- Connect idea generation to opportunity recognition


[SLIDE 1]

Let's take a look at the process that connects idea generation to opportunity recognition. Typically, entrepreneurs go through three processes before they are able to identify an opportunity for a new business venture:<ol>
<li>idea generation</li>
<li>creativity</li>
<li>opportunity recognition</li>
</ol>
The first step is generating lots of ideas, as we have already discussed. During the creativity stage, we sort these ideas based on newness and usefulness. Finally, in the opportunity recognition stage, we sort the final ideas for newness and usefulness, as well as for their ability to generate economic value.

In this process, many people say that they struggle with the creativity stage. As we learned in an earlier lesson, we all have the ability to think creatively through practice, but it requires us to transcend the boundaries of our existing knowledge structures. These structures help us to make sense of our world, but they encourage us only to work with what we already known. 

Let's look further at the processes we can use to enhance our creativity.


[SLIDE 2]

Researchers have identified four approaches we can practice to enhance our creativity with the purpose of transforming our ideas into opportunities. These approaches yield the acronym <strong>SEEC – securing, expanding, exposing and challenging</strong>.

<strong>Securing</strong> is the capacity not only to focus on new ideas but also to sustain them. Similar to alertness, securing involves being consciously aware of possibilities, but also focuses on the deliberate capture of those ideas that sometimes have a habit of drifting in and out of our minds before we have a chance to focus on them. A useful way of securing those ideas it to keep a written log of opportunities that you observe during your daily activities. This is a simple but effective way to record ideas for later use.  

<strong>Expanding</strong> is the broadening or the acquisition of new skills that enable people to generate ideas and to share knowledge. A useful exercise carried out in a group setting is to list recent problems you have encountered in your daily life and design some possible solutions which are then shared with the group for further feedback and discussion.

<strong>Exposing</strong> involves the skills required to open ourselves to to diverse and fluctuating circumstances and events. Entrepreneurs tread a fine line between structure and turbulence, so it is useful to build resilience by exposing ourselves to diverse and fluctuating circumstances and events. This exposure builds our ability to function in an unstructured and uncertain environment. Brainstorming and becoming a consumer of information are productive ways of building exposure. 

<strong>Challenging</strong> is the process of building on past failures by braving new encounters. We all fail at times, and the important thing is how we recover. It is important to not let past failures stop us from challenging ourselves to make new efforts and to try new things. Learning from failure can lead to enhanced creativity and further idea identification. 

As with all aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset, these strategies can be trained, taught, learned and practiced.


[SLIDE 3]

Before concluding, let's apply some of the concepts to the evolution of the modern-day gourmet food truck which has emerged in the past few years.

Their evolution can be traced to the 2008 economic crisis when some entrepreneurs recognized a pattern: the slowdown in the economy meant people with gourmet tastes were looking for less expensive meals; the growth in longer working hours increased the demand for convenient foods.

Temporary mobile food trucks like the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar in Manhattan soon emerged. These were run by entrepreneurs alert to these trends. Although they began life as mobile trucks in temporary spaces, many are now permanent features of urban landscapes. These were not opportunities waiting to be discovered; the intent of these entrepreneurs was not to set up gourmet food trucks in permanent spaces, but to try new spaces and reduce their set-up costs. 

We could classify these new gourmet trucks as successful innovations because they are valuable, useful and generate a profit. Although the mobile food industry has been around for a long time, this new variation -- offering gourmet, healthy food in permanent spaces -- means that they are excellent ideas transformed into successful opportunities.