UNIT 2:

Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind:

From Ideas to Reality

In this unit, you will be able to:

● Differentiate what creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship
● Describe why creativity is a necessity for survival
● Learn what is creative thinking
● Discuss the barriers to creativity
● Describe the steps in the creative process
● Discuss techniques for improving the creative process

Overview
This chapter describes the mind of an entrepreneur, how creative processes are used to
create a solution to the problem people face everyday.

How much do you know?

Directions: Answer T if the statement holds true, and F if it is false on the space provided a
before the number.
_____ 1. Breaking away from the norm can develop an effective entrepreneurial mindset.
_____ 2. The characteristic of entrepreneurial economy is creative.
_____ 3. Entrepreneurship is only for right-brained thinkers.
_____ 4. Entrepreneurial society is innovative.
_____ 5. Innovation doesn’t help solve problems people face everyday.

How well did you do?

Answers
1.) T 2.) F 3.) F 4.) T 5.) F
 What to know?

Lesson 1. Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

To create a value in the marketplace, creativity and innovation is applied to solve

problems people face everyday and to give opportunities in the industry. Let's learn more
about these terms as we go on with the lesson.

Creativity is the ability to generate something from nothing. It utilizes new ideas to
discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities. Moreover, innovation is the
ability to apply creative solutions to problems or produce opportunities to enrich the lives of
people. Having a great idea is not enough, thus turning the idea into a tangible product,
service or business venture is the first step for an entrepreneur to succeed.

The result of applying creativity and innovation to the needs and opportunities in the
marketplace in a disciplined and systematic process is called Entrepreneurship. It involves
satisfying the needs of a customer or solving their problems by applying new ideas and new
insights to create a product or a service. In order to achieve successful entrepreneurship, a
consistent effort on applying creative ideas for a purpose in the marketplace should be
done.

Entrepreneurship requires business owners to be bold enough to try their 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. Let’s learn more about creativity, the
creative process, and methods of enhancing creativity.

Creativity—A Necessity for Survival

Creativity is not only an important source to build a competitive advantage, it is also

necessary to survive in a fiercely competitive global economy. In order to develop creative
solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs should go beyond what has worked in the
past. Furthermore, they should be on guard against traditional assumptions and
perspectives about how things are supposed to be. In other words, they must change their
perspectives, looking at the world in new and different ways. Self-imposed mental
constraints and other paradigms people build over time will kill creativity. A paradigm is a
preconceived idea of what the world is, what it should be like, and how it should operate.
Being able to maintain a creative mindset, not being satisfied with the current solution to
the problem but seeks for improvement, will help an entrepreneur survive in the competing
market.

Can creativity be learned?

 By overcoming paradigms and by suspending conventional thinking long enough to
consider new and different alternatives, one can be creative.

Creative Thinking

The human brain develops asymmetrically, and each hemisphere tends to specialize
in certain functions. The hemispheres are divided into left and right. Left-brained individuals
are usually guided by linear and vertical thinking. They usually handle language, logic, and
symbols much better. They also process information in a step-by-step fashion. Meanwhile,
right-brained individuals are often referred to as “ Creative Thinkers”.

The following are the qualities of a right-brained individuals:

● Always ask, “Is there a better way?”
● Challenge custom, routine, and tradition
● Reflective
● Play logical games
● Has an perspective that there may be more than one “right” answer
● Consider mistakes as pit stops on the way to success
● Has the ability to relate unrelated ideas to a problem

In entrepreneurship, both the left and right hemispheres of the brain are used. The right-
brained thinking draws in divergent reasoning, the ability to create a multitude of original
diverse ideas. While the left-brained thinking counts on convergent reasoning, the ability to
evaluate multiple ideas and to choose the best solution to a problem.

