Creative Thinking and Innovation

Redefining Contexts – Creating Possibilities

Bolaji Okusaga
Content

S/N SUBJECT SLIDES

1 Creativity 3-9

2. Innovation 10 - 25
1. Creativity
 Critical Thinking Versus Creative Thinking
Both concepts are different – one requires logic the other requires going out of the box
CRITICAL THINKING
• Critical thinking refers to a methodical progression of
thought through evaluation and analysis of options, choices
and scenarios on the route to problems solving, decision
generation and arrival at solutions

CREATIVE THINKING
• Creative thinking refers to decision making not driven by
existent empirical examples but rather on intuition and gut
feelings based on experiences, encounters and patterns
not previously codified or defined which delivers on
purpose and target.

A Critical Thinker is not necessarily a Creative Thinker – but a Creative Thinker needs to have Critical Thinking Skills
Left Brain Versus Right Brain

Intuition

Logic Imagination
Process
Analysis Creativity

Sequencing
Emotions
Computation
Visualisation
Creative Thinking Defined
“The attitude to accept change and new ideas, a willingness to play with
ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook.”
- Harris, 1998

COMPONENTS OF CREATIVITY
Aptitude for innovation and ideas
by combining hitherto unrelated
Aptitude to imagine and draw
things, changing sequence of
inferences from unnoticed patterns
actions and patterns or reimagining
old ideas and concepts
Stages in the Creative Process

Preparation Incubation Insight Evaluation Elaboration

• Research • Come up with • Draw on intuition • Obtain feedback • Micro-test- and

• take cues from creative concepts in coming up with • from sounding- test until the
diverse sources ideas boards refined idea
emerges
Gains of Creativity

Breaking new Creation of

grounds new trends

Defeat of
Break through
conventional
solution
wisdom
Impact of Creativity

Creativity Drives:

New ways of Increased Creates Improves work

doing things productivity wealth and wellbeing
2. Innovation
From Creativity to Innovation
In a changing world where population is
rising, needs are increasing, resources are
scarce and there is increased competition,
hence there is a need to innovate.

Why Old ways are failing to meet new demand

innovate?
Pressure on current resources
Definition of Innovation

Innovation is an
opportunity for
something new and
different.

Innovators do not view

any change as a threat
but as an opportunity
What is Innovation Really About?

Coming up with a
New Product or a Redefining market
New Way of Doing space
Things

Radically
reconceiving
products and Redrawing
services, not just industry
developing new boundaries
products and
services
 What innovation Entails?

Insight and
• Capacity to imagine and Foresight • Ability to create
quickly adapt previously unthought-
• Ability to identify needs about Possibilities - new
and opportunity products or processes
and new business
models

Curiousity and Risk and

Adaptibilty Result
 Innovation and Value

• Innovation is the process of creating something new and of value for

Society.

Experimentation Design Invention Patent

Innovation Process
1. Opportunity
identification Identifying a need or opportunity

2. Ideation
Imagining routes to filling the need or tapping into the opportunity

3. Development
Creation of a model which addresses the problem or delivers the solution.

4. Prototyping
The initial innovation product arising from the earlier developed model.

5. Production Perfection and upgrading of prototype through a firmer and more articulated
process

6. Commercialisation Market roll-out of the fully developed product - this includes pricing, marketing
and sales.

7. Review
Review of product based on market response.
 Sources of Innovation

Rapidly
Changing Economy Technology Customers Competitors
Environment

Maverick Government Regulations Distribution Channels

Management Employees Suppliers

 The Oslo Manual for Innovation
Marketing Organisational
Product innovation Process innovation
innovation innovation
• A good or service • A new or • A new marketing • A new
that is new or significantly method involving organisational
significantly improved significant changes method in business
improved. production or in product design or practices,
• This includes delivery method. packaging, product workplace
significant • This includes placement, product organisation or
improvements in significant changes promotion or external relations.
technical in techniques, pricing.
specifications, equipment and/or
components and software.
materials, software
in the product, user
friendliness or
other functional
characteristics.
 Drivers for innovation

Financial pressures
• Need to reduce costs, increase
efficiency or do more with less, etc
Increased competition
• Greater availability of potentially
useful technologies coupled with a
need to exceed the competition in
these technologies
Shorter product life cycles
• Arising from adaptive competitors
and Consumer sophistication.
Value migration
• Demographic, social and maket
changes
• Rising customer expectations
regarding service and quality

Stricter regulation Industry and community Changing economy

• Increased demand for needs for sustainable
accountability development
• The need to replenish the earth
and create a basis for friendly
environmental practices.
• Recessions and depressions
usually lead to changes in
economic models and this compels
innovation
 Dimensions of Innovation

MANIFESTATION VARIATION IMPACT

• Process • Incremental • Continuous
• Product • Exponential • Discontinuous
• Service • Radical
• Strategy • Systemic
 Classification of Innovations
SYSTEM New series of cars, New generation (MP3 Steam engine, ICT,
planes, computers, TV and download as biotechnology,
substitution of CD) nanotechnology

COMPONENT Improvement of New components for Advanced materials

components existing systems improving component
properties

INCREMENTAL RADICAL
“do better what we “new for the company” “new for the world”
already do”

SYSTEM New series of cars, New generation (MP3 Steam engine, ICT,
planes, computers, TV and download as biotechnology,
substitution of CD) nanotechnology
Creating the Innovation DNA

Systematic Proper rate of risk-taking

collection of all Creativity of
impulses that could employees
lead to innovation

Employees’ motivation (the

Ability to evaluate employees are willing to improve
the possibility of Good team work the product and the operation of
the innovation idea
the whole company)
Continued education of employees
Project-based
approach and
ability to manage
projects
 Driving Innovation to Transformation

Reinvent the
• To allow, and Business • To provide insights on
encourage, community people’s ethnos,
to share experiences • To understand, engage behavior and other
and affect product and retail to customer required metrics .
offering and delivery base and primary
market via digital
tools.
Understand Build Eco-
the Customer systems
 The Path from Innovation to Transformation in Service
Businesses

Curating Delivering a
Delivering Taking an
and flexible Optimising
the New Ecosystem
Managing Business Processes
Vision Approach
Information Model

Delivering
Growing not just
precise insights
the customer Being able to
Aligning the from tracking Doing things
base for the core learn, unlearn,
entire communities easier, quicker
of the business relearn and retool
Organization interaction with and cheaper.
but an aligned quickly.
products and
community
other activities
Thank You.