Innovation and Creativity The Definitive Guide

Open market innovation is a term that was first coined by Darrell Rigby and Chris Zook. Its basic premise is that companies can reach beyond their internal environment. So rather than relying on the company’s research and development department for the latest innovations the company reaches out to the market using such techniques as licensing, […]

Fast innovation surprises competitors and therefore assists in gaining competitive advantage by increasing overall speed to market which in turn should ultimately increase profitability. The rapid introduction of new or enhanced products or services leaves competitors with two options: they can either continue as planned, introducing a product or service to a market with a […]

The invention of the Frisbee came in the 1950s when its inventor Walter Frederick Morrison conceived the idea for an aerodynamic plastic disc while throwing a metal cake pan on the beach in California to his wife, Lu. Since that date then there have been hundreds of millions of Frisbees sold across the world. The […]

A good entrepreneur definition to begin with is that put forward by Oxford Dictionary… A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. Derives from French Entrepreneur derives from French. It can be split into two parts. The first part is ‘entre’ which literally translates to […]

A warm welcome to the problem-solving steps web page. You often hear people say that “There are no problems, only opportunities”. Of course, this is not exactly true it does, however, emphasize the fact that when problem-solving we should look towards the positive aspects of what should be done right now rather than dwelling on […]

(Image Credit orkboi)PMI is a lateral and creativity thinking technique developed by Edward De Bono that is a development of the pro’s and con’s technique that has been used for centuries.It is designed to deliberately direct your attention to the positive, negative and interesting aspects of a particular idea, subject or decision.To complete you make […]

Lateral thinking is a term created by creativity guru Edward De Bono in 1967. The term is in the concise Oxford dictionary where it is defined as: “seeking to solve problems by unorthodox or apparently illogical methods”. In business this is sometimes referred to as out of the box thinking. In his book “Serious Creativity” De Bono […]

(Photo Credit: Forum PA) Doctor Edward De Bono Ph.D. is the founder and director of the Cognitive research trust in Cambridge, England.  An academic who is the father of lateral thinking and a world-renowned creativity expert. He has worked with Gerry Adams, the Eurythmics, Richard Branson, Francis Bacon, and the Pet Shop Boys in terms of […]

Disruptive technology is an innovation that disrupts an existing market. Clayton Christensen who introduced the term defines it as: “An innovation that is disruptive allows a whole new population of consumers access to a product or service that was historically only accessible to consumers with a lot of money or a lot of skill.” In […]

Discontinuous innovation can also be referred to as breakthrough, radical or disruptive and is innovation that, if adopted, requires a significant change in behavior. The implementation of new technologies, products, or business models that represent a dramatic departure from the current state of the art in the industry – J Birkinshaw, J Bessant, R Delbridge […]

Define knowledge: The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines knowledge as: Knowing, familiarity gained by experience Person’s range of information; it came to my knowledge, became known to me; to my knowledge, (1) so far as I know, (2) as I know for certain. Theoretical or practical understanding (of the subject, language, etc.); the sum of what […]

When embarking on a new innovative idea make sure that you first record your team’s wishes for the new project. What is it that they wish will happen. It’s also good to consider the opposite of this too as in what they wish won’t happen. Another way to put this would be to list your […]

Knowledge management tools must incorporate four components in order to be effective: A database subsystem. A database is an essential element as it enables the underlying information to be shared and organized in a manner that assists employees and managers to share their information in a timely and efficient fashion. An organizational language subsystem. This […]

Define or distribute ground rules at the start of a meeting to assist with the meeting’s smooth running. These should encourage participation, help maintain control and keep things on track. They can be developed together by the group or suggested for buy-in. Do this during your first meeting as a group and re-use them again […]

You have a great idea, the next step is to build a business case for it. This document is used in order to demonstrate the advantages of an innovative idea to all stakeholders… The case should put forward the vision for the idea, showing how it will add value for the organization and the people […]

