creativity in business - why? how?
DESCRIPTION
In a competitive world where all the products look alike, creativity can create the conditions to differentiate your business in the market. Still today ignored by many large corporations, the creative process can create new business or help your company increase market share. Table of Contents: - Lessons from the Third World - How to generate new ideas? - Think outside the box - Lateral thinking - Generating ideas within a given market - Generating Breakthrough ideas - Reverse Brainstorming - Best Practices for CompaniesTRANSCRIPT
Creativity in Business - Why? How?
By Ruth Cuadrado
“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.”
- Albert Einstein
Want to increase Market Share? Don’t be Insane.
Be Creative.
Lessons from the third world
Street vendors can be found everywhere in Latin America, selling from clothes and cheap jewelry, to iphone cases and lighters. As soon as it starts raining they will sell umbrellas and raincoats. They never go bankrupt... They only grow. What’s the secret of their success?
Street Vendors wisdom…
1. Forecast accurately – You only have one
chance of doing it right
2. Be ready for Change – Simplify the decision
chain
3. Know your customer – His wish is your
command
4. Location – If the consumer doesn’t come to
mohammed...
5. Confidence – Don’t be affraid of selling
your product
Are you tied to your company’s rules?
How to generate new
ideas?
The ideas that changed humanity were envisioned by people who were not intelligent enough to see they were impossible
Without letting your pencil leave the paper (or screen), can you draw four
straight lines through the nine dots?
Let’s play a game...
Impossible? Think outside the box!
How many times were you limited by pre-conceived ideas or company guidelines?
Lateral Thinking: Techniques to find new ideas*
* Source: Kotler, P., Trias, F. “Lateral Marketing”. John Wiley & Sons Ed. 2011
Generating ideas within a given market
Modulations Increase or decrease the characteristics of a
product
Ie. Juices with no sugar, with
vitamins, with real fruit, etc.
Sizing Variations of volume or frequency Ie. Hotels with day pass, 4th night
free, etc.
Packaging Modifications of the container Ie. Biodegradable container, easy
open system, etc
Design Change in design to communicate different
lifestyles
Ie. Beer in trendy can-bottles
Complements Adding additional services Ie. Extended warranties
Effort Reduction Reduce the effort of the customer in the
purchase process
Ie. Best Rates Guarantees save you
time in researching other channels
These ideas will help you gaining market share but they will not create a new
market or significantly restructure the current one
Breakthrough Ideas: The logic behind the creative process
1. Choose a Focus (a problem to solve, an objective to achieve)
2. Make a lateral displacement (interruption in the logical sequence)
3. Make the connection (fill the gap)
Flower
Dies Never
Dies Lateral
Displacement
How to fill this gap?
Congratulations, you’ve just
invented Artificial Flowers!
Create a gap and make a connection
• Substitute it Ie. Hot dog with a cookie instead of bread
Generated sweet biscuits for kids imitating sandwiches
• Invert it Ie. Pizza that is not delivered
Generated refrigerated pizza
• Combine it Ie. Pen with fuel’s car indicator
Create a pen with an indicator of used ink
• Exaggerate it Ie. 200 lts bottle of coke
Logic behind Coke dispensers (soda fountains)
• Eliminate it Ie. A car that cannot run
Generated driving simulators
• Reorder it Ie. Pay your credit card before using it
Generated pre-paid credit cards that replaced travelers’ cheques
Reverse brainstorming: The 5 Minutes creativity excercise
1) Select an objective or goal
2) Write the questions you are trying to solve
3) Write down the reverse statement ie. How to increase sales? How to decrease sales?
How to improve employee motivation? How to demotivate employees?
How to save time in X task? How to spend more time in X task?
4) Give as many answers to the questions on step 3) as you can...
5) Reverse those answers
ie. To decrease employee motivation...
Lower their salaries for no reason Increase their salaries for no reason
Don’t recognize any achievements Recognize every achievement
Let them believe their jobs are at risk Let them know their jobs are stable
and long term
Best Practices for Companies
• Conduct periodical brainstorming sessions with your team
• Use your customers! Create an ‘incubator’ of new ideas and reward them
• Let your teams allocate a certain amount of time per month to work on new ideas or
projects, even if they are unrelated to your area
• No matter how busy you are, take 10 minutes at regular intervals during the day to
do something inspiring like listening to music or watching photographs
• Allow mistakes and learn from them
Best Practices for Companies (II)
• Ask your interns or new hires... They will be less tied by assumptions
• Have a document in your desktop where you write all the little ideas you have during
the day, even if they are not valid today. They can be useful in the future, alone or
combined!
• Never throw away a discarded idea. You might recycle it in the future!
• Incentivize your teams to take courses in areas different to your department to open
their minds
Thank you
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