Lesson 2. How to enhance Individual creativity and its Barriers

Enhancing Individual Creativity

Just as entrepreneurs can cultivate an environment of creativity by using their own
techniques. These are some of the as follows:

 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 creative is the first step toward establishing a pattern
of creative thinking. When it comes to creativity there no stupid ideas.
 Give your mind fresh input everyday. To be creative your mind needs
stimulation. Do something different each day.
 Observe the products and services of other companies, especially those in
completely different markets. Creative entrepreneurs often borrow ideas from
companies that are in businesses totally related to their own.
 Recognize the creative power of mistakes. Innovations sometimes are the
result of serendipity finding something, else, and sometimes they arise as a result of
mistakes. Creative people recognize hat even thei errors may lead to new ideas,
products and services.
  Notice what is missing. Sometimes entrepreneurs spot viable business
opportunities by noticing what is missing. The first step is to determine whether a
market for the missing product or service actually exists, which is one of the
objectives in building a business plan.
 Keep a journal handy to record your thoughts and ideas. Creative ideas are
too valuable to waste so always keep a journal nearby to record then as long as you
get their.
 Listen to other people. No rule of creativity says that an ideas has to be your
own. Sometimes the best business ideas come from someone else, but
entrepreneurs are the one to act on them.
 Listen to customers. Some of the best ideas for new products and services or
new application of existing products or services come from a new company’s
customers. Entrepreneurs who take time to listen to customers often receive ideas
they may never have come up with on their own.
 Talk to a child. As we grow older, we learn to conform to society’s expectations
about many things, including creative solutions to problems. Children place very few
limitations on their thinking; as a result, their creativity is practically boundless.
 Do something ordinary in an unusual way. Experts say that simply doing
something out of the ordinary can stimulate creativity and improve dramatically the
ability to develop new and innovative ideas.
 Do not through away seemingly bad ideas. Some creative ideas prove to be
impractical, too costly, or to silly to work. Creative entrepreneurs do not discard
these seemingly had ideas. Instead they ask, What part of this idea can I build on?
 Read books on stimulating creativity or take a class on creativity. Creative
thinking is technique that anyone can learn . Understanding and applying the
principles of creativity
 Take some time off . Relaxation is vital to the creative process.
 Be persistent. Persistence and “don’t quit” attitiude for entrepreneurs is a
secret for success.

Barriers to Creativity

Among the limitless barriers to creativity, in his book, A Whack on the Side of the
Head, Roger von Oech stated 10 “mental locks” that limit an individual’s creativity:

1. Searching for the one “right” answer

- ingrained in most educational systems is the assumption that there is one
“right” answer to a problem.

2. Focus on “being logical”

- Logic is a valuable part of the creative process, especially when evaluating
ideas and implementing them. However, in the early imaginative 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.
 3. Blindly following the rules
- Sometimes, creativity depends on our ability to break the existing rules so
that we can see new ways of doing things.

4. Constantly being practical

- Suspending practicality for a while frees the mind to consider creative
solutions that otherwise might never arise.

5. Viewing play as frivolous

- A playful attitude is fundamental to creative thinking.
6. Becoming overly specialized
- Creative thinkers tend to be “explorers,” searching for ideas outside their
areas of specialty.

7. Avoiding ambiguity
- Ambiguity can be a powerful creative stimulus; it encourages us to “think
something different.” Avoiding it will not let us that something should be
identified in a situation.

8. Fearing looking foolish

- New ideas rarely are born in a conforming environment.

9. Fearing mistakes and failure

- Creative people realize that trying something new often leads to failure;
however, they do not see failure as an end. It represents a learning
experience on the way to success.

10. Believing that “I’m not creative”

- A person who believes he or she is not creative will, in all likelihood, behave
that way and will make that belief come true.

Lesson 3. Creative Process and Techniques for Improving

The following steps are what a Creative Process will take:

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

Step 2: Investigation
- This step requires developing a solid understanding of the problem or situation , decision
on hand. To create new ideas and concepts in a particular field , an individual first must
study the problem and understand its basic components.

Step 3: Transformation
 - Transformation involves viewing the similarities and the differences in the
information collected. This phase requires two types of thinking: convergent thinking,
and divergent thinking.
● Convergent Thinking
○ The ability to see the similarities and the connections among various
and often diverse data and events.
● Divergent Thinking
○ The ability to see the differences among various data and events.

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 nothing
is happening. Incubation occurs while the individual is away from the problem, often
engaging in some totally unrelated activity.

Step 5: Illumination
- This phase of the creative process occurs at some point during the incubation stage
when a spontaneous breakthrough causes “the light bulb to go on”. It takes place
after five minutes or five years. In the illumination stage, all the previous stages
come to produce the ‘’Eureka factor’’ - the creation of the innovative idea.

