An idea for a new product or service can be sparked by many different sources. These sources can be divided into internal sources and external sources.
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Did You
employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time being innovative by working on ideas that will benefit the business. This ‘20% time’ has led to products including Gmail and Google News.
Internal Sources of Ideas Internal sources of ideas come from within the business itself. They include:
• Brainstorming • Employee suggestions • Research and development • SWOT analysis.
1. Brainstorming is when a group gets together to come up with business ideas. All ideas are welcome during a brainstorming session, and members of the group are encouraged to contribute their thoughts in an informal, spontaneous way.
2. A business might get an idea for a new product or service from one of its employees. An employee who demonstrates enterprise characteristics in the workplace is called an intrapreneur. For example, the changes junior Sony employee Ken Kutaragi made to his daughter’s Nintendo ended up becoming the Sony PlayStation.
3. Many large businesses have a research and development (R&D) department. This department is dedicated to improving the business’s existing products or services and researching opportunities for new products or services.
4. SWOT stands for ‘strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats’. A SWOT analysis of a business or idea looks at each of these areas. Strengths and weaknesses are internal. Opportunities and threats are external. A SWOT analysis can generate useful information, which can lead to new and better ideas.
