3. Creativity
• Creativity is the ability to bring something new into being,
something that did not exist before.
• Creativity comprises the development of entirely new systems,
the combination of already known information as well as the
transfer of known relations to completely new situations.
• A creative action has to be intentional and must have a
purpose.
4. Creativity and the
thought process
• Convergent thinking is a fixed, structured and logical way of thinking
divided into systematic steps.
• Divergent thinking is a free, disordered and imaginative way of
thinking which cannot be followed logically.
• Productive creativity is controlled divergence. Creative thinking is a
type of divergent thinking which is adapted to reality.
5. Stages of creative problem solving
Problem
identification
Problem
analysis
Idea
generation
Evaluation Realization
Aggregation Abstraction Review
6. Factors of creative efficiency
Individual factors
• Personality
• Age
• Qualification
• Intelligence
• Motivation
• Stress
• Willingness to take risks
Organizational factors
• Hierarchy
• Autonomy
• Management style
• Information, communication
• Working environment
• Uniformity of procedures
7. What is innovation?
• Innovation is the process and outcome of creating
something new, which is also of value.
• Innovation involves the whole process from
opportunity identification, ideation or invention to
development, prototyping, production marketing
and sales, while entrepreneurship only needs to
involve commercialization.
8. Definitions
• Innovation = Invention + exploitation (Ettlie)
• A new way of doing things, which is commercialized.
The process of innovation cannot be separated from
a firm’s strategic and competetive context (Porter)
• Adoption of ideas that are new to the adopting
organization
9. What is innovation?
• Today it is also said to involve the capacity to adapt
quickly by adopting new innovations (products,
processes, strategies, organization, etc)
• Traditionally the focus has been on new products or
processes, but recently new business models have
come into focus, i.e. the way a firm delivers value
and secures profits.
10. What is innovation?
• innovation comes about through new combinations
made by an entrepreneur, resulting in
– a new product,
– a new process,
– opening of new market,
– new way of organizing the business
– new sources of supply
11. Mechanisms of innovation
• Novelty in product or service (offering something no one else
does)
• Novelty in process (offering it in a new way)
• Complexity (offer something which others find difficult to
master)
• Timing (first mover advantage, fast follower)
• Add/extend competetive factors (e.g. From price to quality or
choice)
• Robust design (contribute a platform on which other
variations can build)
• Reconfiguring the parts (building more effective business
networks)
• ...
12. Dimensions of innovation
• Extent of change (radical—incremental)
• Modality of change (product—process)
• Complexity of change (component—architecture)
• Materiality of change (physical—intangible)
• Capabilities and change (enhances or destroys
market/technological capabilties)
• Relatedness of change (replaces a firm’s existing product or
extends it)
• Appropriability/Imitability (difficult or hard to hang on to)
• Cycle of innovation (time between discontinuities)
13. Drivers for innovation
– Financial pressures to reduce costs, increase efficiency, do more with
less, etc
– Increased competition
– Shorter product life cycles
– Value migration
– Stricter regulation
– Industry and community needs for sustainable development
– Increased demend for accountability
– Demographic, social and maket changes
– Rising customer expectations regarding service and quality
– Changing economy
– Greater availability of potentially useful technologies coupled with a
need to exceed the competition in these technologies
15. Examples of analysis
Core or
(relatedness) to
existing business
and competences
Low High
Imitability
Low
High
Low
profits
Short-
term
profits
Long-term
profits
No
profits
16. Classical models of innovation
– Science Push approaches suggest that innovation proceeds
linearly:
Scientific discovery inventionmanufacturing marketing
– Demand Pull approaches argued that innovation originates with
unmet customer need:
Customer suggestions invention manufacturing
17. Today’s basic model for innovation management
is interactive
Technological world Commercial world
Tech-entrepreneurship
Administrative capabilities
+
Research Development
Product/process
development
Market
development
=
18. Innovation – 1
• Only the economic implementation of an idea can be called
innovation. The innovation process comprises the generation of
an idea, its acceptance (decision) and realization
(implementation). Creative thinking is required particularly
during the first stage of this process.
• A new idea is not inevitably the result of creative thinking but
can be based on modification or imitation. What is more, not
every creative process is followed by the implementation of an
idea.
19. Innovation – 2
• Innovation includes any type of change performed on a
process. At the beginning it is irrelevant, whether this change
is new per se or if it is introduced in a particular company for
the first time. Consequently the successful transfer of
previously known solutions to new applications has to be
considered an innovation.
20. Basic scheme of the
innovation process
Finding ideas
Stimulus for innovation
Identification of the problem
Collection of ideas Generation of ideas
Systematic collection and recording of ideas
Screening
Evaluation
Decision
Implementation
Market introduction
Innovation
process
21. Thinking barriers
• Routines and habits
It simply is like that; it is right; ...
