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Innovation Management - some ideas are better than others

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.

One of the useful methods of valuing ideas is to compare the type of idea with those types of ideas that have previously been most successful.

Franklin (2003) notes that some kinds of ideas are more successful than others. He notes six types:

a) Need spotting - involves actively finding an answer to a problem.

b) Solution spotting - involves finding a problem for a solution.

c) Market Research - ideas generated as a result of market research.

d) Random event - moments of serendipity when people stumble across answers they weren't looking for.

e) Mental invention - pure random ideas with no previous knowledge of how they may be implemented.

f) Trend following.

Of these, the random event was the most successful (92.9%) with least failures (7.1%). However, this type of idea requires previous knowledge or experience on some level - for example, an individual who has worked in an environment previously may utilise that tacit knowledge to solve a problem that becomes evident later.

Very close to the above is solution spotting with an 87.5% success and a 12.5% failure rate. Again, this idea type requires previous knowledge: the innovator consciously seeks a problem to apply that knowledge to.

These topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com.

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Kal Bishop, MBA

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Kal Bishop is a

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management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and

"Management" (from Old French ménagement "the art of conducting, directing", from Latin manu agere "to lead by the hand") characterises the process of leading and directing all or part of an organisation, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-century management writer Mary Parker Follett defined management as "the art of getting things done through people."
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software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Tran

Computer software (or simply software) is the programs and procedures that enable a computer to perform a specific task, as opposed to the physical components of the system (hardware). This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to perform a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run properly, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.
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sport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

A sport consists of a physical and mentally competitive activity carried out with a recreational purpose for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, self-motivation and a scoring system. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.
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Innovation Management - some ideas are better than others

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

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