CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
Slide 1:
Ground Rules
 Always arrive early
- It shows respect for others
 Turn off your phones or put it on silent
 Participate actively to maximize the gains of this class
 Listen to others. Respect their ideas and viewpoints
 Speak up
Slide 2: Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to:
 Generate a list of business ideas
 Determine the most viable business
Slide 3: Brain Tease
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 Draw nine small circles as shown in slide
 Join the circles without breaking, lifting up your pen, or retracing
Slide 3: Creative Thinking
 Most times you think within the box
 When you think within the box you encounter a wall, obstacles, limitations
and impossibilities
 Limitations, obstacles and impossibilities are usually based on particular
assumptions
 When you change your assumptions you eliminate previous obstacles,
limitations, and impossibilities
 Suspending your assumptions enables you to think outside the box
 When you think outside the box, you see better, you see opportunities and
possibilities
Slide 4: Creative Thinking Contd.
 Creative thinking is your ability to think outside the box
 Creative thinking is your ability to create value by generating new ideas
 Creative thinking is your ability to add value by combining. Changing or
reapplying existing ideas
Slide 5: Generating Business Ideas
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
 The most creative business ideas are generated in response to a need
 Your ideas must provide solutions to problems and also have profit
potentials
Slide 6: Steps to Generate Business Ideas
 Step 1
Need Identification
 Step 2
Idea generation
 Step 3
Idea Evaluation
 Step 4
Idea Selection
These steps can be applied in groups as well as individually on your own.
Step 1: Need Identification
a. Identify the group you desire to serve or a group whose needs or problems
you intend to solve
o These groups of people can be classified based on different criteria
such as age, income range, employment status, place of residence and
much more
Examples of groups include:
 Babies
 Children (5-9years)
 Pre-Teens(10-13years)
 Teens (14 – 17years)
 Senior Teens (18 – 19years)
 Young adults (20 -25years)
 Working Class Men
 Working Class Women
 Elderly People
 Newly Wedded Couples
 Bachelors
b. After identifying the group you need to list out the problems or needs that
your identified group has. List as many as of their problems as you can
identify.
c. Select which of the listed problems you intend to solve
Please note that you cannot solve all the identified problems of any group.
We strongly recommend that you choose one problem that you can focus on
solving profitably.
Step 2: Idea Generation
The next step is to take your selected problem and list out all the possible
solutions to the problem.
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
List a minimum of 3(three) solutions
Step 3: Idea Evaluation
The next step is the evaluation of the solutions that you have listed using the
following criteria.
Your evaluation will involve scoring each solution or idea on the basis of each
criteria using a scale of 1 – 5. The coding for the scoring scale is as follows:
1= Poor
2= Fair
3= Satisfactory
4 = Very Satisfactory
5 = Excellent
Screening Criteria
1. Availability of Market
2. Availability of Raw Materials
3. Availability of Technology
4. Availability of Skills
5. Government Priority
6. Strategic Fit
7. Ease of implementation
8. Risk Exposure
9. Profitability
10. Cost Benefit
FACTORS CONSIDERED DURING MICRO SCREENING
There are some questions that influence the scoring of each factor (indicators)
while conducting a Micro screening exercise;
1. Availability of market.
a) Is the present demand not adequately serviced by existing suppliers?
b) Is the existing supply unreliable?
c) Is the existing demand served by importation or smuggling?
d) Is the existing demand presently not served at all?
e) Do your product/ service has significant uniqueness to be attractive in the
market? (better quality, more durable, better taste, superior after sales
service)
f) Are you anticipating (expecting) significant increase in the demand for the
product or service in the future?
2. Availability of raw materials
Availability of raw materials is indicated by the following considerations:
a) Are the raw materials available in adequate quantity?
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
b) Is it reliable? is it locally sourced for or imported?
c) Seasonality: easily perishable, quality and variability of raw materials have
been considered and found to be satisfactory.
d) Are the Prices of raw materials reasonable and predictable?
3. Availability of Technology
a) Are the technologies to be used proven?
b) Are their prices relatively reasonable to the expected outcome? Also
considering Cost of operation and maintenance?
c) Is the technology appropriate for the level of production, level of
investment and desired product quality?
d) What is the durability?