• Wrong categories
Generalizations, wrong presumptions
• Premature evaluation
Too early criticism, typical idea killers
• Emotional insecurity
Fear of exposing oneself
• Pressure of conformity
• Cultural barriers
Culture of logical and conclusive thinking, no intuition
• Working environment
• Intellectual barriers
22. Brainstorming
Four principles
• Any kind of criticism is strictly forbidden!
• There are no limits to imagination.
• Quantity comes before quality.
• Take up the ideas of others and develop them.
23. Possible tasks – 1
1. A lighting manufacturer wants to develop a new work light,
especially in view of a new target group of environmentally
conscious customers (material, light sources).
2. A car repair shop wants to extend its services and is looking
for new opportunities in the field of “mobility”.
3. A big shopping centre has problems with traffic congestions,
especially at the weekends. Parking spaces are rare and cost
a lot. The company looks for a solution which is not too
expensive.
24. Possible tasks – 2
4. An interest group would like to introduce an environmental
model administration.
5. A company responsible for waste disposal at an airport would
like to discuss with the airlines how to separate waste in the
aircraft. Which possibilities can you think of?
25. Sources of new ideas
Rapidly
Changin
g
Environ
ment
Economy
Technolo
gy
Custome
rs
Competit
ors
Maveric
k
Govern
ment
Regulati
ons
Distribut
ion
Channels
Manage
ment
Employe
es
Supplier
s
26. Regulatory Changes
Change Product Area
Fire retardant foam
Financial Services Act
New infills for sofas, mattresses, etc
Insurance salesmen had to declare whether ‘tied’
or ‘independent’. leading to new selling
techniques
27. Economic Changes
Economic Change Product Example
Recession
High interest rates
Negative equity
High unemployment
Multiple savings products
New lower-cost foods
Special loans
Home brewing (!)
28. Environmental/Demographic Changes
Environmental
- Health consciousness leads to Kraft’s ‘fat
free’ ice-cream
- ‘Green’ consciousness leads to change in
solvent based to water based paints
- Increase in crime leads to new security
devices (e.g. remote control security
systems)
Demographic
- Ageing of population leads to residential
care insurance
- Both parents working leads to new types
of convenience foods
- Baby boomers having their own children
leads to new types of family car (e.g.
Renault Espace)
31. Employees: Examples of Companies Where
Employee Suggestions Valued
3M
Toyota
Kodak
McKinsey
John Lewis
32. Manufacturing
Study done by Myers and Marquis showed 20% of ideas came from
manufacturing
- Intimate product knowledge
- Constant efficiency drive
- Boredom factor
- Good for product improvements vs totally new concept
33. Distribution Channels
Channel Example
Marks and Spencer Controls most of its suppliers very
closely and is key idea-source in
developing new sectors (e.g. ready meals)
Doctors Provide constant feedback to
pharmaceutical companies
Car Dealerships Regular flow of ideas regarding
existing and potential products, back
to manufacturer
34. Suppliers
It benefits suppliers of chemicals and materials to have their products
used more widely
Supplier Example
DuPont Invented Teflon for use on cookware
DuPont Invented Lycra for use in clothing
ALCOA Invented aluminium truck trailers
(Truck manufacturers were originally
reluctant to use them)
35. Competitors
Competitor Comment
Direct All organisations within a sector watch
each others’ moves regarding innovation,
to: - stay apace
- simply copy
- improve an idea
Indirect Successful firms also watch organisations
outside their direct area for ideas
- in other sectors (e.g. software for
newspaper layouts used in desktop
publishing)
- in other countries (e.g. Body Shop based many
of its product formulations on third world/tribal recipes)
38. This finger on a statue is pointing to a
particular hotel in Stockholm, Sweden
38
39. Creative spelling made these names memorable and helped
with trademark protection.
Some Early Examples
• Kwik
• ReaLemon
• Reddi-Wip
• Ry-Krisp
• Krispies
• Tastee-Freez
• Toys “Я” Us
• U-Haul
More Recent Examples
• Aspercreme
• Dunkin’ Donuts
• Haggar Expand-o-matic
• Kwik Kopy
• Playskool
• Sominex
• Whataburger
• Wolverine Durashocks
39
40. Creativity Can Be Learned
“Inventing is a skill that some people have and
some don’t. But you can learn how to invent.
You have to have the will not to jump at the
first solution because the elegant solution
might be around the corner. An inventor is
someone who says, ‘Yes, that’s one way to do
it but it doesn’t seem to be an optimum
solution.’ Then he keeps on thinking”.
