MODULE II
ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY
1. What is Idea Generation? – Definition,
Techniques, and Success Factors
Ideas are the key to innovation. Without them, there isn't much to execute and because
execution is the key to learning, new ideas are necessary for making any kind of
improvement.
It's obvious that ideas alone won't make innovation happen, as you need to be able to
build a systematic process for managing those ideas. The point of ideation isn't just
about generating tons of them but about paying attention to the quality of those as
well.
We agree that it can sometimes be difficult to come up with more of those high-
quality ideas. It’s not unusual to get stuck in our old habits and routines when we’re
supposed to be creating something new.
To break out of that rut, we've decided to look into idea generation as a whole as well
as to introduce some of our favorite tips, tools and techniques that can be used to
generate new ideas more systematically.
What is idea generation and why it's important?
Idea generation is described as the process of creating, developing and communicating
abstract, concrete or visual ideas.
It’s the front end part of the idea management funnel and it focuses on coming up with
possible solutions to perceived or actual problems and opportunities.
,As mentioned, ideas are the first step towards making improvement. Us making
progress as individual human beings depends on new ideas. From the perspective of
an individual, new ideas can help you to move forward if you feel stuck with a task or
are unable to solve a certain problem.
When it comes to your organization, generating and collecting new ideas from your
employees is the best way to uncover creative, tacit knowledge. The ability to
create and develop new ideas allows you to:
Stay relevant
Make positive change happen in your organization
“Creative thinking inspires ideas. Ideas inspire change” – Barbara
Januszkiewicz
On a larger scale, economies depend on innovation to drive growth and increase well-
being. Innovation creates new technologies and businesses, which provide new jobs
for people.
So, although innovation isn’t about ideas alone, they are an important part of the
equation as there wouldn’t be one without the other.
Tools and techniques for generating ideas
Okay, now you need ideas. What do you do?
The odds are that you’d run a brainstorming session. It has, however, been shown that
brainstorming not only takes more time and leads to less ideas, but also worse ideas
than if the same participants had just tried to come up with ideas by themselves.
There are several other reasons why brainstorming may not be the best way to come
up with ideas. Scheduling, organizing and documenting the session in a usable format
will all take up even more time.
Although there are certain ways to improve brainstorming performance, it’s beyond
the point. The point is that you shouldn’t automatically default to brainstorming.
There are, however, some other useful techniques that might be worth giving a shot to
challenge conventional thinking. Because you're going to need different ideas, it's
good to have a few techniques in mind for generating them. Most of these ideation
methods can be used for more effective brainstorming but also for other type of
ideation.
, Idea Challenge
Idea challenge is a focused form of innovation where you raise a problem or
opportunity with the hopes of coming up with creative solutions.
The point of idea challenge is to participate in ideation and generate ideas around a
pre-defined theme for a limited period of time.
It allows you to form a specific question and direct that question at a specific audience
to receive new ideas and unique insights.
Before setting up an idea challenge, it’s important to define what you want to
accomplish with it.
Because there are two types of idea challenges, problem centric and solution centric
approaches, you should first clarify whether you’re looking to identify
challenges or develop potential solutions for them.
When organizing an idea challenge, there are different parameters that you can choose
to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for, such as theme, audience,
responsibilities, time, or channels.
Keep in mind that idea challenge is the best technique when you need to generate lots
of new ideas. It may not be the most effective way to generate ideas if you only
involve a few experts in your ideation process as it’s proven to be more useful for
engaging large audiences.
Although idea challenge enables you to gather lots of ideas fast, careful planning takes
time and might not be worth the effort if there are no resources to execute it properly.
Also, right timing is necessary for it to succeed.
SCAMPER Technique
The SCAMPER technique is created by Bob Eberle, and is a method used for
problem-solving and creative thinking. It’s a holistic way of applying critical thinking
to modify ideas, concepts or processes that already exist.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY
1. What is Idea Generation? – Definition,
Techniques, and Success Factors
Ideas are the key to innovation. Without them, there isn't much to execute and because
execution is the key to learning, new ideas are necessary for making any kind of
improvement.
It's obvious that ideas alone won't make innovation happen, as you need to be able to
build a systematic process for managing those ideas. The point of ideation isn't just
about generating tons of them but about paying attention to the quality of those as
well.
We agree that it can sometimes be difficult to come up with more of those high-
quality ideas. It’s not unusual to get stuck in our old habits and routines when we’re
supposed to be creating something new.
To break out of that rut, we've decided to look into idea generation as a whole as well
as to introduce some of our favorite tips, tools and techniques that can be used to
generate new ideas more systematically.
What is idea generation and why it's important?
Idea generation is described as the process of creating, developing and communicating
abstract, concrete or visual ideas.
It’s the front end part of the idea management funnel and it focuses on coming up with
possible solutions to perceived or actual problems and opportunities.
,As mentioned, ideas are the first step towards making improvement. Us making
progress as individual human beings depends on new ideas. From the perspective of
an individual, new ideas can help you to move forward if you feel stuck with a task or
are unable to solve a certain problem.
When it comes to your organization, generating and collecting new ideas from your
employees is the best way to uncover creative, tacit knowledge. The ability to
create and develop new ideas allows you to:
Stay relevant
Make positive change happen in your organization
“Creative thinking inspires ideas. Ideas inspire change” – Barbara
Januszkiewicz
On a larger scale, economies depend on innovation to drive growth and increase well-
being. Innovation creates new technologies and businesses, which provide new jobs
for people.
So, although innovation isn’t about ideas alone, they are an important part of the
equation as there wouldn’t be one without the other.
Tools and techniques for generating ideas
Okay, now you need ideas. What do you do?
The odds are that you’d run a brainstorming session. It has, however, been shown that
brainstorming not only takes more time and leads to less ideas, but also worse ideas
than if the same participants had just tried to come up with ideas by themselves.
There are several other reasons why brainstorming may not be the best way to come
up with ideas. Scheduling, organizing and documenting the session in a usable format
will all take up even more time.
Although there are certain ways to improve brainstorming performance, it’s beyond
the point. The point is that you shouldn’t automatically default to brainstorming.
There are, however, some other useful techniques that might be worth giving a shot to
challenge conventional thinking. Because you're going to need different ideas, it's
good to have a few techniques in mind for generating them. Most of these ideation
methods can be used for more effective brainstorming but also for other type of
ideation.
, Idea Challenge
Idea challenge is a focused form of innovation where you raise a problem or
opportunity with the hopes of coming up with creative solutions.
The point of idea challenge is to participate in ideation and generate ideas around a
pre-defined theme for a limited period of time.
It allows you to form a specific question and direct that question at a specific audience
to receive new ideas and unique insights.
Before setting up an idea challenge, it’s important to define what you want to
accomplish with it.
Because there are two types of idea challenges, problem centric and solution centric
approaches, you should first clarify whether you’re looking to identify
challenges or develop potential solutions for them.
When organizing an idea challenge, there are different parameters that you can choose
to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for, such as theme, audience,
responsibilities, time, or channels.
Keep in mind that idea challenge is the best technique when you need to generate lots
of new ideas. It may not be the most effective way to generate ideas if you only
involve a few experts in your ideation process as it’s proven to be more useful for
engaging large audiences.
Although idea challenge enables you to gather lots of ideas fast, careful planning takes
time and might not be worth the effort if there are no resources to execute it properly.
Also, right timing is necessary for it to succeed.
SCAMPER Technique
The SCAMPER technique is created by Bob Eberle, and is a method used for
problem-solving and creative thinking. It’s a holistic way of applying critical thinking
to modify ideas, concepts or processes that already exist.
