Innovate or evaporate: Creative techniques for strategists

An organization can gain a strategic competitive advantage by achieving relatively high differentiation, relatively low cost or some combination of the two. Most experts agree that the way to achieve relative differentiation and/or relative low cost is through innovation. The easiest to introduce, yet one of the most beneficial means of improving innovation, is through the use of creative problem solving techniques by individuals and groups. This article describes seven creativity techniques that are useful in formulating strategy: brainstorming, storyboarding, mind mapping, excursion, checklists, morphological analysis and lotus blossom. These techniques work, use them or fall behind. Innovate or Evaporate! Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd