What’s stopping you from bringing this ‘C’ word into the C-suite?

In a wide-ranging opening address on the state of the economy at The CEO Summit in Sydney yesterday, Paul Bloxham (chief economist at HSBC) noted that Australia’s top three exports are finite resources with decreasing demand: coal, gas, and mineral fuels.

He said that the rush for sustainable power is on, and is not going to abate.

Where previously our nation was built on the sheep’s back, and has ridden the crest of its natural resources for decades, where to next for “The Lucky Country”?

Where will the future growth of Australia and its leading businesses come from?

The answer is in that scary ‘C’ word — creativity.

Because creativity has limitless potential, is freely available, and utilises the greatest resource Australia has — its people.

People who live in a country with immense freedom of thought, a positive way of looking at the world, and an exceptional thirst to do better.

Creativity as a word gets a bad rap from many. It’s considered risky, a nice-to-have but unnecessary intrusion, or best left to the artists. But this is a limiting view based around the definition most people assign to the word “creativity” itself.

Other speakers at The CEO Summit echoed the power of creativity, without ever using the actual word. But their actions spoke louder than any words could.

Former prime minister John Howard told the 250-strong crowd of CEOs in attendance that he and his government were able to turn around new gun control rules in just a few days after the Port Arthur Massacre.

Many thought it impossible to bring in such sweeping laws so quickly, but with the use of creative problem-solving and a huge amount of passion and determination to change, great things happened fast.

What followed was a growth around the world for Australia’s reputation as a forward-thinking nation, as we are used to time and again whenever another fatal shooting happens in the US.

Christine Holgate explained how when she joined Team Global Express as CEO, its reputation was in the toilet. But in just a few short years its value has skyrocketed, as she and her team implemented some very simple changes that could only have been noticed through creative problem-solving.

In its former capacity as TOLL, it measured its NPS by the satisfaction of its customers — the companies that used Toll for shipping. By simply changing the focus to the customers of their customers (the actual people receiving the parcels) they began to understand what was really the problem.

A simple creative solution that has resulted in their NPS score growing from a staggeringly bad minus 52 to a stellar positive 67 in just a couple of years, not to mention an extraordinary growth in revenue and value.

And finally, the inspiring Matt Kratiuk told a heartbreaking story of drug addiction, isolation, suicidal ideation and homelessness.

His final resort was a St Vinnies rehab facility. Unfortunately, Matt wasn’t in the right headspace when he angrily rebuffed a woman’s offer to join a service in the adjoining chapel. As soon as he did it, he knew he was in trouble, as the chapel had a no-abuse policy that resulted in immediate expulsion.

Soon enough the woman came out with some security guards, and Matt expected the worst. He was on his final chance, and he’d blown it.

Instead, the woman kneeled down in front of him and said, “Would you mind if I gave you a hug?”.

What followed was an outpouring of almost two decades of emotion as Matt cried and the woman said, “I love you”. This creative, and compassionate act, turned Matt’s life around. He became dedicated to self-improvement, and he’s now clean, is the chief growth officer of corporate fit-out company Tactic with an incredible upward trajectory, and has just bought his dream house with the love of his life.

Not to mention being the biggest fundraiser last year for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.

It’s clear that whilst many shy away from the word “creativity”, the country is filled with examples of people using creativity to achieve phenomenal growth and powerful connection.

It’s a shortcut to solutions that work, connections that matter, and a life well-lived.

So, what’s stopping you from bringing the ‘C’ word into the C-suite?

Alex Wadelton is a former advertising creative director and the co-author of The Right-brain Workout Volumes 1 and 2 with Russel Howcroft.