Ray Dolby, inventor
41. “Problems cannot be solved by
thinking within the framework
within which the problems were
created”
Albert Einstein
42. Left and Right Brain in Creativity
Left Brain
Symbols
Words
Logic
Judgement
Mathematics
Speaking
Right Brain
Sensory Images
Dreaming
Feeling
Intuition
Visualisation
Creative Thinking
43. What are innovation drivers?
Inno
vations
Market Pull
Technology
Push
Society
demand
Main focus: Innovations
based on own technologies
and on market knowledge
Main focus: Innovation trends
backed by governmental funds
and regulations
45. Three rules of innovation
• STRAFE: Success Through Rapid
Accelerated Failure and Entrepreneuring
• GIN: Generate Ideas in Numbers
• Fast History: Any successful design is
transient and so are ideas, thus, diversify
ideas and concepts
46. On good ideas “The best way to get a
good idea is to get a lot of good
ideas” Linus Pauling
47. Famous Remarks
• On the Microchip:
“But what is it good for?”
Engineer at Advanced Computing Systems Division of
IBM 1968
• Home PC:
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer
in their home”
Ken Olsen, President, Chairman and Founder of Digital
Equipment Corp, 1977
• Memory
“ 640K is ought to be enough for anybody”
Bill Gates, 1981
48. Famous Remarks
• Telephone:
“This telephone has too many shortcomings to be
seriously considered as a means of communication.
This device is inherently of no value to us”
Western Union—Internal memo
• Radio
“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial
value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in
particular”
David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for
investments in the Radio in the 1920’s
• Talking Pictures
“Who the hell wants to hear the actors talk?”
HM Warner, Warner Brothers,1927
49. Famous Remarks
• Beatles
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on their
way out.”
Decca Recording Corporation, rejecting Beatles, 1962
• Airplanes
“Heavier-than-air Flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society , 1895
“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value”
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole
Superieure de Guerre
• Oil
“Drill for Oil ? You mean drill into the ground to try and
find oil? You’re crazy”
Drillers whom Edwin L Drake tried to enlist to his project
50. Creativity Exercise
Ping pong ball
Tube with diameter 2mm
wider than ball
Tube cemented into ground
Objective: Remove the ball from
the bottom of the tube without
damaging the tube, ball or
ground
52. Techniques for Eliciting Group Creativity
Technique Description
Attribute listing - List major attributes and consider how to modify
each one
- Stimulate ideas in a group of 6 to 10 people in a
non evaluative way
Brainstorming
- Elicit ideas, using tools which by-pass “vertical,”
rational logic
Lateral thinking
- Based on asking people about the needs & problems they
have with existing products
Need/Problem
identification
53. Needs/Problem Identification
Based on consumer, not “creative brainpower”
Process
Consumers are asked about needs,
problems and ideas, either:-
- quantitatively - Hundreds are asked to
rank whether satisfied or unsatisfied with
particular attributes
- qualitatively - through discussion in
focus groups
Evaluation
1. Can be expensive (need
hundreds of responses or detailed
interviews)
2. Good for making product
improvements
3. Rarely effective in finding
entirely novel ideas
54. Attribute Listing
1. List attributes of product
2. Take each attribute in turn.
(No more than 7 at a time)
3. Consider how each can be
modified
4. Evaluate best ideas
- Produces solutions directly pertinent to
the problem
- Need to concentrate on attributes
related to primary functions, otherwise
it’s easy to become irrelevant
- Unlikely to produce true novelty or
richness in problem solution
Process Evaluation
55. Attribute Listing: Toothbrush Example
1. List attributes
- Made of plastic
- Manually operated
- Needs supply of toothpaste
and water
2. Take each attribute (e.g. made
of plastic)
- Could it be made of other
materials?
- Could it be made more cheaply
in other materials?
- Could it be made more
fashionably in other materials?
- Could there be a disposable
version?
- Could there be a ‘green’
version?
3. Evaluate best ideas
- Suggest full costing of
aluminium toothbrush
- Examine technicalities of
biodegradable bristles
57. Ways of Enhancing Personal Creativity
1. Accept there’s no right answer
2. Don’t follow the rules
3. Be foolish
4. Ask ‘What if?’
5. Think outside your area
6. Go for ambiguity
7. Believe in yourself
58. 1. No Right Answer
• The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot
of ideas
• Change your question (eg IBM should have
thought in terms of solutions to problems, not
computing hardware)
• Avoid workplaces with a culture of uniformity
59. 2. Don’t Follow The Rules
• We make rules based on reasons that make
sense
• We follow these rules
• Time passes, things change
• The original reasons for the rules no longer
exist, but because the rules are still in place,
we continue to follow them
60. Examples of Rule-Breaking Creativity
Who How?
