Techniques of Idea

Generations.
Entrepreneurship
Idea generation:

 Idea generation is the creative process or procedure that a company uses in

order to figure out solutions to any number of difficult challenges.
 It involves coming up with many ideas in a group discussion, selecting the best
idea or ideas, working to create a plan to implement the idea, and then actually
taking that idea and putting it into practice.
 The idea can be tangible, something you can touch or see, or intangible,
something symbolic or cultural.
Techniques of idea generation:

► Brainstorming  Socializing
► Focus group  Mind mapping
► Library and Internet  SCAMPER
Research
► Brain writing
► Storyboarding
Brainstorming:
 Brainstorming is a method of effectively using brains to storm the problem.
 The goal is to develop as many ideas as possible in the shortest possible time to
solve a predefined problem.
 It is not so much about going into detail about the ideas or choosing one of them.
 Brainstorming is an instrument that is applied in many organisations in order to
generate as many ideas as possible within a team.
 It is important that there is a variety of knowledge, experience and backgrounds,
which will allow all participants to provide a contribution from different
perspectives.
Rules of Brainstorming:
 Postpone judgement – all ideas are good, are accepted and written down;
criticism can wait until later;
 Focus on quantity – strive to gather as many ideas as possible, every idea is
welcome;
 Freewheel – feel free to jump from one idea to the next and think out loud;
 Hitchhike – hitchhike on another person’s ideas and apply synergy; complement
each other by continuing to work on what the other says and working towards
surprising solutions.
Focus group:
 A focus group involves having potential purchasers come together to
experience something, guided by a moderator who can set the stage and ask
questions targeted to a potential real-life experience.
 Each member of the group then shares their opinions, criticisms and other
feedback about the experience by answering the same set of questions posed
by an interviewer.
 A focus group can be an effective way for small businesses to conduct market
research as part of the creation of a marketing plan.
When to Conduct a Focus Group:

 You are considering starting a new business in a market that is new to you.
 You are in the process of developing a new product or service and want input during
the development phase.
 You are revamping your marketing approach and want to get an idea of what
methods may be more effective.
 You are unable to collect meaningful data from other methods of market research.
 You are interested in discovering new ideas, formats and approaches that you haven't
thought of yourself.
 You want to find out about the motivation behind a specific action or inaction.
 There is a communication gap between your business and your target market.
Library Research

 Another Approach to generate new business ideas is to conduct library

Research. Libraries are often an underutilized source of Information
for generating business ideas. You can consult a librarian for the best
utilization of library research. He can suggest you many specific
 Industry Magazines
 Trade Journals
 Industry Reports
Internet Research

 Internet Research is also important. If you are starting from a scratch,

Simply typing "New business ideas" into googles or yahoo. If you have a
specific idea in mind, a useful technique is to set up a Google or
Yahoo "Email Alert“
 Googles
 Yahoo
 Blogs of your Interest
 Twitter
Daydreaming

 Though mostly not met with approval, daydreaming is truly one of the most
fundamental ways to trigger great ideas.
 The word “daydream” itself involuntarily triggers an uninhibited and playful
thought process, incorporating the participant’s creativity and resourcefulness
to play around with the present problem.
 It enables a person to establish an emotional connection with the problem,
which is beneficial in terms of coming up with a wonderful idea.
 The focus of productive daydreaming is a particular goal irrespective of
whether it seems to be an impractical task.
 The airplane is the most notable example for this. If the Wright brothers had
not let their imagination run wild thinking about flight, we would probably
still be traveling by Ships.
Brain writing:
 Instead of asking the participants to shout out ideas, they are told to pen down
their ideas pertaining to a specific problem or question on sheets of paper, for a
small number of minutes.
 After that, each participant can pass their ideas over to someone else. This
someone else reads the ideas on the paper and adds some new ones
 After about 15 minutes, you or someone else can collect the sheets from them
and post them for instant discussion.
Storyboarding:

 Storyboarding has to do with developing a visual story to explain or explore.

 Storyboards can help creative people represent information they gained during
research.
 Pictures, quotes from the user, and other pertinent information are fixed on
cork board, or any comparable surface, to stand for a scenario and to assist
with comprehending the relationships between various ideas.
Socializing:

 If employees only hang around with colleagues and friends, they could find
themselves in a thinking rut.
 Let them utilize all those LinkedIn connections to begin some fantastic
conversations.
 Refreshing perspectives will assist with bringing out new thinking and
probably, one or two lightning bolts.
 Socializing in the context of ideation can also be about talking to others on
topics that have nothing whatsoever to do with the present problem.
Mind mapping:

 Mind mapping is a graphical technique for imagining connections between

various pieces of information or ideas.
 Each fact or idea is written down and then connected by curves or lines to its
minor or major (previous or following) fact or idea, thus building a web of
relationships.
 It was Tony Buzan, a UK researcher, who developed the technique “mind
mapping”
 Mind mapping is utilized in brainstorming, project planning, problem solving
and note taking
SCAMPER:

 SCAMPER is an idea generation technique that utilizes action verbs as stimuli.

 SCAMPER is an acronym with each letter standing for an action verb which in
turn stands for a prompt for creative ideas:
 S – Substitute
 C – Combine
 A – Adapt
 M – Modify
 P – Put to another use
 E – Eliminate
 R – Reverse