Page 50 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

I ►t ► 1, discusses creative Itichiliques and for the in( p.t part,

Ic. .s the standard rational techniques to other books.

The processes discussed in this chapter and ensuing ones
were listed in Table 2.1. This chapter discusses the processes
used in creatively analyzing the environment, recognizing
and identifying problems and opportunities, and in mak-
ing assumptions. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss techniques for
generating creative alternatives. Chapter 4 focuses on indi-
vidual techniques, Chapter 5 on group techniques. Chapter
6 reviews creative approaches to choice, implementation and
control. The lengthier discussions jrt these chapters focus
on the best-known, more difficultlo understand, or most
often used techniques. For longer and more complicated
techniques, a summary of the steps necessary appears at the
end of the discussion of that technique. In this and other
chapters, techniques are presented in alphabetical order
within sections to make them easier to find. Remember that
techniques are numbered twice. The first number denotes
the technique's position from 1 to 101, the second number is
the technique's position within that section of the problem
solving module.

TECHNIQUES FOR ANALYZING
THE ENVIRONMENT

You can't solve a problem or take advantage of an opportu-
nity until you know it exists. You can't be creative in gener-
ating alternatives until you have a reason to do so. The ra-
tional techniques for environmental analysis focus on stan-
dard control processes and environmental scanning. The
following are recent, more creative approaches to environ-
mental analysis.