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Quick Look Course Summary:Innovation and Creative Thinking Training (1 day)
  • Length: 1 day(s)

  • Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 5,654 EX VAT 3 Person R 3,982 EX VAT 10 Person R 2,954 EX VAT

  • Certification Type:Non-Accredited

  • Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.

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    ★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 770+ reviews

    Free and no obligation.

    Innovation and Creative Thinking Training (1 day)

    Managers who can find the opportunities for innovation in their own area and lead their team through a structured idea session that produces usable results.

    Most organisations say they want new ideas, yet the way work is managed often shuts them down: tight targets, fear of failure, and meetings that judge an idea before it has been finished. This one-day innovation and creative thinking training is for managers who want to change that in their own department or section – and get practical, workable ideas out of their teams. It covers both innovative thinking techniques and innovation management: how a manager builds a unit where new ideas are generated, tested and put to use.

    Delegates start by analysing their own unit: where processes, products and services could improve, and what currently blocks new thinking. They then practise techniques that help people generate ideas – brainstorming and brainwriting, mind maps, SCAMPER, reverse thinking and switching perspectives – and plan the changes that make innovation normal: safety to speak up, time and space for ideas, recognition, and a simple way to test and choose between options.

    The afternoon is spent leading a creative session on a real problem from the delegates' own workplace, from defining the challenge to an agreed pilot, with feedback from the facilitator.

    Why this course

    For your organisation

    • A clear view of where innovation would add most value in each unit
    • Managers who encourage ideas instead of shutting them down
    • A repeatable method for running idea sessions
    • Ideas tested and prioritised before money is spent on them

    For your delegates

    • A toolkit of idea-generation techniques for individuals and groups
    • A plan to make your team more open to new ideas
    • Practice facilitating a creative session with feedback
    • Ways to deal with the blockers: fear, routine and early criticism

    What delegates will be able to do

    • Analyse your own unit to find where innovation would add value
    • Distinguish creativity, innovation and continuous improvement
    • Use individual and group techniques to generate ideas
    • Recognise the barriers that stifle ideas and plan how to remove them
    • Draw up a plan that makes your team environment more supportive of new ideas
    • Facilitate a structured creative session with your team
    • Evaluate and select ideas against simple criteria
    • Turn a selected idea into a small, testable pilot

    Who should attend

    Heads of department, section and divisional heads, and other managers with one or more teams reporting to them, as well as team leaders, project leads and improvement champions who are expected to bring new ideas into how work gets done.

    Course outline

    Day 1 – Leading innovation in your unit

    Creativity and innovation at work
    • Creativity, innovation and continuous improvement – the difference
    • Types of innovation: process, product, service and business model
    • Why new ideas stall in busy organisations
    • Local and international examples
    Finding opportunities in your own unit
    • Mapping your unit's processes, customers and pain points
    • Listening to customers and front-line staff
    • Spotting waste, workarounds and repeated complaints
    • Prioritising opportunities by value and effort
    Techniques for generating ideas
    • Brainstorming and brainwriting
    • Mind mapping
    • SCAMPER: substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate, reverse
    • Reverse thinking and challenging assumptions
    • Looking at a problem through different perspectives
    • Choosing between individual and group techniques
    An environment where ideas survive
    • Safety to speak up and treating failure as learning
    • Time, space and resources for new ideas
    • Recognising and rewarding contributions
    • Removing blockers: rigid rules, early criticism and silo thinking
    • Drafting an innovation plan for your own unit
    Leading a creative session
    • Defining the challenge clearly
    • Ground rules: generate first, judge later
    • Facilitating a group with quiet and dominant members
    • Evaluating ideas against simple criteria
    • Practice session on a real workplace problem
    From idea to action
    • Choosing which ideas to pilot
    • Designing a small, testable pilot
    • Getting buy-in from senior managers
    • Action plan and close

    How it is delivered

    One day, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; the practice session uses your own business challenges on request. Workbook, exercises and a personal action plan included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.

    Certificate: Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. This is a non-accredited short course; the training spend may count towards your B-BBEE skills development – check with your verification agency.

    What our clients say

    ★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 770+ reviews · word-for-word quotes from signed letters of reference, from clients on this and/or related BOTI courses

    “The courses were efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training with average overall scores of 5 out of 5.”

    A food manufacturerHR Manager · Course: Emotional Intelligence Course · 2022

    “We have been very impressed with their service and rollout of the training.”

    A medical schemeTalent Manager · 2024

    “We were particularly impressed by the quality of facilitation and the practical relevance of the content presented. The programme was delivered with professionalism, clarity, and a strong emphasis on real-world application”

    A digital marketing agencyHR Administrator · Course: Conflict Resolution Workshop Training Programme · 2026

    Read what our clients say

    Frequently asked questions

    Can you run this course at our offices?

    Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.

    How many people can attend?

    From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.

    Is it accredited?

    No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.

    Can we work on our own business challenges?

    Yes. Send us one or two real challenges beforehand and the afternoon session will be built around them, so the group leaves with ideas it can act on.

    How is this different from the critical thinking and problem solving courses?

    Critical thinking is about testing information and arguments; problem solving and decision making is about reaching a sound decision. This course is about generating new ideas and building a team environment that keeps producing them.

    Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?

    Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.

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    Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00. After hours, we reply on the next working day – or call 011 882 8853.

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      Free and no obligation.

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