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 and other activities designed to verify that the
new idea will work and is practical to implement.
- At this phase, appropriate questions to ask include the following:
● Is it really a better solution to a particular problem or opportunity?
Sometimes an idea that appears to have a bright future in the lab or on paper
dims considerably when put to 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?

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, but most never take them beyond
the idea stage. What sets entrepreneurs apart is that they act on their ideas.
Techniques for Improving the Creative Process

Now that you’ve learned the process for creative thinking, the following are the
techniques to improve the creative process:

● Brainstorming
- A creative process in which a small group of people interact with very little
structure with a goal is to create a large quantity of new and imaginative
ideas
- It should have an open, uninhibited atmosphere that allows the members of
the group to “free-wheel” ideas
- Refer to this video to give you tips on how to have a successful brainstorming
session: The trick to successful brainstorming - Insights for Entrepreneurs

● Mind-mapping
- It is an extension of brainstorming
- A graphical technique that encourages thinking on both sides of the brain,
visually displays the various relationships among ideas, and improves the
ability to view a problem from many sides.
- To create a mindmap you can refer to these videos: Creating a Mind Map -
Skillshare and Mind Mapping Explained and Demonstrated in Five Minutes!

● Rapid prototyping
- Rapid prototyping transforms an idea into an actual model will point out flaws
in the original idea and will lead to improvements in its design.
- The three principles of rapid prototyping are the three R’s: rough, rapid, and
right. Models do not have to be perfect; in fact, in 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.
- To learn more about rapid prototyping, you can refer to this video: Rapid
Prototyping: Sketching | Google for Startups
 Apply your Knowledge

ACTIVITY PROPER: Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Directions: Read the given situation. Apply your creativity on how to handle the situation
by generating several solutions. Use the matrix below.

Your given guests are to arrive in five minutes and you have just discovered that you
forgot to chill the wine! Wanting to maintain your reputation as the perfect host/hostess,
you must tackle this problem with maximum creativity. What would you do? Answer as
many solutions as you can. After which, work with two or three students in a small group
to brainstorm the problem.

Problem Solutions
a.
b.

Assess your Knowledge

Essay: Answer the following questions to assess what you have learned in this chapter.

1. In your own understanding, how would creativity help an entrepreneur thrive in this
ever competitive economy?
2. There are different barriers to creativity, what can you do to avoid them?
3. There are three techniques to improve one’s creative process, among the techniques,
which do you prefer and explain why.
 Summing - up
Creativity is the ability to generate something from nothing. It utilizes new ideas
to discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities. While, innovation is
the ability to apply creative solutions to problems or produce opportunities to enrich
the lives of people. Creativity is not only an important source to build a competitive
advantage, it is also necessary to survive in a fiercely competitive global economy. In
order to develop creative solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs should go
beyond what has worked in the past.

In entrepreneurship, both the left and right hemispheres of the brain are used. The
right-brained thinking draws in divergent reasoning, the ability to create a multitude of
original diverse ideas. While the left-brained thinking counts on convergent reasoning,
the ability to evaluate multiple ideas and to choose the best solution to a problem.

Among the limitless barriers to creativity that limit an individual’s creativity are the
following: a) Searching for the one “right” answer b)Focus on “being logical” c) Blindly
following the rules d) Constantly being practical e) Viewing play as frivolous f)
Becoming overly specialized g) Avoiding ambiguity h) Fearing looking foolish i)Fearing
mistakes and failure, and j) Believing that “I’m not creative”

The following steps are what a Creative Process will take:

Step 1: Preparation
Step 2: Investigation
Step 3: Transformation
● Convergent Thinking
○ The ability to see the similarities and the connections among various and
often diverse data and events.
● Divergent Thinking
○ The ability to see the differences among various data and events.
Step 4: Incubation

Step 5: Illumination

Step 6: Verification

Step 7: Implementation
 After learning the process for creative thinking, the following are the techniques to
improve the creative process such as brainstorming, mind mapping and rapid
prototyping.

References:
Scarborough N. (2011). Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
Ikram, N. (2016). Inside the entrepreneurial Mind. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/noorikram/inside-the-entrepreneurial-mind

The Entrepreneurial Mindset. Retrieved from

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5c95a1e88890a5001eb8e31a/the-entrepreneurial-
mindset