应用创造力——以及如何引导它

—and howto lead it Everycompanystarts with They end whenthey run out of ideas. Or, more likely, can’t executethe ones they have. This research is about the disciplineof reliably turning ideas into usefuland interesting things for customers.It starts with the intuitive principlethat creativity is needed to innovateand grow and ends with the elusive To make it workable, we havealso defined the types of humancreativity, with a focus on thosethat contribute to company growth—inventive and expressive. Inventive No creativity can be separatedfrom technology. Creativitymakes technology more human,and technology makes humansmore creative. And, for the first With the rapid and widespreadadoption of AI, there is generalagreement that human creativitywill be a differentiator. However,in contrast to the focus andexpertise spent on technology How enterprises use humaningenuity to be distinctive, and AIto amplify and operationalizecreativity, cannot be left up to good Maybe it’s because, like the word“technology,” “creativity” is a broadcategorical term used to describemany things. Unlike technology, We call this applied creativity. —Nick Law Applied creativity—and how to lead it Ask top business leaders,and we did, if theirorganizations can generatecreative ideas. Eighty-one Now ask if theyveryfrequentlyturn those ideasinto initiatives that drivegrowth and you’ll see a very Why do so many fail to repeatedlyturn that potential into meaningfulpractice? And what do the ones infrastructure for creativity to do realwork across the organization, and be Creativity does have value. In fact,the financial impact is significant. Our research shows that creativeideas often show up unevenly acrossthe business, and the leadership thatsets and supports the conditions forthem to take shape, gain traction and These 16% of organizations that saytheyvery frequentlyturn creative ideasinto growth initiativesperform better, The bottom line: creativity, whenapplied, performs. Better brand Better business 58%more likely to outperformon brand equity The 16% of companiesthat actively convert ideasinto execution see gains more likely than peers tooutperform on time to market more likely to outperformon Net Promoter Score more likely to outperformon employee engagement 45% more likely to significantlyoutperform on revenuegrowth, with average growth more likely to outperformon customer retention 26% more likely to outperformon operating margin From somethingcreated to From how interfaces for internalapplications are developed,to industrial design for desirable new If creativity is how imagination turnsinto ideas, then applied creativity isthe disciplined way that organizationsturn those ideas into useful andmeaningful things for customers— It’s important to approach appliedcreativity as an infrastructure forturning somethingcreatedintosomethingdelivered. Strategydecides what matters and sets the “Creativity isn’t a campaign.It’s the only way the business works.Creativity shows up in how Creative LeaderToy manufacturer More than innovation: Organizations, which requireorganizing, tend to see andsupport systemizers by puttingthem in roles where that strength Creativity can mean many thingsto many people. We use creativitysingularly throughout, but it’simportant to acknowledge thedifferent modes under that umbrella Choreography across all four isrequired to bring ideas to life—thoughthe goal is not to view everyone as being creative. It is to have thereceptiveculture andsupportive Engineering Inventive Systematic creativity.Making things work. Executing inventions. Expressive Empathetic creativity.Making people care. The creative that all use to help the businessoperate and grow. The office of theChief Financial Officer establishesprocedures for purchasing andexpenses that all use to supportthe fiscal health of the business. Leadership is critical to helpingset and model the culture thatapplied creativity requires to gainmomentum and meaning across For something imagined to becomesomething real, and for ideas toturn into the impact that successful This happens already. The ChiefTechnology Officer and Chief About our research This report draws on qualitative andquantitative methods conducted overthe fourth quarter of 2025 and thefirst quarter of 2026. The qualitativephase involved 60-minute interviewswith 15 senior-level experts, including the Middle East and Africa,representing 20 industriesand organizations with revenuesexceeding US$1 billion in mostmarkets. Neuroscience-based Whyappliedcreativity When the promisebecomes a penalty Increasingly, executives recognizecreativity as central to futuresuccess—for them and their business.Eighty-three percent believe creativitywill be one of the most important Creativity has become a leadershipissue—and the rise of AI is adding At the same time, leaders reporta far different reality inside theirorganizations, and have witnessedan actual penalty for