
How to be remembered for the right reasons #2: Get into their world
In the second of a five-part series on effective communication for leaders, Robert Vilkelis sets out a four-step framework for translating your expertise into audience impact. ...
by Luc de Brabandere , Lina Benmehrez, Jonas Leyder Published February 13, 2025 in Brain Circuits • 3 min read
Innovation (on the right of the diagram) can be defined as the ability to do better, cheaper, more developed, more elegant, or more fashion-forward things – but essentially it’s doing the same thing.
Creativity (on the left) can be defined as the ability to think about something else while changing your perception.
Innovation means continuously improving on things and is derived from a strategy that doesn’t change. Strategy 1 spurs the first burst of innovation – but a wave of innovation cannot go on indefinitely, precisely because the strategy doesn’t change (you cannot endlessly add new colors to a pen or different flavors to a cappuccino).
This is when the creative jump must happen. It’s induced by a different perception of things. Strategy 2 is new and sets off a new wave of innovations that could not have been derived from the initial strategy (even if the change in perception can be brought about by one of the original innovations).
S2 doesn’t change anything, yet it changes everything. The objects before you remain the same, but they’re perceived and categorized differently – and this change in perception leads to a new strategy that offers a means to develop fresh innovations.
Innovation is possible without creativity and vice versa, but creativity is the only way to boost innovation – and the ultimate responsibility of a CEO is to articulate the back-and-forth between the two.
No strategic vision is eternal. Under the pressure of megatrends, competition, customers, or regulations of all kinds, one day S1 will give way to S2 – and it’s in your interest as a leader to have chosen that S2 yourself, rather than having it imposed by an external element.
Luc de Brabandere is a Fellow of the Boston Consulting Group, a co-founder of Cartoonbase, and a visiting professor at several universities. He graduated in applied mathematics and philosophy.
Co-founder of RoadCo
Lina Benmehrez is co-founder of RoadCo, a startup that strengthens collaboration strategies within organizations. She specializes in impact business intelligence and is a columnist on the future of work.
Jonas Leyder is a sociology graduate interested in digital cultures, data visualization, and critical thinking.
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