1. Applying creativity to
entrepreneurship:
Imagine it and Create it

2. Purpose of this session
Further unlock your creativity
Run through a process that can achieve:
• Learning how to co-develop opportunities
• Finding ideas that could lead to real opportunities
• Using the process to sharpen your level of awareness, intention and
communication of “new ideas”
• Appreciating the impact of ideas in different contexts
• See for yourself that you too have ideas and can be creative
• Meet each other and create further short conversations....

3. Entrepreneurship – requiring creativity
Idea Validation Implementation
Shane and Venkataraman, 2000

4. Opportunity recognition – is where it
starts…
Creativity – “ping” – or long hard slog to solve a problem
Validate an idea/solution
Communicate it..
Then comes all the hard work to make it happen…

5. Creativity – techniques – Many options
Basics of creative thinking
We use creativity cafe model...
Both will be explained briefly
Then we do it...Based on ideas we have taken form your
submissions.....

6. To get you started – right frame of mind – a few
introductions
“If I had thought about it, I
wouldn’t have done the
experiment. The literature is
full of examples that said you
can’t do this”
Spencer Silver on the work
which led to the development of
the adhesives for 3M Post-it®
notes.

7. Abstracting the Challenge
"A problem is half-solved if properly stated." John Dewey
How do I get rid of the mice ?
How do I build a better mousetrap ?
Are you asking the right questions?

8. What kind of problem are you trying to solve?
•Does it make a difference?
•Is it scalable?
•Does it “make meaning”?
Sam Pitroda: Whose problem do you want to solve?

9. Whose problems do you want to solve?

10. It can take 20 years to become an
overnight success!

11. Basics of creativity...Rules
Diverging Converging
• Defer judgement • Be deliberate
• Strive for quantity • Check your objectives
• Seek wild ideas • Improve your ideas
• Combine and build on other • Be “affirmative”
ideas

12. Basics of creativity...Tools
Diverging Converging
• Brainstorming • Pluses, potentials,
concerns
• Brianwriting
• Highlighting
• Forced connections
• “Card sort”
• Visual connections
• Evaluation matrix
• Ladder of abstraction

13. Many ways to Kill a Good Idea – Rule – Do
not do this!
Rubbish it
Rubbish the inventor
There is no market for it
It is impossible – it has been done before
It is impossible – it has never been done before
Steal it
Copy it
It is too expensive
Microsoft already did it!!
Etc. Etc. Etc.

14. World creativity Cafe – one such tool

15. Why would you want to talk to people when you are trying
to be creative?
Tap into “their creativity”
Tacit knowledge
Bounce ideas off each other
Incremental growth and improvement of thinking
New insights
Get ideas for whom else to talk to

16. Why and when would you not like to talk to
people?
Need to keep it secret
You know more about it than the others do
You are still looking fro the best way to talk about it
Other?

17. Process – Like Speed dating – Speed ideas
Tables set aside with white paper/ colour pens...
3 – 4 people to a Table
Quickly introduce yourselves
Write down “we need to find.... Establish the core idea
at the centre of the flip chart...
Then...
10 new markets for...(INSERT A
PRODUCT/SERVICE/PROJECT...)

18. Divergent Rounds
Round 1
• Draw from your general knowledge, imagination,
experience.... Where might the 10 markets be?
Round 2, 3 and maybe 4...
• Move to a different Table and see what they have –
redefine markets and stretch the possibilities

19. Convergent Thinking - round
Move one more time
Formulating the challenge: Which one of the 10 markets has
the most potential and why?

20. Task...
Million
Million...

21. Summary of the process
1. Idea owners – take a Table
2. Team members...join
3. 3 - 4 rounds of DIVERGENT thinking and development
4. Final round of CONVERGENCE –
5. Resulting in one minute Pitch – in 3 parts (Imagine it)
6. The pitch is then transferred to Project development
process and refined..(Create it I)
7. The refined project is transferred to a more detailed
project plan from which resources can be assessed
(Create it 2)
8. Information is shared across Tables/teams
Success = f (pre-reading of materials)