SOLOPRENEUR: Self-Employability in Remote Regions of Europe

Modern Approach to Idea Development


COU_4_EN  

 Title
Modern Approach to Idea Development

 Keywords
Inspiration, idea generation, creative, mind mapping, systematic inventive thinking, idea development.

 Author
HAC

 Languages
English

 Objectives/goals
In this course you will learn the basics of idea development, how to increase your creativity and how to develop a business idea.


 Description
This course is an introduction to idea development. It´s content covers how to increase creativity to further development of business ideas.

 Contents in bullet points
Unit 1: Finding inspiration Unit 2: Smart solutions in idea development Unit 3: Effective idea development


 Contents


 MODERN APPROACH TO IDEA DEVELOPMENT

FINDING INSPIRATION


  Ideation

Finding Inspiration

Idea generation is a process of creating, developing and communicating ideas. There are two ways to construct an idea and turning it into an innovative concept.

1.Ideas are generated spontaneously to create something new, special and extraordinary
2.Ideas are generated in response of a lack in market and real-life issues
Notes:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/idea-generation.html - https://medium.com/@ideakeep/12-questions-to-generate-an-idea-9cf705c503b8

 

 



  Innovative behavior

Studies show that five key behaviors optimize your potential to generate innovative ideas.

Associating

Making connections between problems or ideas from unrelated fields

Questioning

Asking questions that challenge common knowledge

Observing

Analyse customers, suppliers and competitor's behavior to identify new ways of doing things

Networking

Meet people with diverse ideas and perspectives

Experimenting

Constructing interactive experiences and provoking unorthodox responses to see what insights emerge

Notes: https://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/ The Innovator DNA - bók



  Get creative

Ways to increase your creativity

Read
–Pick up art
–Surround yourself with different personalities
–Spend more time in nature
–Get enough sleep
–Meditate
–Exercise
–Do more of what you love
–Take more risks
Inspiration comes when you least expect it!


  Get confident

Everyone has the ability to generate great ideas, but it takes more than a great idea to venture into solopreneurship.  A believe in one self and the courage to take action can make all the difference!

“At its core, creative confidence is about believing in your ability to create change in the world around you.”

-David Kelley- 

Notes: https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/317262



  From idea to success

“The only way to do great work, is to love what you do”

-Steve Jobs-

BELIEVE in yourself
Embrace RISK as your best friend
Be PATIENT
Be PASSIONATE with your pursuit
Find ways to progressively IMPROVE your idea
Make work/life BALANCE a priority


  Finding inspiration

•Everyone has the ability to be creative
 
•Fear of making mistakes is what holds creativity back
 
•Overcoming fear is the key to your inner creativity


  Unleash

•Fear of failure is the number one reason for getting stuck
Signs of fear
Over planning
•Postponing
•Talking too much
Trying to obtain the perfect idea gets in the way of our creative thinking


  Feedback is gold

Get talking!

✔Talk to people about your idea
✔Diverse feedback is very helpful
✔Listen for objections and use them to refine your idea
✔The people who love your idea are a good indicator of your future target group – find out what unites them!


  Getting stuck

Getting stuck is no reason to give up, try different approaches to get going again!

â–Don´t give up on yourself when you can´t seem to get inspired
â–Accept that it is OK to look to others for source of inspiration
â–Take a mental break to allow yourself to refocus
â–Use spontaneity to your advantage
â–Read something
â–Team up with others
â–Realize that there are just some time in life when you won´t feel very inspired
â–Break your inspiration down to manageable pieces


SMART SOLUTIONS IN IDEA DEVELOPMENT


  Mind Mapping

Smart solutions in idea development

 
•Mind mapping is a powerful tool to organize ideas and brainstorm
•A mind map looks like a tree, the main idea is the trunk of the tree and all connecting thoughts are branches


  Ways to Mind Map

•Get creative and write down all thoughts related to an idea – Do not overthink it!
•Afterwards organize the thoughts to end with a complete and structured picture of your business idea
•Ways to Mind Map
–Handwritten
–Mind mapping software
 


  Clear and Simple

After organizing your thoughts through mind mapping, simplifying and clarifying things will give you the core of your business idea!

Try to describe your business idea in a sentence…

Idea: “My company,_(name of company)_, is developing_(a defined offering)_to help_(a defined audience)_(solve a problem)_with_(a product)”

Notes: https://medium.com/swlh/have-a-business-idea-here-are-the-next-steps-606db0f8eb2d

 



  Apps

Smart phone apps that can boost your creative thinking!



