C h a p tar

Inside the
'1f
I? ntrepreneunai lvii iiu: .

From Ideas to Reality

LEARNING oWECfrvEs
Imagination Is more important
Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to
than knowledge. Knowledge is
limited Imagination encircles 1 EXPLAIN the differences among
creativity, innovation, and
the world entrepreneurship
......bdbert Einstein
2 DESCRIBE why creativity and Innovation
are such an integral part of
entrepreneurship
how the two hernispheres
3. UNDERSTAND
Creativl"ls
F the '°
power to of the human brain function and what role
connect the seemingly they play in creativity.
unconnected. 4. EXPLAIN the 10 mental locks" that limit
Individual creativity.
—William Piomer
5. UNDERSTAND how entrepreneurs can
enhance their own creativity and that of
their employees as well,
6 DESCRIBE the steps In the creative
process
7 DISCUSS techniques for improving the
creative process
8. DESCRIBE the protection of intellectual
property, i!wo!'irig patents. trademarks,
and copyrights.
One of the tenets of entrepreneurship is the ability to create new and useful ideas that solve the
problems and challenges people face every day. Entrepreneurs achieve success by creating
value in the marketplace wheti they cornine resources in new and different ways to gain a
competitive edge over rivals. From Alexander Fleming's pioneering work that resulted in a cure
for infections (penicillin) and the founders of the Rocket Chemical Company's fortieth try to
create an industrial lubricant (WD-40) to Jeff Bezos's innovative use of the World Wide Web in
retailing (Amazon. corn) and Ted Turner's unique approach to the availability of television
news (CNN), entrepreneurs' ideas have transformed the world.
As you learned in Chapter I, entrepreneurs can create value in a number of ways—invent-
ing new products and services, developing new technology, discovering new knowledge,
improving existing products or services, finding different ways of providing more goods and
services with fewer resources, and many others. Indeed, finding new ways of satisfying cus-
tomers' needs, inventing new products and services. p uttin g to g ether existing ideas in
and different ways, and creating new twists on existing products and services are hallmarks
of the entrepreneur!
For instance, while in an exercise class, Linda Turner came up with an idea for practical isrt- A CompanyExampk
g ene for pregnant women. '1 wax notching a a'o..oan who was hugely pregnant holding up her
belly and thought, 'There niust he something out there to help her.'' Hours of research, inter-
views with hundreds of pregnant women, and a patent search turned up nothing, and Turner
knew she had a business in the making. She needed a prototype, so she bought a jog bra and a
heavy girdle and sewed them together to make the first !Jellybra. 'Ii was one of the most ridicu-
lous things I'd ever seen." she recalls, 'but it worked." A pregnant friend tested Turner's crude
prototype and gate it a rave review Turner applied [Link] a patent and in t991 licensed her new
product idea to Basic Comfort, a s,naii bab y products husinets lookingfornc' [Link]
Turner and Basic Comfort terminated their licensing agreement, and Turner .formed T&J
Designs, LLC wit/i partner Cindy Koch to market the doctor-recommended Rellybra.

Like man y innovators, Turner created a successful business by taking two everyday items
that have existed for many years and combining them in a different way.

CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

A recent study by the Small Business Administration found that small firms produce more eco- I. Explain the
differences among
nomically and technically important innovations than larger firms.' What is the entrepreneurial
creatIvity, innovation,
"secret" for creating value in the marketplace? In reality, the 'secret" is no secret at all: It is and entrepreneurship.
applying creativity and innovation to solve problems and to exploit opportunities that people
face every day. Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and to discover new ways of look-
ing at problems and opportunities. Innovation is the ability to apply creative solutions to those
problems and opportunities to enhance or to enrich people's lives. Harvard's Theodore Levitt creativity— the ability to
says that creativity is thinking new things, and innovation is doing new things. In short, entre- develop new i deas and to
preneurs succeed by thinking and doing new things or old things in new ways. Simply having a discover new ways of looking at
great new idea is not enough; transforming the idea into a tangible product, service, or business problems and opportunities.
venture is the essential next step. Management legend Peter Drucker says "Innovation is the innovation—the ability to
specific instrument of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity op ply creative soiusoris to
for a different business or a different service. ­ -, problems and opportunities to
Sia-eessfi,l entrepreneurs come up with deas and then find ways 10 'e' i wui k to solve enhance or to enrich people's
a problem or to 1911 a need. In a world that is changing faster than most of us ever could have lives.
imagined, creativity and innovation are vital to a company's success—and survival. That's true
for businesses in every industry--froin autornakers to tea growers—and for companies of all
sires. However, creativity and innovation are the signature of small, entrepreneurial businesses.
Creative thinktng has become a core buatnes:i skill. and crtrepreneurs kad the way in developing
and applying that skill. In fact, creativity and innovation often lie at the heart of small compa-
nies' ability to compete successfully with their larger rivals. Even though they canons outspend
their larger rivals, small companies can create powerful, effective competitive advantages over
big companies by "out-creating" and "out-innovating" them! If they fail to do so, entrepreneurs
don't sta y in business very long. Leadership expert Warren Bennis says "Today's successful
companies live and die according to the quality of their ideas."4

Cl: p rer 2 • Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas so Reality

 Sometimes creativity invokes generating something from nothing. However, creativity is
more likely to result in elaborating on the present, of putting old things together in new ways,
or of taking something away to create something simpler or better. In some cases, a creative
idea springs up from the most unexpected places. Edwin Lund, one of America's most prolific
jnvcntorscredits his three-year-old daughter with the idea of the Polaroid instant camera. On a
vacation trip in 1943, she asked why she couldn't see the photograph Land had just taken of
her. During the next hour, as he walked around with his family, Land's mind was at work on his
daughter's question. Before long, he had worked Out the concept of building the camera that
launched the era of instant photography. "The camera and the film became clear to me," Lund
recalls - "In my mind they were so real that I spent several hours describing them." Land's
invention--instant photography—was so outlandish that only a child could conceive of it!5
More often, creative ideas arise when entrepreneurs look at something old and think some-
thing new or different. Legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, whose teams
dominated college football in the 1920s. got the den ft'r his constantly shifting beekficlds _1 -1
watching a burlesque chorus routine! Rocknes innovations in the backfield (which included
the legendary 'Four Horsemen") and his emphasis on the forward pass (a legal but largely
unused tactic in his era) so befuddled opposing defenses that his teams compiled an impressive
105-12-5 record, Similarly, military tacticians, needing better camouflage designs to protect
troops and equipment in World War I, borrowed ideas from the "cubist" art of Picasso and
Braque. Their improved camouflage patterns helped the Allies win the war' More recently, one
entrepreneur helped solve a problem that plagued U.S. troops in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait during Desert Storm. U.S. military experts discovered that enemy aircraft were able to
detect the location of troops and equipment by looking for the repeating patterns in the camou-
flage used to hide them. The enticrpleneur began selling the military a special camouflage
hose pattern never repeated. He developed it using technology he was already employing to
prsiuce oiuiiicooued, tnuitipatterned area rugs (each one unique) for the house market.
Entrepieneurs also create innovations to solve problems the y observe, often problems they
Lc, themselves.

SV!it',i Carl Goldberg was involved in an auto occident, he almost lost his be/vied Ixj pound
i'Iioeolore Labrador retrieve,; Moxie, who flew into the windshield on impact. Goldberg
decided thor he would never put his dog at risk again, and he thought that other pet lovers
would v.an1 to protect their dogs while on the roan. With the help of Movie's vet, Goldberg
spent six sears and $ 500,000 developing the Ruff Rider canine vehicle restrain! System, which
is orfhopethcaliv and ergonomicallv correct for dogs. The canine sear belt has three ,nove,nent
.ceuings and comes in nine sizes to accrimmodare dogs weighing fmm just six pounds to 200
Pounds. Goldberg has patented the device, and Ruff Rider LLC generates soles of more than
7
- $ r no/lion a sear.'

Entrepreneurship is the result of a disciplined, systematic process of applying creativity and

innovation to needs and opportunities in the marketplace. It involves applying focused strate-
gies to new ideas and new insights to create a product or a service that satisfies customers'
needs or solves their problems. It is much more than random, disjointed tinkering with a new
gadget. Millions of people come up with creative ideas for new or different products and ser-
vices. most of them, however, never do anything with them. Entrepreneurs are those who con-
nect their creative ideas with the purposeful action and structure of a business. Thus, successful
entrepreneurship is a constant process that relies on creativity, innovation, and application in

Innovation must be a constant process because most ideas don't work and most innovations
fail. One writer explains, "Trial—and lots of error—is embedded in entrepreneurship." t Karen
Anne Zien. cofounder of Polaroid Corporation's Creativity and Innovation Lab, estimates that
for every 3,000 new product ideas, four make it to the development stage, two are actually
launched, and only one be- cc,vmes a success in the market. Tnese new products are crucial to com-
panies' success, however. Robert Cooper. a researcher who has analyzed thousands of new prod-
uct launches. says that, on average, new products account for a whopping 40 percent of compa-
nies' sales. 9 Still, successful entrepreneurs recognize that failure often accompanies innovation,
and they are willing to accept their share of failures because they know that failure is merely part
of the creative process. Entrepreneurship remojres bustness owners to be bold enough to try their

3. 6 I • The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

new ideas, flexible enough to throw aside those that do not work, and wise enough to learn about
what will work based on their observations of what did not. We now turn our attention to cre-
ativity, the creative process, and methods of enhancing creativity,

CREATIVITY—A NECESSITY FOR SURVIVAL

In this fiercely competitive, fast-faced, global economy, creativity is not only an important t t'ecft*
source for building a competitive advantage, but it also is a necessity for survival. When devel-
lnnv*[Link] ,.a'eauth an
oping creative solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs must go beyond merely wing
whatever has worked in the past. History is not always a reliable predictor of the future in busi-
ness. Making the inferential leap from what has worked in the past to what will work today (or
in the future) requires entrepreneurs to cast off the limiting assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors
asd io develop new insights into the relationship between resources, needs, and value. In other
words, they must change their perspectives, looking at the world in new and different ways.
Entrepreneurs must always be on guard against traditional assumptions and perspectives
about how things ought to be because they are certain killers of creativity. Such self-imposed
mental constraints and other paradigms that people tend to build over time push creativity right
out the door. A paradigm is a preconceived idea of what the world is. what it should be like, paradigm.--a preconceived
and how it should operate. These ideas become so deeply rooted in our minds that they become idea of what the world is, what it
immovable blocks to creative thinking—even though they may be outdated, obsolete, and no should be like, and how it should
longer relevant, in short, they act as logjams to creativity. Look, for example, at the following operate.
illustrations and read the text aloud:
Paris Once A Bird
in the in a in the
the Spring time a Lifetime the Hand
If you're like most people, you didn't notice the extra word in each phrase ("Paris in the the
spring time"). Why? Part of the reason is that we see what we expect to see! Past experiences
shape the ways in which we perceive the world around us ("We've always done it this Way").
That's why children are so creative and curious about new possibilities: society has not yet
brainwashed them into an altitude of conformity, nor have they learned to accept traditional
solutions as the only solutions. Retaining their creative "inner child," entrepreneurs are able to
throw off the shackles on creativity and see opportunities for creating viable businesses where
most people see what they've always seen (or, worse yet, see nothing).
Many years ago, during an international chess competition, Frank Marshall made what has
become known as one of the most beautiful—and one of the most creative—moves ever made on a
chessboard. In a crucial game in which he was evenly matched with a Russian master player,
Marshall found his queen under serious attack. Marshall had several avenues of escape available for
his queen. Knowing that the queen is one of the most important offensive players on the chessboard,
spectators assumed that Marshall would make a conventional move and push his queen to safety.
Using all the time available to him to consider his options, Marshall picked up his queen—
and paused—and put it down on the most illogical square of all—a square from which the
queen could easily be captured by any one of three hostile pieces. Marshall had done the
unthinkable! He had sacrificed his queen, a move typically made only under the most desperate
of circumstances. All the spectators—even Marshall's opponent—groaned In dismay. Then the
Russian. and finally the realized that Marshall's rnovc was, Lou reality, a brilliant one. No
matter how the Russian opponent took the queen, he wou eventually be in a losing position.
Seeing the inevitable outcome, the Russian conceded the game. Marshall had won the match in
a rare and daring fashion: He had won by sacrificing his queen to
What lesson does this story hold for entrepreneurs? By suspending conventional thinking long
enough to evens consider the possibility of such a movc, Marshall was able to throw off the usual
paradigms constraining most chess players. He had looked beyond the traditional and orthodox
strategies of the game and was willing to take the risk of trying an unusual tactic to win. The
result: He won. Although not every creative business opportunity that entrepreneurs take will be
successful, many who, like Frank Marshall, are 'willing to go be y ond conventional wisdom will be
rewarded for their efforts. Successful entrepreneurs, those who are constantly pushing technolog'
ical and economic boundaries forward, must ask: 'Is it time to sacrifice the queen?"

c hapter 2 bade the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality 37_L

 Merely generating one successful creative solution to address a problem or a need usually is
not good enough to keep an entrepreneurial enterprise successful in the long run, however.
Success—even survival—in this fiercely competitive, global environment requires entrepre-
neurs to tap their creativity (and that of their employees) constantly. Entrepreneurs can be sure
that if they have developed a unique, creative solution to solve a problem or to fill a need, a
competitor (perhaps one or six times zones away) is hard at work developing an even more cre-
ative solution to render theirs obsolete. This extremely rapid and accelerating rate of change
has created an environment in which staying in a leadership position requires constant creativ-
ity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. A company that has achieved a leadership position in an
Industry but then stands still creatively is soon toppled from its number-one perch.

