Lecture 3-Design Thinking - Innovation & Creativity & Invention

Course : 4.2 & 4.
1 Groups
Class: Bsc Civil Engineering & Bsc Civil
Engineering
Unit Title: Principles of
Entrepreneurship & Marketing
Unit Code: BCM2240
Facilitator: Dr. Rosemary Kagondu
1
Using innovative thinking to generate business
ideas
 Entrepreneurship can/ Does change the world
 What can we do without books, cars, Computers……?
 Example:
 Tim Barnersly – Nuclear Research Center, Switzerland
 Problem of sharing data among Scientist
 He started the World Wide Web (WWW)
 His solution introduced internet to the World
 Many Problems still emerge in the World and requires
solutions: Climate change, Unemployment among the
youth, Environmental pollution, Digitalization ….
 All these problems awaits solutions and
 Problems pose opportunities for Entrepreneurship
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Better Life Through Technology 2
Using innovative thinking to generate business
ideas
• Problems – Product – Market

Into Action
Solutions Fit Fit
-Identify Problems -Develop product to -Go into Action

-Develop solutions solve your problem -Get Started with
-Fit solutions to the -Develop a Market fit Implementation
problems -Develop the Product -Launch your
prototype Business

Errors of Failure
• Why Do Startups Fail?
• What can prevent you from making Castles in
the Air?
• What Can you Learn from Failure?

1. No Market Demand
I Think the need………..
…….What do people need?
 You spent a lot of time developing a product, But no Body needs the
product
 Example: A Scooter is very popular in Germany, But;
 it cant work in Italy due to the terrain
 It cant work in crowded Cities, with barely no space for
pedestrians

2.Lack of Skills/ Mindset
 Can Everyone be an Entrepreneur?

 Are students from University be ready for business?
You may not have Networking Skills
You may not have good Communication Skills……
 But all these skills can be learnt, as you get along!

3. Weak Team
 Weak team for a startup may result due to:

Lack of Diversity of Expertise (Good Engineers with a
good Product, but no marketing skills, or Networking
skills
Lack of Good Communication Skills (Separate facts
from relational communication)
Lack of Vision….or different visions for the same idea

4. Focusing too much on Details
 Focusing on too much details may distract you from a

quick start
 Always work toward a quick start
 Test the market and the needs of the Market
 Develop the product further as you get into the market

5.Poor Marketing strategies
 Poor Marketing strategies can lead to failure

 Know ho to reach your target market and the respective
marketing strategies to reach them
 Know your environment!
 Know your customers needs!
 Know how to reach your customers!

Discover Yourself & Your
Environment
 Here you ask the fundamental question –
“How can I overcome common reasons of business
failure?”
start by Focusing on yourself and the Environment
 This is done through the design thinking approach
 What is Design Thinking?
 “Design thinking is a human-centered approach to
innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to
integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of
technology, and the requirements for business
success.” — Tim Brown, president and CEO, IDEO

Design Thinking Approach

Stages of Design Thinking Approach
 Stage I: Empathize - learn about the audience for whom you are
designing
 Stage II: Define - construct a point of view that is based on user
needs and insights
 Stage III: Ideate – brainstorm and come up with creative
solutions
 Stage IV: Prototype (build a representation of one or more of
your ideas to show to others)
 Stage V:Test - return to your original user group and testing
your ideas for feedback
 Stage VI: Implement - Implementation is taking an idea in your
head, and transforming that idea into something real and usable
by users.
Empathy –Understand your customer
 Design Thinking cannot begin without a deeper

understanding of the people you are designing for.
 In order to gain those insights, it is important for you as a
design thinker to empathize with the people you’re
designing for so that you can understand their needs,
thoughts, emotions and motivations

Empathy –Understand your customer

Ask What? How? Why?
 It’s helpful if you always remind yourself never to judge
what you observe, but to question everything even if you
think you know the answer &to really listen to what others
are saying.
 Our life experiences create assumptions within us, which we
use to explain & make sense of the world around us.
However, this very process affects our ability to empathize
in a real way with the people we observe.
 A designer’s attitudes towards their work stems from
natural curiosity, inquisitive behavior and constant critical
appraisal of everything they encounter. Looking for the
underlying factors and motives that drive users’ behaviors
and needs is what leads to successful design.