4. Availability of Skills
Availability of skills can be gauged by the following factors:
a) Are the different skills needed for success of the business available?
(Conceptual, managerial, technical and manual) Is the Supply of skills
relatively steady and stable?
How do unforeseen labour changes affect the business?
Is the business prone to unusual turnover or unexpected problems?
b) Is the Cost of labor steady fair and predictable?
5. Government Priority
 Government priority is indicated by the following considerations:
a) Is it a business where the government has interest in? Do they promote
and invest in it? (e.g., marketing, technical or consultancy services and
other support assistance.)
b) Are the present government policies in favour or against that Business?
 Fiscal policy (e.g., tax exemption or reduction, tariff protection, import
privileges),
 Monetary(priority lending status, reduced interest rates)
c) Does the business falls under the government’s priorities of imported
substitution,
export
promotion,
employment
generation,
rural
industrialization programs, technology development/transfer?
6. Strategic Fit
Strategic fit emphasizes on the various strategies in line with your business
overall objectives.
Strategic fit indicators include:
a) Adequacy of proposed marketing strategies? Plan for increase in market
share
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
(Branding, promotion and advert, distribution, plans for incentives and
discount, partnership).
b) Adequacy of proposed Operational strategies? Plan for efficient and
effective productivity
(systems and procedures, Cost and waste reduction strategies,
procurement of input, formulation and packaging)
c) Adequacy of proposed Management strategies? Viability or growth plan of
the firm through a positive synergy. (Management style, HR strategies,
plan for future growth, research, policies)
7) Ease of Implementation.
a) How easy can I execute this business based on resources (inputs)
available and business technicalities?
b) Can the business be implemented within a short gestation period or
reasonable preparatory period?
8) Risk exposure
The business rating for Risk exposure is negative that is the higher the risk the
lower the scoring. The degree of risk can be assessed using the following factors.
a) Can product or service be readily copied or imitated if found profitable by
others?
b) What is the response of the business to changes like consumers’ lifestyle,
buying habits, consumption and spending pattern e.t.c?
c) What will be the effect of Competitors with more resources and expertise in
my business?
d) What will be the effect of negative unforeseen occurrence on factors such
as weather conditions, availability of raw materials, technology
obsolescence, changesin government policies, priorities or programs on
the business?
e) Is the business Dependent on imported inputs whether raw materials,
technology, skills or other resources?
9) Profitability.
This could be determined through information gathering and analysis of
information from competitors, suppliers or consultants.
 How profitable is the business in question?
10)Cost/Benefit
This factor sums up all the other nine criteria and provides an overall
impression regarding the desirability and feasibility of undertaking the
business.
The various considerations to be taken into account include.
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
a) Whether the benefits of the business in terms of profitability, risk
investment requirement, availability of inputs , etc. are worth all the efforts
in conceptualizing, organizing, and implementing the business?
b) Does the business provides sufficient(tangible and visible)benefits to the
community-either through employment generation, backward or forward
linkages with other industries or other economic activities, availability of
needed products and services?
c) The business is economically viable through its own merits and not
through artificial government interventions.
Step 4: Idea Selection
a. To execute this stage, you need to sum up the scores for each idea
based on your coring in each criteria for the idea
b. Compare the total scores
c. Select the idea with the highest score
Where there is a tie select the idea with the highest score in the “Ease of
Implementation” Criteria.
If there’s still a tie select the idea with the highest score in the “Availability of
Market” Criteria
Conclusion:
It is advisable that you practice this exercise at home on your own where there is
no time constraint or pressure.
TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1. Form a group of 10(ten) persons from your class
- Write down their names, matric number, department, and phone numbers
- Appoint someone as the group leader
- Appoint another person as the group secretary
2
Select a group that you wish to serve from any of the following:
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION
-
Working Class women (25 – 55years)
Working Class Men (25 -55years)
Children (1 – 60months)
Teenagers (14-19years)
Elderly (60years and above)
3 List 3(three) needs for your selected group
4 Select one of the needs of the group selected that you intend to solve
5 List out 3(three) solutions to the selected need
6 Select one idea from the 3(three) listed solutions using the screening
criteria that you were taught in class.
Assignment to be submitted on Monday, November 28, 2022