Can Creativity Be Taught?

For many years, conventional wisdom held that a person was either creative (i.e., imaginative,
free-spirited, entrepreneurial) or not (i.e., logical, narrow-minded, rigid). Today we know bet-
ter. Research shows that an can learn to be creative. "Every person can be taught tech-
niques and behaviors that help them generate more ideas," says Joyce Wycoff, author of several
hooks on creativity. t ' Th e problem that in most organizatioo, employees have never been
expected to be creative. Also, many businesses fail to foster an environment that encourages
creativity among employees. Restricted by their traditional thinking patterns, most people
never tap into their pools of innate creativity, and the company becomes stagnant. Creative
exercises such as the one illustrated in Figure 2.1 can help adults reconnect with the natural cre-
ativity they exhibited so willingly as children,

FIGURE 2J How Creative

Hundred
Are You? Can you recognize the 0 R
Chun Hundred Umph Urnpts timph
well-known phrases these symbols E
Chun Hundred , Of meSpirit Grace.
represent? Chun -bindrad W
Chun Hundred S
Sources: Tery Sdekels. "Fran,e Games'
USA Weekend, jrery3-5,2003,p. 14;
January 4-16, 2000;Janusry 21-23
Stand
PR
2000; june 22-24,2001 June 29-jely I. lNG S Media
2001 luly 6-P. 0001 8pr1 29, 200!; My
18-20, itO l:jensary 17-19.2003; july
25-30.2000; Septeesber 9.2001; Intensity
November 29-Oaren,ber I, 2002,
Garin DeSerter "Thimkimg Caps USA O C ThEEWEFACE 6 H .E E 1'
Wmke,,d, July 30-AZsst I. 1999: April
9-I1. 19W. February 5-7,I999; June
4-6, 999;june 11-12, I 999;juIy 2-4. 1.0 e.0 -.
1999;Jsneary 22-24. I999. jerunry + . 20 i.e.
15-17, 1 999 Asem 6-2. 19Q9 evil EVIL au 8_1
4A 9s ALL1I11AALL 21111 STOCK
t.T 10.1
11.0

Knee [GaraJ oaRo

L Roy
Garba ge
THE DISTAGONC • Travel GC
1 Wee
TM R . Man 0
AU ROADS
A I B.S.
.W T S

Home Far F.. ee O'jectioe-t Tomb of 210, N

Ruled

38 Section I The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 Entrepreneurs and the people who work for them can learn to think creatively, and they must
for their companies' sake' "Innovation and creativity .are. not just for artists," says Wycoff.
"These are skills with a direct, bottom-line payoff." 12

For instance, Mary Navlor, owner of Capitol Concierge, a compan y that provides concierge
services in office building lobbies, looks to an unusual source for new ideas about how to pro-
mote her business,' junk mail. "1 collect junk mail and keep it in a box / call 'Mar y 's Ideas,"
says Naylor "1 get inspiration from things most people throw away. When"! want t' o kick start
my creative processes. I go to my box and see what's new" 13

Before entrepreneurs can draw on their own creative capacity or stimulate creativity in their
own organizations, they need to understand creative thinking.

CREATIVE THINKING -

Research into the operation of the human brain shows that each hemisphere of the brain Unrierstaa,d l'môw'
processes information differently and that one side of the brain tcnds to be dominant over the
other. The human brain develops asymmetrically, and each .hemisphere tends to specialize in the huma, brain
KUOn and what r';tc
certain functions. The left-brain is guided by linear, vertical thinking (from one logical conclu-
they 07Y in creaticsy
sion to the next) whereas the right-brain relies on kaleidoscopic, lateral thanking (considering a
problem from all sides and jumping into it at different points). The left-brain handles language,
logic, and symbols; the right-brain takes care of the body's emotional, i ntuit i ve, and spatial
functions. The left-brain processes information in a step-b y-step fashion, but the right-brain
piocesses it intuitively—all at once. rel ying heavily on images.
Left-brain vertical thinking is narTow!y focused and systematic, proceeding in a highly log-
ical fashion from one point to the next. Right-brain lateral thinking, on the other hand, is some-
what unconventional, unsystematic, and unstructured, much like the image of a kaleidoscope,
whirling around to form one pattern after another, it is this right-brain–driven, lateral thinking
that lies at the heart of the creative process. Those who have learned to develop their right-brain
thinking skills tend to:

U always ask the question, "Is there a better way'?"

U challenge custom, routine, and tradition.
• be reflective, often staring ou windows, deep in thought. (How many traditional managers would
stifle creativit y by snapping these people out of their "daydreams," chastising them for "loafing,"
and admonishing them 1.0 'get back to work"?)
• be prolific thinkers. They know that generating lots of ideas increases the likelihood of coming
up with a few highly creative ideas,
• play mental games, trying to see an issue, from different perspectives.
• realize that there may be more than one 'right answer,"
• see mistakes and failures as mere "pit stops" on the way to success.
• see problems as springboards for new ideas,
• re?ate seemsngly unrelated ideas to a problem to generate innovative solutions.
• have "helicopter skills." the ability to rise above the daily routine to see an issue from a broader
perspective and then swooping back down to focus on an area in need of change.

Stanford Ovshmnskv, now 8o, has used right-brain thinking to generate the ideas that hare led him
to earn an amazing 274 parents. Ovshinsk,s, who skipped college to become a toolmaker and
machinist, used his firsthand knowledge of machinery :o earn his first patent in the 19405 for a
high-speed, automated machine tool he designed. His curiosity led him to .ctudy neuroph,'aiolog):
from which he branched into afield known as disordered materials physics, In i góo, he founded
a company, energy Conversion Devices, that has produced low-cost solar-powered batteries, a
rechargeable battery that powers hybrid electric cars, rewritable CDs and DVDs, and many
other important inventions, Most of his patents and his company's products derive from
Os'hjnsk'," abilit',' to translate his knowledge of unstructured elements and superconductivity
[Link],ii products that 1 1ros4sce dean energ y. 'Most people think in two dimensions," says a
long-time colleague. "S'tan thinks not only in three dimensions but also in different colors." 14

..i..er 2 ' Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality

 Although each hemisphere of the brain tends to dominate in its particular functions, the two
halves normally cooperate, with each part contributing its special abilities to accomplish those
tasks better suited to its mode of information processing. Sometimes, however, the two hemi-
spheres may even compete with each other, or one half may choose not to participate. Some
researchers have suggested that each half of the brain has the capacity to keep information from
the other! The result, literally, is that "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing,"
Perhaps the most important characteristic of this split-brain phenomenon is that an individual
can learn to control which side of the brain is dominant in a given situation. In other words, a
person can learn to "turn down" the dominant left hemisphere (focusing on logic and linear
thinking) and "turn up" the right hemisphere (focusing on intuition and unstructured thinking)
when a situation requiring creativity arises. 15 To get a little practice at this "shift," try the visual
exercises presented in Figure 2.2. When viewed from one perspective, the picture in the middle
portrays an attractive young lady with a feather in her hair and a boa around her shoulders.
Once you shift your perspective, however, you will see an old woman with a large nose wear-
ing a scarf on her head! This change in the image seen is the result of a shift from one hem,-
sphere in the viewer's brain to the other. With practice, a person can learnto control this men-
tal shift, tapping the pool of creativity that lies hidden within the right side of the brain. This
ability has tremendous power to unleash the creative capacity of entrepreneurs. The need to
develop this creative ability means that exploring inner space (the space within our brains)---
not outer space—becomes the challenge of the century.
Entrepreneurship requires both left- and right-brain thinking. Right-brain thinking draws en
the power of divergent reasoning, which is the ability to create a imultitude of original, diverse
ideas. Left-brain thinking counts on convergent reasoning, the ab lity to evaluate multiple ideas
and choose the best solution to a given problem. Entrepreneurs need to rely on right-brain
thinking to generate innovative product, service, or business ideas. Thei, they rust use left-
brain thinking to judge the market potential of the ideas they generate. Successful entrepre-
neurs have learned to coordinate the complementary functions of each hemisphere of the brain,
using their brains' full creative power. Otherwise, entrepreneurs, who rarely can be accused of
being "halfhearted" about their business ideas, ruts the risk of becoming half-headed."
How can entrepreneurs learn to tap their innate creativity iriore readily? The first step is to
break down the barriers to creativity that most of us have erected over the y ears. We now turn
our attention to these harriers and some suggested techniques for tearing them down.

YOUBe the II the

and control. But when the young Norwegian glided onto

(1 OflSU tant . . ice, skating changed forever. Bringing the beauty and
movement of ballet to the skating rink, Henie transformed
the sport into the graceful combination of motion, music.
I Flenie
and muscle that it remains today. From 1927 to 1936,
The Spirit of Entrepreneurship in the dominated ice skating by creatively blending her graceful
Olympics
' ballet skills with her strength on the ice. She won 10
Entrepreneurs aren't the only ones who use creativity to straight world championships, eight European titles, and a
create competitive advantages for themselves. Throughout record three Olympic gold medals. Trained in both dance
history, Olympic athletes have pushed back the frontiers of and ballet as a child. Henie cast aside the existing pan-
poesi.
their snorts by developing new techniques. improved train- i digms of what ice ekreing "s a she recognized th .
ing methods, and innovative solutions to esistrog pmblems. hilitics of transferring dance movements onto the ice.
Two of the best examples of applying creativity to their i After winning her last world championship in 1936,
sports were figure skater Sonja Henie and high jumper Dick i Henie used her dance and skating skills to get into show busi-
Fosbury. Although their sports are at different extremes of i ias. She became an international star in movies and in tray-
the Olympic spectrum, both of these athletes relied on the cling ice shows that gave her the freedom to use her creative
creative process to throw Ott the paradigms that bound the genius on the ice. Even her glamorous and daring costumes
other athletes competing in these sports, proved to be an exciting innovation in ice skating as they
Before Sonja Henie came along, figure skating routines I emphasized the grace and flow of her movements. Later gen-
I
were exactly that—routine. In competitions, skaters per- . erations of ice skaters would push the sport even father.
formed a series of precise moves that emphasized acciyH Tenely .Albsight (1956 Olympics) and Peggy Fleming (1968
((yr,iti,m,d on nage 42)

- 40 Section I-The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 FIGURE 2.2 What do yoo ae&

Venture Formation by Zimmerer and

Source; Eiifrepreneurnhp and New
karboroogh,© 1995. Rprntd by permission of Prenne Hail, ln
Upper Saddle Rirer, NJ.

AWhdO ryou See? The goblet yr the famous twins?

El

B. Describe the lady you see in this drawing. How old is

she, how attractive, what kind of covering on her head
etc.

C. In these patches of black and white, do you SP.A. thea

face of Christ?

"hpter 2 Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind. From Ideas to Reality 41_,j

 Olympics) introduced spins, twirls, and leaps. More recently, Z Wk witha small gioup of your classmates to Identify a
Tarn Lipinsky, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan. Katarina locM business tbat is bouat by a paradigm. What impact is
Wilt, and others have injected an element of gymnastics to this paradigm haviag on the business? Identify the pars -
ice skating, performing triple jumps and double and triple digm and then generate as many creative suggestions as you
Axels. Yet every one of these champions owes a debt of gilt- l can in 20 minutes that would cltttxiiie this paradigm.
itude to Sonja Herne, the daring young skater who had the
creativity and the courage to make innovations on the ice. 3. What can crurpre new do tottvow off existing paradigms?
Until 1968, much like ice skating, the sport of hh
Jumping had changed little since its origins in ancieflt ""' #1
Greece, Athletes sprinted toward the bar and then leap ed .
forward and upward, rolling over the bar face down. In the
1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Dick Fosbury revolutiop- -
ized the sport with his innovative style of high jumping. lie •, .
approached the bar at a different angle and then curved his , 4;
body over the bar face up, kicking his legs over the end of
the jump. Based on the principles of biomechanics, the
"Fosbusy Flop," as the style became known, transfers the
weight of the jumper over the bar in stages. It also requires -
less energy and is more efficient. The result of Fosbury's
Innovation? An Olympic gold medal, a new world high
jump record (Fosbui- y broke the old record by 6 cm), and
the satisfaction of creating a new style of high jumping
. . TIM-
used by athletes across the world even today. •,'' " - -.
Sonja Henie and Dick Fosbury became champions by
apply ing creativity and innovation to the sports they loved -
so much. Similarly, entrepreneurs can become "champi-
ons" in their industrm by using their c reati v e spirits to -
come up with new ideas, better products and services, and
innovative techniques. Successful entrepreneurs rely on
their ability to see the same things everyone else sees and to i Sonja He,ne sa an early innor in figure akath-.g,whb enabled
dream what no one else dreams. her to dominate the sport for many years.
1. What is a paradigm? How does a paradigm stifle Source: "Irmovaoniofihe Olympic Gzes,"Fonatie,sanuy27,Iiyj2,
creativity? pp. 28-29. Photo courtesy of Coct,a Beitmairn, C BeniranrtCorbis.