 Empathizing is the first step of design thinking and it
involves a lot of analyzing
 Analysis is about breaking down complex concepts and
problems into smaller, easier-to-understand constituents.
We do that, for instance, during the first stage of the
Design Thinking process, the Empathize stage, when we
observe and document details that relate to our users
 It involves a lot of observations , taking note of
characteristics of potential customers, groups of people
while taking notes and then analyzing them

Design Thinking Approach offers three main methods of
being empathetic . That is:
 Observe: Concrete Observation – What
 Engage - Understand -How
 Immerse – Overcome interpretations - Why
Immerse IV. Overcome WHY

Interpretations
Engage III. Understand HOW
Observe II. Concrete Observation WHAT
I. Set-Up

EXAMPLE: Taking a practical situation, a person is seated holding a
smart-phone on one hand and popcorn in the other

WHAT is it that you can observe?
 Person in sitting position is holding a smart-phone on one hand and
popcorn (handful) in the other
What  Person is looking down at the smart-phone
 Person is watching a movie on the smart-phone
Try and understand HOW this situation is for the person

 No comfortable sitting position – strain on the neck, back and
shoulders
How  Both hands are full (no choice to move free e.g. Drinking something or
using the smart-phone display easily
Try and understand WHY is this person doing it

 Person wants to relax by watching and eating at the same time
 Maybe no more comfortable option available (sitting at the table/
couch) – or the person wants to sit on his/her bed because it is more
relaxing
Why
So what is the solution for this case?

 Possible Solution: Popcorn Bowl Tableware with Phone Holder

Interview for empathy
Other methods of Empathizing using the Design Thinking
Approach are:
 Brainstorm random questions that cover the areas of
peoples interest drawn. The areas of interest can be
obtained from such questions such as .
What makes you happy in life?
What is important for you?
What are your fears?
 Ask people in your environment the questions you
prepared – see example (slide)

What What kind of problems do you face
environmental with existing technologies?
problem do you
face daily?
Environment How much do

Technology they bother
/digitalization you?
Needs &
Problem Areas
Are there any

Do you have any wishes areas (e.g. jobs, etc.) which could
which cannot be benefit from new technical
addressed, because there solutions/digitalization ?
is no solution yet?
Is there anything
bothersome in your
life (private life,
jobs)? What is it &
At work: what are why? Person folds
Why are they tasks that you his/her arms
annoying? really do not enjoy
Personal
doing?
needs/wishes

 Take notes – can use an assistant to help take notes
Tips For Interview for Empathy
 Ask open and neutral questions
 Ask “why” and pay attention to possible inconstancies
 Pay attention to non-verbal cues
 Always interview in pairs or at least record the interview
 Opportunity to delve deeper and question
 Ask probing questions to gain more information from
first set of notes.
 Tell me more about…
 Tell a story …
 Tell me about a time when …
EMPATHIZE
EMPATHIZE
• Observing users’ • Become the user • Interacting with

action and and live their User/Industry
hypothesizing why experience by Role people about their
they are acting a Playing products,
certain way • Visit the Industries processes and all
• Generate the for Observe, related queries
questions like – What, immerse, Engage
Why, When, Where,
How…..

observation

Immerse via role playing
 Become the user and actually live the customers

experiences. Put himself/herself into the shoes of user
 During this process the innovator needs to envisage

himself/ herself as the user of the desired product and
identify, codify various needs from his/her perspective
 During the immersion process, get insights about the non-

codified and undocumented needs of the contemporary
user/industry

Engage via interview
 Interact and interview users through both scheduled and short
“intercept” encounters (Formal/Informal)
 Getting out of the building and actually talking to your users is
probably the most uncomfortable but potentially most effective
way, if it is done in right way
 As innovator, do not go directly go up and ask your user for the
solution because most of the time they really don’t know about
the solution and even about problem. Hence, Prepare the set of
sequential questions to be asked to the same industry workers /
executives / stake holders for thorough research
 Engage them in conversations that allow users to tell stories of
their experiences and a likely solution (Build the story like
Environment)
Stage 2: Define—State Your Users' Needs and Problems
 Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you

define the problem statement in a human-centered
manner.
 Organize the information you have gathered during the
Empathize stage. Analyze your observations to define the
core problems you and your team have identified up to
this point

 Example, don’t define the problem as your own wish or
need of the company: “We need to increase our food-
product market share among young teenage girls by
5%.”
 You should pitch the problem statement from your
perception of the users’ needs: “Teenage girls need to
eat nutritious food in order to thrive, be healthy and
grow.”

Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create
Ideas
 During the third stage of the design thinking process,

designers are ready to generate ideas.
 You’ve grown to understand your users and their needs
in the Empathize stage, and you’ve analyzed your
observations in the Define stage to create a user centric
problem statement.
 With this solid background, you and your team
members can start to look at the problem from different
perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your
problem statement.

Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions
• The design team produces a number of inexpensive,

scaled down versions of the product (or specific features
found within the product) to investigate the key
solutions generated in the ideation phase.
• These prototypes can be shared and tested within the
team itself, in other departments or on a small group of
people outside the design team.
• This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify
the best possible solution for each of the problems
identified during the first three stages. The solutions
are implemented and investigated and then accepted,
improved or rejected based on the users’ experiences.

 Do you know that producers for all Lexus cars before
going into mass production often make cars out of clay ?
 To visualize ideas, create a prototype

Stage 5: Test—Try Your Solutions Out
 Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete

product using the best solutions identified in the
Prototype stage.
 This is the final stage of the five-stage model; however,
in an iterative process such as design thinking, the
results generated are often used to redefine one or more
further problems.
 This increased level of understanding may help you
investigate the conditions of use and how people think,
behave and feel towards the product, and even lead you
to loop back to a previous stage in the design thinking
process.

INNOVATION & CREATIVITY
“How Can we Know Where We’re Going Without Knowing “How

Can we Know Where We’re Going Without Knowing First
Where We ‘ve Been?”
• First Where We ‘ve Been?”

In the past
 “Throughout history, the process of creation whether;

paintings or musical compositions were thought of as
‘spiritual experiences in the service of whatever muse
held the artist in her thrall”
 “The artist was a channel for a superior power, creativity
a gift from the gods, and the imagination a divine spark”
hroughout history, the process of creation whether;

paintings or musical compositions were thought of as
‘spiritual experiences in the service of whatever muse held
the artist in her thrall”
(Thorsby, 2001, p. 95).
 Creativity Is Not Exclusively for ‘Elite’ People
 It Can be Developed in All Persons
 Creativity is a Personal Problem-solving Process of a
Non-routine Kind
 It Can be Learned, Practiced & Successfully Applied by
all – in Every Walk of Life

Definition -Creativity
 Creativity is the ability to think in new ways and apply

fresh perspectives to old problems.
 Shawn Hunter, author of Out Think: How Innovative
Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes (Wiley, 2013),
defines creativity as “the capability or act of conceiving
something original or unusual.”
 It is a critical skill in business that enables people to
adapt and create unique approaches that may be even
better suited than tried-and-true methods.

Definition -Creativity
 The scope of creativity is limited only by ones ability to

think outside the norm.
 The nature of creativity means that an idea's creation is
unique and original to the creative thinker.
 Creativity is not a genetic trait, but something that a
person develops as they continue to learn and grow and
use their imagination for various forms of expression.
 Creativity has no inherent value unless a person
manifests it into reality

Types of creativity
 Arne Dietrich, associate professor of psychology and

chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral
Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon,
segmented creativity into four types:
1) deliberate and emotional,
2) deliberate and cognitive,
3) spontaneous and emotional, and
4) spontaneous and cognitive.

 People can experience each of the four types of
creativity.
 Especially for knowledge workers like researchers,
lawyers and doctors, deliberate and cognitive creativity
may manifest while on the job.
 Spontaneous and emotional creativity may show itself
during an artistic pursuit or during down time off the
clock.

• Deliberate and cognitive creativities use focused
attention and formed connections between information
stored in the brain and rely on the prefrontal cortex
• Emotional and spontaneous creativities stem from the
amygdala and tend to be more instinctive.
• People who are good at taking insights derived from
each type of creativity excel at thinking outside the box
and applying new approaches to their work.

There are four phases which can help to remove ‘idea
blocks’ to and enhance creative thinking.
The four phases with their important activities are as

follows:
1: background or knowledge accumulation e.g. reading,
professional conferences, talking, visit to library
 2: incubation process e.g. ‘sleep on it’, exercise,
 3: idea or ‘eureka’ experience, usually this phase slowly
but surely formulates the solution
 4: evaluation and implementation e.g. prototypes,
advice.

 Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs generally
include a positive self-image, being motivated by
challenging problems, being sensitive to the world around
them, and being good at gathering different ideas in a
short amount of time.
 It is not necessary to possess all of these characteristics to
be successful.
 Developing creativity is a process of changing the way you
look at things. To do this you must look for different or
peculiar relationships between people and things.
 Another way to be more creative is to view people and
things in terms of how they can be used to satisfy needs
(both as resources and problem solvers).

Questions that can spur imagination and help develop creativity
1) Is there a new way to do it?

2) Can you borrow or adapt it?
3) Can you give it a new twist?
4) Do you merely need more of the same?
5) Do you just need less of the same?
6) Is there a substitute?
7) Can the parts be rearranged?
8) What if we do just the opposite?
9) Can ideas be combined?
10) Can we put it to other uses?
11) What else could we make from this?
12) Are there other markets for it?
Barriers to creativity
1. searching for the one ‘right’ answer

2. focusing on being logical
3. blindly following the rules
4. constantly being practical
5. viewing play as frivolous
6. becoming overly specialised
7. avoiding ambiguity
8. fearing looking foolish
9. fearing mistakes and failure
10. believing that ‘I’m not creative’.

EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIVE ECO-DESIGN
1.Edible Cutlery. A green alternative to plastic cutlery,

they’re 100% natural and will biodegrade if not
consumed
 In a bid to replace non-biodegradable single-use plastics,
Sheryl Mboya - a Law student from Mount Kenya
University - invented ‘Snackuit’, edible plates, and cups
in 2022.

• Some of the edible plates & edible cups by Sheryl Mboya

Some Kenyan Entrepreneurs Who Became Creative
,Started Small And Became Successful (2021 In Business
Hacks)
 Lorna Rutto is the founder of EcoPost, a firm that

collects and recycles plastic waste, manufacturing
fencing posts from the recycled matter. Lorna quit her
banking job in 2010 to start this business, making her
one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in
Kenya.
 Her primary intent when starting the plastic recycling
business was to create a sustainable solution for the
increasing plastic waste menace in Kenya. Her venture
has created a massive positive impact on the
environment and great job opportunities.

 Danson Muchemi is the founder of one of Kenya’s
leading e-payment services, JamboPay.
 The firm is also active in web application and network
securities. JamboPay is also a recipient of the Google
Innovation Awards in Financial Services for 2013.
 Eric Kinoti easily makes the list of business moguls in
Kenya that have made it big because of his Systems East
Africa company. The entrepreneur's company make $1
million in sales revenue every year by manufacturing
military and relief tents, branded gazebos, restaurant
canopies, car shades, and so much more. His firm sells
this to various clients in Kenya and other regions in
Africa. Eric Kinoti has been twice featured in Kenya’s
Top 40 Under 40. At some point, he was also listed in
Forbes'Top 30 Under 30.
Innovation
 According to Websters :- "The introduction of something

new." Innovation of an idea, creating and making with
planning, not only technological. Also refers to new
management approach, financial, behavioral, political,
cultural and psychological in every field business or non
profit organization.
 “A new idea applied to initiating or improving a product,
process or services”. Stephen P. Robbins
 "Innovation “generally understood as the successful
introduction of a new thing or method , innovation is the
embodiment, combination or synthesis of knowledge in
original, relevant valued new products, process or
 services.“ .. Luecke and Katz
 In the innovation process, different stimuli from the
external environment are applied to the internal form of
the organization.
 Different types of innovation used in business include:
1- Produce new goods.
2- Introduction of new method of the production system.
3- Making new market.
4- Create new demand and supply.
5- New human relation technique.
6- Using the new strategic management.
7- Using new technology.

Economic conceptions of innovations
 Joseph Schumpeter defined economic innovation in the

theory of economic development, 1934 at Harvard
University.
 The introduction of a new good- that is one with which
consumers are not yet familiar - or of a new quality of a
good.
 The introduction of a new method of production, which
need by no means be found upon a discovery
scientifically new, and can also exist in a new way of
handling a commodity commercially.

 The opening of a new market, that is a market into
which the particular branch of manufacture of the
country in question has not previously entered, whether
or not this market has existed before.
 The conquest of a new source of supply of raw materials
of half-manufactured goods, again irrespective of
whether this source already exists or whether it has first
to be created.
 The carrying out of the new organization of any
industry, like the creation of a monopoly position (for
example through trustification) or the breaking up a
monopoly position.

