Issue 2: A bulletin for big ideas and better business.

OPINION / IDEAS

Creativity is oxygen for growth: time for businesses to come up for air

💬Sir John Hegarty

Creativity makes us uncomfortable. At least, that’s according to a study by the University of Illinois. A professor there, Dr. Jack Goncalo, found that respondents had a deep aversion to it. In an experiment using what’s called an Implicit Association Test, words that were linked to creativity included “agony”, “poison”, and even “vomit”. At face value, findings like these seem far-fetched. But researchers uncovered an explanation for these strong reactions. Creativity is associated with uncertainty, disruption and change. And for that reason, it’s frightening.

Research like this goes some of the way to explaining a major disconnect in modern business. That is, the gulf between how much leaders talk about creativity, and how little they use it. Companies do this at their peril – recent history is littered with the remnants of brands that were too slow to innovate and too reluctant to devise new ways to connect with people. In the 2020s, creativity is still oxygen for business growth.

Credit: Sir John Hegarty

Businesses are creative constructs

A common mistake is to overlook a central fact about business generally: companies are creative constructs. A company begins when someone has an idea. The problems usually start when the ideas stop. Consider how the list of the world’s top ten most valuable companies has changed in the last decade. In 2012, the line-up consisted of names like Shell, IBM, Chevron and ExxonMobil. By last year, these brands had been replaced by the likes of Tesla, Tencent, Alphabet and Amazon. Only Apple and Microsoft – both consistent innovators – have remained in place. Creativity is the best defence against obsolescence.

License to have ideas

How to unlock creative potential in your organisation? There is a raft of things managers can do. But the easiest is to encourage ideas to flow in both directions. Traditional hierarchies demand that ideas are formed at the top of a company, by a CEO or whoever, then flow downwards. A small number of senior staff members possess a license to have ideas. The rest must obey. If that describes the natural order of things in your company, consider it a red flag. There is no research pointing to a better calibre of idea coming from the corner office rather than the factory or office floor. Creativity flourishes when everyone is given permission to have a view on how to change things. Bad ideas shouldn’t be discouraged either – they form a foundation on which to have better ones.

Two banned words 

Meanwhile, there are some assumptions that damn the flow of creativity. The first one is use of the word “original”. When a team goes in search of an original idea, thoughts dry up and innovation stymies. Why? Originality is an impossible metric – in art, music, design and business. A more helpful term is “freshness”. Creativity is usually borne from a fresh expression of an existing idea, or a joining of two disparate things. When you stop looking for originality and start looking for freshness, the world opens up.

The second word to ban is “risk”. While it’s become fashionable to harp on about risk in business, few clients or bosses welcome it. Risk means jeopardy, wasted budgets, and lost market share. Replace risk with “excitement”. Does an idea motivate, inspire, or encourage people to feel something? If it does, it’s likely worth pursuing.

The business world has a problem with creativity. But overcoming it is easier than most managers imagine. While some obsess over data and digital tools that help us do things faster and with fewer people involved, the biggest business advantage at our disposal is already sat in the building. Leaders who create enduring brands will be those who are best at switching off the quiet fear of creativity.

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THE AGENDA / CARS, CARNIVALS AND CREATIVITY

1.
The world’s biggest party isn’t Glastonbury in the Southwest of England, or Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert. It’s this week at the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The event is divided into street parties – known as blocos – and each one has a concept. Previous motifs have included superheroes as well as a party that’s totally Beatles themed.
9th – 17th February

2.
An extreme close up isn’t always the best way to study tiny things. NASA will launch its PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem) mission today, the satellite will orbit the Earth and give a diagnostic on our planet’s health. It’s a pertinent reminder that perspective matters.
6th February

3.
Creativity is crucial to the future of our civilisation. So, hats off to the organisers of the Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank Centre in London. The jamboree is about inspiring creativity in young people and encouraging their individuality. It coincides with half-term too.
7th – 17th February

4.
There are many events in the US that celebrate the act of travelling on four wheels. The Chicago Auto Show is the biggest. Tyre-kickers will assemble to applaud an auto market that has rebounded since the pandemic. And Tesla will make its debut at the event this year.
8th – 19th February

5.
The Brazilians know how to party. But don’t write off the Belgian flair for staging a shin-dig of historic proportions. The Carnival of Binche is one of the oldest gatherings of its kind. Gilles are participants who wear wax masks and wave sticks around to ward off evil spirits. They lack the exoticism of samba dancers, but luck is something that few can do without.
11th – 13th February

Credit: Thomas Lenne / Alamy Stock Photo

GLOBAL / ENERGY

Survival of the slickest?

There’s an increasingly polarised debate around energy. For some, fossil fuels represent a steady supply of power and access to soaring profits. For others, a reliance on oil and gas spurs us towards a future where much of our world is either on fire or under water. Today British multinational BP will announce its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023. While everyone is used to oil companies posting bumper profits, BPs are expected to have halved from last year according to a report in The Guardian. This presents a paradox when it comes to investment in renewables. When energy companies draw huge earnings from fossil fuels, the concern is that such organisations double down on where the profits lie. When businesses underperform, the fear is that expensive renewables projects get quietly canned. Necessity is the mother of invention. Policymakers need to create the conditions for creativity – and strides forward in clean energy.

UK / POETRY 

New Romantics

Poetry books sold in record numbers in the UK last year. Demand has been driven by verse shared on social media – see also InstaPoetry and BookTok – and the medium merging with the self-help genre. But numbers pale in comparison to the art form’s heyday. Lord Byron could hawk 10,000 copies of a poem in a single day, according to a report in The Economist.

Credit: Clo’e Floirat

UK / RETAIL

Feeling blue

Credit: John Kellerman / Alamy Stock Photo

Visitors to Harrods in London this month will notice something unusual about the department store. The famous façade of the building has been decked out in the “knight” blue of British heritage brand Burberry. The door attendants have been garbed in a check featuring the colour. Inside a brace of dedicated pop ups are showing a capsule collection as well as deeply Instagrammable (or TikTokable) items like branded Kendal mint cakes and hot water bottles. It’s a cheery initiative and a savvy move for Burberry. While luxury department stores suffer from a prolonged downturn, Harrods has maintained its lustre, bouncing back strongly after the pandemic. Burberry meanwhile has suffered from a slowdown in demand. Its response appears to be a play for aspiration. That means better quality, and higher prices. Beyond that, expect further creative bursts as the company negotiates itself out of heavy weather.

CHINA / CULTURE

Unleash the dragon

Tomorrow a mass movement of people will begin in China as hundreds of millions head out of cities and home for Lunar New Year celebrations. The creature to symbolise this forthcoming period is to be the dragon. The mythical animal supposedly represents good luck, strength, and creativity. The Chinese Communist Party will need these things in great quantities as it presides over a troublesome year.

US/ MEDIA

Media blitz

Imaginechina Limited / Alamy Stock Photo

Last year’s biggest winner at the Superbowl wasn’t the prevailing team (the Kansas City Chiefs, in case you’ve forgotten), it was Rhianna. Performing at the halftime show, she whipped out a Fenty Beauty product and quickly applied it as the cameras did a close up. Google searches for the brand increased by 883%, according to Cosmetics Business. This year, R&B star Usher is performing during the same slot, and his marketing play is a little more conventional. His album Coming Home gets released in the days leading up to the game. But there’s a problem. Audiences never want to hear the new album.