Opportunity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship The Role of Creativity
Creativity and Entrepreneurs• “Entrepreneurs are able to blend imaginative & creative thinking with a systematic, logical process ability.” (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 1992)• “First rule in developing entrepreneurial vision is to recognise that problems are to solutions what demand is to supply.” (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 1992)
Where does Creativity come from ?• A divine quality - something only gifted people have.• Serendipitous activity - much evidence supports the lucky break theory• Planned luck - looking for opportunities• Endurance - hard work and persistence• Idea generation methods
The Creative Process• Creativity can be developed and improved• Distinct way of looking at the world• Involves seeing relationships that others may not see• Structured and focused chaos
‘Schools of thought’• Attribute theories - creativity is something that is inherent• Conceptual skills theories - new ways of thinking, using your brain … can be taught / learned• Behavioural theories - encourage creative habits• Process theories - creativity is highly complex and multi-faceted. Individual talents, skills, actions, and organisational conditions all contribute.
Characteristics of Creative People?• Bright• Inquisitive• Adaptable and flexible as opposed to rigid or dogmatic• Good at generating ideas• Have a positive image of themselves• Challenge oriented - motivated• Sensitive to their environment• Value their independence and do not have strong need for approval• Lead a rich, almost bizarre, fantasy life• Able to withhold the decision on a problem until sufficient facts have been collected
Myths of Creativity• The smarter you are, the more creative you are • Money Is a Creativity Motivator• Creativity exists outside of time and circumstance • Time Pressure Fuels Creativity• Creative people are risk takers • Fear Forces Breakthroughs• The creative act is essentially • Competition Beats Collaboration effortless • A Streamlined Organization Is a• Creativity derives from eccentric Creative Organization personalities• Creativity exists only in the arts • Amabile• Coming up with new ideas is the most difficult part of creativity• Creative output is always goodAndriopoulos & Dawson 2009
The smarter you are, the more creative you are The creative process requires a certain level ofintelligence, but above a basic level, there is no evidence for any significant link between the two (Amabile, 1996)
Creativity exists outside of time and circumstance The creative process is an ongoing contextual dynamic process that is inextricably linked to domains of knowledge.. A dynamic flow between a person‟s thoughts and the changing social context from which they draw and refine their ideas (Andriopoulos & Dawson, 2009)
Creative people are risk takersWillingness to take calculated risks and abilityto think in non-traditional ways figure but…You do not have to be a bungee jumper to be creative (Smith and Reinertsen, 2004)
The creative act is essential effortlessAlthough creativity is a complex process, there is a tendency to emphasise the illumination stage, this fails to recognise the role of many trials, dead ends and a lot of personal effort (Placone 1989)
Creativity derives from eccentric personalities It is more useful to consider that creativityarises from a particular behaviour then resultingfrom a particular product or idea. (Andriopoulos & Dawson, 2009)
Coming up with new ideas is the most difficult part of creativity There are many techniques to help creative persons generate new ideas.. the difficult part.. Is to identify those that have value and are realizable (Rogers, 1995)
Creativity exists only in the artsCreativity is a human behaviour which exists inany human activity and not just in literature or music etc (Amabile 1996)
Creative output is always good Novel ideas can also be applied to evil anddestructive ends as well as good, responsible and constructive ends (Amabile 1996)
Money Is a Creativity MotivatorPeople are most creative when they care about their work and theyre stretching their skills. Employeesdont think about pay on a day-to-day basis-and the handful of people who were spending a lot of timewondering about their bonuses do very little creative thinking. (Amabile)
Time Pressure Fuels CreativityTime pressure stifles creativity because people cant deeplyengage with the problem. Creativity requires an incubation period; people need time to soak in a problem and let the ideas bubble up. its not so much the deadline thats theproblem; its the distractions that rob people of the time to make that creative breakthrough. People can certainly becreative when theyre under the gun, but only when theyre able to focus on the work. (Amabile)
Fear Forces BreakthroughsCreativity is positively associated with joy and love and negatively associated with anger, fear, and anxiety. People are happiest when they come up with a creativeidea. Theyre more likely to have a breakthrough if they were happy the day before. (Amabile)
Competition Beats Collaboration The most creative teams are those that have the confidence to share and debate ideas. But when people compete for recognition, they stop sharing information. And thats destructive because nobody in an organization has all of the information requiredto put all the pieces of the puzzle together. (Amabile)
A Streamlined Organization Is a Creative Organization Creativity suffers greatly during a downsizing. Every single one of the stimulants to creativity in the work environment went downsignificantly during a downsizing. Anticipation of the downsizing was even worse than the downsizing itself -- peoples fear of the unknown led them to basically disengage from the work. Even five months after the downsizing, creativity was still down significantly. (Amabile)
The Creative Process• Entrepreneurs need ideas to pursue, and ideas seldom materialize accidentally. Ideas usually evolve through a creative process whereby imaginative people, germinate ideas, nurture them, and develop them successfully.• Various labels have been applied to stages in the creative process, but most social scientist agree on five stages that we label as: – Idea Germination – Preparation – Incubation – Illumination – Verification
Additional Notes: Practical Tips to Enhance the „Creative Process‟• Creativity is a process that can be developed and improved.• Entrepreneurs have been taught to think and act creatively.• There are 4 commonly agreed upon phases in the creative process.• Playing with creativity – http://www.creativethinking.net/WP04_Exercises.htm
A ‘Hybrid’ Model of the Creative Process• Idea Germination – the seeding stage of a new idea – Recognition• Preparation – conscious search for knowledge – Rationalisation• Incubation – subconscious assimilation of information – Fantasizing• Illumination – recognition of idea as being feasible – Realization• Verification – application or test to prove idea has value - Validation
First, in groups, list the attributes of a screwdriver.