 Innovation is the manifestation of creativity into a usable
product or service. In the entrepreneurial context,
innovation is any new idea, process, or product, or a
change to an existing product or process that adds value
to that existing product or service.
• The most commonly used definition of an innovation is
the one provided by the OECD (2005) which is the
implementation of a new or noticeably improved
product, service, process, marketing and organization
method (Szłapka et al. 2017).

 The main issue on innovation is on its implementation
and for a new product to be considered an innovation it
should be introduced into the market (Clark 2010).
 One of the key things on innovation is the support
provided for by the management since it is pertinent in
creating a culture where each employee embraces
innovation as a crucial component of their work (Urban
2017.
 This management support comprises provision of
resources and creation of ideas that stimulate innovation.
New processes, marketing and organization methods
should be implemented by the firm for them to qualify as
innovations.
 This suggests that, without implementation there is no
innovation to talk about
 Schumpeter argued that innovation comes about
through new combinations made by an entrepreneur,
resulting in
a new product,
a new process,
opening of new market,
new way of organizing the business
new sources of supply

 According to the management thinker and author
Peter Drucker, the key point about innovation is that it is
a response to both changes within markets and changes
from outside markets.
 For Drucker, classical entrepreneurship psychology
highlights the purposeful nature of innovation. Business
firms and other organizations can plan to innovate by
applying either lateral or linear thinking methods, or
both.
 In other words, not all innovation is purely creative. If a
firm wishes to innovate a current product, what will
likely matter more to that firm is the success of the
innovation rather than the level of creativity involved.
 Drucker summarized the sources of innovation into
seven categories, as outlined in table
Source Description
The unexpected Looking for new opportunities in the market;

unexpected product performance; unexpected new
products as examples
The incongruity Discrepancies between what you think should be

and what is reality
Process need Weaknesses in the organization, product, or service
Changes in New regulations; new technologies

industry/market
Demographics Understanding needs and wants of target markets
Changes in Changes in perceptions of life events and values

perceptions
New knowledge New technologies; advancements in thinking; new

research
Dimensions/Types of Innovation
In business and economics, innovation is divided into 5 types:
1. Product innovation, which involves the introduction of a
new good or service that is substantially improved. This
might include improvements in functional characteristics,
technical abilities, ease of use, or any other dimension.
2. Process innovation involves the implementation of a new
or significantly improved production or delivery method.
3. Marketing innovation is the development of new
marketing methods with improvement in product design
or packaging, product promotion or pricing.
4. Organizational innovation (also referred to as social
innovation) involves the creation of new organizations,
business practices, ways of running organizations or new
organizational behavior.
5. Business Model innovation involves changing the way
business is done in terms of capturing value
Drivers For Innovation:
 Financial pressures to reduce costs, increase

efficiency, do more with less, etc
 Increased competition
 Shorter product life cycles
 Industry and community needs for sustainable
development
 Increased demand for accountability
– Demographic, social and market changes

 Rising customer expectations regarding service and
quality
 Changing economy
 Greater availability of potentially useful technologies
coupled with a need to exceed the competition in
these technologies

YOUNG KENYAN ENTREPRENEURS AT THE
FOREFRONT OF TECH INNOVATION
 Young Kenyans are harnessing their country’s growing

tech prowess to go into business for themselves.
 For example, Jamila Abbas and Susan Oguya, created a
mobile application called M-Farm. The application
allows Kenyan farmers to access real time market
information, buy farm inputs from manufacturers and
find buyers for their produce, all through SMS.

• At Strathmore Univeristy, Asha Mweru launched
Chochote,an e-commerce platform with her classmates Ivy
Wairimu and Victor Karanja. Chochote, which is the
Swahili word for “anything,” started as a simple classroom
assignment. The team of 4th year Strathmore students
sought to connect buyers and sellers on a platform based on
excellent customer service, discounted prices and home
delivery. Currently, it targets consumers between the ages
of 18 and 48. Chochote’s tagline is “not just anything.” It’s
transitioning from offering a wide range of products like
electronics, cosmetics and clothing to a narrower, more
particular supply of unique crafts, jewelry and fashion
items, similar to Etsy. Ivy explained that, “Kenyans are
very specific [about] what they are buying. So, we
[investigated and] found out what the specifics are,” then
decided to re-brand.
 In September , 2022, Kenyan students Lennox Omondi,
Keylie Muthoni, Dullah Shiltone and Brian Ndung’u
were awarded the 2022 Hult Prize for their innovation
and took home 120 million!
 The entreprenuers who are students at St Paul’s
University in Kenya founded Eco-Bana which makes
biodegradable sanitary pads from banana fibre.
 During their pitch, Ndung’u said the company plans to
sell more than 3 million pads, generating over Sh6
billion ($50 million) and employ more than 2,000
people by 2024.

