Business creativity

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Business creativity

• Session 1

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Learning outcomes

• Define creativity
• Discuss the background to creativity
• Discuss the components of creativity

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What is creativity??

• The generation of novel ideas and solutions
• Is a mental process involving the generation of
  new ideas or concepts, or new associations
  between existing ideas or concepts (Wikipedia
  encyclopedia)
• Simply the act of making something new
• The mental process that leads to solutions,
  ideas,. theories or products that are unique and
  novel (Reber, 1985)

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What do you say it is?

• "Creativity, it has been said, consists largely
  of re-arranging what we know in order to find out
  what we do not know." George Keller
• Some say it is a trait we are born with others
  say it can be taught with the application of
  simple techniques

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Three componentsof individual creativity
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The systems model
Environment family traditions cognitive
ability cultural capital
Made up of different domains e.g. Maths music
religion etc.
Social valuation of Ideas society
validates Creativeness ideas
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Traditional management education

• Has emphasised technical skills and functional
  disciplines. Analysis of exceptional performance
  shows that these are only threshold competencies
  for any business.

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Creative ideas

• Developing New Business Ideas reports that for
  every 100 ideas presented to investors in the
  form of a business plan or proposal of some kind,
  a maximum of 3 will ever get funded.
• In addition, over 30 of new businesses which do
  see the light of day fail within three years.
• In light of these figures, you must avoid the
  temptation of rushing into action with the first
  apparently feasible business idea which you
  create without fully challenging it
• Bragg 2004

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Creativity , flair and initiative

• These are the qualities that underpin enterprise,
  whether enterprise manifests itself as
  entrepreneurship and the development of new
  businesses, or intrapreneurship - enterprise and
  positive change within established organisations.

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Creativity and economic growth

• Today, creativity forms the core activity of a
  growing section of the global economies the
  so-called creative industries"
  capitalistically generating (generally
  non-tangible) wealth through the creation and
  exploitation of intellectual property or through
  the provision of creative services.

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An enterprising manager

• You must have the creative talent to identify new
  product opportunities. The same talent is
  required of company employees, who as
  intrapreneurs, are on the look-out for product
  innovation and process improvement

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Managerial practice and creativity

• Challenge matching people with right
  assignments
• Freedom give people autonomy
• Resources allot these carefully
• Work-group features diversity
• Supervisory encouragement foster and support
  creative efforts
• Organisational support leadership, systems,
  procedures
• How to kill creativity by T Amabile in Henry
• (2001)

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Innovation and Creativity

• Innovation is often used to refer to the entire
  process by which an organization generates
  creative new ideas and converts them into novel,
  useful and viable commercial products, services,
  and business practices,
• Creativity is reserved to apply specifically to
  the generation of novel ideas by individuals, as
  a necessary step within the innovation process.
• For example, Amabile et al (1996). suggest that
  while innovation "begins with creative ideas,"
• ". . . creativity by individuals and teams is a
  starting point for innovation the first is a
  necessary but not sufficient condition for the
  second".

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Strategies for creativity enhancement

• Introduce procedures for encouraging generation
  of new ideas e.g. brainstorming
• Train people in the skills required for
  successful creative performance
• Select to recruit creative individuals and
  allocation positions accordingly
• Change structure, climate and culture to
  facilitate creativity

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Creative industries in the UK

• The creative industries are those industries that
  are based on individual creativity, skill and
  talent. They are also those that have the
  potential to create wealth and jobs through
  developing intellectual property.
• www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Creative_industries/
  
• (5.10.06)

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UK Creative Industries
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Session 3

• 16 October 2006
• Based on Ch 2 DNBI

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Recap

• Having an idea is not good enough, but what you
  do with the idea
• Rushing into implementing without adequate
  thought
• Going for the first solution is no guarantee for
  success

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Development of idea into business

• Important to come up with a process to develop
  ideas into business project
• The four steps in the idea development process
  (Bragg and Bragg 2005)
• This calls for whole brain thinking
• Benefits of developing new business idea model
• 3 maximum proposals ever get funding
• Low survival rates of registered new businesses
  (Small Businesses Services, January 2004)