BARRIERSTO CREATIVITY
4,Un4er-star,sthl0
The number of potential barriers to creativity is virtually limitless—time pressures, urtsupport-
mentsl todes' that
ive managcment, pessimistic co-workers, overly ngid compan y policies, and countless others.
tfms atdMslual
Perhaps the most difficult hurdles to overcome, however, are those that individuals impose on
-. •__. .., _jcg, . -, themselves. In his book A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger von Oech identities 10 "men-
tal locks" that limit individual creativity: 16

1. Searching for the one 'right" answer. Deeply ingrained in most educational systems is the
assumption that there is one "right" answer to a problem. The average student who has
completed four years of college has taken more than 2,600 tests, soil is not unusual for this
one-correct-answer syndrome to become an inherent part of our thinking. In reality, how-
ever, most problems are ambiguous. Depending on the questions one asks, there may be
and usually are) several "right" answers

When representatives from Jacksonville, Florida. made a proposal to the National Football
League (NFL) to host the Super Bowl in 2005, they knew that they had to overcome one major
disadvantage: a lack of high-end hotel space, alwa ys a key factor in the NFL's bid require-
ments. The team's approach was based on the assumption that tie was more than one right
answer to providing upscale hotel space, and they came up with an innovative solution: They
would dock cruise ships along the St. Johns River that would serve as floating hotels, putting
guests within eas y walking distance of the football stadium.' Shortly after the meeting, NFL offi'
ciafs named Jacksonville the host cur for the 2005 Super Bowl, making it the smallest city ever
to host the big game.

42 Section I -The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 Focusing on "being logical." Logic is a valuable part of the creative process, especially when
evaluating ideas and implementing them. However, in the early tmag'n'sstive phases of the
process, logical thinking can restrict creativity. Focusing too much effort on being logical also
discourages the use of one of the mind's most powerful creations: intuition, Von Oech advises
us to 'think something different" and to use nonlogical thinking freely, especially in the imagi-
native phase of the creative process. Intuition, which is based on the accumulated knowledge
and experiences a person encounters over the course of a lifetime and resides in the subcon
scious, can be unlocked. It is a crucial part of the creative process because using it often
requires one to tear down long-standing assumptions that limit creativity and innovation.

Dan Murphy is an entrepreneur who challenges traditional assumptions, and his efforts may
revolutionize agriculture across the world Murphy is using seawater rather than fresh water to
irrigate commercial crops in and areas where fresh water is scarce! For instance, in Mexico's
Baja Peninsula, Murphy company, saline Seed, is raising salicornia (a succulent sprout that
sells for as much as P an ounce in some areas!), the world's first commercial crop to be grown
in soil irrigated by seawater. Murphy, who spent years involved in sea agriculture, reasoned
that because all life derived from seawater plants retain some genetic memory of salt water
Mar ,h 's idea was to " tram " plants over several generations to drink seawater. Starting wiii
salicornia, Murphy's company has branched out into other types of plants and is now develop-
ing seawater-tolerant ornamental shrubs and grasses that would be ideal for golf courses,
farmers, and residential developments. 18

3. Blindly following the rules. We learn at a very early age not to "color outside the lines," and we
spend the rest of our lives blindly obeying such rules. Sometimes creativity depends on our
ability to break the ccisting rules so that we can se new ways of doing things. Consider. for
example, the top row of letters on a standard typewriter or computer keyboard:

QWERTYUIOP

In the 1870s, Sholes & Company, a leading manufacturer of typewriters, began receiving
numerous customer complaints about its typewriter keys sticking together when typ-
ists' fingers were practiced enough to go really fast. Company engineers came up with
an incredibly creative solution to eliminate the problem of sticking [Link] designed
a less efficient keyboard configuration, placing the letters 0 and I (the third and sixth
most commonly used letters of the alphabet) so that the weakest fingers (the ring and
little fingers) would strike them. By slowing down typists with this inefficient keyboard,
the engineers solved the sticking keys [Link], despite the fact that computer
technology has eliminated all danger of sticking keys, this same inefficient keyboard
configuration remains the industry standard!

Constantly being practical. Imagining impractical answers to "what if' questions can be pow-
erful stepping-stones to creative ideas. Suspending practicality for a while frees the mind to
consider creatise solutions that otherwise might never arise. Whenever Thomas Edison hired an
assistant to work in his creative laboratory, he would tell the new. employee, "Walk through
tossn and list 20 things that interest you." When the worker returned, Edison would ask him to
split the list into two columns Then he would say. "Randomly combine objects from column A
and column B and come up with as marry inventions as you can:' Edison's methods for stimu-
lating creativity in his lab proved to be successful: he holds the distinction of being the only per-
son to ha v e earned a patent cvcry year for 65 consecutive years

Viewing play as frivolous. A playful attitude is fundamental to creative thinking. There is a

close relationship between the "haha" of humor and the 'aba" of discovery. Play gives us the
opportunity to reinvent reality and to reformulate established ways of doing things. Children
learn when they play, and so can entrepreneurs. Watch children playing and you will see them
invent new games, create new ways of looking at old things, and learn what works (and what
doesn't) in their games.
Entrepreneurs can benefit from playing in the same way that children do. They, too, can learn
to try new approaches and discover what works and what doesn't. Creativity results when entre-
preneurs take what they have learned at play, evaluate it, corroborate it with other knowledge,
and put it into practice. For instance, a erou p of fund-raisers wss discussing the arrangements
for an upcoming annual fund-raising banquet (which had been the organization's primary

.ihspter 2Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From ideas to Reality 43

 source of income for many years). Lamenting the declining turnout over the past several years
and the multitude of other organizations that were using banquets as a source of revenue, one
officer jokingly said, "Maybe we should have a 'nonbanquet,' where people pay not to tie up
several hours, eat rubber chicken, and listen to some dull speaker talk about a topic they'd rather
not hear about." The other officers laughed at the idea initially and then began throwing in
humorous ideas of their own. The group mustered the courage to try out this creative solution,
and their "nonbanquef" was a tremendous success. It raised more money than the organization
had ever raised before, and no one had to attend!

Becoming overly specialized. Defining a problem as one of "marketing" or "production," or

some other area of specialty limits the ability to see how it might be related to other issues.
Creative thinkers tend to be "explorers," searching for ideas outside their areas of specialty. The
idea for the roll-on deodorant stick came from the ballpoint pen. The famous Mr. Potato Head
toy was invented by a father sitting with his family at the dinner table and noting how much fun
his children had playing withs thes foud. Veicro was invented by a man who, while hiking one
day to take a break from work, had to stop to peel sticky cockleburrs from his clothing. As he
picked them off, he noticed how their hooked spines caught on and held tightly to the cloth. As
he resumed his hike, he began to think about the possibilities of using a similar design to fasten
objects together. Thus was born Velcro!

Avoiding ambiguity. Ambiguity can be a powerful creative stimulus; it encourages us to "think

something different." Being excessively detailed in an imaginative situation tends to stifle cre-
ativity. Ambiguity, however, requires us to consider at least two different, often contradictory
notions at the same time, which is a direct channel to creativity. Ambiguous situations force us
to stretch our minds beyond their normal boundaries and to consider crc ove options we might
otherwise ignore. Although ambiguity is not a desired element when entrepreneurs are evahiat-
ing and smp!emensing ideas, it is a valuable toOl when they are searchin g for creative ideas and
solutions. Entrepreneurs are famous for asking a question and then going beyond the first
answer to explore other possible answers. The result is that they often find business opportuni-
ties by creating ambiguous situations.

- Copreneurs Tom and Sally Fegley, owners of Tom and Sally's handmade Chocolates, consid-
ered the possibility of other answers to the question "What uses exist for chocolate sauce?"
Although most people see chocolate sauce merely as a lopping for ice cream or other desserts,
their friend Larry (whom they have nicknamed 'Dirty Larry') came up with a different idea.
The Fegleys were ln'ing to come up with an innovative recipe that would keep their string of
awards at a local, fund-raising event devoted to celebrating chocolate, she Brown-Out. Their
Jun-loving friend suggested they shoot for the Most Decadent Award. "I'll go naked," he said.
"You paint melted chocolate allover my body, and you'll Win!" Although the Fegleys declined
Larry's offer, his suggestion got them thinking. Before long, Tom had whipped up a batch of
chocolate dessert topping, labeled it "Chocolate Body Paint," and included the following
directions on the bottle: "Heat to 98.6 degrees, apply liberally, and let your imagination run
wild." Today Chocolate Body Paint is the Fegiey 's best-selling product, and it has won awards
I and has been featured in publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Playboy maga-
zine. 'Never judge an idea by its source," advises Sally.20

8. Fearing looking foolish. Creative thinking is no place for conformity! New ideas rarely are
born in a conforming environment. People tend toward conformity because they don't want to
look foolish. The fool's job is to whack at the habits and rules that keep us thinking in the same
old ways. In that sense, entrepreneurs are top-notch "fools," They are constantl y questioning
and challenging accepted ways of doing things and the assumptions that go with them. Noted
entrepreneurship theorist Joseph Schumpeter wrote that entrepreneurs perform a vital
function—"creative desuuctioit"—in which they rethink conventional assumptions and discard
those that are no longer useful. According to Schumpeter, "The function of entrepreneurs is to
reform or revolutionize the pattern of production by exploiting an invention or, more generally,
an untried technological possibility for producing a new commodity or producing an old one tn
a new way, by opening up a new source of supply of materials or a new outlet for products, by
reorganizing an industry or so on. " 2 ' In short, entrepreneurs look at old ways of doing things
and ask, "Is there a better wa y '" By destroying the old, they create the new.
One way entrepreneurs often engage in creative destruction is by reversing their thinking.
For example, one agricultural entrepreneur had been trying to solve a common problem that

44 Section I • The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 automatic picking machines have when pickidg the ftUit frdn apple 6M. The machines, which
are quite efficient at picking apples growing on the outer limbs of the trees, often miss or dam-
age the fruit growing on the inner limbs. For years, he worked to develop a machine with the
dexterity to pick apples in both locations but to no avail, Finally, this entrepreneur reversed his
thinking and began to focus his efforts, not on the picking machine but on the apple tree!
Working with horticulturists, he was able to develop a new breed of tree whose fruit grew only
on the outer limbs, where standard picking machines could easily get to it! By reversing his
thinking, he solved the problem and created a new business opportunity.

9. Fearing mistakes and failure. Creative people realize that trying something new often leads to
failure; however, they do not see failure as an cad. It represents a learning experience on the
way to success. As you learned in Chapter 1, failure is an important part of the creative process;
it signals entrepreneurs when to change their course of action. Entrepreneurship is all about the
oppo'uuity to fail! Many e preneur failed nunscrous thncs iscfora they secdcsi. Despite
their initial setbacks, they were able to set aside the fear of failure and kept flying.
The key, of course, is to we failure for what it really is: a chance to learn how to succeed.
Entrepreneurs who willingly risk failure and learn from it when it occurs have the best chance
of succeeding at whatever they try. Charles F. Kettering, a famous inventor of lighting and igni-
tion systems in automobiles. among other things, explains, "You fail because your ideas aren't
right, but you should learn to fail intelligently. When you fail, find out why you failed and each
time it will bring you nearer to the goal:' 22 Successful entrepreneurs equate failure with inno-
vation rather than with defeat.

10. Believing that "I'm not creative." Some people limit themselves because they believe cre-
ativity belongs only to the Einsteius. Beethovens, and da Vincis of the world.
Unfortunatel y , this belief often becomes a s!f-ñilfilling prophecy. A pe rs on who believes
hc is not creative will, in all iikeii'nuod, behave that way and will make that belief come
true. Successful entrepreneurs recognize that thinking "I'm not creative" is merely an
excuse for inaction. Everyone has within him or her the potential to be creative; not every-
one will tap that potential, however. Successful entrepreneurs find a way to unleash their
creative powers on problems and opportunities.

By avoiding these 10 mental locks, entrepreneurs can unleash their own creativity and the cre-
ativity of those around them as well. Successful entrepreneurs are willing to take some risks,
explore new ideas, play a little, ask "what if?" and learn to appreciate ambiguity. By doing so,
they develop the skills, attitudes, and uiulivation that make them much more creative—one of the
keys to entrepreneurial success. Table 2.1 lists some questions designed to spur imagination.