 Peter Munga is the ideal “From poverty to riches stories
in Kenya.” He is the founder of Equity Bank, one of Kenya’s
largest commercial banks.
 Munga hails from a humble background and grew up
struggling a lot. Peter Munga today is one of the most
influential personalities in banking and has vast
investments in other firms that build his wealth.

Invention
 Invention is the physical creation of a new concept or

idea. Nesta’s innovation policy tookit, it is defined as the
creation of an idea to do or make something without
verification that it works, or is commercially valuable.
 Invention cannot occur without creativity, but just
creativity is not enough to properly develop an idea.
 Invention refers to the creation of a brand new product
or device. Conversely, innovation is an act of making
changes to the existing product or the process by
introducing new ways or ideas.

 The term ‘invention’, is defined as the act of creating,
designing or discovering a device, method, process, that
has not existed before.
 In finer terms, it is a novel scientific idea conceived
through research and experimentation that turns into a
tangible object. It can be a new process of producing a
product or may be an improvement upon a product or a
new product.
 Inventions can be patented, as it provides security to the
inventor, for intellectual property rights, and also
identifies it as an actual invention. Further, different
countries have different rules for obtaining the patent
and the process is also costly. To be patented, the
invention must be novel, have value and non-obvious

Difference Between Invention and Innovation
BASIS FOR COMPARISON INVENTION INNOVATION
Meaning Invention refers to the Innovation implies the
occurrence of an idea for a implementation of idea for
product or process that has product or process for the
never been made before. very first time.
What is it? Creation of a new product. Adding value to something

already existing.
Concept An original idea and its Practical implementation of
working in theory. new idea.
Skills required Scientific skills Set of marketing, technical
and strategic skills.
Occurs when New idea strikes a scientist. A need is felt for a product or
improvement in existing
product.
Concerned with Single product or process. Combination of various
products and process.
Activities Limited to R & D department. Spread across the
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology organization.
HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO CREATIVITY
AND INNOVATION
1. Inherent habits
• “Think disruptive!” “Be creative!” “Just leave the
existing behind you!” Simply think outside the box. We
all have mental barriers to creativity and innovation in
our heads. They work – no matter whether you are
developing a new innovation strategy, building an
innovation culture or looking for new suggestions for
the continuous improvement process. Imagine you see
something unusual: a new idea, an unusual solution.
Instead of cheering, you first feel a sense of rejection.
“That looks weird,” you think. Maybe you also tend to
say, “wierdo.” Why is that? Quite simple: Our brain
automatically prefers known solutions to unknown ones.
2. The Feasibility Barrier
 “Impossible!” Once you have an idea that somehow
sounds strange or seems out of reach, your head spits out
a thousand objections as to why it can’t work. This barrier
to creativity and innovation is constantly in the way of
idea generation and idea development.
 “Much too expensive.” “We don’t have the right staff.”
“This is practically impossible.”
 The objections are often not unjustified: The path from the
first idea to successful innovation is really expensive, the
necessary competencies do not exist in the company and
the idea cannot be implemented within existing
structures. But what now? If you want to successfully
implement business innovation, you must overcome this
barrier.
3. The Knowledge barrier
 Mindset and complacency. Core competency becomes
core rigidity. Engineers from a mechanical engineering
company were interviewed. They had to develop ideas
for a significantly cheaper version of a system. But no
matter which ideas came up, the engineers kept saying:
“Technically not feasible.” For three years they tried,
then they gave up. The management of the company
finally assigned the task to an external company. Three
months later, the device was ready to be launched on the
market.

 How did this happen? The management had
underestimated the extent of the knowledge barrier. The
engineers involved thought that they knew everything
that was necessary to develop the device.
 Unfortunately, they missed one thing: They didn’t know
what they didn’t know. And because they didn’t notice
it, they didn’t know what they needed to know to drive
innovation forward.
 The knowledge barrier is one of the main barriers to
creativity and innovation. It exists because your creative
potential is largely influenced by your personal
experience and knowledge, your character traits and
your creative abilities.