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Step one

• Seeking and shaping opportunities
• Exploring
• Much greater insight into the market being
  explored
• Avoid the temptation to implement the first idea
  immediately
• Follow the steps to increase your chances
• Avoid emotions and accept criticisms
• No information or idea is wasted
• Acid test is to be able to sell goods in
  sufficient quantity to generate sustainable cash
  flows
• Combine rational and intuitive thinking

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Session outcome

• To discuss why creativity is a must
• To reconnect with creativity
• Understand the relationship between creativity
  and idea development process

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Whole brain thinking

• Identify your own preferred thinking style Fill
  out at the questionnaire at page 44 of Developing
  New Business Ideas.
• Strengthen your non-preferred thinking style For
  techniques on improving your ability to switch
  between left-brain and right-brain thinking, and
  to deliberately stretch your non-preferred
  thinking side, see page 46 of Developing New
  Business Ideas.
• Making the most of divergent and convergent
  thinking phases Follow the ground-rules for
  managing each of the different phases listed at
  page 49 of Developing New Business Ideas

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Managing creativity
http//wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_bragg_newbusi
dea_1
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Diagrammatic representation of the Brain
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The right left brain characteristics

• Left-brain thinking is often characterised by
• logic
• analysis
• mathematics
• sequential
• verbal
• rational
• goal-oriented
• organised

• Right brain thinking is often characterised by
• spontaneity
• emotion
• non-verbal
• musical
• dreaming
• imaginative
• images
• sensory

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Creativity at every step of the process

• Do not front-load creativity
• that is assuming that a superficial attractive
  business idea will be developed into a profitable
  business
• Intuition and logics are equal partners
• Have a part to play at every step of the idea
  development process

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Traditional view of creativity

• Held that only right-brained thinkers could be
  creative
• Those not blessed with the artistic temperament
  were deemed to be logical
• But creativity is wider than just the right-brain
  thinking.
• Everyone can be creative by combining intuition
  (divergent or right-brain thinking) and logic
  (convergent or left-thinking)

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Does education systems kill creativity?

• Trained to think convergently, to find the right
  answer.
• To acquire knowledge one step after the other
• This demands the left-brain skills
• The skills of imagination and intuition risk
  being lost from early age

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What do you think this is?
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Creativity and workplace

• Logic fits the work place
• The intuitive and imaginative often overlooked
• One-correct-logical answer!
• Only about 2 10 percent of our creative
  potential being used as a result
• Creative without whole brain thinking results in
  half-brained business ideas (Bragg 2005)

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The challenge

• Reconnect with the more than 90 percent that has
  been educated out of us

Convergent thinking Logical analysis of
problems Leading to inexorably the correct answer
Divergent thinking interesting and unexpected
possible directions in which to explore the
problem
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Creativity at the heart of idea development
process
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Diverge
Converge
Seeking and shaping opportunities
Idea generation
Planning for implementation
Evaluation and selection
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Thinking style at the different stages
Step Description Thinking style
Seeking and shaping opportunities Identifying and exploring different opportunities, followed by analytical judgement Divergent and convergent whole-brain thinking equally dominate
Generating new ideas Creating significant volumes of innovative, imaginative ideas Divergent thinking dominant
Evaluating and selecting ideas Screening the best form the rest and then evaluating those few in detail Convergent thinking dominant
Planning for implementation Identifying and overcoming blocks to implementation Divergent and convergent whole-brain thinking equal
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Steps to mastering whole-brain thinking

• Identify your preferred thinking style
• Complete questionnaire on page 44, DNBI
• Strengthen your non-preferred thinking style
• Deliberate stretching your non-preferred thinking
  style (page 46-47 DNBI)
• Make the most of divergent and convergent
  thinking phases
• Be aware of the ground rules for each of the
  thinking styles (pages 49 50 DNBI)

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Summary

• Add value at every step in the process by
  applying creativity
• Creativity represents a set of skills which can
  be developed
• Apply two types of thinking at each step in the
  idea development process
• Next week Chapter 3 DNBI

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Session 4

• 23 October 2006

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Recap

• Creativity represents a set of skills which can
  be developed
• Apply two types of thinking at each step in the
  idea development process
• Which ones?

