Mindset & Thinking
What is left-brained / vertical thinking?
This type of thinking is logical, linear, and focused on finding the one correct answer to a problem.
What is searching for the one right answer?
This barrier occurs when someone assumes a problem has only one correct solution.
What is brainstorming?
This classic technique involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging them during the session.
What is creativity versus innovation?
This is the distinction Chapter 3 draws: new ideas versus turning those ideas into value.
What is preparation?
This is the first stage of the creative process, where the person gathers information about the problem.
What is right-brained / lateral thinking?
This type of thinking is creative, unconstrained, and generates multiple possible solutions to a problem.
What is being afraid to look foolish / fear of failure?
This barrier is the belief that certain topics, questions, or approaches are off-limits.
What is SCAMPER?
This seven-letter acronym stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse.
What is innovation?
This term describes the ability to apply creative solutions to problems and opportunities in order to generate something new and useful.
What is incubation?
In this stage, the unconscious mind works on the problem while the person does something unrelated.
What is the entrepreneurial mindset?
This term describes the collection of mental models, attitudes, and behaviours that allow entrepreneurs to spot opportunities others miss.
What is the fear of failure / aversion to making mistakes?
This cultural attitude, common in business settings, discourages experimentation and punishes mistakes.
What are Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats?
This technique uses six differently coloured hats to force a group to look at a problem from six different thinking perspectives.
What are mistakes / failures?
Chapter 3 argues that successful entrepreneurs treat this not as failure but as an essential part of the learning process.
What is illumination?
This is the sudden "aha" moment when the solution appears, often while doing something mundane.
What is the right hemisphere?
According to Chapter 3, entrepreneurs rely on this brain hemisphere more heavily than managers in established firms do.
What is following the rules / focusing on being logical?
This mental trap happens when people stop questioning assumptions because "that's how things have always been done."
What is mind mapping?
This technique generates ideas by drawing connections between a central concept and related ideas radiating outward like branches.
What is 20% time / free time for innovation?
This practice, common in companies like 3M and Google, lets employees spend a portion of their working hours on projects of their own choosing.
What is verification / implementation?
This final stage involves testing the idea, refining it, and putting it into practice.
What is functional fixedness?
This cognitive bias, discussed in Chapter 3, refers to the tendency to stick with the first solution that comes to mind rather than exploring alternatives.
What is "I'm not creative"?
Chapter 3 identifies this as the most significant barrier to creativity in organisations — the belief that a person is simply not a creative type.
What is rapid prototyping / reverse brainstorming?
This creativity technique takes a problem and asks what would happen if you approached it from the exact opposite direction.
What are constraints / resource constraints?
Chapter 3 identifies this paradoxical source of creativity — not despite limited resources, but because of them.
What is investigation?
Chapter 3 names this stage, sometimes placed between preparation and incubation, in which the person consciously analyses and wrestles with the problem.