Let’s be clear from the start: creative thinking isn’t optional in business. It’s not some soft skill reserved for designers or marketing teams, nor is it a “nice to have” that only applies to innovation departments. If you’re leading a business—whatever the size—your success rides on your ability to think creatively.

And yet, many businesses operate in safe mode. They default to best practices, rigid processes, and fear-based decision-making, stifling the very thing that could set them apart.

Creativity isn’t about making things pretty. It’s about making things work better.

It’s about breaking through stagnation, solving problems in unexpected ways, and recognizing that your biggest competitive advantage isn’t just about your products and services. It’s about thinking differently.

Here’s the thing about staying inside the lines: it keeps you in the same place. If you don’t break out of that self-imposed cage, you’ll never know what you’re capable of. Sure, you could avoid risk and ask“ What have we done before?” instead of “What could we do now?”, but that’s a recipe for going nowhere.

It’s not that best practices are bad, but they are nothing more than guidelines. They won’t guarantee your success, and they certainly won’t help you differentiate your business from you competitors—especially if they’re thinking creatively.

Myth: creativity in business is all about design, branding, and messaging.
Truth: Creative thinking is problem-solving at its core.

Here are some unexpected places where creative thinking can show up:

• Seeing patterns others miss, like spotting trends before they happen
• Challenging assumptions, like asking, “What if the opposite were true?”
• Finding a different angle, like recognizing that the best answer isn’t always the most obvious
• Turning constraints into catalysts, like using limitations as fuel for innovation

You know those companies who come up with radical ideas to serve their customers better? They’re not just tweaking the margins. They are thinking creatively. They’re also developing new revenue streams when old ones dry up. Remember when Netflix started as a business that mailed DVDs? Remember Blockbuster? Case rested.

You’re probably thinking “I’ve got Kelly in R&D who thinks creatively, but how is that going to turn us into the powerhouse we want to be?”. Don’t worry, creative thinking isn’t just an individual skill—it’s a company-wide muscle. And like any muscle, it can be trained. Here’s how:

Urgency, perfectionism, and rigid hierarchies kill creativity like Raid kills ants. If your team never has time to think, reflect, or explore, you can’t expect them to innovate. Set up creative problem-solving sessions for your team to allow for off-the-wall brainstorming. You’ll be surprised at the results you get when you encourage curiosity.

Teams that fear failure will never try anything bold, and the fastest way to irrelevancy is to play it safe. Instead, create an environment where calculated risks are encouraged and “failures” are reframed as learning opportunities. Lead by example by discussing your own experiments and failures.

The best ideas often come from unexpected places. Mix up your teams, bring in outsiders, and don’t keep hiring the same kind of person. While we’re at it, stop expecting exact experience from potential marketing/branding/ad agencies. The best solutions come from people who can think creatively about your business. Anybody can replicate what’s already been done.

If you want fresh thinking, you need fresh perspectives. RFPs that over-prioritize direct experience will get you responses that speak to your perceived needs instead of your evolving ones. Instead, prioritize an understanding of how a strategic partner will help you think creatively about the problem you’re trying to solve. This is a great way to see how they will think creatively on your behalf.

Even when companies want to encourage creative thinking there are some invisible forces working against them. These strategies will help you see and stop them:

If people are terrified of being wrong, they’ll never suggest bold ideas. Leadership should be rewarding curiosity and experimentation to make creative thinking a norm.

What worked before won’t always work again. Best practices should be treated as inspiration, not gospel. Keep challenging the status quo.

Nothing kills a creative idea faster than bureaucracy. Get rid of those bottlenecks and empower your teams to take action.

It’s easy for leaders to say, “We value creative thinking here.” It’s much harder to prove it. Employees take their cues from actions, not words. If you say you encourage creativity, but your decisions are always made based on rigid formulas, cost-cutting, or short-term efficiency gains, they’ll learn that playing it safe is their only option.

• They want their teams to think outside the box, but they also want predictability.
• They say that bold thinking is encouraged but then penalize failure.
• They hope for fresh ideas, but then reject them for being too unfamiliar, too risky, or too difficult to measure immediately.

We get it—leaders are balancing a very real fear of losing control. Whether they admit it or not, they are just as afraid of making mistakes as any junior employee. But leaders have more protection. A low-level employee takes a risk and gets fired. A senior executive makes a bad call and, at worst, moves to another leadership role.

