64 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Creativity and Idea Generation
The famous management and entrepreneurship guru, Peter Drucker, believed that a combination
of systematic environmental analysis and creativity could lead businesses and entrepreneurs to
find new opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation. In his book, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (New York: Harper and Row, 1985), Drucker details seven sources of ideas for
new businesses. These were described in Chapter 1.
How can we use Drucker’s sources of change to generate ideas for ourselves? We can do so
by combining environmental scanning with creativity techniques. After we read and work
through the following sections on creativity, we will be ready to generate some business ideas for
our projects.
The Concept of Creativity
Creativityis the initiation of a product or process that is useful, correct, appropriate, and valu-
able to the task at hand where that task is heuristic rather than algorithmic. A heuristic is an
incomplete guideline or rule of thumb that leads to understanding, learning, or discovery. It is
a fuzzy map of where we are and where we are going, but the roads are not completely drawn
in. Heuristics serve to stimulate a person to learn more; they are similar to determining how to
get from A to B on a blurry, indistinct roadmap.
An algorithm, in contrast, is a mechanical set of rules, a preset plan of operations for problem
solving, decision making, and conflict resolution. Flipping a coin is an algorithm because the
two sides of the coin and the indicators of head and tails predetermine exactly what the outcomes
will be after the coin is tossed in the air.
Perhaps a better question than, “What is creativity?” is “Where is creativity?” Creativity occurs
at the dynamic intersection of three forces (T. Amabile, The Social Psychology of Creativity [New
York: Springer Verlag, 1983]). These forces are:
- The individual, with his or her intelligence, experience and dispositions
- The domain of knowledge within which the particular individual has chosen to work
- The field or social context within which the merits of the work or product produced are eval-
uated and judged
Case Questions
- Zara is different from other companies. Using Table 2.1, what do you think are the most
important factors affecting Zara’s SCA, and what are the least important factors? - What other industries could use an approach like Zara’s?
- What can Zara do to make sure it maintains its competitive advantage(s) in the future?
- Do you think a company like Zara could function in the United States? What conditions
would make it easier, and what conditions would make it more difficult?
APPENDIX