Inside theEntrepreneurial Mind

from ideas to reality

Creativity, Innovation, andEntrepreneurship

Creativity

The ability to develop new ideas and todiscover new ways of looking at problemsand opportunities.

Innovation

The ability to applycreative solutions toproblems andopportunities toenhance or to enrichpeople’s lives

Barriers to Creativity

Searching for one right answerFocusing on ‘being logical’Blindly following the rulesConsistently being practicalViewing play as frivolousBecoming overly specializedFearing looking foolishFearing mistakes and failureBelieving ‘I’m not creative’

Enhancing Organizational Creativity Include creativity as a core company value Embrace diversity Expect Creativity Expect and tolerate failure Encourage curiosity Create a change of scene periodically View problems as challenges Provide creativity training Provide support Develop a procedure for creating ideas Talking with customers Looking for uses for your products/services in other

markets Rewarding creativity Modeling creative behavior

Questions for Imagination

Is there a way to do it?Can you borrow or adapt it?Can you give it a new twist?Do you merely need more of the same?Less of the same?Is there a substitute?Can you rearrange the parts?What if you do just the opposite?Can you combine ideas?Can you put it to other uses?What else should we make from this?Are there any other markets for it?Can you reverse it?Can you rearrange it?Can you put it to another use?What ideas seem impossible but if executed wouldrevolutionize your business?

Ten ‘Secrets’ for Leading Creativity

They think.They are visionaries.They listen to customers.They understand how to manage ideas.They are people-centered.They maintain a ‘culture of change’They maximize team synergy, balance, andfocus.They hold themselves and others accountablefor extremely high standards of performance.They refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer.They love what they do and have fun doing it.

Enhancing Individual CreativityAllow yourself to be creative.Observe the products and services of othercompanies, especially those in other markets.Recognize the creative power of mistakes.Keep a journal handy to record your thoughtsand ideas.Listen to other people.Listen to customers.Talk to a child.Keep a toy box in your office.Read books on stimulating creativity or take aclass on creativity.Take some time off.

Evaluating Ideasfor their Market Potential

What benefits does the product or service offer customers? Is there a real need for it?Have you pinpointed the exact problems or difficulties your idea aims to solve? Haveyou considered the problems or difficulties it might create?On a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult will it be to execute the idea and sell itcommercially?Does the product or service have natural sales appeal? Can customers afford it? Willthey buy it? Why?What existing products or services would compete with your idea? Is your product orservice superior to them? How?On a scale of 1 to 10, how easily can potential customers understand the benefits ofyour new product or service? Are they obvious?On a scale of 1 to 10, how complex is the product or service? If it is a product, canyou prototype it yourself?On a scale of 1 to 10, how complex is the distribution or delivery system needed toget the product or service into the customers’ hands?How unique is your product or service? How easily can other companies imitate youridea?How much will it cost to produce or provide the product or service? To distribute it?To market it?

The Creative Process

PreparationInvestigationTransformationVerificationImplementation

Techniques for Improving theCreative Process

BrainstormingMind-MappingRapid Prototyping

Brainstorming

Process for generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive group discussion. Every participant is encouraged to think aloud and suggest as many ideas as possible. Analysis, discussion, or criticism of the aired ideas is allowed only when the brainstorming session is over and evaluation session begins.

What is Mind Mapping

• Mind mapping is a simple technique for drawing information in diagrams, instead of writing it in sentences. The diagrams always take the same basic format of a tree, with a single starting point in the middle that branches out, and divides again and again. The tree is made up of words or short sentences connected by lines. The lines that connect the words are part of the meaning.

• Trees reflect how our minds work

A mind map is a visual representation of hierarchical information that includes a central idea surrounded by connected branches of associated topics Benefits of Mind Maps-Help students brainstorm and explore any idea, concept, or problem-Facilitate better understanding of relationships and connections between ideas and concepts-Make it easy to communicate new ideas and thought processes-Allow students to easily recall informationHelp students take notes and plan tasksMake it easy to organize ideas and concepts

Rapid prototyping

Rapid Prototyping (RP) can be defined as a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. What is commonly considered to be the first RP technique, Stereolithography, was developed by 3D Systems.

The reasons of Rapid Prototyping are To increase effective communication. To decrease development time. To decrease costly mistakes. To minimize sustaining engineering changes. To extend product lifetime by adding necessary features and eliminating redundant features early in the design

Intellectual Property: ProtectingYour Ideas

PatentsTrademarksCopyrights

The Patent Process

Establish the invention’s novelty.Document the device.Search existing patents.Study the search result.Submit the patent application.Prosecute the patent application.

Characteristics of Patents,Trademarks, and Copyrights

Copyright

Trademark

Works of originalauthorship-books or software

Logos, names, phrases

2 weeks

6 monthsto 1 year

$30

$900 to$1,500

up to 2years

2-5 years

$5,000 to$20,000

same

DesignPatent

UtilityPatent

The look of anoriginal product

How an originalproduct works

same sameBusiness A business processMethod Patent or procedure

Assignments

1- How the creative process work ?2- What is the real meaning of Brain Storming ? How to do it ?3-What is Mind Mapping ? How to make a mind map ? What can we use mind maps for ?