HOWTO ENHANCE CREATIVITY

S. Unde,sasnd how
Enhancing Organizational Creativity entre"mm con
Creativity doesn't just happen in organizations; entrepreneurs must establish an environment in A* their
which creativity can flourish—for themselves and for their workers. New ideas are fragile cre- croadvitir and that
ations, but the right company culture can encourage people to develop and cultivate them.
Ensuring that workers have the freedom and the incentive to be creative is one of the best ways to
achieve innovation. "Developing a corporate culture that both fosters and rewards creativity.. . is
eiiticai because companies must be able to churn out innovations at a fast pace since technology
has shortened product life cycles?' says Geoff Yang, successful entrepreneur and venture capital-
ist.23 Entrepreneurs can stimulate their own creativity and encourage it among workers by:
Embracing diversity. One of the best ways to cultivate a culture of creativity is to hire a diverse
workforce. When people solve problems or come up with ideas, they do so within the frame-
work of their own experience. Hiring people from different backgrounds, cultural experiences,
hobbies, and interests provides a company with a crucial raw material neMM for creativity.
Expecting creativity. Employees tend to rise—or fail—to the level of expectations entrepre-
neurs have of them. One of the best ways to communicate the expectation of creativity is to
give employees permission to be creative. At one small company that manufactures industrial
equipment, the owner put a "brainstorming board" in a break area. Anyone facing a sticky
problem simply posts it on a brightly colored piece of paper on the board. Other workers are
invited to share ideas and 'uggestions by writing them on white pieces of paper and posting

Chapter 2 • Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality

Questions to Spur the Imagination
People learn at an early age to pursue answers to questions. Creative people, however, Understand that
Sources: Adapted irons Leigh Buchanan. good questions are extremely valuable In the quest for creativity. Some of the greatest breakthroughs its
Thea Singe-. Chnitophr Cauiio. liar, history came as a result of creative people asking thought-provoking questions. Bill Bowerman,
Mortari, and Tahi Real? You Conr, contemplating a design for th, soles of running shoes over a breakfast of waffles, asked, "What would
They Will Build it," inc..Auguss 2002. happen Ill poured rubber Into my waffle iron?" l'f. [Link] that's how Nike shoe, came to be.
p. 70: Creauvity Web."Quesri,n (Bowerman's rubber-coated waffle iron is on display In the Nike Town superstore and museum in
Summary. 0'
Chicago.) Albert Einstein, creator of the theory of relativity, asked, "What would a light wave look like to
ri
someone keeping pace with It!" Masura Ibuka, who created the Sony Walkman, asked, 'Why can't we
A 5. CS: hi,,
atu & P55500. February 1990 p, 20 &is & remove the recording function and speaker and pot headphones on the recorder?" William Riblich, CEO
[Link] 29, 1993. Creativity Quiz." of Foster-Miller Inc.. a company that develop, production equipment for businesses, says his company
In Business, Noven,b.r/Decemher 1991 routinely asks,"ln what other ways can we use this particular techiiology?" Answering that question
p LB Doug Ha!l,Jarnp Sian Coin Bran enabled Foster-Miller to adapt a metallurgical heat-treating technology for use in a candy manufacturing
(NewYo,-k'Wnrner Books. 1995), process.
pp. 86-E7: Chrisvne Canabcu:Imagine The following questions can help spur your inaaglnatiorr -
That. Foss [Link] 200 I p. 55.
I. Is there a new
way to do it? - 8. What if you do just the opposite?
2. Can you borrow, or adapt '? 9. Can you combine ideas?
- . 10. Can you put ft tO amer uses?
J. Can you give Ira new twist?
IL. What else could we make from this?
4. Do you merely need more of the saint?
2. Are there other markets for it
S. Less of the same?
3. Can you reverse it?
6. Is there a substitute?
14. What idea seems impossible but, if executed,
7. Can you rearrange the parcat would revolutionize your taussness'

hen-s around the problem. The hoard has generated many creative solutions that otherwise
would not have come tip.
Expeb big aid toli'rssting failure. Creative ideas will produce failures as well as successes.
People who never fail are not being creative. Creativity requires taking chances, and managers
must remove employees' fear of failure. The Surest way to quash creativity throughout an orga-
nization is to punish employees who tr y something new and fail.
E,icoumgsng crsm'iosirv. Entrepreneurs and their employees constantly should ask "what if"
questions and lake a "maybe we could ... . attitude. Doing so allows them to break out of
assumptions that limit creativity,
½u'sving problems as challenges. Every problem offers the opportunity for innovation.
Entrepreneurs who allow employees to dump al l of their problems on their desks to be "fixed"
do nothing to develop creativity within those employees.
Providing creativity ti-coning. Almost everyone has the capacit y to be creative, but developing
that capacity requires training. One writer claims, 'What separates the average person from
Edison, Picasso, or even Shakespeare isn't creative capacity—it's the ability to tap that capacity
b y encouraging creative impulses and then acting upon them." 24 Training accomplished through
books, seminars, workshops, and professional meetings can help everyone learn to tap their cre-
ative capacity.
Providing support. Entrepreneurs must dYe employees The tools and the resources t hey need to
he creative. One of the most valuable resources is time. Advanced Tissue Sciences, a company
that makes products to replace or repair damaged tissue and organs and has appeared on Inc.
magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing firms, allows employees to spend up to 20 percent of
their time working on "pet projects" that they find exciting and believe, have potential, "That
keeps their energy and their enthusiasm alive," says founder Gail Naughton 25 Entrepreneurs
should s'eimieisibcr that creativity often requires nonwork phases, and allowing employees time to
"daydream" is an important part of the process
Developing a pmcedure for capturing ideas. Workers in every organization come up with cre-
ative ideas--, however, not every organization is prepared to capture those ideas. The unfortunate

46 Section I The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 result is that ideas that may have vaulted a company ahead or made people's livey better simply
evaporate George Calhoun, chairperson of Isco International, a company that makes wireless
communications products, routinely sends employees to work with customers all over the globe,
knowing that they will come back with insights and ideas they might never have had. The com-
pany captures those ideas in "trip reports" that employees make upon their return.26
Rewarding creativity. Entrepreneurs can encourage creativity by rewarding it when it occurs.
Financial rewards can be effective motivators of creative behavior, but nonmonetary rewards
such as praise, recognition, and celebration can be more powerful incentives.

Digital Communications Corporation, a small company that develops advanced wireless tech. A Company Example
nologies, recognizes employees who develop pa nfale. inventions with, stock options, cash
awards, and honors at an Inventors' Dinner The reward system works; within two years after
implementing it, the number of patent applications Digital Communications filed increased by a
factor ,afi'e!2
Modeling creative behavior Creativity is "caught" as much as it is "taught:' Companies that excel
at innovation find that the passion for creativity starts at the top. Entrepreneurs who set examples
of creative behavior, tale chances, and challenge the status quo will soon find their employees
doing the same. Table 22 describes JO "secrets" for leading innova t ion in an organization.

Building a creative environment takes time, but the payoffs can be phenomenal. 3M, a com-
pany that is famous . for iultivating a creative environment, estimates that 70 percent of its
annual sales come from Creative ideas that originated from its workforce, As one creativity con-
sultant explains, "For your employees to be more creative, y ou have to create an environment
that values their Creativity." 25

TABLE 2,2
0 "Secrets" for Leading Creativity
Leaders at innovative companies know that their roles in stimulating creativity and establishing a culture that
embraces and encourages creativity are vital. Katherine Catlin. founder of a consulting firm specializing in
Source Katherine Catlin, "IS Secrets it,
leadership and innovation, has identified the following characteristics exhiSited by leaders of inn-ovation, - Leading Innovation [' Entrepreneur,
I. They think These leaders invest time in thinking because they recognize the power of their own creativity Spir'rmber 2002. p, 72
and the ideas it generates. Reprinted with permission ci
Enirepreneur MedLa, Inc..
2. They ore assonant,. These people are totally focused on the values, vision, and mission of their companies
and express them through their companies' products and services as well as through Its [Link] are
able to communicate to other-s exactly what cOey want to accomplish
3. They listen to customers. They recognize that customers or potential customers can be a valuable source
of new ideas for product or service development and improvement, sales techniques, and market
positioning.
4. They understand how to manage ideas. As they search for new ideas and creative solutions, these managers
look to a variety of sources—customers, employees, the board of directors, and even their own dreams.
S. They ore fseopw tentemed. These leaders hire people for their creative abilities and then place them in a
setting that enables that creativity to blossom. They see their employees and their employees' ideas as an
important part of their companies' competitive edge,
6. They rnoinzoir, a culture of "change." These leaders do not simply manage change; they embrace it-They
seek out change, recognizing that there is a constant need to improve
7. They rnaaio,ize3eam synergy, baionce, and (ixos. Realizing that teamwork testers creativity and inriciwsucin,
thcsc leaders bt;ng cugesher people from diverse backgrounds into teams to maximize their companies'
creative Output, -
S. They hold thenssdem and others occountoble for extremely high standards of performance. These leaders
demand results of the highest quality from themselves and their employees and are unwilling to settle for
anything less,
9. They refuse to (alit "no" for on answer. These leaders persist in the face of adversity even when others say it
cannot be done.
[Link] love eliot they do and have (tin doing a, These leaders' passion for their work in contagious,
empowering everyone in the organization to accomplish everything they possibly can.

:,pcer 2 rude the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality 4LL -

_..
 Enhancing Individual Creativity
Just as entrepreneurs can cultivate an environment of creativity in their organizations by using
the techniques described previously, they also can enhance their own creativity by using the fol-
lowing techniques:
Allow yourself to be creative. As we have seen, one of the biggest obstacles to creativity occurs
when a person believes that he or she is not creative. Giving yourself the permission to be cre-
ative is the first step toward establishing a pattern of creative thinking.
Give your mind fresh input every day. To be creative, your mind needs stimulation. Do some-
thing different each day—listen to a new radio station, take a walk through a park or a shopping
center, or pick up a magazine you never read.

Wim When Janet Harris Lange. founder of Agenda Dynamics Inc., a meeting and event management
compan y, needs afresh idea for an upcoming event, she makes an effort to expose her mind to
new stimuli. In the past, she has walked through a second-hand thrift shop. shopped in a dime
store, talked with children, and put on funny hats to generate creative ideas for her clients'
events, something that is vital to her company's success. "To he better than the competition, I
have to employ creative thinking," she says.29
Recognize the creative power of mistakes. Innovations sometimes are the result of serendipity,
finding something while looking for something else, and sometimes they arise as a result of
mistakes. Creative people recognize that even their errors may lead to new ideas, products, and
services. Charles Goodyear worked for five years trying to combine rubber with a variet y of
chemicals to prevent it from being too soft in hot weather and too brittle in cold weather. One
cold night in 1839, Goodyear was combining rubber, sulfur, and white lead when he acciden-
sally spilled some of the smxture on a work stove. The subsiajices ineitd togethes to forma new
compound that had just the properties Goodyear was looking for Goodyear named the process
he discovered accidentally "vulcanization," and today practically every product made from rib-
ber depends on it. '°
Keep a journal hand y to record your thoughts and ideas. Creative ideas are too valuable to
waste so always keep a journal nearby to record them as soon as you get them. Patrick
McNaughson invented the neon blackboards that restaurants USC to advertise their specials In
addition to the neon blackboard, McNaaghton has invented more than 30 new products, many
of which are sold through the company that he and his sister, Jansie. own. McNaughton credits
much of his creative success to the fact that he writes down every idea he gets and keeps it in a
special folder. "There's no such thing as a craz y idea," he insists.31
Listen to other people. No rule of creativity says that an idea has to be your own Sometimes
the best business ideas come from someone else, but entrepreneurs are the ones to act on them.
J. S. Fletcher and Kathy Newburn decided to launch their business, [Link] , a busi-
ness that writes customized romance novels, after a friend mentioned the idea as a passing
comment. Since launching their business moremore i/ian a decade ago, the couple (who decided
to marry after they started their business together) has written 10 novels under the pseudo-
nym Fletcher Newbern. Customers go to the compan y 's Web site, fill out a questionnaire that
gathers all of the necessary information, pick the setting (which ranges from a dude ranch
on the open plains to the mountains of North Carolina), and select the t ype of novel they
want ("mild" or "wild"I.t'
[Link] and I Retthr got the
idea for [Link] from a friend's
passing comment It a party.

Courtesy nlYeurt'tou,I corn, Inc

48 Section I 'The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 ItPLJ De U1

Consultant... .
free private showing for the city's taxi drivers. Some of
The Creative Side of Entrepreneurship the museum's snooty, blue-blooded patrons scoffed at
When St. Petersburg, one of the most splendid, harmo- the idea and dismissed it as an exercise in foolishness.
nious cities an Europe, was being laid out early in the After all, they said, taxi drivers aren't known for their
eighteenth century, many large boulders brought by a polish or their culture. But the museum managers per-
glacier from Finland had to be removed. One particu- sisted. Impress the cab drivers, they reasoned, and the
lar!" large rock was in thc podi or one of the principal ",..e'ubies" would be more likely to recommend the new
avenues that had been planned, and bids were solicited exhibit to their customers, who would, in turn, flock to
for its removal. The bids submitted were very high. This the museum. That's exactly what happened. During the
was understandable, because at that time modem equip. exhibit's run in Cleveland, the museum enjoyed
nsent did not exist and there were no high-powered shoulder-to-shoulder attendance, thanks to talkative cab
cspiosives. As officials pondered shat to do, a peasam drivers and creative museum managers!
presented himself and offered to [Link] of the boulder The principal at one Oregon middle school used cre-
for a much lower price than those submitted by other ativity to solve a maintenance problem. Girls would put
bidders. Since they had nothing to lose; cifficials gave on lipstick in the bathrooms and then press their lips to
the job to the peasant. the mirror, leaving dozens of sticky lip prints that the
The next morning he showed up with a crowd of maintenance crew had to scrub off. The principal invited
other peasants carrying shovels, They began digging a all of the girls to the bathroom, where she explained the
huge hole ocst to the iosk. They propped up the rock- problem and the time and cost atsocialed with cicianilig
with timbers to prevent it from rolling into the hole. the mirrors every day. She then asked the maintenance
When the hole was deep enough, thetimber props were man to demonstrate how difficult it was to scrub off the
removed and the rock dropped into the hole below the lipstick. He took out a tong-handled squeegee, dipped it
Street level. Then they covered it with dirt and carted the in a toilet, and proceeded to clean the mirror with it.
excess dirt away. Since then, no lip prints have appeared on the mirrors in
It's an early example of what creative thinking can do the girls' bathrooms!
to solve a problem. The unsuccessful bidders only thought
about moving the rock from one place to another on the 1. Contact a local small business owner and ask about a
city's surface. The peasant looked at the problem from problem that his or her company is facing. Work with a
another angle. He considered another dimension—up and small team of your classmates and use the type of creative
down, He couldn't lift it up, so he put it underground! thinking described here to generate potential solutions to
Managers at the Cleveland Museum used a similar the problem. Remember to think creatively!
kind of creative thinking to ensure the success of a daz- Sourcm' Br,,ra Pry wd Mn Leht"Side by S,k (on's,i,ApriI"Mw
zling exhibit of ancient Egyptian treasures. Taking a dif- 2004p, II R Dy. "OddbiI dsai Are"5 So Odd.' indany Wk,
ferent marketing approach, museum managers held a 3. I 992, p. 7 au & Pot, Oesth IS, 1992, pp. a.. to.

