Many executives dismiss themselves as “not creative,” yet original thinking is less about innate talent and more about challenging the invisible rules that stall innovation. A practical framework of five mental models can help leaders start experimenting, testing, and improving ideas without surrendering judgment.
The first model involves questioning assumptions. Organisations often operate under unspoken constraints that limit what teams consider possible. By identifying and challenging these invisible rules, leaders can open space for new approaches. The second model encourages rapid prototyping: instead of waiting for a perfect plan, leaders should build small, testable versions of an idea to gather feedback early. This reduces the risk of large-scale failure and builds momentum.
The third model focuses on reframing failure as data. When an experiment does not produce the desired outcome, it still provides valuable information about what works and what does not. Leaders who adopt this mindset create a culture where teams feel safe to try new things. The fourth model emphasises cross-disciplinary thinking. Drawing inspiration from unrelated fields can spark novel solutions that would not emerge within a single industry’s conventional wisdom.
The fifth model is about iterative refinement. Rather than seeking a single breakthrough, leaders should commit to a cycle of making, testing, and improving. Each iteration builds on the last, gradually turning a rough concept into a polished solution. This approach is particularly relevant in an era when artificial intelligence is compressing production timelines and flooding organisations with generic output.
The challenge of applying these models is visible in the current corporate response to AI. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Strategy Group and a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, has observed that many companies are stuck in what she calls “pilot purgatory.” Executives run endless generative AI pilots that produce enormous productivity gains but rarely scale into integrated workflows. Webb notes that one client had run 14 or 15 pilots since the start of the year, none of which scaled, because teams restarted from zero each time rather than embedding pilots into their infrastructure.
Webb also highlights the problem of “drowning in decks.” Presentations that once took a week to build now take a day, but teams receive five times as many of them. The result is decision paralysis, not clarity. She argues that the more companies use these tools, the more generic the ideas become. When she asks CEOs where they would deploy a 10% capacity gain from AI, she says she has not yet received a concrete answer. The productivity gains are real, but few organisations have assigned anyone the job of harvesting them.
For leaders who feel they are not creative, the way forward is not to wait for inspiration but to adopt structured methods for experimentation. By questioning assumptions, prototyping quickly, treating failure as data, borrowing from other fields, and refining iteratively, they can build the confidence to innovate. The tools may have changed, but the discipline of deliberate practice remains the foundation of original thinking.