The Maslow hierarchy can bring you closer to a successful idea. We need to understand that individuals have different preferences, at different levels of the consumption hierarchy. In addition to looking at the needs of the individual, STEEP analysis, i.e. an analysis of the social, technological, economic, environmental and political (STEEP) environment, can also be effective. It is a method for a systematic overview of the macro-environment around us, usually applied for a specific purpose, but it can also be used to understand trends and tendencies around us and thus generate ideas.

In order to use our creativity in the right direction, to apply it to the realization of our ideas, to the development of our business, we need to assess what our options are and what risks we need to be prepared for. We need to make the decisive assessments:

• Opportunity analysis and process definition
• Monitor and exploit business trends – Benchmarking studies and competitor analysis
• Growth orientation – Analysis of the development and learning processes that are absolutely necessary for scaling
• Goal orientation – Examining the short-term goals we strive for in a performance situation
• Stress and uncertainty tolerance – Analysis of individual and organisational tools and options to help manage uncertainty
• Calculated risk taking – Identifying what financial, market and other risks we can take

Training exercise: Participants will choose the most marketable ideas they like best and work together in small groups to develop the four to five ideas that get the most votes. Here they use the information they have learned so far:

• They form a team

• Identify the tasks of the team members, taking into account their strengths and soft skills

• They work to develop a marketable version of the idea by taking into account how team members can work together

These ideas and teams will also be used in the next exercises and will be further developed by the participants.

Tools for the exercise: Maslow hierarchy printed, Flip-Chart, Post-it – 4 colors, Blue Tech, Markers