  Outside or Inside the Box?

–Creativity thinking outside the box and brainstorming as far afield as possible to discover a groundbreaking idea
–But can thinking inside the box also be effective?
–Systematic Inventive Thinking drives innovation by
•Working inside a familiar environment
•Generating ideas independent of any specific problem

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



  Systematic Inventive Thinking

–Systematic inventive thinking is a technique to create new solutions by looking at an idea or a product from different perspectives
–The Five Thinking Tools method is a method that harnesses five thinking patterns that mankind has used for thousands of years


  Five thinking tools (SIT)



  Subtraction

Remove an essential component from a product / idea and find uses for the newly envisioned arrangement of the existing components.

Example:

Removing the ear covers from traditional headphones resulted in “ear buds” that fits inside the ear.

Notes: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



  Multiplication

Add to a product / idea a component of the same type as an existing component. The added component should be changed in some way.

Example:

Training wheels for children's bicycles. Wheels duplicated and modified to create a new product.

Notes: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



  Division

Divide the product / idea functionally or physically and then readjust it. Taking a full-sized product and dividing it into smaller versions of itself.

Example:

For example cupcakes are a smaller individual sized cakes

Notes: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



  Task Unification

Assign a new and additional task to an existing resource. The task may be previously thought to be unrelated. 

Example:

A Facial moisturizer can additionally provide sunscreen protection.

Notes: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



  Attribute Dependency

Creating and breaking dependencies between variables of a product.As one attribute changes another does too.

Example:

Transition sunglasses which get darker as the outside light gets brighter.

Note: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-box/201304/systematic-inventive-thinking



EFFECTIVE IDEA DEVELOPMENT


  Challenging new ideas

Effective Idea Development

Notes: https://www.pcma.org/power-procurement-valuable-creativity/

Before venturing into solopreneurship it is good to  ask yourself practical questions to dive deeper into the core and concept of a business  idea.

Notes:  https://news.ewmfg.com/blog/5-questions-to-ask-about-your-product-idea



  Practical Questions

1.WHAT makes my product unique?
–Is the product one of a kind?
–Is it a want or a need?
 
2.WHO is my customer?
–What is the target group for the product?
–What characterizes the group and what type of money do they make?
 
3.HOW will the customer react to my product?
–What problem will my product solve?
–How much will my customer be willing to pay for it?
 
4.HOW much money do I need?
–How much will I need to get started?
 
5.WHERE will the money come from?
–Self funding, Loan, Venture Capital ?
 
 
 


  Business idea development

Finding the focal point of execution, viability and demand is crucial to an idea´s success !

•Technical Factor – Execution
–Can the idea be executed?
•Financial Factor – Viability
–Is the idea economically viable?
•Human Factor – Demand
– Is there a genuine demand for the product?


  Technical Factor

1st: technical factor

→ Is the idea technically viable?

 

...but there are other factors for success.

Notes:  Begin with the technical factor of an idea. Figuring out if an idea is technically viable and is crucial for advancing a business idea. But technology cannot stand alone and it´s success is dependent on other factors.

 



  Financial Factor

2nd: business factor

→ Innovative technology cannot stand alone, it has to be economically viable and profitable.

If technology could stand alone the general public would travel via helicopter.



  Human Factor

3rd: human factor

→ products must meet a demand

→ serve a need in the market

Compassion can drive further idea development by improving understanding of people's needs and desires.

Notes:  Third, but not last the human factor is examined. The product must meet a demand and serve a need in the market. Compassion can also drive further idea development by improving ones understanding of people's needs and desires.

 



 Results

Unit 1: Finding inspiration • Ideation • Innovative behavior • Get creative • Get confident • From idea to success • Finding inspiration • Unleash • Feedback is gold • Getting stuck Unit 2: Smart solutions in idea development • Mind mapping • Ways to mind map • Clear and simple • Apps • Outside or inside the box? • Systematic inventive thinking • Five thinking tools (SIT) • Subtraction • Multiplication • Division • Task unification • Attribute dependency Unit 3: Effective idea development • Challenging ideas • Practical questions • Business idea development • Technical factor • Financial factor • Human factor

 Bibliography


 Training Fiche PPT:
183_4.solopreneur_modern_approach_to_idea_development(hac).pptx

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