After well-thought and careful considerations, companies, and individuals generally craft strategies to accomplish their corporate or personal goals. A good strategy is required to deliver a good and sustained performance. Businesses and individuals are now faced with new realities – environmental turbulence. The competitive advantages of yesterday in many instances are unable to cope with the market challenges of today. The new challenges require new dynamics.

New categories of customers are emerging, while the existing customers are coming up with new tastes and preferences. Customers are generally more discerning than ever. They have access to better information. They want better products and services. They want it faster, cheaper and they want it now. Competitors are emerging from most unlikely sources. New technologies are emerging, and they are challenging the existing business models, they offer new service delivery channels and newer opportunities for engaging customers. Regulations are also changing at faster rates, economic crises, environmental challenges, and health problems from one part of the world affects the other. Trade globalization is moving together with globalization of crises.

Creative and innovative approaches are required to understand these special customers and how to operate in these turbulent environments. The society requires managers and business leaders that can innovate Nigeria out of crises. How can we bring prosperity, good products, and services to our societies? In the words of Ludwig von Misses ‘The market system brings prosperity to those who satisfy the desires of others in the best and the least expensive way.  Wealth can only be attained by serving the consumer’. Corporations and individuals must improve their abilities to create and innovate to serve customers with better products and services. Hopefully, the market will continue to reward creative and innovative efforts.

Programme curriculum

Day 1

9.00 – 10.15

Session 1: What is Creativity and Innovation?

Definitions

Why innovation?

10.15 – 11.30

Session 2: Giants of Enterprises – Ford Motors & Apple Inc.

What are their driving forces?

How did they deliver the solutions?

How did the market respond to them?

11.30 – 12.00

Break

Session 3: Giants of Enterprises – Amazon, GTBank

What are there driving forces?

How did they deliver the solutions?

How did the market respond to them?

12.00 – 1.15

Session 4: The search for creative solutions through divergent and convergent thinking

Video / exercises / group session

Lunch Break

1.15 – 2.30

Session 5: The search for creative solutions through divergent and convergent thinking

Group exercises

Day 2

Session 1: Understanding Customers’ Needs

A day in the life of a customer through design thinking.

or

Session 2: Video, Case Study or Discussion Panel – (Innovation at SystemSpecs, AppZone, etc.)

Break

Session 3: Video, Case Study or Discussion Panel – (AppZone, etc.)

Session 4: Group Exercise/Project – Solving difficult problems with creative thinking, and innovation tools.

Session 5: Lean Start Up Principles

Day 3

Session 1: Introduction to Business Model Canvas

Session 2: Group Exercise/Project – Solving difficult problems with creative thinking, innovation tools and business models.

Session 3: Group Exercise/Project – Solving difficult problems with creative thinking, innovation tools and business models.

Session 4: Group Exercise/Project – Solving difficult problems with creative thinking, innovation tools and business models.

Session 5: Institutionalizing Innovation Management in the Workplace (Sir Chris)

Key Learning Outcomes

After the programme, you will be able to:

• Understand how successful individuals and companies have applied creativity and innovation to stand out from peers and sustained their competitive advantages.
• Understand the concepts of divergent and convergent thinking and how to use these processes to get results.
• Understand the importance of customers’ needs to innovation, how to uncover customers’ needs and how to create products/services to meet the customers’ needs.
• Understand the principles of lean start methods to test concepts and ideas, validate ideas, learn from the feedback, and improve ideas until they are ready for market.
• Understand the business model canvas and how to apply the tool to design new business models or to improve existing ones.
• Apply the skills learned to identify problems and design solutions with a business model that would be profitable and sustainable.