Transcript Slide 1
Entrepreneurship & Innovation “Today, much confusion exists about the proper definition of entrepreneurship. Some observers use the term to refer to all small businesses, others to all new businesses. In practice, however, a great many well-established business engage in highly successful entrepreneurship, The term, then, refers not to an enterprise’s size or age but to a certain kind of activity. At the heart of that activity is innovation: the effort to create purposeful, focused change in an enterprise’s economic or social potential.” — Peter Drucker, The Discipline of Innovation Creativity & Innovation “Deviance tells the story of every mass market ever created. What starts out weird and dangerous becomes America’s next big corporate payday. So are you looking for the next mass market idea? It’s out there … way out there.” (Fast Company 03/02, emphasis added) Senior managers have stated that among the most important and valued traits in their workers are creative problem-solving and the generation of new ideas. ANYONE / EVERYONE CAN BE CREATIVE! Recognizing Opportunities & Generating Ideas Idea is a new connection between concepts, methods, outcomes, etc… that has potential value Provides value for an existing problem/need in a new or improved way Provides value for a new problem/need/opportunity Opportunity: Favorable set of circumstances that create need for product or service (or other innovation) Has four essential qualities Attractive Durable Timely Associated with value/need for consumer/user ACTIVE SEARCH / PROBLEM SOLVING It has been said that all new ideas come from outside of ourselves Opportunity Recognition ENTREPRENEURIAL ALERTNESS (Trends etc…) PRIOR KNOWLEDGE + SOCIAL NETWORKS Where good ideas come from… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU Innovation Applying [new] methods to do [new] things in [new] ways The methods, the “things”, the “ways”, and/or the “match” can be new The new thing or the new way has to provide additional value (or the new method has to reduce cost and provide same value) vs. Value (customer / consumer point of view) What does s/he do and need? What problems does s/he need to solve? What does s/he value? What improvements does s/he look for? Types of Innovation http://www.doblin.com/AboutInno/innotypes.html Disruptive Innovation 8 Creative Roles (“Hats”) One perspective is that we have multiple hats or roles that we must play throughout our lives in order to be creative… Explorer: Open and probing Need the raw materials from which new ideas are made: Facts, concepts, experiences, knowledge, feelings, etc… (outside your head) Novel ideas come from a unique set of raw materials. Artist: Playful and off-the-wall Need to play with the first patterns you notice, rearrange things, look at them Sideways, and , Upside down http://www.amazon.com/Kick-Seat-Pants-Roger-Oech/dp/0060960248 Creative Roles (“Hats”) Judge: Critical, Evaluative, & Decision Oriented Is the idea useful (i.e., offer value to it’s intended audience)? Is it practical? What are the downsides? How can it be improved? Warrior / Champion: Doggedly persistent The world does not accommodate every idea that comes along Overcome excuses, devils advocates, politics, etc. and build coalitions in order to champion your idea and get it implemented! http://www.amazon.com/Kick-Seat-Pants-Roger-Oech/dp/0060960248 Don’t ignore any of the roles… “These four roles are your [personal] creative team” If your head’s in the sand you have no basis for new ideas If your imagination’s locked up you end up w/ standard solutions If you make bad choices you may wind up making tragic mistakes If you cant follow through your ideas will never go anywhere Creative Problem Solving Process • Mess Finding – identify a situation that presents a challenge • Data Finding – identify all known facts related to the situation Objective / Problem • Problem Finding – identify all the possible problem statements Ideas / Solution • Idea Finding – identify as many potential solutions as possible • Solution Finding – identify selection criteria and chose best solution(s) to be developed/improved on and finally put forward • Acceptance Finding – identify potential paths as well as obstacles to successful implementation of solution Adoption / Acceptance Exercise Take out a piece of paper and list as many… Ideas for businesses / activities that can be added to a laundry mat to make it more attractive to customers? “A well-packed (What are some activities / businesses you can add to a question carries laundry mat to its answer onmake its it uniquely attractive) back like a snail Alternative Challenge carries its shell.” / Opportunity : List ideas about things people do / places they stay for ≈2 hours where they might like to get their laundry done at the same time? (What are some activities / businesses you can add a laundry mat to in order to make them uniquely attractive) Root Cause Analysis (5 Whys) Simple technique… Ask a question Give multiple answers (go wide) Pick most relevant, then ask why again (go deep) Repeat 5 times Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IETtnK7gzlE Going Wide… Going Deep… Creativity Techniques 1. Help make new connections / come up with new ideas 1. 2. 2. Help shut off filters 1. 2. 3. 3. Think about things differently Forced association connects two distant / disconnected domains Our filters incorrectly block ideas with good potential They block anything that seems crazy Many ideas have tremendous potential (if you spend the idea to evolve the ideas***) Help evolve and improve ideas Brainstorming What is brainstorming? “Tool” to help generate new ideas / ways of looking at a problem “Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem- solving with lateral thinking. It asks that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can at first seem to be a bit crazy.” – MindTools.com Why is it important? People rarely take the time to explore enough alternatives Dominant point of view becomes unquestioned Novel ideas / perspectives can have real value and are critical to innovation – but these are often filtered out as “crazy” Only by forcing yourself past the many safe ideas are you forced to say the crazy ones… Four Rules of Brainstorming Why the rules? Reduce social inhibitions that occur in groups. Creates a dynamic synergy that will dramatically increase the creative product of the group. 