Work, Wonder and Innovate! Why Creativity Matters in Every Organization
Why do we need creativity and ingenuity in the workplace?
Because no matter what industry you're in or what role you hold, work inevitably presents challenges. Some of these can be resolved through experience. Seasoned professionals who’ve seen similar problems before can often offer effective solutions. That’s why companies value experience: it allows them to move efficiently through familiar terrain.
But not all problems are familiar. Some are unprecedented. Others are too complex to be solved by past experience alone. These are the moments when organizations, and the individuals within them, have the potential to get stuck. And these are also the moments that are ripe for innovation.
Many of the world’s greatest innovations have been born from these situations, when someone is deep in the work, meets a roadblock, and has no choice but to think differently.
Operational Innovation: Innovation born from doing
Take Dr. Bill Foege, for example, a public health expert featured in the global campaign to eradicate smallpox. Initially administering vaccinations on a large scale, he encountered a major obstacle: a vaccine shortage in a region facing an outbreak. Rather than retreating, he reimagined the approach. Drawing on his experience as a firefighter, he applied the concept of creating a “firebreak”, vaccinating only those around infected individuals. This new method, known as ring vaccination, became one of the most effective strategies in eradicating smallpox.
The innovation didn’t come to him while sitting in a lab or classroom. It came midstream, while doing the work. This kind of innovation, emerging from direct engagement with real-world problems, is what I call ‘operational innovation’.
Similarly, Joy Mangano, inventor of the self-wringing Miracle Mop (popularized in the film Joy), conceived her idea while trying to clean up a mess. She struggled, cut her hand, and became frustrated by how hard it was to mop effectively. That experience planted the seed of invention. But it didn’t stop there. It took her two years of prototyping, iteration, and persistence to bring her idea to life. Without being in the middle of the problem, the solution would never have emerged.
Operational innovations arise not in the abstract, but in action, from those knee-deep in real challenges who have the creativity and courage to rethink what’s possible.
Aspirational Innovation: Innovation born from curiosity
There’s another type of innovation that often comes not from doing, but from observing and wondering, a more reflective, aspirational kind of creativity.
James Rogers, the founder of Apeel Sciences, exemplifies this. As a PhD student, he would take long drives through California’s agricultural heartland. During those drives, he reflected on the disconnect between abundance and hunger: so much food was being grown, yet much of it was lost to spoilage before reaching consumers. He wasn’t trying to solve this problem. He wasn’t even in the food industry.
But his curiosity led him to connect seemingly unrelated dots: the process of food spoilage and the oxidation that causes metals to rust. Drawing on his background in materials science, he wondered, could we protect produce from spoiling the same way we prevent steel from rusting? That question sparked a cascade of inquiry and experimentation, eventually resulting in a plant-based coating that extends the life of fruits and vegetables. Today, Apeel Sciences is valued at over $2 billion and is helping reshape global food distribution.
This is an example of what I call ‘aspirational innovation’, born from curiosity, observation, and a willingness to think and act differently about the world.
Cultivating a culture of creators
What do these innovators have in common? Whether operational or aspirational, they are tinkerers. They observe deeply. They ask questions. They see what others overlook and imagine what could be. As a child, Joy Mangano created a glowing flea collar for pets before such a product existed. James Rogers tinkered with fish feeders and golf balls. Their early curiosity was a foundation for the breakthroughs they made as adults.
If your organization is facing complex challenges, consider this before investing millions in outside consultants: what if the most powerful solutions already exist within your teams, waiting to be uncovered by a culture that nurtures creators? Imagine a workplace where every team member, regardless of role, is trained to unlock their creation intelligence, where operational problem-solvers and aspirational thinkers are empowered to observe deeply, ask bold questions, and experiment without fear of failure.
Innovation doesn’t emerge from occasional brainstorming or creative side projects alone. It takes intentional cultivation, a culture where curiosity is valued, iteration is expected, and learning from failure is celebrated. By training employees to develop the mindset and qualities of a creator, you transform them from someone who just follows processes, to reimagine them, to build, break, and rebuild with insight and purpose.
Even if only a fraction of new ideas succeed, the impact can be exponential. A single breakthrough can unlock billion-dollar opportunities, reshape your industry, and create lasting value, for your organization and for the world.
