Chapter 3 Creativity and generating new business ideas Week 17 Facilitated by Wesley Clarence

Learning Outcomes On completion if this chapter you will be able to: Understand and describe creativity and how it manifests itself Identify the barriers to creativity and how it can be overcome Understand the myths surrounding creativity as well as the reality about these myths Understand the creativity process, its development and describe the entrepreneurial creativity process Identify the sources that can be utilised when identifying new product or service ideas Develop and practise methods that can be used in generating new ideas Identify the characteristics of successful products and services Do initial screening of business ideas and opportunities

Creativity Defined A process of being sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies, and so on; identifying the difficulties, searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies; testing and retesting them; and finally communicating the results.

Gap in the market Marketing opportunity exist when: A problem that has arisen Unsatisfied customer needs Shortcomings or weaknesses of possible competitors or suppliers to those competitors Changes in the environment that might create needs.

Techniques to address market gaps Defining or identifying the need using analytical methods transforming problems into opportunities Breaking down any prior assumptions and making new connections for new ideas Strategic assessment where possible future outcomes must be predicted

Barriers to creativity Fear of failure Negative beliefs and habits Making assumptions Following rules Environment not willing to risk Lack of financial support Cultural barriers

Creativity Myths Creativity limited to small number of people Only creative people have good ideas Money is a creativity motivator Time pressure fuels creativity Competitive situations foster creativity better than cooperative situations There are plenty of ideas around Fear forces breakthrough

Entrepreneurial Creativity Preparation Information gathering Idea generation Evaluation of ideas Implementation Experimentation

Opportunity Recognition An Idea: great product, untapped market and good timing An opportunity: spot, create and exploit The next frontiers: where do they lie? The process of evaluation: include various methods

Sources of product ideas Libraries People Organisations Exhibitions, forums, workshops and seminars Internet

Libraries Can obtain product ideas from: Newspapers Popular magazines Subject related magazines Research reports Post-graduate research dissertations Local and international magazines

People Can find ideas from: Close relatives and friends Needs not satisfied Complaints about existing products/service Needs – a necessity Wants – a desire

People Steps to attach products/services to needs or wants: Identify basic or generic needs. How can they be satisfied? Break one need down into specific needs – how can it be satisfied? Peruse list again and identify two or more needs – how can they be satisfied?

Organisations Internal sources Changes within organisation External suppliers of parts of existing/new products Changes in organisational structure Outsourcing by organisations

Organisations External Sources Changes in external environment Technological changes Political and social changes Export and import markets Urban and rural markets

Exhibitions, forums, workshops and seminars Product and service awareness Business opportunities Foreign markets Government Organized business

Generating product/service ideas Accumulation of knowledge Observation Brainstorming Nominal group technique Delphi technique Incubation of ideas

Initial screening – categorising Perception of desirability Economic consequences Type of venture Personal preferences Level of support Perception of feasibility Resources needed Experience Propensity to act Difference between entrepreneur and team Low propensity High propensity

Initial screening - classification Worthwhile following Profitable Resources available and easy to acquire Entrepreneur and team agree Reject offhand Not profitable Resources not available and difficult to acquire Entrepreneur and team disagree