Talk to o child. As we grow older, we learn to conform to society's expectations about many
ihine y, including creative solutions to problems. Children place ver y few limitations on their
tlimking as a result. thctr creativity is practically boundless. (Remember all of the games you
and your fiends invented when you were young?)
Keep a to y box in sour office. Your box might include silly objects such as wax lips, a vovo. a
Slinky, fortune cookie savings, leathers, a to p, a compass, or a host of other items. When you
are stumped, pick an item at random from the toy box and think about how it relates to your
problem.
Read hooks on stimulating creativity or take a class on crearicit5. Creative thinking is a tech
nique that anyone can learn. Understanding and applying the principles of creativity can
impioc diamailcaily anyone's ability to develop new and innovative ideas.
Take some time off. Relaxation is vital to the creative process. Getting away from a problem
gives the mind time to reflect on it. It is often during this time, while the subconscious works on
a problem, that the mind generates many creative solutions, One creativity expert claims that that
fishing is the ideal activity for stimulating Creativity. "Your brain is on high alert in case a fish is
aroo,d" he says,"hut y our brain is completely relaxed, this combination is the time when you
have the 'Aha' moment.-33

Cpoa 2 Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind From Ideas to Reality 49

 THE CREATIVE PROCESS
6 DIlt-th4 PAP,$ Although creative ideas may appear to strike as suddenly as a bolt of lightning they are actu
p Ass. ally the result of the creative process, which involves seven steps:

I. preparation
2. investigation
3. transformation
4. incubation
5. illumination
6. verification
7. implementation

Step 1. Preparation. This step involves getting the mind ready for creative thinking.
Preparation might include a formal education, on-the-job training, work experience, and
taking advantage of other learning opportunities. This training provides a foundation on
which to h,iihl ti-eativity and innovation. As one wnter explains, "Creativity favors the pre-
pared mind." 34 For example, Dr. Hamel Navia, a scientist at tiny Vertex Pharmaceuticals,
recently developed a promising new drug to fight the AIDS virus. His preparation included
earning an advanced degree in the field of medicine and learning to use computers to create
3-D images of the protein molecules he was studying. 35 How can you prepare your mind for
creative thinking?
• Adopt the attitude of a lifelong student. Realize that educating yourself is a neverending
pwcess. Ltiok at every situation you encounter as an opportunity to learn.

Ravi Vaidyanathan, a research scientist at Orbital Research inc.. a small high-tech firm based
in Cleveland, began studying the reflexes of the cockroach after observing its uncanny ability to
escape an approaching shoe. Vaidyanathan used what he learned from the insect to create a
neural network called BioAVERT based on a mathematical algorithm for the company that
promises to improve the navigation systems in cars, ships, airplanes, and other methods of
transportation. "By mimicking a cockroach,' he sa y s, 'we're able to come up with a neural
network-for veryfast responses."6
a Read. . . a lot - . - and not just in your field of expertise. Many innovations come from
blending ideas and concepts from different fields in science, engineering, business, and the
arts. Reading books, magazines, and papers covering a wide variety of subject matter is a
great way to stimulate your creativity.
in Clip articles of interest to you and create a file for them. Over time, you will build a cus-
tomized encyclopedia of information from which to draw ideas and inspiration.
a Take time to discuss your ideas with other people, including those who know little about the
topic as well as experts in the field. Sometimes the apparently simple questions an
"unknowledgeable" person asks lead to new discoveries and to new approaches to an old
problem.

Dow' Wiggins. president of American Wilderness Experience, Inc., an adventure travel com-
pany, gets valuable ideas ffom his wife, Carol, u ,,eiwork of business advisors, and his employ-
ees. The idea for the company's most popular trip, snownwbiling in Yellowstone National Park,
came from one of the company's guides. "Ifind it extremely helpful to get different perspectives
from people I respect and trust," says Wiggins. 3
• Join professional or trade associations and attend the meetings. There you have the chance
to brainstorm with others who have similar interests. Learning how other people have
solved a particular problem ma y give you fresh insight into solving it.
• Invest time in studying other countries and their cultures; then travel there. Our global econ-
omy offers incredible business opportunities for entrepreneurs with the necessary knowl-
edge and experience to recognize them. One entrepreneur began a lucrative business
exporting a variety of conssme r products to Latvia after he accompanied his daughter there
on a missionary trip. He claims that he never would have seen the opportunity had he not
iravekd to Latvia with his daughter.,

- i 50 Section I 'The Challenge ofntrepreneurship

 • Develop listening skills. It's amazing what you can leans if you take the time to listen to
other people—especially those who are older and have more experience. Try to learn some-
thing from everyone you meet.
Step 2. Investigation. This step requires developing a solid understanding of the problem, sit-
uation, or decision at hand. To create new ideas and concepts in a particular field, an individ-
ual first must study the problem and understand its basic components. Creative thinking
comes about when people make careful observations of the world around them and then inves-
tigate the way things work (or tail to work). For example, Dr. Navia and another scientist at
Vertex had spent several years conducting research on viruses and on a protein that blocks a
virus enzyme called protease. His exploration of the various ways to block this enzyme paved
the way for his discovery.

For Joe Moya and Joe Raid, cofounders of Joe Designer Inc., the creative process is the y.J'vtmm,--
key to their company's success. Joe Designer has created and developed a myriad of
award-winning designs for companies ranging from Betty Crocker to Kodak. Raid explains
the importance of the investigation phase as he and Moya prepare their creative ream for
an assignment. "We familiarize ourselves with market trends, the past history of the prod-
uct," he says. "We research by flipping through magazines. We pin article.,, photos, every-
thing upon the walls and familiarize the whole team with what the history is and what we
want to achieve." 38
Step 3. Transformation. Transformation involves viewing the similarities and the differences convergent thinking—the
in the information collected. This phase requires two types of thinking convergent and diver- ability to see similarities and the
gent. Convergent thinking is the ability to see the similarities and the connections among vat- connections among various data
bus data and events. "d eve'ia.

While working for Dow Chemical Company, Mike Biddle was disturbed by the difficulties LA Company Example
of recycling and reusing the high-tech plastics he and his team developed for the aerospace
industry. When he left Dow in 1992. Biddle decided to start MBA Polymers inc., a
research and development company that focuses on recycling the plastic from consumer
durables such as computers, monitors, televisions, and other common products.
Traditional plastics recycling equipment was not durable enough to handle the job. The
first barrier Biddle and former Dow co-worker Trip Alien had to overcome was finding a
way to separate the plastic components from other materials such as glass, metal, and
paper Using convergent thinking, Biddle and Allen searched for similarities in the equip-
ment used by other industries such as mining, agriculture, and food processing, where
sorting and separating materials is an important part of the process. Creative thinking (eel
them to adapt a machine that was used to shred nail-filled wooden pallets to separate met-
als from the plastic; they used a piece affirm equipment that separated wheat from chufi
to remove paper labels from the plastic mix. They modified a mining machine that
extracted minerals from rocks to separate different grades of plastic. The founders' ability
to use convergent thinking allows MBA Polymers to produce recycled plastic that is 20 Ic
25 percent cheaper than virgin plastic. The company now churns out more than 500,0055
pounds of recycled plastic each month.39

Divergent thinking is the ability to see the differences among various data and events, divergent thinking--the
While developing his AIDS-fighting drug, Dr. Navia studied the work of other scientists ability to see differences among
whose attempts at developing an eoytnc-b!ocking drug had failed. He was able to see the various data and events,
similarities and differences between his research and others' research and to build on their
successes while avoiding their failures.
How can you increase your ability to transform the information collected into a purpose-
ful idea?
• evaluate the parts of the situation, seversl times, txying to grasp thc "big picture." Gettng
bogged down in the details of a situation too early in the creative process can diminish cre-
ativity. Look for patterns that emerge.
• Rearrange the elements of the situation. By looking at the components of an issue in a dif-
ferent order or from a different perspective, you may be able to see the similarities and the
differences among them more readily. Rearranging them also may help uncover a familiar
pattern that had been masked by an unfamiliar structure.

2 • Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality Si

A-
 • Before locking into one particular approach to a situation, remember that several
approaches might be successful. If one approach produces a dead end, don't hesitate to
Jump quickly to another. Considering several approaches to a problem or opportunity
simultaneously would be like rolling a bowling ball down each of several lanes in quick
succession. The more balls you roll down the lanes, the greater is the probability of hitting
at least one strike. Resist the temptation to make snap judgments on how to tackle a prob-
lem or opportunity. The first approach may not be the best one.
Step 4. Incubation. The subconscious needs time to reflect on the information collected. To
an observer, this phase of the creative process would be quite boring; it looks as though noth-
ing is happening! In fact, during this phase, it may appear that the creative person is loafing.
Incubation occurs while the individual is away from the problem, often engaging in some
totally unrelated activity. Dr. Navia's creative powers were working at a subconscious level
even when he was away from his work and not even thinking about his research on AIDS-
fighting drugs.
can you enha ,e die incubation phase ot the creative process, letting ideas marinate
in your mind?

• Walk away from the situation. Often doing something totally unrelated to it will give your
subconscious mind the chance to work on the problem or opportunity. One expert suggests
that the "three h's"—hath, bed, and bus -are conducive to ciectiviry. '1 do some 05 my best
thinking in my hot tub at home," says American Wilderness Experience's Dave Wiggins. "I
sit there, look at the stars, and come up with some pretty good ideas."40
• Take the time to daydream. Although it may took as if you're doing nothing, daydreaming
is an important part Of the creative process. That's when your mind is most free from para-
digms and other self-imposed restrictions on creativity. Feel free to lt your mind wander.
and it may just stumble Onto a creative solution.
• Relax—and play--regularly. Perhaps the worst thing you can do for creativity is to work on
a problem or opportunity constantly. Soon enough, fatigue walks in and creativit y walks
out' Great ideas often are incubated on the golf course, on the basketball court, iii the gar-
den, or in the hammock.
• Dream about the problem or opportunity. Although you ma y not be able to dream on
command, thinking about an issue just before you drift off to sleep can he an effective
way to encourage your mind to work on it while you sleep, a process called lucid dream-
ing. When he gets in bed, prolific inventor, serial entrepreneur, and author Ray Kurzweil
focuses on a particular problem, sometiim,cs imagining that he is giving a speech about his
success at solving it. "This has the purpose of seeding your subconscious to influence
your dreams," he explains. Often, while he is asleep, ideas and potential solutions to the
problem drift into his dreams. When he begins to awaken but is still in that nethei-land of
semi-sleep. Kurzweil merges the logic of conscious thought with the content of his
dreams. The process often produces astonishing insights that Kurzweil says he otherwise
might have missed.4t
• Work on the problem or opportunity in a different environment—somewhere other than the
office. Take your work outside on a beautiful fall day or sit on a bench in a mall. The change
of scenery will likely stimulate your creativity.
Step 5. !lumisiation. This phase of the creative process occurs at some point during the
incubation stage when a spontaneous breakthrough causes "the lightbulb to go on." It may
take place after five minutes—or five years. In the illumination stage, all of the previous
stages come together to produce the "Eureka factor"—the creation of the innovative idea.
In one study of 200 scientists, go percent said that at least once a solution to a problem had
"just popped into their heads—usually when they were away from the problem 42 For Dr.
Navia, the illumination stage occurred one day while he Was reading a scientific journal
As he read, Dr. Navia sa y s he was struck with a "hallucination" of a novel way to block
Protease.
Although the creative process itself ma y last for months or even years, the suddenness with
which the illumination step occurs can he deceiving. For example:
One night, Kent Murphy, an electrical engineer, began dreaming about what it would be
like to be a photon of light. "I was riding a ray of light moving through the fiber," he recalls
about his dream. Murphy. who holds 30 patents, used the insight from his dream to invent a
fiber-optic gauge that monitors on a real-time basis the structural wear in airplanes. 43 Barry

Section I -The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 Kemp says that the idea for the TV series Coach popped into his head—characters, plot
line, and all—at 3 o'clock in the morning. He got up and scribbled seven pages of notes that
became the foundation for the successful sit-corn. A professor of mathematical sciences
came up with an important new theory to explain how gravity works in the rotation of spiral
galaxies, a problem that has perplexed physicists and astronomers for ciecades, while gazing
at a ceiling fan in a restaurant. Like a point on the blade of a ceiling fan, he thought (he was
daydreaming at the time), the speed of a star in a spinning galaxy is slower if it lies closer to
the axis. He developed an equation to test his theory and then compared its results to vari-
ous measurements of galactic rotation. The results were consistent with reality, and the
theory worked!'
Step 6. Verification. Validating the idea as accurate and useful, for entrepreneurs, may
include conducting experiments, running simulations, test marketing a product or service,
establishing small-scale pilot programs, building prototypes, and many other activities
dcsignd to verify LISt the new idea will work and is practical to implement. The goal is to
subject the innovative idea to the test of cold, hard reality. At this phase, appropriate questions
to ask include:
• Is it really a better solution to a particular problem or opportunity? Sometimes an idea that
appears to have a bri ght future in the tab nr on paper dime cunsiderabl,..heu put i. the test
of reality.
• Will it work?
• Is there a need for it?
• If so, what is the best application of this idea in the marketplace?
• Does this product or service idea fit into our core competencies?
• How much will it cost to produce or to provide?
• Can we sell it at a reasonable price that will produce adequate sales, profit, and return on
investment for our business?
Raintron International Corporation, a maker of memory chips, uses a "product justification
form" to collect usformalion from the idea generator as well as from other departments in the
company soil can verify the potential of each idea. 45 To test the value of his new drug formu-
lation, Dr. Navia used powerful computers at Vertex Pharmaceuticals to build 3-D Tinkertoy-
like models of the HIV virus and then simulated his new drug's ability to block the prorease
enzyme. Subsequent testing of the drug verified its safety. "I was convinced that 1 had an
insight that no one else had," he recalls.
Step 7 Implementation. The focus of this step is to transform the idea into reality. Plenty of
people come up with creative ideas for promising new products or services, but most never
take them beyond the idea stage. What sets entrepreneurs apart is that they act on their ideas.
An entrepreneur's philosophy is 'ready, aim, fire," not "ready, aim, aim, aim, aim

