{"id":1470,"date":"2017-07-17T08:44:20","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T08:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2017-08-26T21:09:23","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T21:09:23","slug":"how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business."},"content":{"rendered":"

Creative thinking is a powerful business mind tool that should never be overlooked, the mastery of the skill helps entrepreneurs to identify and exploit new opportunities ahead of their competitors, likewise in problem-solving and also it helps improve personal day-to-day overall productivity.<\/p>\n

Creative thinking is synonymous to thinking outside the box, the ability to find new perspectives towards ideas and removing the limits we put on ourselves towards our business.<\/p>\n

How to change our way of thinking:<\/h3>\n

Changing our way of thinking in business is vital for growth and success. Without it, we run the risk of not seeing the bigger picture and as a result, often overlook important factors that could hinder our success.<\/p>\n

One way that we can change the way we think is to simply rephrase common business questions or problems. For example, a business owner might say \u201cwe are not able to cover our business costs this year\u201d, which could lead to a simple cost cutting exercise. But, there could be more solutions to this problem that have been overlooked. By rephrasing this statement to something like \u201cwe are not generating enough sales to cover our costs this year\u201d, we inevitably look at the problem differently \u2013 which in turn enables us to consider completely different potential solutions.<\/p>\n

\n

Also Read:\u00a010 Tips to making the best negotiations for small business owners.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The role of ideation:<\/h3>\n

Every business owner needs to visualise a business opportunity by creatively thinking about the market demands and analysing their competitors. We call this process ideation; generating ideas that can be used to generate, develop and evaluate ideas for new products, services or processes.<\/p>\n

Many businesses value this role of ideation and as a result, regularly hold ideation sessions that help generate multiple ideas between team members that must then be assessed, filtered down and finally acted upon. The main goal of ideation is to help create the \u201cbig idea\u201d and the more ideas a business has, the greater their chances are that one of them will be the next big idea. Interestingly, companies that get better and better at challenging the status quo and generating small ideas, also become better at generating big ideas.<\/p>\n

Ideation techniques<\/h3>\n

Developing a good ideation process within an organisation works because it should be built around the needs of the customer. Once a business fully understands the exact problem that needs to be solved, only then can they be in a position to solve it.<\/p>\n

Here, we have listed just some of the brainstorming techniques that a business owner can use to address their next innovation challenge:<\/p>\n

a). \u00a0Questioning different assumptions:\u00a0<\/strong>Every business has a mission and everyone who is involved in achieving that mission knows the beliefs of the business, what it stands for and how it is going to achieve its goals. But, as business owners, it is vital that we don\u2019t ignore other factors that we may run into along our path to success. If we question different assumptions at every stage of the development process, we can generate new ideas and opportunities.<\/p>\n

b). \u00a0Defining a wish list:\u00a0<\/strong>This is a great way to involve other team members. By sitting down together and defining a wish list for the business, you can get a vast amount of different ideas flowing in a short space of time, without imposing restrictions to make the ideas as creative as possible. Next, pick the best ideas to focus on and then develop new ideas, wishes and goals from that. The end result enables us to see new possibilities that we may not have thought up on our own.<\/p>\n

c). Redefining the opportunity:\u00a0<\/strong>With this ideation technique, you start by defining a clear statement that describes the overall objective. You then choose three of the most interesting words from the statement and produce alternatives for each of them. Once you have your alternative words, list them in a table with the original word at the top of each column.<\/p>\n

\n

Also Read:\u00a010 must-read books for startup founders, business owners and entrepreneurs<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finally, select one word at random from each column and input this into the original statement. This new variation helps to redefine the opportunity in a new way that we may not have seen before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Creative thinking is a powerful business mind tool that should never be overlooked, the mastery of the skill helps entrepreneurs to identify and exploit new…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,19],"tags":[182,180,181,179],"yoast_head":"\nHow to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Creative thinking is a powerful business mind tool that should never be overlooked, the mastery of the skill helps entrepreneurs to identify and exploit new...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Invoice Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theinvoiceapp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-17T08:44:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-08-26T21:09:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/creative-thinking.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Small Business Digest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@theinvoiceapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Small Business Digest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/\",\"name\":\"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-17T08:44:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-26T21:09:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ed588563b91c4447611867afe318745\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Invoice Blog\",\"description\":\"Small Business Blog in Nigeria for Business Owners, Freelancers & Entrepreneurs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ed588563b91c4447611867afe318745\",\"name\":\"Small Business Digest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76e0d2bc024ad28930a72cbf9d29f64?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76e0d2bc024ad28930a72cbf9d29f64?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Small Business Digest\"},\"description\":\"Small Business Digest is an online business magazine and publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Small Business Digest goal is to provide free and timely business resources and insights to help businesses grow.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theinvoiceapp\/\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/invoice_ng\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/invoice\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theinvoiceapp\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog","og_description":"Creative thinking is a powerful business mind tool that should never be overlooked, the mastery of the skill helps entrepreneurs to identify and exploit new...","og_url":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/","og_site_name":"Invoice Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theinvoiceapp\/","article_published_time":"2017-07-17T08:44:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-08-26T21:09:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/creative-thinking.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Small Business Digest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@theinvoiceapp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Small Business Digest","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/","url":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/","name":"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business. - Invoice Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-07-17T08:44:20+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-26T21:09:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ed588563b91c4447611867afe318745"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/how-to-master-of-creative-thinking-competitive-edge-in-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to master of creative thinking as a competitive edge in business."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/","name":"Invoice Blog","description":"Small Business Blog in Nigeria for Business Owners, Freelancers & Entrepreneurs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ed588563b91c4447611867afe318745","name":"Small Business Digest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76e0d2bc024ad28930a72cbf9d29f64?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76e0d2bc024ad28930a72cbf9d29f64?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Small Business Digest"},"description":"Small Business Digest is an online business magazine and publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Small Business Digest goal is to provide free and timely business resources and insights to help businesses grow.","sameAs":["https:\/\/invoice.ng","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theinvoiceapp\/","https:\/\/instagram.com\/invoice_ng","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/invoice","https:\/\/twitter.com\/theinvoiceapp"],"url":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoice.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}