Image by Andrys Stienstra from Pixabay Creativity styles are thought to be part of who you are. Similar to one’s eye color in that they cannot be changed suggests Charles Prather, in his book Blueprints for Innovation. Two Predominant Creativity Styles… Adaptive problem-solving. People who have this style are constantly looking for ways to improve […]

Image by Mihai Paraschiv from Pixabay A creativity profile will often provide insights into your creative processes and aid personal development. Often they focus on how you are creative rather than whether or not you are creative, everyone is creative. They provide the user with an indication of where their creative strengths lie and give […]

Image by Aline Berry from Pixabay Vision can be defined as ‘A mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization’ Vision is the future picture and sets the scene for the purpose and strategy of the organization. A vision should be credible and realistic, setting an attractive future point for the […]

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay Constant innovation is a necessity in our modern world. Why? Because products and services are always getting copied and it’s difficult to stop people and organizations from doing so. Of course, you can trademark brand names, logos, etc. However, many products and services can be very difficult to protect […]

Often we are so set in our daily routine that our subconscious mind does all of the work for us. Tomorrow, try to do some things differently… Try changing your route to work or school in order to wake your mind up. Wear an item of clothing that you haven’t worn in a long time. […]

Image by Ulrike Mai from Pixabay To fail means that you have experimented with something and the conclusion was not quite as you had hoped for or expected. However, simply by trying you have learned new knowledge in terms of what doesn’t work. Thomas Edison had thousands of experiments that could have been said to […]

Catchball is a Japanese idea improvement and enhancement method that also encourages buy-in amongst its participants. As a starting point, this method requires someone to already have an idea e.g. a new product, process improvement, enhancement or strategic vision for the future. Then just like a game of catch-ball the idea is “thrown” around the […]

The candle problem is closely related to thinking outside of the box. The test was created by psychologist Karl Duncker in the 1930’s and was developed to determine how the function of an item biases our thought processes. The participant is provided with a table placed up against a wall, a candle, and a book […]

A recent innovation is that of a camera that can see around corners. This idea has been developed by British scientists and is thought to be of great use to the military. It will enable reconnaissance without giving away cover. It’s also thought that it could be beneficial if fitted to cars to help detect […]

Research has proven that children are more creative than adults. This has something to do with the brain wave patterns of a child but also to do with them not having learnt perceptions of how something ought to be. They don’t think about what has happened in the past, they live for the moment and […]

Audio visual innovations are now commonplace in our everyday lives. They are used in city centers and other public locations to advertise products, retail stores to gain our attention or promote products and sports bars to entertain us. Flat Screen Technology Flat-screen technology is enabling such products to be installed in more and more places […]

Explore a question, problem or thought by asking “What if…?” Try thinking of unusual or unnatural answers to your “what if” questions. Are your answers really unworkable/ridiculous or could there be some value there? Don’t stop there, try some experiments to prove/disprove your ideas.

Applied innovation can refer to either 1) the process of learning innovation through the application of the innovation process in a controlled environment or it can refer to 2) simply providing the action to creative ideas. 1) The process of learning innovation through the application of the innovation process in a controlled environment. This can […]

For me, I usually get my best ideas as soon as I wake up in the morning. I used to keep a pen and paper by the side of my bed so I could record these ideas but I now use my smartphone instead. For many others their best ideas come while they are in […]

Many people think that creative solutions come about purely by luck or chance. While this is true in a few situations it is rarely the case for the majority. Most creative solutions come about as a result of lots of hard work and perseverance. New creative breakthroughs are often the result of hours upon hours […]

Technology enables us to automate many processes and do things much more quickly, as a result, we find that the latest greatest product suddenly has many, very similar competing products also on the market. Take the recent surge in tablet computers as an example. Apple releases the iPad and then within a year, there are […]

Creativity and innovation make the world go round. Turning new ideas into products and services are great for social and economic growth.So how can you contribute? What can you do to make a difference? Think about where you work – is there anything that frustrates you or perhaps something that the customers of the business […]