4) The Regulatory Barrier
 Policies and procedures, inflexible and rigid
organizational structures, traditions, and a culture of
playing by the rules, are keeping employees from
participating, stifling any innovative or creative
processes.
 This barrier to creativity and innovation becomes active
at an early stage. Before you even start thinking in a new
direction, it suggests, “You can’t do that.” The main
reason for this is our upbringing: “You mustn’t do that.”
That’s not what we do.”

 In professional life, we are perfect rule chameleons: we quickly
adapt to the rules of our environment. Unfortunately, too
perfect: By constantly wanting to do everything right, we
unconsciously develop barriers to creativity and
innovation.
 By constantly making predictions about what might not
be allowed, we shut ourselves off from the possibilities
that a deliberate breach of the rules would entail.

5) The Contradiction Barrier
 This barrier to creativity and innovation is the downside
of what is often admired as “clear leadership”. In the
beginning, managers are admired for their determined
line and their commitment. Things change at some
point. But they stubbornly hold on to what has been
tried and tested. Why is that?
 As soon as a discrepancy is imminent, the contradiction
barrier in your head signals: “Stop!” Because we tend to
always present a logical and comprehensible picture to
the outside world. Everything that seems contradictory
is tremendous to us: Yesterday we were against it –
today we are in favour of it, we feel uncomfortable with
that.
Scalability of innovation
• Scalability is a magic word for innovators.It is what sets

Amazon apart from your local retail store, Uber from a
taxi company, and Apple from Asus. It is also what
ultimately differentiates startups from run-of-the-mill tech
ventures
• Scalability refers to the ability of a system, product, or
process to handle increasing amounts of work or growth
in a manner that is efficient and cost-effective.
• In other words, scalability is the measure of a system's
ability to increase its capacity and handle growing
demand without losing its performance, efficiency, or
quality.

Some factors that make an idea scalable are:
Modularity: The ability to break down a system into smaller,
interchangeable parts that can be added or removed as
needed to accommodate growth.
Automation: Automated processes that can handle repetitive
tasks, freeing up time and resources for other tasks.
Flexibility: The ability to adapt to changing conditions,
whether in terms of technology, market trends, or customer
needs.
Robustness: The ability of a system to withstand stress,
failures, or disruptions without collapsing or failing.
Ease of use: A simple, user-friendly interface that makes it
easy for customers to use the product or service.

Testing an innovation requires innovator to be constantly
thinking about scaling, with particular attention to the
following issues:
• The innovation itself and the theory of change that explains
how innovation works to produce the intended outcome
• The credibility and clarity of the innovation among key
stakeholders and agencies that may be involved in scaling up
• Legitimacy of the innovation, and whether it is locally
owned and embedded
• Perceptions and evidence of the innovation’s benefits and
efficiency
• Simplicity of the innovation and ease of implementation •
Financial model that promises sustainability

• Capability of the implementing organization in terms of
leadership and management
• Enabling policy and legal framework
• Alignment with the priorities of the end users, government
policy and priorities of key stakeholders, including
the donor.
• The type of scaling up and the pathway
• Planning for scaling up, including careful evaluation of the
implementation process and the impacts of the innovation

Illustration of tool to use in assessing scalability


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Course : 4.2 & 4.

Facilitator: Dr. Rosemary Kagondu

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

• Problems – Product – Market

-Identify Problems -Develop product to -Go into Action

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

I Think the need………..

…….What do people need?

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 Can Everyone be an Entrepreneur?

 But all these skills can be learnt, as you get along!

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 Weak team for a startup may result due to:

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 Focusing on too much details may distract you from a

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 Poor Marketing strategies can lead to failure

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

 Design Thinking cannot begin without a deeper

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Immerse IV. Overcome WHY

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Try and understand HOW this situation is for the person

Try and understand WHY is this person doing it

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Environment How much do

Are there any

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• Observing users’ • Become the user • Interacting with

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

 Become the user and actually live the customers

 During this process the innovator needs to envisage

 During the immersion process, get insights about the non-

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 Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

 During the third stage of the design thinking process,

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• The design team produces a number of inexpensive,

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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

 Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete

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“How Can we Know Where We’re Going Without Knowing “How

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 “Throughout history, the process of creation whether;

hroughout history, the process of creation whether;

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 Creativity is the ability to think in new ways and apply

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 The scope of creativity is limited only by ones ability to

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