Following on from that, are entrepreneurs good at encouraging creative thinking in their own businesses or teams?
Well, that I’m not sure about. I think they might be good at listening to new ideas, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they actually encourage them. So I have an in-between position on that. I wouldn’t say they’re not good but I wouldn’t say they’re exceptionally good at encouraging it. What are some of the things an entrepreneur can do to foster creative thinking? I think first of all to ask people around them and their staff to think about certain things. Have a sort of hit list which everyone can see on their computers, on the noticeboard or whatever. Ask people for new ideas about this, whether it’s marketing, whether it’s product, whether it’s service, whether it’s finance – ask people to focus on it and come up with ideas. Mostly people don’t focus on something because they’re not asked to focus on it. So having a hit list is a big step. And the second step is having someone in the organisation that’s designated to listen to or receive ideas, because having to persuade your