To nurture a true creative thinking culture, you need to build trust with your actions. Here’s how to do it:

Creativity often requires an upfront investment—of time, money, and trust. If every decision is made with an ironclad focus on immediate ROI, no one will take creative risks. Yes, efficiency and cost matter, but they shouldn’t be the only metrics of success.

If the only people getting recognition are those who play it safe and execute flawlessly, guess what? No one will take a risk. Leaders should actively reward intelligent risk-taking, even when the outcome isn’t perfect.

If you want your employees to embrace creative thinking, they need to see you doing it. If leaders only operate within the safety of “what’s been done before,” the message is clear: real decision-making happens in a risk-averse space, and creative ideas are just window dressing.

Pass this test, and you’re doing it right: When someone brings you an idea that makes you uncomfortable, you 1) dismiss it immediately because it challenges the status quo, or 2) sit with it and decide if your discomfort is really a signal that it’s a new way forward? If you said #2, you passed the test.

Creativity doesn’t thrive under lip service. It thrives when leaders model it, protect it, and use it when making decisions.

Let’s say you have an idea. It’s unconventional and doesn’t fit neatly into the way you’ve always done things. Maybe it’s a fresh strategy, an unexpected vendor choice, or a way to solve a persistent problem from a different angle. You’re excited by its potential. But you know how this could go—the decision maker will balk. It’s too different. Too risky. Too unproven. And you’re on the hook for being “unrealistic.”

This happens when companies say they want innovation but are wired to resist it. The winning formula includes framing your idea in a way that increases its chances of survival and minimizing your personal risk.

If your boss values efficiency and numbers, frame your idea in terms of impact, not creativity. How does it solve a problem more effectively? How does it align with business goals? What’s the potential upside? Translate creativity into business value.

People are more open to new ideas when they see flaws in the current approach. If you’re proposing something different, don’t just hype its potential—show the cracks in the way it’s being done now.

Big, sweeping change scares decision-makers. Instead of asking for full buy-in upfront, position your idea as a low-risk test or pilot. Can it be tried on a smaller scale first? Can it run alongside existing processes instead of replacing them immediately? The less threatening it feels, the better your chances.

Put yourself in the decision-maker’s shoes and anticipate their hesitations. Cost? Disruption? Timing? Address the concerns before upfront. If you say, “I know this seems risky because of X, but here’s how we’ll get around it…” you control the narrative.

Unless you work in a place with a truly risk-embracing culture (you probably wouldn’t be reading this article if you did), people don’t want to feel like you’re trashing everything they know. So, position your idea as an extension or enhancement of what’s working rather than a total overhaul.

Instead of dropping your idea like a bomb in a big meeting, socialize it ahead of time. Get support from a few people, build momentum, and show your boss there’s already internal interest. Now your idea feels like a movement instead of a solo pitch and they can’t say no to that.

Not every hill is worth dying on. And timing matters. If leadership is dealing with a crisis or just shut down three other ideas this week, save yours for later. Be strategic about when you introduce bold thinking.

Big ideas need smart launch strategies. If you want to push for creative thinking in a company that’s hesitant about change, the idea itself isn’t always the hardest part—the way you present it is. Positioning matters. Making decision-makers feel safe while embracing something new is the secret sauce. Instead of just presenting an idea, you’re shaping the culture of creative thinking from the inside.

As an agency, we are hired by people who say they want bold, fresh ideas. They want differentiation. They want to stand out.

But when decision time comes, many retreat to the bomb shelter. It’s safe there. Ideas feel familiar, strategies mirror the competition, and marketing follows the norms. It’s not intentional. It’s in their DNA to avoid risk. Creativity comes with uncertainty, and the ROI pressure can make anything that’s too new or different feel like a gamble.

We’ve seen it all, and it’s not pretty:

• Companies that cling to “best practices” drown in a sea of noise
• Brands that refuse to evolve become dinosaurs (not the cool kind) in their industry
• Campaigns that feel comfortable go nowhere in a crowded market

The businesses that thrive are willing to trust creative thinking. They understand that the best ideas can leave them feeling a bit squirmy at first. To stand out, they know it will take more than small tweaks. They accept that real growth comes from making strategic, creative leaps.

Our best work happens when clients hire us as partners to challenge assumptions, push boundaries, and help them see their brand or business from a different angle. Because we are creative thinkers. And creative thinking doesn’t just make things look better. It makes them work better.

If you want to differentiate, grow, and future-proof your business, creative thinking is where it’s at. If you agree, but you’re not sure where to start, let’s talk. At cat&tonic, we specialize in helping businesses uncover their true differentiators and build creative strategies that move the needle.