1. Innovation and creativity in all areas of business

2. Why? To ensure profitability To get better returns To stay competitive To tackle problems from a different perspective Etc …

3. Innovation has become a critical factor for commercial success. Businesses can innovate in a number of ways; by launching products with new features, by providing improvements to exsisting services, by introducing more effective business practices and by finding new markets and sources of supply. Launching an innovation involves a degree of risk but, if successful, an entrepreneur can produce better returns as margins will be high especially when competitors’ products become obsolete (replaced by others) as a result.

4. Here we are also focussing on the need to look for creative solutions to solve or tackle problems encountered at work. What are the creative strategies used in some of the world’s best-know hi-tech companies? We are also talking about researching and protecting new ideas. This can raise the problem of patents and intellectual copyright (the need to stop others from copying and making the same product) We are talking about new ways of looking at things to meet a real need. Being creative is linked to looking at things from a different point of view/perspective –to challenging the normal way of doing things or dealing with problems.

5. Match With hindsight foresight To brainstorm To come up with To backfire To turn into The key to a problem Start from scratch A breakthrough Trendsetting To understand things after they have happened. A plan or action which has an opposite and undesirable effect to what was intended. A great successful new idea which has never been invented before. To transform To invent Start from the very beginning a spontaneous and random gathering and production of ideas and ways of solving problems. (or group discussion to collect such ideas) That sets a fashion The solution To understand things before they have happened: Similar to: Provision/anticipation

6. key 1.With hindsight 2.foresight 3.To brainstorm 4.To come up with 5.To backfire 6.To turn into 7.The key to a problem 8.Start from scratch 9.A breakthrough 10.trendsetting 1.To understand things after they have happened. 2.To understand things before they have happened: Similar to: Provision/anticipation 3. a spontaneous and random gathering and production of ideas and ways of solving problems. (or group discussion to collect such ideas) 4.To invent 5.A plan or action which has an opposite and undesirable effect to what was intended. 6.To transform 7.The solution 8.Start from the very beginning 9.A great successful new idea which has never been invented before. 10.That sets a fashion

7. Success and failure See article p.43 “failure is glorious” Make 5 groups of synonyms with following words: Failures, brink, disaster, accomplishment, dream up, lemons, advance, success, fiasco, invent, adapt, alter, revamp, change, threshold, edge, think up, modify, flops, come up with, devise, boundry, achievement, duds, frontier

8. Success and failure See article p.43 “failure is glorious” Key 1.Failures, disaster, flops, lemons, duds, fiasco, 2.Adapt, alter, change, modify, revamp 3.threshold, edge, boundry, frontier, brink 4.think up, dream up, come up with, devise, invent, 5.achievement, advance, success, accomplishment

9. See reading page 49 An influential designer: Is one who uses a revolutionary approach to design somethin Why? To stand out (to look different from all others) To attract your eye As a result: “People who use this new product with design would not swap it for anything else” A best known inventor? Will win awards for creations which did not exist before. To introduce new usually more simple solutions to old complicated systems/services. (see p49 Trevor Bayless: the inventions which helped bridge the gap (=reduce differences) that separates economically developped world from developping world. Machines that can connect to modern sources of information. (eg: wind-up radio – radio avvolgibile)

10. What are we doing when we ask all these question? How about….? Couldn’t we….? Suppose we….? We could try…? In what way could we…? How could we change…? What if we…? What would happen if…? Wouldn’t it be fun if…? It’s just an idea, but why don’t we…?

11. What are we doing when we ask all these question? How about….? Couldn’t we….? Suppose we….? We could try…? In what way could we…? How could we change…? What if we…? What would happen if…? Wouldn’t it be fun if…? It’s just an idea, but why don’t we…? BRAINSTORMING

12. Problem solving Put these stages into the most likely order: a.Reformulate the problem in different ways. b.Implement the idea. c.Break the problem down into parts. d.Eliminate non-starters. e.Define the basic problem. f.Select the best possible solution. g.Brainstorm possible solutions.

13. Problem solving key 1.Define the basic problem. 2.Reformulate the problem in different ways. 3.Break the problem down into parts. 4.Brainstorm possible solutions. 5.Eliminate non-starters. 6.Select the best possible solution. 7.Implement the idea.

14. Idea killers: objections people raise/make when new ideas are presented. reorder words to make these objections: 1.It cost much would too. 2.It too would take long. 3.Our world that for go customers never. 4.We work that it before tried and didn’t. 5.I never boss agree get to the it could to. 6.Now time isn’t to the trying be new anything. 7.Don’t we’ve thought already think you that of? 8.It’s nice but get never it idea a we could work to.

15. Idea killers: Objections Key 1.It would cost too much. 2.It would take too long. 3.Our customers would never go for that. 4. We tried that before and it didn’t work. 5.I could never get the boss to agree to it. 6.Now isn’t the time to be trying anything new. 7.Don’t you think we’ve already thought of that? 8.It’s a nice idea but we could never get it to work.