Entrepreneurship

Session 3 – Developing creativity

and understanding innovation in
Entrepreneurs
(Chapter 5)

2
Session Learning Outcomes
• By the end of the session, you
should be able to:
• Explain the role of creativity and innovation
in entrepreneurship
• To examine the role of creativity and to
review the major components of the creative
process
• To present ways of developing personal
creativity
• Distinguish between creativity and innovation
• Highlight the types and sources of innovation.

3
Warm up exercise
Think of 5 uses for each of the
following & describe in considerable
detail:
• Empty jam jar
• Brick
• Wooden pencil
• Old hats (male and female)
• Obsolete desk top computers
• Worn out carpets
The goal is to go for quantity rather than
quality. Also, defer all judgement when
generating ideas.

4
 But first
Come up with the worst

? ideas for a start-up that

you can think of.

Andrew McCluskey, licenced under CC Attribution

2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
 Famous Quotes – careful, some might be
fabricated

• “I think there is a world market for maybe 5 computers.”

- Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943
• “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
- Ken Olson,
President, Chairman & Founder of DEC, 1977
• “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” - H.M.
Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927
• “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of
Patents, 1899
• “640K ought to be enough for anybody.” - Bill Gates,
1981

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Entrepreneurial
imagination and creativity
• To see opportunities,
entrepreneurs blend
imaginative and creative
thinking with a systematic,
logical process ability
• Asking ‘What if …?’ and ‘Why
not …?’.
• Seeing opportunities where
others see problems.

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 Being creative
• How can you
become more
creative?

? • What are
some
concrete
ways you
have
practised?

Missy Schmidt, licensed under CC Attribution 2.0

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

9
Whole Brain Thinking – How do you Think?

Experimental
Feeling

Practical

Rational

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Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI)
L
www.herrmann.com.au/singapore/whole-brain-thinking.html

11
 Strategic &
Analytical & Unorthodox
Factual

Organised &
Detailed Interpersonal &
Sensitive

12
The nature of the creative process
Your creative potential is something ‘Human creativity [is]
the key factor in our
that can be developed and economy and society
… we now have an
improved. economy powered by
Creativity is not some mysterious human creativity.
Creativity … is now the
and rare talent reserved for a select decisive source of
few. competitive
advantage.’
It is a distinct way of looking at the
world that is often illogical. Richard Florida
The creative process involves seeing
relationships among things others
have not seen.

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

14
Developing your entrepreneurial
capacity: four phases
• Phase 1: Background or knowledge
accumulation: Entrepreneurs practise the
creative search for background knowledge
• Phase 2: The mind incubation process:
Subconscious mulls over the tremendous
amounts of information
• Phase 3: The idea experience: A bolt out of
the blue
• Phase 4: Evaluation and implementation:
Reworking of ideas to put them into final form
Phase 1 – Creative Process

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

16
Phase 2 – Creative Process

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

17
Phase 3 – Creative Process

• The ‘eureka factor’, or when the

light bulb comes on in cartoons,
which can occur at any time
Phase 3: • Enhanced by daydreaming about
The idea the project, practising hobbies,
experience working in a relaxed
environment, setting aside the
problem, and keeping a
notebook

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

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Phase 4 – Creative Process

• Requires courage, self-

Phase 4: discipline and perseverance
Evaluation • Enhanced by increasing
energy levels, knowing the
and business planning process,
implementa- testing the idea with smart
tion people and viewing problems
as challenges

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

19
How to develop your creativity

• Lateral thinking – purposefully generate

new ideas
• Vertical thinking – following logical steps
• Think outside the box – challenge
assumptions
• Recognise relationships
• Go with the flow
• Use your brain
 al bre
r tic co akin
nc
d ve ep g o u
old t pri t of
an ide son the
ral as s of
ate ing
L ink
th

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

22
23
24
 How can one generate ideas???
• Carry a notebook
• Think opportunistically
• Pay attention to everything and don’t stop
questioning
• Network
• Talk to new people
• Think in opposites
• Challenge the dogmas
• What are the things you would never hear a
customer say about our company? E.g. Going to
the dentist is fun or parking at Curtin Bentley is a
breeze.
• Reinvent the wheel
• Think of ways to spice up old products or ideas
• Challenge your ruts
• Experience something new
25
Creativity Game – Rocket Testing

• Get into groups of at least 4 scientists.