Columbus
Copernicus
Einstein
General Motors
Butterfly Stroke
Henry VIII
Bell Labs
Broke the rule that to travel East you cannot go West
Broke the rule that the universe is anthropocentric
Broke the rules of Newtonian physics by equating mass and
energy as different forms of the same phenomenon
Broke Ford’s rule of any colour, as long as it’s black
Broke the rules of ‘arm recovery’ in breaststroke
Broke the rule that the Pope should hold sway in England
Broke the rule that electrons need to travel in a vacuum for signal
processing
61. 3. Be Fool-ish: Examples
Think against the conventional flow, like the fool in
Shakespearean times
Case Area
19th century physician Edward Jenner in
looking for a small pox cure, looked not at
those with small pox, but those without
Alfred Sloan and his disapproval of
“groupthink”, retabled motions where
everyone agreed
1334 siege of Hocharterwitz castle in Austria
Small pox vaccinations
Car industry
Survival
62. 4. Ask “What If?”
• Ask “what if” someone else were solving your
problem for you, eg
– Churchill
– Machiavelli
– Freud
– Ghandi
– Mozart
• 5 minute exercise : ‘What if’ someone else were
running this session on creativity. How would they
organise/structure it?
63. 5. Think outside your area: Examples
Who? How?
World War I military
designers
John von Neumann
(Mathematician)
Japanese industry
Borrowed ideas from cubist art to create more efficient
camouflage patterns for tanks and guns
Used knowledge from poker playing to develop the
“game theory” model of economics
Collaborations between entirely unconnected industries
actively encouraged to make R&D breakthroughs
64. Think Outside Your Area : Suggestions
1. Read fiction and stimulate your imagination
2. Go to places you wouldn’t normally go (eg a junk yard, a
fairground)
3. Develop the explorer’s attitude : the outlook that wherever
you go, there are ideas out there
(4. When you hit on an idea, write it down)
65. 6. Go For Ambiguity
“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get
there, you’ll be amazed at the results”
George S Patton (American General)
66. Ambiguity As Found In The Workplace
• Non hierarchical organisation
• Tolerance (or even encouragement) of
different approaches
• Broad goals defined, but little else
67. Believe in Yourself
Lack of creativity is a self-fulfilling prophecy (as
substantiated by research!)
68. Innovation/creativity: conclusions
• Creativity CAN be learned . If your
organisation/group doesn’t make use of
specific creative techniques, why not
introduce them?
• Be willing to think ‘whacky’ thoughts -
collectively these can spark excellent ideas.
• Be constantly receptive – creativity comes
from the most unlikely sources!
70. Sources of New Ideas
• Consumers
• Existing Products
• Distribution Channel
• Federal Government
• Research & Development
71. Methods of Generating Ideas
• Focus groups
• Brainstorming
– “Freewheeling ideas”
• Problem Inventory Analysis
– Match problems with products
72. Methods of Generating Ideas
• Creative Problem-solving
– Brainstorming
– Reverse Brainstorming
• Focus on the negative
– Brainwriting
• Written generation of ideas
– Gordon Method
• Ideas Concept Problem Solutions
73. Methods of Generating Ideas
• Creative Problem-Solving
– Checklist Method
• List of related issues
– Free Association
• Generate words which relate to the problem
– Forced Relationships
• Look at product combinations
– Collective Notebook Method
• Consider problem and write down solutions as they come to you
74. Methods of Generating Ideas
• Creative Problem-solving
– Attribute Listing
• Look at positives and negatives to form new idea
– Big Dream Approach
• Thinking without constraints
– Parameter Analysis
• Focus on parameter identification and creative
synthesis
75. Opportunity Recognition
• What can you personally use to develop new
ideas?
• Product Planning & Development Process
– Evaluations
• Market opportunity
• Competition
• Marketing system
• Financial
• Production
77. Product Planning and Development
Process
• Idea Stage
– List ideas, check for viability
• What is need for customers?
• What is the value to the firm?
• Concept Stage
– Get reactions to concepts
• Physical attributes of product
• Comparisons to existing products
– Marketing mix
78. Product Planning and Development
Process
• Product Development Stage
– Small sample
– Consumer panel
79. E-commerce and Business Start-up
• Growing importance
– E-commerce is up 78% from 2001-02
– What is spurring this growth?
• Using E-Commerce Creatively
– Old and new companies
– Who creates the e-commerce part of a business?
– Front-end operations v. Back-end operations
80. Websites
• Considerations in web design?
– Audience
– Objectives
– Updating
– Consumer benefits
– Speed
– Customization?
81. Websites
• Factors in going on-line
– Products deliverable economically and conveniently
– Must be interesting to market and ready to be shipped
anywhere
– Must be more cost effective than brick-and-mortar
– Must be able to draw customers to site economically
• Conflict??
82. • "Economic success comes not from doing
what others do well, but from doing what
others cannot do, or cannot do as well." –
John Kay