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Session outline

• The idea developing process
• Step one seeking and shaping opportunities.

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The disaster of headlong action

• To go headlong to a market which does not exist
• To stick to an unworkable business solution

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Give yourself time to develop alternatives

• Bezos and Amazons success story
• Benefits of investing time in assessing and
  shaping opportunities
• Thoroughly investigated the full range of
  products categories
• Generated 20 potentials but eventually narrowed
  and selected two

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Stumbling at the first fence

• This mindset in businesses formation
• Stumble at first fence
• Gaining experience through failure than the
  earning fame and good fortune

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Give yourself time to develop alternatives

• Rising above solutions which will do
• Research shows evidence that in 85 of decisions
  made no viable search for alternatives was ever
  reviewed
• Identify the opportunity before the solution
• Incorrect assumptions
• Identification of the correct opportunity better
  than creating the means to seize it

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Taking time to develop alternatives

• Avoid me-too syndrome
• Establishing businesses without differentiation
• Open mind
• The open approach allows for opportunities and
  ideas to develop
• Decide when to decide
• The creative procrastination zone
• Neither too soon nor too late
• Maximise the time for you to suspend judgement

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Look at all possibilities

• Treat your first idea as purely tentative
• Gather clues
• Remove blinkers
• Detach yourself from emotions
• Opportunity shaping step is investment which will
  increase your chances of successful implementation

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The cardinal rule at this stage

• Pursue quantity
• Total immersion unearthing aspects not previously
  considered
• Whole-brain thinking
• Fact- finding to increase overall understanding
• The detective
• Rework the facts

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Creativity and problem solving

• Problems often described as varying in structure
  with Mintzberg et al (1976) defining an
  ill-structured problem as a task calling for
  decision processes that have not been encountered
  in quite the same form and for which no explicit
  set of ordered responses exists

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Phases in problem solving

• Preparation
• Understanding and identifying the problem
• Defining the problem
• Production
• Development of different solution alternatives
• Judgement
• Choice of best solution
• Review
• Evaluating past choices
• (Henry J)

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• I like your vacuum cleaner, but when will you
  make one that you dont have to push around?

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Tools for seeking and shaping

• The power of Why?
• Creative capacity of asking questions
• Challenging assumptions
• Creating additional perspectives on existing
  opportunities

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The 5 W plus H

• Borrowed form journalism
• Technique asks e.g. -
• Who uses the product?
• What are the biggest draw backs?
• When is the product required ?
• Why?
• How?
• The effect is to deconstruct the opportunity into
  multiplicity of smaller elements, can then be
  reassembled.
• Break free from conventional thinking,
  challenging received wisdom

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Observing core users

• Patterns of usage by core users which run counter
  to conventional wisdom represent potential rich
  source of new business opportunities (Bragg,
  2004)

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Lead-user technique

• Operating at the edge of the conventional market,
  lead user will always try the product for an
  extra capability that originally intended.
• Tracking these lead users provide opportunities
  for innovative ideas

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Boundary examination

• Read this from Bragg, ch 3 pages 86 98.

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Summary

• Avoid rushing into action with the first idea
• Decide when to decide on what action to take
• Immense yourself, collecting and structuring s
  wide range of facts
• Choose from a wide range of predominantly
  divergent tools

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Session 5

• 30 October 2006

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Taking Time to Develop Alternatives

• Avoid me-too syndrome
• Establishing businesses without differentiation
• Open mind
• The open approach allows for opportunities and
  ideas to develop
• Choose from a wide range of predominantly
  divergent tools
• Decide when to decide
• The creative procrastination zone
• Neither too soon nor too late
• Maximise the time for you to suspend judgement

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Session Outline

• Discuss step two generating new ideas
• The mind gym six mental workouts and their
  related routines
• This session we will look at the first three
  mental workouts

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Where Do Ideas Come From?

