This is the third session in my course titled Entrepreneurship Management. In the first two sessions, I introduced the students to the idea of entrepreneurship as being that of identifying opportunities and creating value - not just in start ups. I talked of Entrepreneurial Leadership and presented some facets of the support ecosystem that exists in India. Here in session three I take the discussion one step forward by talking about ideation per se and converting it into an actionable plan using a tool called the Business Canvas.

1. Anilesh Seth
Ideator, Co Founder & CEO, KROW
www.krow.in
Strategic Advisor to the Qatalys Group of Companies
Mentor at the KYRON incubator
Visiting Faculty at CMR IT Exec MBA program
Ex-CEO/MD: LGSI, Qatalys & Supervalu India
www.slideshare.net/anilesh
http://In.linkedin.com/in/anileshseth
anileshseth@hotmail.com

2. Session objectives
1. To imbibe the structured ideation process
2. To understand the business canvas as a tool
that can enable the development of an
effective business plan to implement your
idea

3. Ideation
Needs First? Ideas First?OR
“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is
proof of utility, and utility is success.”
-Attributed to Thomas Edison

4. Thomas Edison
Inventions Industry Year
Edison electric pen and
press
Document duplication 1873
Carbon button microphone
(telephone transmitter)
Telecom 1876
First phonograph and
record
Recorded sound 1877
Incandescent electric light
and system of electric
power
Electrical power 1879
Motion picture camera and
moving pictures
The movies 1893
Alkaline storage battery Portable power 1905
The 6 industries pioneered by Edison generated a market value of 6.7 Billion USD
by 1910 – in today’s dollars that would be over 100 billion dollars!
Source: Strategyn Edison and ODI white paper

5. How to generate ideas?

6. Brainstorming
• Brainstorming is a technique usually in a
group, to rapidly generate a large list of ideas
to solve a problem or to identify new
products/solutions etc
• The goal of brainstorming is to generate IDEAS
• It is a good idea to apply a “process” or
“method” to this
This begs the question: Can you put a structure to creativity?

7. A word about structured creativity..
• Edward de Bono avers that there is a mistaken belief that creativity should
be totally free and unfettered – that restrictions will limit and stifle the
creation process
• His example is:
“I would like you to write a book about aliens”
Vs
“I would like you to write a book about aliens who all behave like monkeys”
The second statement has more focus and therefore helps channel your
creative energies
http://www.extensor.co.uk/articles/structured_creativity/structured_creativity.html
Edward de Bono is a leading author in the field of creative thinking
and the teaching of thinking as a skill

8. An exercise in structured creativity
Need expressed by a toy manufacturer
Create a unique “being” that can be converted into:
- An action figure
- Cartoons
- An animation movie
- Games
- Can be put on T-shirts, Mugs, Plates
- etc

9. “Quality circles” is a structured
technique aimed at finding solutions
• Quality circles originated in Japan in the 60s
• Ishikawa has been credited with their creation
and the development of the Ishikawa or Fishbone
chart
• It is generally a volunteer group of cross-
functional workers who come together to solve a
problem. Some are management initiated and
some are worker initiated
• Roots lie in manufacturing but this has extended
to other industries and needs as well

10. Back to brainstorming…..
Goal:
Generate ideas!
Round-robin
Floodgates
approach
Silent
- Have a facilitator
- Write the problem on a flipchart
- Write all ideas: no editing
- Assign a no to each idea
- Postpone judgement; no criticism
- Push through 2 or 3 lulls
- Have a diverse group
- Encourage crazy ideas!
- Everyone gets a chance
- But may lack spontaneity
- Build off each others’ ideas
- Some may not get a chance
- Ensures no disruptive pre-analysis
- Don’t build off each other
Combine items that are similar – group them
Eliminate items that don’t make sense (don’t meet the stated objective)
Reduce your list to the most important items
Discuss each item - turn by turn. Seek clarity from the person who gave the idea
Give each person a final chance to add items

11. An exercise in brainstorming
Problem statement A:
What should AAM ADMI PARTY do to win the
next elections?
Problem statement B:
How should India tackle the concern around
safety for women?

12. From ideation to execution:
The Business Canvas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QoAOzMTLP5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMxHApgcmoU
(Alex Osterwalder)

13. Thank you!
Credit: http://simonmainwaring.com/creativity/surviving-social-media-with-your-creativity-intact/