Why creativity is the ultimate business growth multiplier

TLDR:
If you think creativity is a luxury, you’re thinking too small. It’s not about making things pretty—it’s about making things work better. Creativity is what turns strategy into breakthrough and noise into meaning. In a crowded, fast-moving market, it’s the differentiator that fuels relevance, resonance and results. The future of business belongs to those bold enough to use it.

At a volunteer meeting last week, someone asked me what I do for a living. When I told them I was a professional creative in advertising, I knew that wouldn’t give them the clarity they were looking for. A few exchanges later, we were deep into what creativity really is—and how anyone manages to build a career on it, let alone prove it belongs in business at all.

For businesses focused on growing their core products or services, creativity may seem like the farthest thing from an essential part of the plan. The executive team is usually focused on driving the company’s overall direction, health and future. That involves building strong and aligned internal teams, developing innovative products and creating a competitive edge, managing the company reputation and ensuring accountability.

Business leaders think about risk constantly—from PR nightmares to data breaches to economic downturns. To a left-brained world, creativity feels like chaos. No wonder it scares the hell out of business executives operating in a world built on logic.

When we pause to ask what creativity really is, we uncover its hidden power: It’s not decoration, it’s a business multiplier. Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships or the like—to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc. If just reading that feels messy, that’s because it is. Delightfully tangled and usually a winding and unexpected journey, often ending up someplace you never predicted to be.

I often say being creative is the equivalent of channeling your kindergarten self. Transporting yourself back to a time where play ruled and just about anything was possible if you wanted it to be. As we grew up and learned to be more analytical and responsible, we developed a filter that’s become part of our normal way of thinking. It tames the imagination and provides the logic to tell you there’s no way a toy car can go into outer space. But when you were 5, of course that could happen—and you could stop by a cloud to pick up a candy bar on the way out.

Being a grownup doesn’t mean you aren’t still creative. The truth is, everyone is creative. How much you tap into it is up to you. Luckily, being creative isn’t a gift reserved for the few, but more of a skill that can be practiced and refined like anything else. If you’re willing to be open-minded and curious and ready to experiment and play, you’re on the right path. And that can serve your business in profound ways.

We live in a world where everyone is screaming for attention and no one has time to listen. Breaking through means having a brand that is uniquely you. Creativity is what gives a brand its voice, look, tone, soul—all the stuff that actually connects.

You don’t just sell a product or service. You sell a narrative. When many products are so similar, it’s essential to connect beyond just functional benefits. Customers might forget features, but they’ll remember how a brand made them feel. That’s where creative storytelling becomes a superpower— sparking emotional connections that build lasting loyalty and love for a brand. It taps into human truths and makes people feel seen, understood and inspired.

Creativity turns the mundane into something memorable through surprise, wit or wonder. In a crowded market, that can be a major advantage and the difference between being seen and being remembered.

When you think about some of the most innovative companies, they’ve developed a product or service that either disrupted their category or created a new one altogether. Airbnb, Uber, Amazon, OpenAI, Netflix, Apple and Peloton all asked the question “What if ...?” Creativity broke the normal process and helped encourage new ways of thinking, solving, building and connecting. It challenged assumptions and reframed the entire picture.

The beauty of applying creativity to business innovation is that it can happen at any scale. In virtually any business, there exists an opportunity to solve a customer pain point—and creativity can be the engine behind unlocking it.

Does your business have an environment that encourages fresh ideas that challenge the status quo?

At DS+CO, we have a culture that nurtures creativity. Our people are empowered to stay curious, push boundaries, take calculated risks, share weird and crazy ideas, to not hold back. That environment doesn’t exist naturally, and we’ve intentionally made sure we maintain our philosophy of making people feel safe to challenge, experiment and contribute. The result is a team inspired to ask “What’s next?”

Employees that not only have the opportunity to think creatively but are encouraged to do so, to deliver ideas that surprise and help drive growth. It works in any industry and applies to all aspects of business.

I dare you to test it out. Think about something small you’re trying to solve. Throw out the traditional, expected, safe ideas and try to force the conversation into new places. I promise you’ll surprise yourself and your shareholders, too—in the best of ways. Now think about the possibilities when that approach is embraced to solve larger challenges.

Business is messy. You can count on it. Markets change, people change, breakthrough products turn everything upside-down. I’m looking at you, AI. Uncertainty will happen at the worst possible time. Remember the pandemic? There will be competing priorities, egos to navigate, communication gaps and never enough time.

Creativity turns “we’ve never done this before” into “but here’s how we could.” If you want to solve problems that don’t have obvious answers? Think creatively. Strategy can set the direction, and creativity will guide you through the chaos.

Businesses that engage creativity across their organization outperform their peers time and again. Companies that are winning are balancing data, analytics, spreadsheets and pragmatic decision-making with creativity and brave thinking.

If you’d like deeper engagement, faster growth and bigger impact, creativity isn’t extra or nice to have. It’s the ultimate multiplier that can take business to new heights.

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For almost 40 years, DS+CO has understood that creativity is the act of seeing what could be, not just what is. We call it Provoking Progress, and we’ve built a business around it. Because progress happens the moment someone envisions a better way. We’ve channeled that creative energy into helping other companies solve challenges in unexpected, breakthrough ways.

Let’s get creative together. We’ll push you. Promise.