Can ‘Applied Creativity’ be the next ‘Design Thinking?’

In a January 2025 podcast episode, Open AI CEO Sam Altman was asked what the most important skill would be in the age of AI. His answer was—in simplest terms—the ability to ask creative questions. Last summer, Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, wrote that, for all the fear about AI, he genuinely believes that “creativity will remain the real currency.” And in an August Business Insider feature, Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost said that people will need to become “creative orchestrators” if they want to succeed in an AI-driven workplace. If you listen to enough AI experts, you’ll inevitably hear the same common refrain: In the AI era, creativity is the most important asset an executive can have. So where are all the creative leaders? According to Nick Law, creative strategy and experience lead for the creative group Accenture Song, most people agree that creativity will be a core differentiator in the new way we work—but companies aren’t meeting that reality head-on. Through a year of research, his team found that, while 81% of top business leaders say their organization can generate creative ideas, only 16% said they very frequently turned those ideas into initiatives that drove growth. That rare 16% saw major results from their efforts, though. According to their research, these hyper-creative organizations outperformed their peers on revenue growth, employee engagement, and customers. The goal of the research, which is presented in Accenture Song’s new study “Applied creativity—and how to lead it,” is to understand exactly how that golden 16% of companies is converting creative ideas into real outcomes. It draws on a quantitative survey of 1,725 executives across 14 countries, as well as 15 long-form interviews with leaders from companies like Ikea, Lego, VSCO, and Rivian. [Graphic: Fast Company] Accenture Song has boiled the results down to a three-part playbook that it’s publishing publicly—and, ultimately, hoping to tailor to its clients. Accenture Song is not