NCT Group. a small company, had developed a system that cent mirror images of sound waves
A Company Example
through ceramic tiles to cancel Out noise. One day, an engineer wondered what would happen
if he cent music instead of "anti-noise" through the tiles. He connected a radio to the unit, and
from the flat tiles came the sound of the Beatles! The company took the engineer's discovery
and developed 2-inch-thick, wall-mounted speakers that produce high-quality audio for ihe
consumer market! Another small business, Cygnus inc., had created a patch that was designed
to deliver drug.v through the wearer's skin, While taking apart a patch one day, a researcher
realized that not only did it deliver drags, but it also absorbed material from the body. Cv gnus
tranfo, -ned she discovery into a line of watchlike devices that monitor the glucose levels of
diabetic patients.47

The key to both companies' success was their ability to take a creative idea for a useful new
product and turn it into a reality. As one creativity expert explains, "Becoming more creative
is really lust a matter of paying attention to that endless flow of ideas you generate, and learn-
ins to capture and act upon the new that's within you."48
For Dr. Navia and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the implementation phase required testing the
drug's ability to fight the deadly virus in humans. If it proved to be effective, Vertex would
complete the process by bringing the drug to market. In this final phase of testing, Navia was
so certain that he was on the verge of a major breakthrough in fighting AIDS that he couldn't
Open p at night. Unfortunately, the final critical series of tests proved that Dr. Navia's flash of

'hap ter 2' Inside the Entrepreneuri3t Mind: From Ideas to Reality 53
 YOU Be the other mundane products including a radio-controlled toy

Consultant. hang glider, a stadium seat filled with self-inflating

foam, and,a pop-open beach mat, all of which they sold
on QVC. The duo gained a reputation for getting prod-
Reinventing the Wheel ucts from the idea stage to market with incredible speed.
The beach mat, for instance, went from prototype to
Brian Le Gette and Ron Wilson have built a highly suc- market in just eight weeks! "Innovation is the easy part,"
cessful company. Big Bang Products, by focusing their says Le Gette. "The difficult part is choosing the right
creativity on everyday products that most people never innovation."
think about: sunglasses, gloves, beach chairs, stadium Big Bang Products now has annual sales of more than
seats, and others. It all started, however, when Le Gette $35 million and is growing rapidly. In addition to QVC,
and Wilson, both trained as en gineers. became f,-[Link] the company's products arc sold through iciajiers such as
while studying at Wharton Business School, They decided Nordstrom, REI, Target, Eddie Bauer, and others. Le Gene
that they could come up with a better design for earmuffs, and Wilson now focus their attention on a narrower line of
one that would enable them to keep their ears warm with- products, those with the greatest market potential, but they
out looking like dorks. In their first year of business remain true to their original business concept: innovating
school, Le Gene and Wilson designed an expandable, CO!- everyday pioduct. One of their latest innovations is a pair
lapsible, fleece-covered ear warmer that wrapped around of gloves equipped with "exhale beating technology." a
the back of the wearer's head rather than over the top. small port the wearer blows into to warm his or her hands.
Their design was lighter, lest bulky, and looked much bet- The company is working with the Department of Defense
ter than traditional earmuffs. "We thought the engineering about the gloves' potential military applications. The com-
would he telatisely simple," sa ys Wilson. But to make it so pany's sunglasses have pivoting temples that fold in from
it stayed on people's heads was complex. On a shopping of the lenses, making them less likely to gel, scratched and
spree at Wal-Mart the duo bou ght a variety of plastic items easie r to put i nto a pocket. "We have an inexhaustible
they could cut apart and reglue or rivet together to make a desire to question the things that most people think have
crude prototype. already been answered," says Le Gette. "And that's how
Le GeDe and Wilson decided that their design had we succeed at reinventing the wheel,"
market potential. so in 1993 they charged $7,500 of
start up expenses on their credit cards and launched Big 1. What is Big Bang Products' competitive edge in the mar-
Bang Products. By the fall of 1994, they were selling ketplace?
their distinctive earmuffs to fellow students on the
University of Pennsylvania's main thoroughfare. Then 2. Try the company's approach yourself. Work with a team
came a big break, Two of their classmates had landed of your classmates to select an everyday product and brain--
internships at shopping network QVC and convinced Le stonn ways it could be improved.
Gette and Wilson to pitch their earmuffs on television.
3. How would you determine the market potential of your
The first 5.000 earmuffs sold out in just eight-and-a-half
new and improved design?
minutes. By 1997. they had sold more than 600,000 ear-
muffs on QVC' Sources: Adapted finn Donna Penn, "The B-School Boys," Inc.,
Later that year, they raised $2 million in capital, hired September 2001 p. 78: Big J5aig Products, [Link]'
five employees, and turned their attention to innovating

creativity was, as he now says. "completely, totally, and absolutely incorrect." Although his
intuition proved to be wrong this time, Dr Navia's iesearch into fighting AIDS continues.
Much of the currcnt work at Veit, is based on Dr. Navias original idea. Although proved
to be incorrect, his idea has served a valuable purpose: generating new ideas. "We are now
applying a powerful technology in HIV research that wasn't used before, one inspired by a
hunch, he says.49

TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING THE CREATIVE PROCESS

7. Discuss techniques
Teams of people working together usual!" can generate more and more creative ideas. Three
for improving the
techniques that are especially useful for improving the quality of creative ideas front are
creative process.
brainstorming, mind-mapping, and rapid prototyping.

- Secticri I The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a process in which a small group of people interact with ver y little structure Brainstorming_–a process in
with the goal of producing a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas. The goal is to create which a small group of people
an open, uninhibited atmosphere that allows members of the group to "freewheel" ideas. interact with very little structure
Participants should suggest any ideas that come to mind without evaluating or criticizing them, with the goal of producing a large
As group members interact, each idea sparks the thinking of others, and the spawning of ideas quantity of novel and imaginative
becomes contagious. For a brainstorming session to be successful, entrepreneurs should follow
these guidelines:

• Keep the group small—five to eight members. If possible, include people with different back-
grounds and perspectives. At Joe Design Inc., every employee in the small firm takes pars in
brainstorming sessions. "We bring in everybody from the bookkeeper to the office manager
because they see things com pletel y differently th an we do," says
• Company rank and department affiliation are irrelevant. Every member of the brainstorming
learn on equal ground.
• Have a well-defined probletn for the group to address, but don't reveal it ahead of time.
Otherwise, participants will discuss their ideas, criticize them, and engage in other creativity-
limi[iti activities. Stating the problem in the form of a 'why," "how," or 'what" question
often helps.
• Limit the session to 40 to 60 minutes. Beyond that, participants grow weary and creativity flags.
• Appoint someone (preferably not a brainstorming participant) to the job of recorder. The recorder
should write all ideas on a flip chart or board so that everyone can see them.
• Use a sealing pattern that encourages communication and interaction (e.g.. circular or U-shaped
airangC
• Throw logic out the window. The best [Link] sessions are playful and any tiling but logical.
• Encourage all ideas from the team, even wild and extreme ones. Not onl y can ideas that ini-
tially seem crazy get the group's creative juices flowing, but they also can spread creativity like
wildfire. in addition, the group Often can polish some of these wild ideas into practical, cre-
ative solutions.
• Establish a goal of auantrv of ideas over quality of ideas. There will be plenty of time later to
evaluate the ideas generated. At ideo Inc.. a Silicon Valley design finn, brainstorming teams
shoot for at least IO ideas in a 30- to 45-minute session. 5 ' When chemist Linus Paultng received
his second Nobel Prize, someone asked him how he Caine up with so many great ideas. Pauling
replied simply, 1 conic up with lots of ideas
• Forbid evaluation or criticism of any idea during the brainstorming session. No idea is a bad idea.
Critiisin slams the brakes on the creative process instantiv

© 1998 ISSNOYCL9SSSRGEN.
t-,MAiO RANOF©[Link]
REPRINTED BY PESMIS90N OF RANDY
GLASBERGEN.

"Sometimes you get a brainstorm,

sometimes you just get the clouds."

:ter 2 • Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality

 • Encourage participants to use "idea hitch-hiking," building new ideas on those already suggested.
Often some of the best solutions are those that are piggybacked on others.

Brainstorming is a powerful tool: teams of workers using brainstorming will produce a greater
quantity of ideas and higher-quality ideas than individuals working alone on the same problem.
Several software packages, including IdeaFisher Pro. ThoughtPath, and Inspiration, are
designed to guide both individuals and teams of people through the brainstorming process.

Mind-Mapping
Another useful tool for jump-starting creativity is mind-mapping, an extension of brainstorm-
ing. One strength of mind-mapping is that it reflects the way the brain actually works. Rather
than throwing out ideas in a linear fashion, the brain jumps from one idea to soother. in many
creative sessions ideas are rushing out so fast that many are lost if a person attempts to shove
mind-mapping--a graphical them into a linear outline. Creativity suffers. Mind-mapping is a graphical technique that
technique that encourages encourages thinking on both sides of the brain, visually displays the various relationships
thssking on both sides of the
among ideas, and improves the ability to view a problem from many sides.
brain, v,sua!iy displays the various
ThC mi nd-rnapping process works this way:
relationships among ideas, and
Improves the ability to view a • Start by writing down or sketching a picture symbolizing the problem or area of focus in the ceo-
problem from many sides. ter of a large blank page. Tony Buzan, originator of the mind-mapping technique, suggests using
ledger paper or covering an entire wall with butcher paper to establish a wide open attitude
toward creativity.
• Write down every idea that conic, into sout mind. connecting cacti idea to the central picture or
words wtth a Usc kcv worth and synabois to record ideas in shorthand Work as quickly as
possible for no more than 20 minutes, doing your best to capture the tide of ideas that flows from
y our brain. Just as in brainstorming, do not judge she quality of your ideas; just get them Onto the
paper. Build new ideas on the backs of existing ones. if you see a connection between a new idea
and one already on the paper, connect them with a line. If not, simply connect the idea to the cen-
ter sy mbol. You will orsanize your ideas later in the process.
• When the flow of ideas slows to a trickle, stop! Don't try to force creativity.
• Allow your mind to rest for a few minutes and then begin to integrate the ideas on the page into
a riimnd map. Use colored pens and markers to connect ideas with similar themes or to group
id.s into related clusters As you organze y our thoughts, look for new connections among your
idess Sometimes the braiti needs time to process the ideas in a mind map. (Recall the incuba-
tion stage of the creative process.) 'Walking away front the mind map and the problem for a few
minutes or a few hours may lead to several new ideas or to new relationships among ideas. One
entrepreneur created the format for his company's business plan with a mind map rather than
with a rradttional linear outline. Whets he finished, lie not only knew what he should include in
his plan hut he also had a clear picture of the order in which to sequence the elements.

Rapid Prototyping
Generating creative ideas is a critical step in the process of taking an idea for a product or a ser-
vice successfull y to the market. However, entrepreneurs find thatmost of their ideas won't
work, amid that's where rapid [Link] plays an important part in the creative process. The
rapid prototyping__tise premise behind rapid prototyping is that transforming an idea into an actual model will point
p rocess af creating a mdcf of an out flaws in the original idea and will lead to improvements in its design. "If a picture is worth
idea, enabling on entrepreneur to
a thousand words, a prototype is worth ten thousand," says Steve Vassallo of Tiled Inc.53
discover flaws in the idea to
The three pnncip .les of rapid prototyping are the three R's: rough, rapid and right. Models
improvemen in the
improvements ..
dessgn. do not have to be perfect; ni fact, ni the early phases of developing an idea, perfecting a model
usually is a waste of time. The key is to make the model good enough to determine what works
and what does not. Doing so allows an entrepreneur to develop prototypes rapidly, moving
closer to a successful design with each iteration. The final R, right, means building lots of small
models that focus on solving particular problems with an idea. "You're not trying to build a
complete model," says Vassallo. "You're just focusing on a small Section of it ,54

