Why CEOs Get It Wrong About Creativity - and Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

Balancing the balance! Non-creatives and creatives in business need to understand each other.

Why CEOs and Non-Creatives Will Often Misunderstand Creative Work as 'Generic'

In businesses which have creativity at its heart, there can sometimes be a disconnect that emerges between the creatives and non-creative executives, perhaps let's say in finance and administration. While creatives can value originality, art, and the emotional resonance that is in their work, some CEOs and business leaders prioritise metrics, scalability, and efficiency. Originality can be seen as time wasting. This divergence of points of view can lead to creative contributions being dismissed as "generic," undervalued, or treated as interchangeable. 

The Creative vs. Business Mindset: A Fundamental Divide

Creatives can rely on years of training in their chosen subject, intuition, originality, and expertise to create work that is unique and meaningful. This can be illustrated from the recorded conversations from the court case in 1878 at the Old Bailey in London when the American artist James Abbot McNeill Whistler was stunned when the art critic Ruskin had smeared not only Whistler's painting, but his legitimacy as an artist. Whistler was suing John Ruskin after Ruskin called Whistler's painting "Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket", priced at 200 guineas being exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery a "willful imposture" and criticised the gallery for charging 200 guineas for it. During the trial, Ruskin's lawyer asked Whistler how long it took to paint the piece. Whistler replied, “Oh, I 'knock one off' possibly in a couple of days – one day to do the work and another to finish it”. The lawyer then asked, “The labour of two days is that for which you ask two hundred guineas?”. Whistler responded, “No,” and said, “I ask it for the knowledge I have gained in the work of a lifetime”. Whistler won the court case and was awarded a farthing. Non-creatives, on the other hand, as shown by the critics and the lawyer's point of view will often view art through a lens of profitability, scalability, and efficiency. 

This clash of priorities makes the divide wider.

Creatives: Focus on nuance, artistry, and emotional impact.

Executives: Emphasise measurable outcomes, processes, and the obviously important bottom-line results.

The challenge lies in the fact that creative work, by nature, is abstract and subjective, making it harder to quantify its immediate financial value. The impact of a well-designed book cover or an innovative advertising campaign may not be immediately visible on a balance sheet, yet these contributions are essential to brand identity and audience connection. Saleteams now can take over the design of book covers resulting in what looks like generic themes and interchangeable covers screaming for attention. 

The Rise of Generic Thinking

Economic pressures and tight deadlines have commodified creativity in many industries. This shift began around 2010 and has accelerated with the rise of AI and automation. As a result:

Stock photos replace bespoke photography.

Templates substitute custom designs.

Formulaic storytelling overtakes originality.

This commodification often leads to creative work being perceived as a service to optimise rather than a discipline to respect. When a "refreshed" (what does that mean?) the book cover incorporates stock images, the originality of the author’s work is diminished, reducing it to something generic.

The Price of Undervaluing Creativity

Creatives and creative solutions offers long-term benefits which cannot always be measured immediately:

Emotional Connection: Authentic creative work builds trust and resonates with audiences, fostering loyalty, backstories of the thinking behind the work is of huge interest. 

Differentiation: In a saturated marketplace, creativity provides a competitive edge, setting brands apart.

Innovation: Creative solutions drive progress, enabling businesses to adapt to cultural shifts and stay relevant. Recycling material makes for stagnation and robs younger creatives of work, which means talent goes somewhere else after years of being worn down, chasing work, work is altered, chasing payments. 

Mark Rothko an abstract painter who lived in the first half of the 20th century. believed that art should express basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, and doom. He also believed that art should be a revelation, an unexpected resolution to a familiar need.  In an 1943 article published in the New York Times co-authored by Adolph Gottlieb, Rothko said:

"Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take risks”.

Companies like Apple, Nike, and Pixar show the power of hyper-creativity. Their success is not from only business strategies but from their commitment to originality, design, and in storytelling making for a glue like consumer connection.