• Should you lie down, or sit under a tree waiting
  for the inspirational apple to fall?

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Thomas Edison

• Surprisingly, little "al" Edison, who was the
  last of seven children in his family, did not
  learn to talk until he was almost four years of
  age.  Immediately thereafter, he began pleading
  with every  adult he  met to explain the workings
  of just about everything he encountered. If they
  said they didn't know, he would look them
  straight in the eye with his deeply set and
  vibrant blue-green eyes and ask them "why?"

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The Arch-innovator Thomas Edison

• 99 perspiration and 1 inspiration.
• Shape, challenge, overturn, shock and surprise
  your way into new sights.
• This may be the hard way but is effective.
• He went beyond original concept to develop an
  affordable light bulb to developing an entire
  infrastructure for the electricity industry.

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Howard Head (Case Study)

• Analogy between elements similar but different.
• Aircraft engineer, took up skiing but very
  incompetent.
• Decided to look at the make-up of the ski,
  convinced that if he used the materials and
  technique applied in aircraft wing design.
• Persevered for over two years through 40
  different designs and eventually developed one of
  the most popular equipment that transformed the
  sport.
• Head the exponent of the why? Technique.

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Dont Wait for Inspiration

• Do not rely solely on inspiration
• Creative ides more likely from hard work and
  concentration apply both divergent and convergent

• The harder you practice the better you become.

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Why Bother With Idea-generating Technique?

• You are faced with cooking for a dinner party,
  would you opt for the tried and tested favourite
  dishes or you would try and experiment
• The winning formula which works syndrome!
• Question these supposedly winning formulas
  change and challenge them

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Mental Work Outs

• The four ground rules
• Defer immediate judgement and evaluation
  Successful right-brain thinking relies on your
  ability to suspend analysis and judgement
• Quantity breeds quality The more you defer
  judgement the more ideas likely to be generated
• The wilder the idea the better Avoid cautious
  rationality
• Take a break from the problem Routine breaks
  from idea generating are essential so one does
  not get immersed in the process

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Creative Workout One

• Check lists
• Provide effective way to be innovative by
  highlighting areas to investigate and explore

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Mental work-outs
Type of mental workout Individual routine
Checklists Davis Osborn SCAMPER The big four Mapping the customer journey
Stimulus material (pile of junk) Pictures/objects/words keep seeking new and unexpected ways
Combinations Morphological analysis Four on the flat
Free association Brainstorming mind mapping
Analogical thinking Transferring the underlying principles etc
Upside-down thinking Rule reversal assumption reversal
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Davis product development list

• Applied to cameras
• Add and /or subtract something
• Change colour
• Vary materials
• Rearrange parts
• Vary shape
• Change size
• Modify design or style

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Osborn product and service development list
Checklist statement Key word
What other product or service could I adapt to my opportunity? adapt
How could I change the existing product/service? modify
How could I add to the product/service magnify
What could I take away from this product/service minify
What could I use instead of this product/service substitute
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The big four industry-level check list

• What factors can be reduced well below the
  industry standard?
• What factors could be eliminated which industry
  has taken for granted?
• What factors could be created which the industry
  has never offered?
• What factors could be raised well above the
  industry standard?

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Mental Work-out Two

• Stimulus materials
• Continuously update and refresh your stock
• To invent you need a good imagination and a pile
  of junk
• IDEO, a science of collecting junk, as a
  corporate lending library of innovation ideas,
  the tech box
• Collect as much pictures and materials placing
  unrelated or diverse elements together

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Mental Workout Three

• Combinations.
• Sometimes a combination of products and services
  can be a good generation tool.
• Benjamin Franklin combining long and
  short-distance spec into bi-focals.
• Darryl Lenz, a stewardess with American airlines
  strapped a childs folding beach chair to her
  suitcase to make air travel with her young son
  less an ordeal.

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