Entrepreneurship and Effective Small Business Management 11/e by Scarborough and Cornwall 3-1

Creativity and Innovation: Keys to Entrepreneurial Success Chapter 3 Creativity and Innovation: Keys to Entrepreneurial Success This "Deco" border was drawn on the Slide master using PowerPoint's Rectangle and Line tools. A smaller version was placed on the Notes Master by selecting all of the elements (using Select All from the Edit menu), deselecting the unwanted elements such as the Title (holding down the Shift key and clicking on the unwanted elements), and then using Paste as Picture from the Edit menu to place the border on the Notes Master. After pasting as a picture, we used the resize handles (with Shift to maintain the proportions) to reduce it to the size you see. Be sure to delete this word processing box before using this template for your own presentation.

Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Creativity: the ability to develop new ideas and to discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities Thinking new things Innovation: the ability to apply creative solutions to those problems and opportunities to enhance or to enrich people’s lives Doing new things Entrepreneurs succeed by thinking and doing new things or old things in new ways

Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Intuit identified six enablers of small business innovation: Passion Customer connection Agility and adaptation Experimentation and improvisation Resource limitations Information sharing and collaboration

Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Innovations can be: Reactive in response to customer feedback or changing market conditions Proactive in response to new opportunities on which to capitalize Revolutionary creating market-changing, disruptive breakthroughs that are the result of generating something from nothing Evolutionary, developing market-sustaining ideas that elaborate on existing products, processes, and services Putting old things together in new ways or from taking something away to create something simpler or better

Creativity – Essential to Survival Entrepreneurs must go beyond relying in what has worked in the past Cast off limiting assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors Develop new insights Change perspectives Look at the world in new and different ways

Creativity – Essential to Survival How Creative Are You?

Creativity – Essential to Survival Can Creativity be Taught? Creativity is a skill Anyone can learn to be creative and to get better at it Need to understand creative thinking

Creative Thinking Each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently One side tends to be dominant The left brain handles language, logic, and symbols Thinking is narrowly focused and systematic The right brain handles emotional, intuitive, and spatial functions Thinking is unconventional, unsystematic, and unstructured

Creative Thinking Right brain, lateral thinking is at the heart of the creative process Individuals can learn to control which side of the brain is dominant in a given situation Can learn to ‘turn down’ the dominant left side and ‘turn up’ the right side Successful entrepreneurs need both left and ride side thinking The right side generates innovative ideas The left side judges market potential

Barriers to Creativity Mental locks that can limit individual creativity: Searching for the one “right” answer Focusing on “being logical” Blindly following the rules Constantly being practical Viewing laughter and play as frivolous Becoming overly specialized Avoiding ambiguity Fearing looking foolish Fearing mistakes and failure Believing that “I’m not creative”

How to Enhance Creativity Enhancing Organizational Creativity Include creativity as a core company value and make it an integral part of the company’s culture Hire for creativity  Embrace diversity  Establish an organizational structure that nourishes creativity  Expect creativity  Expect failure and learn from it  Incorporate fun into the work environment  Encourage curiosity  Design a workspace that encourages creativity

How to Enhance Creativity View problems as opportunities Provide creativity training Provide support Develop a procedure for capturing ideas Talk with customers – or better yet, interact with them Monitor emerging trends and identify ways your company can capitalize on them Look for uses for your company’s products or services in other markets Reward creativity Model creativity  

How to Enhance Creativity Enhancing Individual Creativity Allow yourself to be creative Forget the “rules” Give your mind fresh input everyday Travel – and observe Collaborate with other people Observe the products and services of other companies, especially those in different markets Recognize the creative power of mistakes and accidents  

How to Enhance Creativity Be positive Notice what is missing Periodically ask yourself, “Am I asking the right question?” Keep a journal handy to record your thoughts and ideas Listen to other people Get adequate sleep Watch a movie Talk to a child  

How to Enhance Creativity Do something ordinary in an unusual way Keep a toy box in your office Take note of your ‘pain points’: do other people experience them as well? Do not throw away seemingly ‘bad’ ideas Read books on stimulating creativity or take a class on creativity Take some time off Be persistent  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Illumination Verification Implementation  

The Creative Process Step 1: Preparation Adopt the attitude of a lifelong student Read—a lot—and not just in your field of expertise Clip articles of interest to you and create a file for them Take time to discuss your ideas with other people, including those who know little about it as well as experts in the field Join professional or trade associations and attend their meetings Develop listening skills. Eliminate creative distractions  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation  

The Creative Process Step 2: Investigation Develop a solid understanding of the problem, situation, or decision at hand  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation  

The Creative Process Step 3: Transformation Two types of thinking: Convergent thinking: the ability to see the similarities and the connections among various and often diverse data and events Divergent thinking: the ability to see the differences among various data and events  

The Creative Process Transforming information into a purposeful idea: Evaluate the parts of the situation several times, trying to grasp the big picture Rearrange the elements of the situation Try using synectics (a term derived from the Greek words for “to bring together” and “diversity”),taking two seemingly nonsensical ideas and combining them Before locking into one particular approach to a situation, remember that several approaches might be successful  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation  

The Creative Process Step 4: Incubation Ideas may require a gestation period Walk away from the situation Take the time to daydream Relax – and play - regularly Dream about the problem or opportunity Work on the problem or opportunity in a different environment  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Illumination  

The Creative Process Step 5: Illumination The light bulb goes on Eureka factor  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Illumination Verification  

The Creative Process Step 6: Verification Is it really a better solution to a particular problem or opportunity? Will it work? Is there a need for it? If so, what is the best application of this idea in the marketplace?  

The Creative Process Does this product or service idea fit into our core competencies? How much will it cost to produce or to provide? Can we sell it at a reasonable price that will produce adequate sales, profit, and return on investment for our business?  

The Creative Process Creative ideas are the result of seven step process: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Illumination Verification Implementation  

Implementation Step 7: Transformation Transform the idea into reality Ready, aim, fire