The key to good entrepreneurship is creativity. You have to be creative to generate new ideas, develop an existent idea and even run the business. Contrary to popular belief, we can actually learn to be creative. This can be achieved by overcoming paradigms and by suspending conventional thinking long enough to consider new and different alternatives!
The creative process
• Idea Generation
This is the seeding stage of a new idea. It is the stage where the entrepreneur recognizes an opportunity exist
• Preparation
At this stage, the entrepreneur consciously searches for information. He gathers, sort, and integrates information to provide for a breakthrough.
• Incubation
This is the subconscious assimilation of information. It is basically fantasizing
• Illumination stage
Also called the Eureka stage. This is when the idea pops up clearly and the individual recognizes the idea as feasible and realizable.
• Verification stage
Also called the validation or testing stage. This is where the idea is verified to prove that it has value. This is the most difficult phase of creativity as obstacles begin to appear. The idea may also start evolving and taking a different direction. Sometimes the individual is forced to go back to the previous phases.
Barriers to Creativity
Sometimes we are unable to be creative no matter how much we try. This is often referred to as creative block in expert terms. This happens when conditions are not right or whenever one is under too much pressure to create. There are some common known barriers to creativity as follows;
Becoming overly specialized
Avoiding ambiguity
Fearing looking foolish
Fearing mistakes and failure
Believing that “I’m not creative”
If you overcome these barriers, then your business will surely because you will flourish because you will never be short of ideas. Motivate your employees to embrace their creative side for the good of your business.
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