Section I The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

YOU Be the To evaluate creative ideas for their commercial potential,

Consultant .. Mail Boxes Etc. relies on a set of 20 criteria, each weighted to

reflect its importance, and a scoring scale of minus 2 to plus 2.
By multiplying an idea's score on each criteria by the crite-
Evaluating ideas forTheir Market Potential ria's weight, managers calculate a total score that gives them a
sense of an idea's market potential. Michael Michalko, author
Legend has it that in 1899,. Charles H. Duel!, U.S. of Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Geniuses,
Commissioner of Patents, advised President McKinley to suggests using the PMI (plus, minus, interesting) technique.
close the U.S. Patent Office because "everything that can be "First, list all of the positive (plus) aspects of the idea," he
invented has been invented." Duell was way off the mark, of says "Then list all of the negative (minus) aspects of the idea.
roursp. the U.S. Patent and Tre4einark OfT,, las issued Lent, bat cv thing that's iittcteating [about
Itj, but you're not
more than 7 million patents since 1899. However, does a sure if it's a plus or a mthus' Evaluating an idea in this way
great idea that eams.a patent mean that the inventor has the will lead to one of three results. "You'll deride it's a bad idea,
foundation for a successful business? you'll decide it's a good idea, or you'll recycle it into some-
Not necessarily. Alden McMurtrys, a Connecticut tin- thing else," says Michalka
kerer. in 1911 r,sshed so tile U.S. Parent Office with his Ti3' your band at this process. Assume the role of consul-
immortal design for the bubble-hat, it used a hidden gas tant and help Ranch Altschtil evaluate the market potential of
canister to send soap bubbles out of a hat—perfect, Mr. her business idea. One day, Randi was trying to use her mal-
McMurlrys thought, for showssopping chorus numbers. It functioning cellular phone in her car when she became so
never became a commercial success. Other patents that frustrated that she was tempted to throw the expensive
demonstrate Americans' creative if not always marketable phone out the window. That's when the idea of a disposable
ideas include the underwater airplane, protective glasses for cellul& phone came to her. Using her background in invent-
chickens, a 12-foot-long TV romoic COI1O!, bird diapers, ing board gai1es, kandi worked with enrineers to design an
and a dog-shaped vacuum cleaner. ultrathin (the equivalent of three credit cards), inexpensive
How can art evaluate the market potential phone whose circuitry is printed in conductive ink. The
of a new product or service idea? The following questions 2-inch by 3-inch phone gives users 60 minutes of calling
can help any entrepreneur or inventor assess the profit time (outgoing calls only) and a hands-free attachment, all
potential of a creative. idea: for an estimated average price of $20 (and a $2 to $3 rebate
for returning the phone instead of tossing it). Ranui and part-
• What benefits does the product or service offer cus- ner Lee Volte are working through their company, Dieceland
tomers? Is there a real need for it? Technologies, to apply the same technology used in the cell
• Have you pinpointed the exact problems or difficulties phone to create a paper laptop computer that they expect to
your idea aims to solve? Have you considered the prob- serve as an Internet access device that will sell for $20.
lems or difficulties it might create?
1. Use the resources on the World Wide Web and your
• On a scale of Ito 10, bow difficult will it be to execute library to explore the prospects for Randi Altschul's cell
the idea and sell it commercially? phone.
• Does the product or service have natural sales appeal?
Can customers afford it? Will they buy it? Why? 2. Use the information you collect to answer as many of the
• What existing products or services would compete with questions listed here as possible. Conduct a PMI (plus,
your idea? Is your product or service superior to these minus, interesting) analysis for Randi's idea.
competing products or services? If so, in what way? Sau,res; Adapted from Many Bellis. "Disposable Cell Pttone-.--Phonr
• On a scale of I to 10, how easily can potential customers Card Phone," Inventors, r,[Link]]wcekly/
understand the benefits of your new product or service [Link]; Joshua Hyatt, "insult an, Inventive Mind." FSB, March
dcii? Arc they obvious? 2010. p. 26; Jane Bahls, "Got a Winner?" Business SEan-Ups, March
• On a scale of Ito 10, how complex is the product or ser- 1999, pp. 6-7: Patricia L. Fry, "Inventor's Workshop:' Business Stan -
vice? If it is a product, can you make a prototype of it Ups, August 1997. op. 34-37; Pete, Curt,nr,an. "What DYu iDe 'vith
yourself? a Great Idea?" [Link],i Start-Ups, August/September, pp. 28-58;
• On a scale of I to 10, how complex is the distribution or Michael W. Miller, "It Seemed Like a Good Idea," Wall Street Jome'nal,
delivery system necessary to get the product or service May 24, 1993, p. R24; Don Debelak. "Ready or Not?" Business
into customers' hands? StartUps, January 1998. pp. 62-65: Karen Axelten, "imagine That!"
Business Stan-Ups. April 1998, p. 96; Susan Greco. "Where Great
• How uniq ue is your prork!ct or service? How easly can
laras Come From;' Inc., April 1998, pp. 76-86; Ross McDonald,
other companies imitate your idea? "Patent Office Gold," Kuilinger's Personal Finance Magazine, June
• How much Will it cost to produce or provide the product 2010. p. 124; Michael S. Malone, "The Smother of Invention." Forbes
or service? To distribute it? ASSP, June 24,20(Y-). pp. 32-40.

ter 2 ' Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality Si

 PROTECTING YOUR IDEAS
8. Describe the Once entrepreneurs come up with an innovative idea for a product or service that has market
Protection potential, their immediate concern should be to protect it from unauthorized use. Entrepreneurs
intellectlilat priaWty must understand how to put patents, trademarks, and copyrights to work for them.
rights ineolv*sg patents,
trademarks, and
copyrights— Patents
A patent is a grant from the federal government's Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to the
inventor of a product, giving the exclusive right to make, use, or sell the invention in this country
patent—a grant from the for 20 years front the date of tiling the patent application. The purpose of giving an inventor a
federal government's Patent and 20-year monopoly over a product is to stimulate creativity and innovation. After 20 years. the
Trademark Office to the inventor patent expires and cannot be renewed. Most patents are g ranted for rsi'w product inventions, but
of product, giving the exclusive design parents, extending for 14 years beyond the date the patent is issued, are given to inventors
right to make, use, or sell the who make new, original, and ornamental changes in the design of existing products that enhance
Invention in this country for 20 their sales. Inventors who develop a new plant can obtain a plant patent, provided they can
years from the date of filing the
reproduce the plant asexually (e.g.. by grafting or cross-breeding rather than planting seeds). To
patent application
be patented, a device must be new lbut not necessarily better!), not obvious to a person of ordi-
nary skill or knowledge in the related field, and useful. A device cannot be patented if it has been
publicized in print anywhere in the world or if it has been used or offered for sale in this country
prior to the date of the patent application. A U.S. patent is granted only to the true inventor, not
to a person who discovers another's invention. No one can copy or sell a patented invention with-
out getting a license from its creator. A patent does not give one the right to make, use, or sell an
invention but the ri g ht to exclude others from making, using. or selling it
Although inventOrS are never assured of getting a patent, they can enhance their chances
considerably by following the basic steps suggested by the PTO. Before beginning the often
lengthy and involved procedure, inventors should obtain professional assistance from a patent
practitioner---a patent attorney or a patent agent—who is registered with the PTO. Only those
attorneys and agents who are officially registered may represent an inventor seeking a patent. A
list of registered attorneys and agents is available at the PlUs Web site. Approximately 98 per-
cent of all inventors rely on these patent experts to steer them through the convoluted process.
Legal fees for filing a patent application range from 53.000 to $10,000, depending oil the com-
plexity of the product. 55 0ue study reports that for the typical small business, obtaining a patent
and maintaining it for 20 years costs about $10,000.

THE PATENT PROCESS. Since George Washington signed the first patent law in 1790. the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ([Link]'[Link] has issued patents on everything imagin-
able (and some unimaginable items, too), including mousetraps (of course!), Robert Fulton's
steamboat, animals (genetically engineered mice), Thomas Edison's lightbulb, games, and var-
ious fishing devices. The Ff0 also has issued patents oil processes—methods of doing
business—including Amazon. corn's controversial patent on its "1-Click" technology, which
allows users to store their customer information in a file and then recall it with one mouse click
at checkout. lb date the P'ID has issued more than 7 million patents, and it receives more than
340,000 new applications each year (see Figure To receive a patent, an inventor must
follow these steps:

Establish the invention's nos'elf,. An invention is not patentable if it is known or has been nqed
in the United States or has been described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country.
Document the device. To protect their patent claims, inventors should be able to verify the date
on which they first conceived the idea for their inventions. Inventors can document a device by
keeping dated records (including drawings) of their progress on the Invention and by having
knowledgeable friends witness these records Inventors also can file ii disclosure document [Link]
the PTO.—a process that includes writing a letter describing the Invention and sending a check
for $10 to the PTO. A disclosure document is not a patent application, but it does provide evi-
dence of the date an inventor conceived an invention.
Search existing parents. To verity that the invention truly is new, not obvious, and useful, an
Inventor must conduct a search of existing patents on similar products. The purpose of the

_58 Section I 'The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 350,000 FIGURE 2.3 Nun,berof
Patent Applications and Patents
Issued
300,000

=
O 250,000
0
a-
0
200.000
0
C,
0
150,000
0

100,000

50,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

search is to determine whether or not the inventor has a chance of getting a patent. Most inven-
tors hire professionals trained in conducting patent searches to perform the research. Inventors
themselves can conduct an online search of all patents gianied by the iTO since i976 from the
office's Web site. An online search of these patents does not include sketches; however, sub-
scribers to Deiphion's Research Intellectual Property Network can access patents, including
sketches, as far hack as 1971 at [Link].
Study search results. Once the patent search is finished, inventors must study the results to
determine their chances of getting a patent. To be patentable, a device must be sufficiently dif-
ferent from what has been used or described before and must not be obvious to a person having
ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention.
Submit the patent application. If an inventor decides to seek a patent, he or she muss file an appli-
cation describing the invention with the PTO. The typical patent application runs 20 to 40 pages,
although some, especially those for biotech or high-tech products, are tens of thousands of pages
long. The longest patent application to date is one for a gene patent that was 6 million pages
long 58 Most inventors hire patent attorneys or agents to help them complete their patent applica-
tions. Figure 2.4 shows a portion of the application for a rather unusual patent, number 3,771192.
Prosecute the patent application. Before the FF0 will issue a patent, one of its examiners stud-
ies the application to determine whether or not the invention warrants a patent. Appro,val of a
patent normally takes about two years from the date of filing. If the PlO rejects the application.
the inventor can amend the application and resubmit it to the PTO.

Defending a patent against "copycat producers" can be expensive and time-consuming but
often is necessary to protect an entrepreneur's interest. The average cost of a patent irtinnge-
menta'vsuit is about $1 million if the case goes to trial (about half that if the parties settle
before going to trial), but the odds of winning are in the patent holder's favor. More than 60 per-
cent of those holding patents win their infringement suits.59

Knockoffs of its famous "Big Bertha" golf club have kept Callaway Golf Company busy A Company Example
defending its patents against counterfeiters. The compan y recently discovered a company mak-
ing a look-a-like driver called the "Big Bursa." Experts estimate that in some cases, the knock-
offs, with their steeply discounted prices, actually outsell the original clubs.''°

The World Wide Web has only compounded the problem of counterfeit sales, especially
among luxury items such as Lois Vuitton and Coach bags, Cartier jewelry, and Chanel per-
fumes. The World Wide Web accounts for 10 percent of the total counterfeit market, which is
double the amount of legitimate retail sales through [Link]

Thspter 2 Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind From Ideas to Reality 59L

 FIGURE 2.4 [Link].d
Vacuum Cleaner, Patent Number
3.771.192

"

1571 ABSTRACT

A toy dog closely resembling a real dog and havino a hollow

interior in which is mounted a vacuum cleaner having a
auction hose Which is retractable from the tail end of the dog.
This enables vacuuming a dog after a hair cut and grooming
without causing tear to the dog. Inasmuch as the vacuum
cleaner noise is greatly mulled by such enclosure. The
vacuum cleaner is convertible to a blower and air Issuing from
the tail end can he heated so as to serve as a dryer.
5 Cleim;, 5 rawin iwe

Trademarks
trademark—any distinctive A trademark is any distinctive word, phrase, symbol, design, name, logo, slogan, or trade
word, phrase, symbol, design, dress that a company uses to identify the origin of a product or to distinguish it from other
name, logo, slogan, or trade dress goods on the market. (A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and
that a company uses to identify
the origin of a product or to distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.) A trademark serves as a company's
distinguish it from other goods on "signature" in the marketplace. A trademark can be more than just a company's logo, slogan, or
the market brand name; it can also include symbols, shapes, colors, smells, or sounds. For instance, Coca-
Cola holds a trademark on the shape of its bottle, and NBC owns a trademark on its three-toned
chime. Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson has applied for trademark protection for the shape
of its oil tanks and the throaty rambling sound its engines make!62
trade dresi—the unique Components of a product's identity such as these are part of its trade dress, the unique com-
combination of elements that a bination of elements that a company uses to create a product's image and to promote it. For
Company uses to create a
instance, a Mexican restaurant chain's particular decor, color schemes, design, and overall
product's image and to promote it
"look and feel" would be its trade dress. To be eligible for trademark protection, trade dress
must be inherently unique and distinctive to a company, and another company's use of that
trade dress must be likely to confuse customers.

The Zippo Manufacturing company, which has been making its distinctive metal cigarette
lighter since 1932, has trademarked the shape of its classic lighter with the PTO to protect it
from an onslaught of cheap imitations. Every year the company sells more than 12 million
lighters with thai,- gently curved metal case, beveled edges, and distinctive flip-lop. Zippo esti-
mates that look-a-like knockoffs, many of which are made in China, he been skimming off as
much as 30 percent of the company's sales by infringing on its trade dress.63

There are 1.5 million trademarks registered in the United States, 900,000 of which are in
actual use, Federal law permsts a maisufa, *tucr to register a trademark, which prevents other
companies from employing a similar mark to identify their goods. Before 1989, a business
could not reserve a trademark in advance of use. Today, the first patty who either uses a trade-
mark in commerce or files an application with the FTO' has the ultimate right to register that
trademark. Unlike patents and copyrights, which are issued for limited amounts of time, trade-

1 60 Section I 'The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 350.000 FIGURE 2.5 Trademark
Application and Trademarks Issued
(0

300,000 Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark

Office.

