Small Business Management

• 1. Searching for the one "right" answer.
• 2. Focusing on "being logical"
• 3. Blindly following the rules.
• 4. Constantly being practical
• 5. Viewing play as frivolous
• 6. Becoming overly specialized
• 7. Avoiding Ambiguity
• 8. Fearing Looking Foolish
• 9. Fearing Mistakes and failures.
• 10. Believing that "I'm not Creative"

• 1. Include Creativity as a core company value
• 2. Embrace diversity
• 3. Expect creativity
• 4. Expect and tolerate failure
• 5.Create an organizational structure that nourishes creativity
• 6. Encourage curiosity
• 7. Create a change of scenery periodically
• 8. View problems as opportunities
• 9. Provide Creativity training
• 10. Provide support
• 11. Develop a procedure for capturing ideas
• 12. Talk with customers, or better yet interact with them.
• 13. Look for uses for your company's products or services in other markets
• 14. Reward creativity

• 1. Allow yourself to be creative
• 2. Give your mind fresh input every day
• 3. Observe the products and services of other companies, especially those in completely different markets
• 4. Recognize the creative power of mistakes
• 5. Notice what's missing
• 6. Keep a journal handy to record your thoughts and ideas.
• 7. Listen to other people.
• 8. Listen to customers
• 9. Talk to a child
• 10. Do something ordinary in an unusual way
• 11. Keep a toy box in your office.
• 12. Do not throw away seemingly "BAD" ideas
• 13. Read books on stimulating creativity or take a class on creativity
• 14. Take some time off.
• 15. Be persistent.

• 1. Preparation: get the mind ready for creative thinking
• 2. Investigation: develop an understanding of the problem, situation, or decision at hand
• 3. Transformation: view the similarities (convergent) and differences (divergent) among the information collected
• 4. Incubation: give the subconscious time to reflect on the information collected.
• 5. Illumination: The light bulb goes on. (usually takes place during Incubation)
• 6. Verification: to ensure that the idea is realistic, conduct experiments, run simulation, test market the product or service, build prototypes
• 7. Implementation: transform the idea into reality

• 1. Brainstorming: a small group of people suggesting ideas without evaluating or criticizing them
• 2. Mind-mapping: an extension of brainstorming, mind mapping visually displays the various relationships among ideas, and improves the ability to view a problem from many sides.
• 3. Force Field Analysis: weighs both the advantages and disadvantages of a particular decision and maximizes the variables that support it and minimize those that work against it.
• 4. Triz: a scientific method solving technical problems (developed by Genrich Altshuller)
• 5. Rapid Prototyping: transforming an idea into an actual model that can point out flaws and lead to improvement

a small group of people suggesting ideas without evaluating or criticizing them

an extension of brainstorming, mind mapping visually displays the various relationships among ideas, and improves the ability to view a problem from many sides.

weighs both the advantages and disadvantages of a particular decision and maximizes the variables that support it and minimize those that work against it.

a scientific method solving technical problems (developed by Genrich Altshuller)

transforming an idea into an actual model that can point out flaws and lead to improvement