Innovation through people

Abstract

Creativity underpins innovation; innovation underpins enterprise. In the business world it is enterprises, not ideas or products on their own, that make money. Much attention is given to new product development and to processes of innovation. Indeed, there are increasingly popular techniques to support these processes. However, successful enterprises and effective corporate entrepreneurship need both ideas and people. While considerable attention is given to the product development side of innovation, it is a matter of debate whether the same degree of attention is always given to the people side, and the identification and development of people with entrepreneurial potential. When we consider entrepreneurs we have to look at how they think as well as at how they act – and thinking contains both conscious and unconscious elements. Techniques generally address conscious rather than unconscious thought processes. There are some aspects of our creative thinking processes that we can't readily explain. We need to get “inside the mind” of the innovator.