INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND THE ENTREPRENEUR
MBA 290T/ENG 290
2 Units
Randy Haykin

This is a Lecture course of the MOT program.

Business “innovation” and “creativity” are terms used frequently in today’s business world to describe companies or projects that go beyond conventional thinking.  Many young job-seekers, like those graduating from UC Berkeley, seek jobs with organizations that are innovative in the way that they define their business, run HR practices, build their products and/or compete in the marketplace.  These innovative businesses – whether they be corporate “intrapreneurial” projects or small entrepreneurial startups -- and their inspiring leaders are highly valued in today’s market.  This course aims to capture the challenge and excitement of these companies – I call them “iOrganizations” and provide students with an opportunity to understand the underpinnings of this innovation.

The iOrganization designs, develops, markets, sells and finances its product or service in a way that sets it apart from its competitors.  In today’s fast-paced Internet- and mobile-driven world, innovation is both a desired trait and a necessity for survival. But how do organizations capture, develop, embrace, and harness innovation?  Where do the best ideas come from? How do employees (often the founders or leaders) bring creative individualism to the organization?   Highly differentiated and unique business start-ups are often led by a leader who understands how to harness the power of the innovative organization. The ICE course teaches innovation from three distinct points of view:

1. We will examine both “entrepreneurial” (start-up and growth) companies as well as larger global organizations with “intrapreneurial” departments, projects and “spin-outs.” 
2. We will chart the lifecycle and time-line of the typical start-up and explore innovation at each stage of development from product design to development through manufacturing, to marketing, sales, and finally financing.  The course is designed to give students an understanding of where to look for innovation, how to lead within an innovative organization, how to harness “functional” creativity within any department.
3. The course also aims to dig deeper than most other business courses at Berkeley, by asking each student to synthesize learnings from the semester into a “personal innovation plan” that they can use in their job search and in their future career. The ultimate goal of the course is to change the way each student views him or herself and re-design their focus on career and leadership.  Students are expected to leave this course with a better understanding of themselves and how to recognize and drive their OWN creativity in the business setting.

The course will rely on top books and articles in the field, an exciting new approach to cases called the “virtual” case (online/video), several self-assessments (online and book format) and many intriguing guest speakers.  Whether you are seeking to learn more about the field of creativity and innovation so you can apply it to a future job or organization, or you are seeking to learn more about how you can personally be more creative, this course will challenge your ways of looking at your world. Some common comments from previous students in this class are: “Professor R is well-connected and brought an amazing array of speakers”; “Excellent course material”; “real world speakers were excellent and timely”; “organization of course was phenomenal”; “very useful and practical class.”

Course Syllabus (pdf)

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