Innovation and Creativity Spark Your Imagination!
Hello and a warm welcome to Innovation Creativity. My name is Martin and my goal is for this site to be a definitive guide to all things related to innovation, invention, ideas, and creativity.
My Interest…
I first gained an interest in innovation and the input to innovation which is creativity in 2003 while completing my Master’s degree in business administration at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK. Since that point, I have continued to research and further my learning in the innovation and creativity field.
My intention is to use this site as a means to share my knowledge and understanding with others who have similar interests in innovation and creativity.
What’s The Difference
There often tends to be confusion between innovation and creativity. Innovation is basically the ability to make new things actually happen and creativity is the ability to have original ideas / see a different way of doing something.
Creativity is the thinking, innovation is the implementation.
Being Innovative
Being innovative in your day-to-day working life is a sure way to excel and promote your career on a fast track forward.
Continuing with the status quo may feel like a safe option, but in the long run, it will turn out to be riskier than getting out there and trying new things or creating new products, approaches, processes or services.
If you don’t make the changes then you can be sure that someone else will and that someone else can soon take the lead via their innovative approach.
Another good reason for innovation creativity is that people are often in their element when being creative or implementing creative ideas. Time flies by, you will feel like there are not enough hours in the day, you will have vast amounts of energy and you will be jumping out of bed in the morning in order to get to work on your innovative project.
My hope is that this site may assist you in being more creative and help you in gaining more understanding of the innovation process.
To get started and learn more about innovation and creativity please use the links on the navigation bar to the left to find more about creativity and innovation.
I hope you find this site useful and good luck with all of your current and future innovation creativity projects.
My Other Sites
One of my other interests and passions is leadership and personal development. If you’d like to learn more about leadership and development then please visit: leadership-and-development
As far as my general day job is concerned, I love developing web-based software solutions. To fully pursue my passion I set up a cloud-based software company with two friends of mine… Objitec Ltd. If you need any software developing for your organization then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me so we can discuss your requirements further.
Our core Objitec product is an online booking and membership site called PlanIt-BookIt. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
Latest Blog Posts
The latest blog posts are detailed below…

Innovation in Bingo: Surprising or Inevitable?
The game of bingo has been around a very, very long time — dating back to the 1500s and a community lottery game that was played regularly in parts of Italy. That may not make bingo as old as some other popular games like chess or checkers. But to give some perspective, bingo is older than some […]

Outsourcing Innovation
More companies are outsourcing innovation which is in part due to global markets, geographically dispersed subject matter experts, and a faster emergence of disruptive technologies.Companies may also choose to outsource in an effort to lower their research and design costs or when they are trying to tap into a market that they have little knowledge […]

Service Innovation
Service innovation can be a significant aspect of a business’s strategy.We all know how important good service is. Good service leads to happy customers and “word of mouth” based referrals. Bad service gives the exact opposite, an unhappy customer and one who is ready to inform as many people as possible of the bad service […]

Promoting Creativity
A warm welcome to the promoting creativity page.If you manage or supervise people then one of your objectives should be to get people interested and focussed on being more creative.Spurring people to be creative and ultimately innovative is good for you and the organization that you work for.The trick though is to encourage creativity with subtlety. […]

Managing Creativity And Innovation
Managing Creativity and Innovation (amazon affiliate link) is a key management skill these days with many managers expected to drive more and more innovations forward in order to increase competitive advantage. In order to be able to manage innovation, the manager should be first aware of the different types of innovation. In particular, she should […]

Managing Creativity
Managing creativity is key to competitive advantage because the successful generation and exploitation of ideas are essential for sustained success in the marketplace. DEFINITIONS It is probably best to start with an understanding of exactly what is innovation and a definition of creativity as the two are often used interchangeably, however, there is a clear distinction. Creativity is […]

Management Of Technology And Innovation
The management of technology and innovation can refer to using/managing technology tools and resources as an enabler to innovation and it can also refer to the using / managing technological breakthroughs as the catalyst to new innovative products and or processes. Managing innovation is a skill that is required to drive forward the innovation management process in an […]

Maintain Momentum
It’s key to maintain momentum with your innovative ideas. Innovations often take time to produce the desired results and maintaining momentum can be a difficult thing to achieve. Projects can move too slowly or get veered off track for a number of reasons… For example: Key project resources could transfer off the project, or Financial […]

Knowledge Management Innovation
A warm welcome to the Knowledge Management Innovation section of the website. KNOWLEDGE DEFINITION To better understand the connections between innovation and knowledge management first let’s define knowledge: “Knowing, familiarity gained by experience” – Concise Oxford Dictionary KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT DEFINITION Next, we should consider a definition of knowledge management: “The process of creating value from […]

Knowledge Management History
Knowledge management history starts around World War II and in particular with the building of the fighter planes. Observers were led to note that building a second airplane took considerably less time and realized considerably fewer defects than the first. An understanding was beginning to emerge that workers learned from experience. This phenomenon led corporations […]
Innovation Support
Innovation support doesn’t always have to be in the form of formal funding and resourcing. Support can come from a number of different sources. LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT BUSINESS AGENCIES In many countries, there are government-run business agencies that are set up to assist with business start-ups and business development or growth. New business and […]
Innovation Sources
Innovation sources are many and varied. It is often thought that innovation stems from the great leaders of the world. While this is often true there are many other sources of innovation, all of which can usually be categorized under the headings of people, concepts or things. Some popular sources include: The introduction of new […]
Innovation Software
A warm welcome to the innovation software section of the site. With innovation being at the forefront of most company agendas many companies offer software to help drive this initiative forward. Such tools often promote and assist in collaboration and knowledge sharing. Enabling employees to share ideas and connect with other like-minded individuals to collectively […]
Innovation Phases
A warm welcome to the innovation phases page. According to Kanter Harvard Business Review Jul-Aug 2004, Innovation goes through three phases: Project Definition Coalition Building Action 1. PROJECT DEFINITION Prior to defining a project, the problem needs to be identified. This often involves collecting technical and political information in order to translate the ambiguous into […]
Innovation Partnership
An innovation partnership is usually formed in order to share the inherent risks associated with innovation. The global marketplace that many companies operate in these days has resulted in much fiercer competition. LEAN In response to this competition, companies must attempt to gain competitive advantage by introducing more and more innovative solutions in terms of […]
Some Ideas For Your Innovation Lecture Notes
A warm welcome to some ideas for your innovation lecture notes. I got hooked on innovation whilst undertaking my MBA and I’m guessing that’s in part to do with a great lecturer and great lecture notes. If you’re looking for actual innovation lecture notes that you can take away and use then this page is […]
Innovation And Risk-Taking
A very warm welcome to innovation and risk taking here on the innovation-creativity web site. Good leaders need to be focused on innovation so as to keep ahead of the game but also they need to be able to weigh up any risks associated with introducing the innovation. We’re all aware of the risks associated […]
Imitation Strategy
In some cases, an imitation strategy can almost be as effective as an innovation strategy. Copying someone else’s idea by building your own version of it is quite often good business. Research shows that approximately seventy percent of innovations are in fact copied and this number is increasing over time. If you’re adopting a strategy […]
How To Judge Creativity
A warm welcome to the ‘how to judge creativity’ section of the web site. Judgement and creativity is an interesting topic. On one hand, you need to avoid being judgemental in order to let creativity flourish, but on the other hand, at some point, you have to make a judgement on whether or not it’s […]
Open Market Innovation
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, […]
The Importance Of Fast Innovation
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 […]
Invention Of The Frisbee
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 […]
Entrepreneur Definition
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 […]
Problem Solving Steps
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 […]
PMI – Plus Minus Interesting
(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
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 […]

Edward 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
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
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
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 […]
Wishes For The New Project
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
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 […]
Ground Rules
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 […]
Writing A Business Case
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 […]
Creativity Styles
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 […]
Creativity Profile
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 […]
Influence Of Vision & Mission On Innovation
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 […]
Constant Innovation
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 […]
Change Your Daily Routine
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. […]
Celebrate Failure
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
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
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 […]
Camera That Can See Around Corners
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 […]
Be A Child Again
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
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 […]
Ask “What If?..”
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
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 […]
What Are You Doing When You Get Your Best Ideas?
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 […]
The Creative Solutions Equation
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 […]
Why Is There Such A Demand For Innovation
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 […]
How Are You Making A Difference
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 […]