First, list the attributes of a screwdriver.• Round steel shaft• Wooden or plastic handle• Wedge-shaped tip• Manually operated• Used for tightening or loosening screws
Next, focus on each specific attribute and ask"How else can this be accomplished?" or "Why does this have to be this way?"• What can I substitute for this • Can I modify it in some fashion? attribute? • Can I put it to some other use?• What can be combined with it? • What can I eliminate?• Can I adapt something to it? • Can the parts be rearranged?• Can I add or magnify it? • What is the reverse of this?
Resulting innovations• Focusing on the handle, a Swedish company created a handle with space for both hands. It was so successful, they later developed a full range of tools with a long handles.• In the Third World, an aspiring inventor added a battery to provide power. This power source proved to be more reliable than electricity.• An entrepreneur came up with a better arrangement. He created shafts that were made interchangeable to fit various size screws, which obviated the need to have several screwdrivers.• A Japanese engineer invented a bendable electric screwdriver with a super-flexible shaft to reach out of the way places.
Phase 1: Background of Knowledge Accumulation.• Successful creations are generally preceded by investigation and information gathering.• Additional investigation in both related and unrelated fields is sometimes involved• There are a number of ways to practice the creative search for background knowledge.
Phase 2: The Incubation Process• Creative entrepreneurs allow their subconscious to mull over the tremendous amounts of information they gather during the preparation phase.• Getting away from a problem and letting the subconscious mind work on it allows creativity to spring forth.
Phase 3: The Idea Experience• The Idea is discovered ( keep a notepad by your bed!)• Speeding up the Idea experience can be achieved through: »Daydreaming »Take regular breaks »Put the issue to the back of your mind
Phase 4: Evaluation & Implementation• This phase involves reworking the idea from its rough draft form• The most difficult part of the whole creative process• To test the idea entrepreneurs can: – seek advice from knowledgeable people – trust their instinctsIf at any stage a major unworkable problem arises then it is better to revert back to the previous phase
The Creative Thinking Process Diagram (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 1992) Incubation Knowledge Creative Process IdeasAccumulation Evaluation & Implementation
Tips to encourage creative behaviour• Knowing when to shape environments and when to leave them alone• Reward creativity in those who display it• Take sensible risks• Overcome obstacles, don‟t let them overcome you• Think for the long term• Keep growing• Be aware of the danger of knowing too much
‘Diamond Thinking’• Creative people are often „divergent‟ thinkers - generating ideas• „Business Studies‟ courses encourage „convergent thinking - coming to solutions• „Diamond‟ thinking encourages a period of „divergent‟ thinking followed by a period of „convergent‟ thinking. Entrepreneurs ?
Activity 1• With the ideas you developed in the speed innovating seminar• In groups, work on assessing the opportunity using the different hats
Activity 2The object of the exercise is to create at least 3 new, innovative business concepts for one of the following: – a product or service for the food industry – a service or accessory for a car – a communications device or serviceSuggested process for groups of three / four:1. Brain storming …. divergent thinking. The rules include: no criticism; freewheeling / piggybacking; quantity is best; combinations and improvements.2. Consider your three best ideas, and use associative thinking to improve further (e.g. how is this like a …. Church, space station, Disneyland, etc ?)3. Present your best idea to the class, indicating why you think it‟s a viable proposition.