250,000
100
Ce

200,000
0.5
550,000

clv
F-

50,000
8a
z

1980 1985 1990 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

marks last indefinitely as long as the holder continues to use it. However, a trademark cannot
keep competitors from producing the same product and selling it under a different name. It
merely prevents others from using the same or confusingly' similar trademark for the same 01

similar products. Figure 2.5 shows toe number of trademark applications filed and the number
of trademarks issued in recent years.
Many business owners are confused by the use of the symbols and . Anyone who claims
the right to a particular trademark (or service mark) can use the TM (or SM ) symbols without
having to register the mark with the p'ro. The claim to that trademark or service mark may or
may not be valid, however. Only those businesses that have registered their marks with the VI'O
can use the ® symbol. Entrepreneurs do not have to register trademarks or service marks to
establish their rights to those marks; however, registering a mark with the Ff0 does give entre-
preneurs greater power in protecting their marks. Filing an application to register a trademark
or service mark is relatively easy, but it does require a search of existing names.

Nancy Ganz, founder of Rodyslimmersa by Nancy Ganz, registered the name she gate her
hips/taping undergarment. Hipslip, with the PTO as soon as she coined the name. With her
company's ca/es now exceeding $ io million, Ganz has successfully defended her trademark
against several competitors who un/ri wjully sold similar products using the Hips1ip name.
"Shielding your trademarks isn't hard," Slims says. "if you let th ings slide long enough, you
could learn the hard way how much it costs to have your name taken in vain."

An entrepreneur may lose the exclusive right to a trademark if it loses its unique character
and becomes a generic name. Aspirin, escalator, thermos, brassiere, super glue, vo-yo, and
cei!op/saric all were once enforceable trademarks that have become common words its the
English language. These generic terms can no longer be licensed as trademarks.

Copyrights
A copyright is an exclusive right that protects the creators of original works of authorship such copyright—on exclusive right
as literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (e.g.. art, sculptures, literature, software, that protects the creators of
tsiasvc, videos, video games, choreography, motion pictures. recordinss, and others). The inter- original works of authorship such
nationally recognized is Co denotes a copyrighted work. A copyright protects only the as literary, dramatic, musical, and
form in which art idea is expressed, not the idea itself. A copyright on a creatise work comes artistic works.
into existence the moment its creator puts that work into a tangible form. Just as with a trade-
mark, obtaining basic copyright protection does not require registering the creatise work with
the t. .. S Copvrsght O ffi ce (1tp:/!Laeh.:cc.,ros/ev'.psoshi).

Chauser 2 Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality 61

 Registering a copyright does give creators greater protection over their work, however.
Copyright applications must be filed with the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress for a
fee of $30 per applicatiQfll, A valid copyright on a work lasts for the life of the creator plus 70
years after his or her dèáth. When a copyright expires, the work becomes public property and
can be used by anyone free of charge.
Because th4 are sa easy to duplicate, computer software programs, videotapes, CDs, and
DVDs are among the most often pirated items by copyright infringers. Experts estimate that the
globaIoftware industry loses $12 btllioach year to pirates who illegally copy programs and
that fIllywood loses $2 billion to thosevho forge counterfeit movies and sell them. Because
they are so adept at plying their trade. video pirates often manage to beat genuine distributors to
the market wiihmovjés!65

Prctug liiseiiecruai Property

Acquiring the protection of patents, trademarkaand copyrights is useless [Link] an entrepre
tseur takes action to protect thse rights in the marketplace. Unfortunately, not every busi-
nessperson respects others' rights of ownership to products, processes, names, and works and
infringes on those rights with impunity. In other cases, the infringing behavior simpl y is the
result of a lack of knowledge about other's rights of ownership. The primary weapon an entre-
preneur has to protect patents, trademarks, and copyrights is the legal system. The major prob-
lem with relying on the legal system to enforce ownership rights is the cost of infringement
lawsuits, which can quickly exceed the budget of most small businesses.
If an entrepreneur has a valid patent, trademark, or copyright, stopping an infringer often
requires nothing more than a stem letter fromu anattorney threatening a lawsuit. Often oftend-
ers don't want to get into expensive legal battles and agree to stop their illegal behavior. If that
tactic fails, the entrepreneur may have no choice but to bring an infringement lawsuit.
Legal battles always involve costs. Before bringing a lawsuit, an entrepreneur must consider
the following issues:

• Can the opponent afford to pay if you win?

• Do you expect to get enough from the suit to cover the costs of hiring an attorne y and preparing
a case?
• Can you afford the loss of time, money, and privacy Irom the ensuing lawsuit?

CH'SUMMARY
I. Explain the differences among 2. Describe why creativity and
creativity, innovation, and innovation are such an integral part of
entrepreneurship. entrepreneurship.
• The entrepreneurs "secret" for creating value in the market- • Entrepreneurs must always he on guard against existimig par-
place is applying creativity and innovation to solve prob- adigms—preconceived ideas of what the world is. what it
lems and to exploit opportunitie'. that people face every day. should be like, and how it should operate—because they are
Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and to discover logjams to creativity. Successful entrepreneurs often go
new ways of looking at problems and opportunities. beyond conventional wisdom as they ask "why not
Innovation is the ability to apply creative solutions to those
• Success?--even survival—in this fie rcely competitive, global
problems and opportunities to enhance or to enrich people's
environment requires entrepreneurs to tap their creativity
lives. Entrepreneurship is the result of a disciplined, system-
atic process of applying creativity and innovation to needs (and that of their employees) constantly,
and opportunities in the marketplaoe

62 Section I • The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

3. Understand how the two hemispheres develop a solid understanding of the problem or decision;
Step 3. Transformation—involves viewing the similarities
of the human brain function and what and the differences in the information collected; Step 4.
role they play in creativity. Incubation—allows the subconscious mind to reflect on the
information collected; Step 5. Illumination—occurs at some
• For years, people assumed that creativity was an inherent
trait. Today, however, we know better. Research shows that point during the incubation stage when a spontaneous break-
almost anyone can leans to be creative. The left hemisphere of through causes "the lightbulb to go on"; Step 6.
the brain controls language, logic, and symbols, processing Verification—involves validating the idea as accurate and
information in a step-by-step fashion. The right hemisphere useful; and Step 7. implementation—involves transforming
handles emotional, intuitive, and spatial functions, processing the idea into a business reality.
information intuitively. The right side of the brain is the
source of creativity and innovation. People can learn to con- 7. Discuss techniques for improving
trol which side of the brain is dominant in a eivn siOiStr,,,
the creative process.
Three techniques that are especially useful for improving the
4. Explain the 10 "mental locks" that creative process:
limit individual creativity.
: Brainstorming is a process iii which a small group of people
The number of potential barriers to creativity is limitless, but interact with very little structure with the goal of producing
entrepreneurs commonly face 10 mental locks" on creativity: a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas.
searching for the one 'right" answer: focusing on "being logi-
cal": blindly following the rules: constantly being practical; • Mind-mapping is a graphical technique that encourages
viewing play as frivolous: becoming overly specialized: avoid- thinking on both sides of the brain, visually displays the var-
ing ambiguity: fearing looking foolish; fearing mistakes and ious relationships among ideas, and improves the ability to
failure: and believing that "fin not creative," view a problem from many sides.
• Rapid prosotyping is based en the prem i se that transfot using
an idea into an actual niodel will point Out flaws in the orig-
S. Understand how entrepreneurs can inal idea and will lead to improvements in its design.
enhance the creativity of their
employees as well as their own creativity. 8. Describe the protection of
• Entrepreneurs can stimulate creativit y in their companies by
intellectual property involving patents,
expecting creativity; expecting and tolerating failure: trademarks, and copyrights.
encouraging curiosity: viewing problems as chullenges: pro-
• A patent is a grant from the federal government that gives an
vidin g creativity training providing support rr".sardirig cre- inventor exclusive rights to an invention for 20 years.
ativity: and modeling creativity.
• A trademark is any distinctive word, s y mbol, or trade dress
• Entrepreneurs can enhance their own creativit y by rising the that a company uses to identif y its product and to distinguish
following techniques: allowing themselves to be creative: it from other goods. It serves as a company's "signature" in
giving their minds fresh input every day: keeping a journal the marketplace.
handy to record their thoughts and ideas; reading books on
• A copyright protects original works of authorship. It covers
stimulating, creativity or taking a class on creativity: taking
Only the form in which an idea is expressed, not the idea
sonic time off to relax.
itself, and lasts for 70 years beyond the creator's death.

6. Describe the steps in the creative

process.
• The icaiive process consists of seven steps: Step L
Preparation—involves getting the ittitid ready for creative
thinkin g : Step 2. lnvestigatson—rcouires the individual to

DISCUSSION' QUESTiONS

I Epiaiii the diffeiences among creativity, innovation, and 5. What is a paradigm? What impact do paradigms have on
entrepreneurship creativity?
2. How are creatis its, innovation, and entrepreneurship related? 6. Can creativity he taught or is it an inherent trait'.
3. Why are creativity and innovation so important to the sur- 7. How doe, thc human bratti function" What operations does
vival and success of a business? each hemisphere specialize in.' Which hemisphere is the
4. One entrepreneur rIctus, "Creativit y w,,e6icd in a business ''seai' of creativity?'
plan has no value" What does this mean? Do you agree?

apre, 2 • Inside the Entrepreneurial Mod: from Ideas to Reality 63 i_.-.

 8. Briefly outline the 10 "mental locks' that can limit indi- 10. Explain the steps of the creative process. What can all
vidual creativity. (jive an example of a situation in which entrpretieur do to , nhance each step?
you subjected yourself to one of these mentaitocks. II. Explain the differences among a patent, a trademark, and a
9. What can entrepreneurs do to stimulate their own Creativ- copyright. What form of intellectual property does each
ity and to encourage it among workers? protect?

j Mumstkoikl
Launch The Business Disc. Before you begin working As you work your way through The Business Disc you
through the exercises on the disc, you may want to see the can, at any time, use the "Go To" menu to return to earlier
brief overview of the process by using the disc's preview fea- parts of the program for review. However, you should never
ture. Once you feel comfortable with the process, start the use the "Go To" menu to skip ahead because you will miss
business disc pioinsn and work with Harry, your host, data entry and decision points, and will ultimately have to
accountant, and consultant, to determine the type of business start over. Be sure to exit the program by clicking 'File" and
you will launch. Be sure to use the techniques discussed in "Exit" or by pressing the F4 function ke y. This will save
Chapter 2 to stimulate creative thinking and to avoid the bar- your data.
riers to creativity. Complete the business profile form.

BUSINESS PLAN PRO

Did you develop some

BLiciness terent kind of businesses'
At this point it is too premature to complete these sec-
t;ons accurately, but do tiot in your ideas elude you; put
them down in the plan so you can rework them later,
PiiPro
If so. you may .kara to
include these in the sections in Business Plan Pro called
"Your Company" and "What You Are Selling".

64 Section I The Challenge of Entrepreneurship

 5k
1. Your dinner guests are to arrive in five minutes, and you've just discovered that you
forgot to chill the wine!! Wanting to maintain your reputation as the perfect host or
hostess, you must tackle this problem with maximum creativity. What could you do?
Generate as many solutions as you can in five minutes working alone. Then work with
two or three students in a small group to brainstorm the problem.
2. Work with a group of your classmates to think of as many alternative uses for the com-
'I
mercial lubricant WD-40 as you can. Remember to think fluidly (generating a quantity
of ideas) and flexibly (generating unconventional ideas).
U.
----.-.-- --
ii 3. Review the following list of household appliances. Working with a small group of
your classmates, select one and use the brainstorming technique to develop as many
alternative uses for the appliance as you can in 15 minutes. Remember to abide by the
rules of brainstorming! The appliances are the dishwasher, clothes dryer, curling iron,
toaster oven, iron, microwave over, coffeemaker, and any others you want to use.
4. A major maker of breakfast cereals was about to introduce a new multigrain cereal. Its
principal selling point is that it features "three great tastes" in every bowl: corn, rice, and
wheat. Because a cereal's name is an integral part of its marketing campaign, the company
hired a costly consulting firm to come up with the right name for the new product. The
consulting firm tackled the jab using "a combination of structural linguistics and personal
creetsvtty" One year and many doLlars larcr, the corisUitifl iii in gave its recommendation.
Take 20 minutes to list names that you think would be appropriate for this cereal.
Make brief notes about why you think each name is appropriate.
Your professor may choose to prepare a list of names from all of the members of
your class and may take a vote to determine the "winner."
5. Each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently, and one hemisphere
tends to dominate the other. Consider the following lists Of words and decide which
one best describes the way you make decisions and solve problems:
Metaphor Logic
Dream Reason
Humor Precision
Ambiguity Consistency
Play Work
Approximate Exact
FantasyReality
Paradox Direct
Diffuse Focused
Hunch Analysis
Generalization Specific
Child Adult
If you chose the list on the left, you tend to engage in 'soft' thinking, which suggests
a rmghtbramn orientation. If you chose the list on the right, you tend to engage in "hard"
thinking, which suggests a left-brain orientation.
Creativity relies on both "soft" and "hard" thinking. Each plays an important role in
the creative process but at different phases.
A. Identify which type of thinking—"soft" or "hard"—would be more useful in each
of the seven stages of the creative process.
B. List five things you can do to develop your thinking skills in the area ("soft" or
"hard") that least describes your decision-making style.
6. Interview at least two entrepreneurs about their experiences as business owners Where
did their business ideas originate? How important are creativity and innovation to their
success? Howdo they encourage an environment of creativity in their businesses?

.prer 2' Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality 65

•