4 Fundamental Rules Focus on quantity 2. No criticism 3. Unusual ideas are welcome 4. Combine and improve ideas 1. Brainstorming Process Some Basic Brainstorming Process Suggestions Both a facilitator and recorder should be selected. If participants have an idea but can’t share it they should write the idea down and present it later. The idea recorder should number the ideas, so that the facilitator can use the number to encourage quantitative idea generation, for example: We have 44 ideas now, let’s get it to 50! Idea recorder should repeat the idea in the words he or she has written it, to confirm that it expresses the meaning intended. The idea which is most associated by the previous idea should be given precedence (increases the depth to which ideas are explored). During the brainstorming session the attendance of managers and superiors is strongly discouraged, inhibits / reduces the effect of the four basic rules, especially the generation of unusual ideas. Brainstorming – Variant Brainwriting / Group passing technique / Add an Idea (We are going to practice this now) Process is done in silence (more or less). Each person starts with a few index cards in front of them. Each person in a circular group writes down one idea, and then passes the card to the next person in a clockwise direction. Each person having received a card or cards with ideas, reads those ideas, and then writes down a new / original idea (possibly stimulated by or building off the other ideas). This process is repeated until the stack of cards has made a full circle (or two full circles in relatively small groups like ours). This technique takes a little longer since group members have to read each others ideas, however, it forces equal participation from otherwise quiet, shy, or lazy group members. mycoted.com lots of creativity techniques Brainwriting Practice (Get in the mood & suspend your sensibilities – this is all in fun) Come up with as many novel/original ideas as you can for things student organizations can do / sell to make $$$! How many ideas did you come up with? What are some of the most original ideas you came up with? Pick the most original and make it more valuable / feasible / practical… Brainwriting-Storming Variants Variant 1 Write ideas on separate cards / post-its Randomly collected or posted on table / whiteboard Allows for anonymity Also allows grouping [chunking] / prioritizing Variant 2 Members switch into and out of group-mode to maximize individual and group ideation. Is Your Idea Viable? Product/service feasibility analysis Industry/market feasibility Industry attractiveness Market timeliness Identification of niche market Consider “Minimum Viable Product” Organizational feasibility Customer interest, desirability, & purchase intent Usability Testing Prototyping / Technological Feasibility Sufficient Managerial Expertise Sufficient Resources Financial feasibility Total start-up cash needed Financial performance of similar businesses Overall financial attractiveness of proposed venture Quick Screen: Markets & Margins Market / Margins Need / Want / Problem Good Bad / Ugly Identified Unfocused Customers Reachable, receptive Unreachable, loyal to others Market Size $100 million + Less than $10 million Market Growth Rate More than 20% Less than 20% or shrinking Gross Margin >40%, durable <20%, fragile Quick Screen: Competitive Advantages Competitive Advantage Good Bad/Ugly Barriers to Competitors’ Entry Defensible None Contacts and Networks Key access Limited Degree of Control High Low Prices and Cost High Low Supply & distribution channels High Low Figuring out Challenges… Every idea has some weak points, some strong points and a great deal of unknowns / uncertainty!!! Examples… Toilet paper advertising… Windturbines on top of trains… Cheaters private investigators… Improving Your Ideas Describe your idea to your group Clarify any questions regarding the idea (don’t get into strengths / weaknesses yet) Brainstorm about Strengths What are the good aspects of the idea (high value) Prioritize these! Which are synergistic? Brainstorm about Challenges What are the limitations / weak parts of the idea Prioritize these! Brainstorm about Unknowns What do you need to know to assess the idea Prioritize these! Assumptions Assumption Busting Example What’s true about a television set? It has lots of wires and cables It’s a major purchase Comes from electronics store or department External parts (DVD player, speakers, game systems) connect Multiple remote controls needed Complex settings and menus Sits on an entertainment center or is mounted on the wall What if that’s not so? One remote It’s affordable Simple pictorial menu Wires are hidden for a clean look Bought at a home furnishing store Furniture and technology are integrated Speakers, Bluray, and sub-woofer are already included http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYL1UPysTEg Assumption Busting Pick a group member’s innovative idea… Identify all the assumptions (brainstorm) List all the assumptions, especially the obvious ones that you would not consider challenging Each of you write down 5 on your own then work as a group Examples: That it is impossible to do something--particularly within constraints such as time and cost. That something works because of certain rules or conditions. What people believe, think, or that they need certain things. Resources you need, actions you need to perform, sequences you follow, etc… Assumption Busting Challenge assumptions Pick 2 to 3 biggest assumptions and ask under what conditions it would not be true… Assumption Counter-Assumption (It’s Opposite) Assumption 1 Assumption 2… You will start to identify / make more assumptions as you challenge some assumptions, simply add these to the list, and challenge them later. “Reversing” Assumption Busting How can you guarantee that the assumption would be true? (When you see what makes it true, you can make it untrue) E.g., How can you make sure cars don’t float up in the air (fly) – answer, make them really heavy (what if they were not heavy?)