participants will tend to alter their
rate of productivity to match others in the group. This can lead to participants generating fewer ideas
in a group setting than they would individually because they will decrease their own contributions if
they perceive themselves to be more productive than the group average. On the other hand, the
same phenomenon can also increase an individual's rate of production to meet the group average. [14]
[19]

Synectics is a problem solving methodology that stimulates thought processes of

which the subject may be unaware. This method was developed by George M. Prince (April 5, 1918
- June 9, 2009)[1] and William J.J. Gordon, originating in the Arthur D. Little Invention Design Unit in
the 1950s.

Synectics is a way to approach creativity and problem-solving in a rational way. "Traditionally, the
creative process has been considered after the fact... The Synectics study has attempted to
research creative process in vivo, while it is going on." [4]

According to Gordon, Synectics research has three main assumptions:

The creative process can be described and taught;

 Invention processes in arts and sciences are analogous and are driven by the same
"psychic" processes;

Individual and group creativity are analogous.[5](similar equivalent)

With these assumptions in mind, Synectics believes that people can be better at being creative if
they understand how creativity works.

One important element in creativity is embracing the seemingly irrelevant. Emotion is emphasized
over intellect and the irrational over the rational. Through understanding the emotional and irrational
elements of a problem or idea, a group can be more successful at solving a problem.[6]

Prince emphasized the importance of creative behaviour in reducing inhibitions and releasing the
inherent creativity of everyone. He and his colleagues developed specific practices and meeting
structures which help people to ensure that their constructive intentions are experienced positively
by one another. The use of the creative behaviour tools extends the application of Synectics to many
situations beyond invention sessions (particularly constructive resolution of conflict).

Gordon emphasized the importance of "'metaphorical process' to make the familiar strange and the
strange familiar". He expressed his central principle as: "Trust things that are alien, and alienate
things that are trusted." This encourages, on the one hand, fundamental problem-analysis and, on
the other hand, the alienation of the original problemthrough the creation of analogies. It is thus
possible for new and surprising solutions to emerge.

As an invention tool, Synectics invented a technique called "springboarding" for getting creative
beginning ideas. For the development of beginning ideas, the method incorporates brainstorming
and deepens and widens it with metaphor; it also adds an important evaluation process for Idea
Development, which takes embryonic new ideas that are attractive but not yet feasible and builds
them into new courses of action which have the commitment of the people who will implement them.

Synectics is more demanding of the subject than brainstorming, as the steps involved imply that the
process is more complicated and requires more time and effort. The success of the Synectics
methodology depends highly on the skill of a trained facilitator.[7]

Value Analysis or Value engineering

Value engineering (VE) is systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and
services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value
can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost. It is a primary tenet
of value engineering that basic functions be preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of
pursuing value improvements.[1]

The reasoning behind value engineering is as follows: if marketers expect a product to become
practically or stylistically obsolete within a specific length of time, they can design it to only last for
that specific lifetime. The products could be built with higher-grade components, but with value-
engineering they are not because this would impose an unnecessary cost on the manufacturer, and
to a limited extent also an increased cost on the purchaser. Value engineering will reduce these
costs. A company will typi cally use the least expensive components that satisfy the product's lifetime
projections.

Due to the very short life spans however which is often a result of this "value engineering technique"
planned obsolescence has become associated with product deterioration and inferior quality. Vance
Packard once claimed this practice gave engineering as a whole a bad name, as it directed creative
engineering energies toward short-term market ends. Philosophers such as Herbert
Marcuse and Jacque Fresco have also criticized the economic and societal implications of this
model.

DESCRIPTION:

Value engineering is sometimes taught within the project management or industrial engineering body
of knowledge as a technique in which the value of a systems outputs isoptimized by crafting a mix of
performance (function) and costs. In most cases this practice identifies and removes unnecessary
expenditures, thereby increasing the value for the manufacturer and/or their customers.

VE follows a structured thought process that is based exclusively on "function", i.e. what something
"does" not what it is. For example a screw driver that is being used to stir a can of paint has a
"function" of mixing the contents of a paint can and not the original connotation of securing a screw
into a screw-hole. In value engineering "functions" are always described in a two word abridgment
consisting of an active verb and measurable noun (what is being done - the verb - and what it is
being done to - the noun) and to do so in the most non-prescriptive way possible. In the screw driver
and can of paint example, the most basic function would be "blend liquid" which is less prescriptive
than "stir paint" which can be seen to limit the action (by stirring) and to limit the application (only
considers paint). This is the basis of what value engineering refers to as "function analysis". [2]
Value engineering uses rational logic (a unique "how" - "why" questioning technique) and the
analysis of function to identify relationships that increase value. It is considered a quantitative
method similar to the scientific method, which focuses on hypothesis-conclusion approaches to test
relationships, and operations research, which uses model building to identify predictive relationships.

Value engineering is also referred to as "value management" or "value methodology" (VM), and
"value analysis" (VA).[3] VE is above all a structured problem-solving process based on function
analysisunderstanding something with such clarity that it can be described in two words, the active
verb and measurable noun abridgment. For example, the function of a pencil is to "make marks".
This then facilitates considering what else can make marks. From a spray can, lipstick, a diamond
on glass to a stick in the sand, one can then clearly decide upon which alternative solution is most
appropriate.

JOB PLAN

Value engineering is often done by systematically following a multi-stage job plan. Larry
Miles' original system was a six-step procedure which he called the "value analysis job plan." Others
have varied the job plan to fit their constraints. Depending on the application, there may be four, five,
six, or more stages. One modern version has the following eight steps:

1. Preparation

2. Information

3. Analysis

4. Creation

5. Evaluation

6. Development

7. Presentation

8. Follow-up

Four basic steps in the job plan are:

 Information gathering - This asks what the requirements are for the object. Function analysis,
an important technique in value engineering, is usually done in this initial stage. It tries to
determine what functions or performance characteristics are important. It asks questions like;
What does the object do? What must it do? What should it do? What could it do? What must it
not do?

Alternative generation (creation) - In this stage value engineers ask; What are the various
alternative ways of meeting requirements? What else will perform the desired function?

Evaluation - In this stage all the alternatives are assessed by evaluating how well they meet
the required functions and how great the cost savings will be.

Presentation - In the final stage, the best alternative will be chosen and presented to the
client for final decision.

VE follows a structured thought process to evaluate options as follows.

Gather information

1.What is being done now?

Who is doing it?

What could it do?
What must it not do?

Measure

2.How will the alternatives be measured?

What are the alternate ways of meeting requirements?

What else can perform the desired function?

Analyze

3.What must be done?

What does it cost?

Generate

4.What else will do the job?

Evaluate
5.Which Ideas are the best?

Develop and expand ideas

6.What are the impacts? 7.What is the cost? 8.What is the performance?

Present ideas

9.Alternative options are presented to the client, a recommendation is made

for the best alternative and presented to the client for a decision.