The Paradox of Creativity in Corporations

While a few CEOs champion creativity in speeches or mission statements, their actions will often undermine what these intentions were. 

Common pitfalls include:

Underfunding Creative Work: Treating creative assets as recyclable rather than unique and the people who create the material as problematic.

Prioritising Safe Strategies:

Relying on A/B testing and algorithms, which favour predictability over bold ideas.

Fear of Failure:

Creativity requires experimentation, which obviously involves risk—something many executives are trained to minimise.

In publishing, re-printing very old titles and trying to pass them off as new - will often takes precedence over fostering new ideas, leading to short-term gains but eroding long-term innovation. The world is constantly changing and what will suit a child reader in the 1980’s will be completely different in the 21st century..

Bridging the Divide

To combat this, both creatives and executives must adapt:

For CEOs and Non-Creatives: Recognise creativity as a cornerstone of innovation and competitive advantage. Invest in people with bold ideas and with an understand that these ideas might not reap rewards immediately but may lay the foundations for something bigger, their impact might come over time. Accept failure, sometimes the best of ideas just do not work.

For Creatives: Become familiar with the language of business, balance sheets and financial metrics can help bridge the gap between art and commerce and make the case for the value of creative work in terms executives can appreciate.

For a Brighter Future for Creativity and Commerce

Creativity is not an abstract concept—it can be a driver of business success. As industries become increasingly saturated with sameness, cutting edge creative work will distinguish one company from another and make it stand out and by standing out will attract more talent. By fostering collaboration between creatives and non-creatives, organisations can unlock the full potential of innovation and build enduring success.

Why Creativity Matters - to sum up.

Creativity drives innovation, differentiation, and emotional connection.

Commodifying creativity leads to stagnation and lost opportunities.

A balance between creative intuition and business strategy is essential for long-term growth.

Creative industries can be called the ‘creative and cultural industries‘, or the ‘creative and digital industries‘, or simply the ‘creative industry‘ within the ‘creative economy‘. Recently, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the term ‘Orange Economy‘ (La Economía Naranja) has been used.

The terminology can be perplexing!

In general, the term ‘creative industries’ encompasses various economic activities focused on the creation and commercialisation of creativity, ideas, knowledge, and information.

The term ‘creative industries’ describes businesses with creativity at their heart: design, music, publishing, architecture, film and video, crafts, visual arts, fashion, TV and radio, advertising,

Creatives are known for their innovative and unconventional thinking, which is often reflected in their approach to business. Unlike traditional industries, where processes are more standardised, the creative sector thrives on originality and flexibility. This divergence also extends to financial management. Creatives typically prioritise their craft over administrative tasks, which can lead to less structured financial practices. 

Why Investing in Creativity Works: The Evidence

For those who still believe creativity is a luxury or an indulgence, the data says otherwise. Studies confirm that businesses which invest in creative talent and design innovation consistently outperform those that don’t.

Creativity Fuels Growth and Profit

McKinsey & Company reported that businesses who prioritise creativity are far more likely to succeed:

• Companies in the top quartile for creativity enjoy 67% higher organic revenue growth.

• They also deliver 70% greater total return to shareholders.

• In terms of long-term value, they see 74% higher net enterprise value than their peers.

This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about building real competitive advantage.

Design-Driven Companies Win

McKinsey’s Business Value of Design report shows that businesses with strong design capabilities:

• Experience 32 percentage points more revenue growth.

• Outperform their peers by 56 percentage points in shareholder returns over five years.

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In other words, creativity doesn’t just look good. It pays.

Consumers Value Creativity Too

Adobe’s State of Create report:

• 78% of people say companies that invest in creativity have more productive staff.

• 80% agree that creative businesses deliver better customer satisfaction.

• 59% of consumers are more loyal to brands they perceive as creative or well-designed.

The impact is both internal and external: creativity boosts team morale and customer connection.

Yet Many Businesses Still Undervalue It

Despite all this, only 55% of companies measure the value of creative work based on its business impact. That means nearly half of all businesses are flying blind when it comes to the true return on their creative investment.