Effective creativity: how to manage it to achieve extraordinary business value

Abstract

Purpose

To better understand the role of creativity and its impact on business, IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV) surveyed 400 United States-based CEOs across 11 industries in 2022.

Design/methodology/approach

Average organization size of these businesses was a little over $26 billion in annual revenue. The survey covered a range of questions on the role and impact of creativity in their organization. Then survey data was analyzed to reveal the key drivers and success factors of creativity.

Findings

When the CEOs were asked to describe an organizational structure most conducive to perpetuating creativity, as many as one quarter of them identified a hierarchical structure – a structure typically considered antithetical to free-flowing creativity, and one highly susceptible to micro-management and bureaucracy.

Practical implications

CEOs identify fear of failure as the most significant barrier to creativity.

Originality/value

Tapping into ingenuity and creativity has been critical to navigating recent market disruption – and going forward, effective creativity is becoming even more central to business success. Study identifies best practices of leading organizations that believe that. creativity is not a skill solely for a few selected innovators and makers, it’s a quality required across the workforce.

Citation

Marshall, A., Dencik, J. and Anderson, C. (2023), "Effective creativity: how to manage it to achieve extraordinary business value", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 51 No. 3, pp. 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-02-2023-0020