• The mission of each group is to build a rocket with the
following materials:
• One egg, 5 bamboo skewers, 5 straws & 5 elastic bands.
• Three rules:
• The egg must be visible within the contraption to assess the
damage.
• Both the egg and contraption must not break upon impact.
• Both the egg & contraption must fall at the same time.
• The time to complete is 15 minutes. Good luck!!!

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 Recognising relationships

• Seeing new and different

relationships among objects,
processes, materials, technologies
and people
• Look for different or unorthodox
relationships among the elements
and people around you

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 Using your brains

The right brain hemisphere helps understand analogies, imagine

things and synthesise information. The left brain hemisphere helps
analyse, verbalise and use rational approaches to problem solving.

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Ways to develop left- and right-hemisphere skills

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

People are inherently creative
• Idea creativity
• Material creativity
• Organisation creativity
• Relationship creativity
• Event creativity
• Inner creativity
• Spontaneous creativity

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 Creating the right setting
for creativity

Wesley Fryer,
licenced under
CC Attribution
• Trustful management 2.0
creativecomm

• Open channels of communication ons.org/licens

es/by/2.0/,
cropped from
• Considerable contact and communication with original

outsiders
• Variety of personality types
• Willingness to accept change
• Enjoyment in experimenting with new ideas
• Little fear of negative consequences
• The use of techniques that encourage ideas
• Sufficient financial, managerial, human and time
resources
‘Total Transportation Play Town Rug’
by kidcarpet.com

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 The innovation process

• The process by which

entrepreneurs convert opportunities
(ideas) into marketable solutions.
• The means by which entrepreneurs
become catalysts for change.
• Most innovations result from a
conscious, purposeful search for new
opportunities

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

A process model of creativity, innovation and
entrepreneurship

A process model of creativity, innovation and

entrepreneurship, Schaper et al 2011, p. 68.
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34
 Four basic types of innovation

Invention • Totally new product, service or process

• New use or different application of existing

Extension product, service or process

Duplication • Creative replication of an existing concept

• Combination of existing concepts and factors

Synthesis into a new formulation or use

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 Innovation
in action

New Zealand’s Gibbs

Aquada was designed
from the ground up to
perform well on land
and in water.

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

 Sources of innovative ideas

How to take advantage of ideas that create opportunities

• Trends
• Unexpected occurrences
• Incongruities
• Process needs
• Industry and market changes
• Demographics
Duncan Hull, licenced under CC Attribution 2.0
• Perceptual changes creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

• Knowledge-based concepts

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Sources of innovative ideas

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Disruptive technologies

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Major misconceptions about innovation

• Innovation is planned and predictable.

• Technical specification must be thoroughly
prepared.
• Innovation relies on dreams and blue-sky ideas.
• Bigger projects will develop better innovations.
• Technology is the driving force of success.

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Follow these principles to learn
innovation • Aim high
• Be action-oriented
• Try/test/revise
• Make the product,
process or service • Learn from failures
simple and • Follow a milestone
understandable schedule
• Make the product, • Reward heroic activity
process or service • Work, work, work
customer-based
• Start small

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

Innovations that caused global warming and innovations
that could save us

(Frederick, O’Connor and Kuratko 2016)

42
Activity
• Go to the Curtin Library Databases and
find the articles listed on the Blackboard
Assessment link on Opportunity
Recognition
• Library Databases

43
Qtn 1
One might argue that the alertness model of market opportunity is at
play here. This emphasis is on the knowledge of the entrepreneur,
and that opportunities are out there and are waiting to be
discovered. Their creativity enabled them to get their first client by
using a bit of window dressing to show that they were more
established than they actually were. This created the right first-
impression and helped to secure the client.

44
qtn2
• They welcomed this challenge and welcomed ‘chance intrusions’ that
were seen not just as a problem, but an opportunity to tip the job
their way. They made deliberate jumps and changes (albeit
temporarily!)

45
Qtn 3
• Event creativity – producing an event, such as décor of the event
•  Organisational creativity – organising people to do the temporary
redecoration
•  Idea creativity – having an idea to redecorate quickly and
temporarily

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Qtn 4
This story is one that can be heard from many entrepreneurs –
particularly at the start of their business life-cycle. Often,
businesses are run from home – the lounge or bedroom is the
‘office’ for the company. They then try to make the business
appear more legitimate by using things such as a PO Box
number, or various job titles for different roles, even though it is
often one person doing everything. Some people would argue
that this may be unethical, entrepreneurs would argue that this is
just necessity.

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End of Presentation

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