The Creative Shift - by Andrew Robertson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A brass-tacks guide to delivering and successfully executing one groundbreaking idea after another, without interrupting business as usual

"An essential book." --Frederick W. Smith, founder and executive chairman, FedEx Corporation

A USA Today Bestseller

How can organizations prioritize innovation and execute new ideas, while also continuing to do what they do best? We want Mercedes to be careful, methodical, and risk-averse when testing their vehicles. But we also want them to be able to remove their blinders when envisioning next-generation car technology. How can a company strike a balance between operation and exploration?

Andrew Robertson, the CEO of BBDO, an advertising firm considered to be the gold standard of creativity, knows that it is critical to conduct business as usual while pursuing business unusual. Most companies focus on the former, while giving lip service to the latter. In The Creative Shift, Robertson offers the tools to help individuals, teams, and companies switch into creative mode, seamlessly and effectively, including:

• Developing a common language to convey when a creative shift is needed;
• Generating an array of possibilities and applying them onto your problem until something clicks;
• Managing unhelpful personality traits;
• Properly incentivizing and protecting creative contributions;
• Getting out into the world to "forage" for ideas.

This book is for every manager, leader, and entrepreneur who needs to rally a team, an organization, or themselves to think big and keep the flame of invention burning brightly while under suffocating pressure--which happens to be when you need creative problem-solving the most.

Review Quotes

Longlisted for a Porchlight Business Book Award

A USA Today Bestseller

"Andrew Robertson has been a creative force for over 40 years, and he has been a wildly successful leader because he understands that the inevitable shifts in the marketplace, and among consumers, require constant innovation, curiosity and creativity. As someone who has both started new businesses and reinvented legacy businesses, from MTV to AOL and iHeartMedia, I know this book will be an invaluable resource for every leader, marketer and innovator who wants their teams and organizations to understand--and take advantage of--these shifts."
--Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO, iHeartMedia, Inc.

"Illustrated with examples of the pro­cess behind some standout advertising campaigns and colorful case studies from across industries and organizations, The Creative Shift offers a vivid bouquet of ideas for leading creative initiatives."
--MIT Sloan Management Review

"There is a belief that operators and builders can't coexist. In The Creative Shift, Andrew Robertson dispels that notion. He describes ways that leaders can ingrain a mindset, a process for creativity and a passion for growth. Importantly, he shows that these disciplines can work in every company: old and young; big and small. This book drips with credibility, written by one of my favorite partners--a leader who delivers groundbreaking results for clients time and again."
--Jeff Immelt, former CEO, General Electric

"BBDO chairman Andrew Robertson argues the fundamentals of good business--excellence, discipline, predictability--are all too often at odds with an organization's most underleveraged asset: human creativity. In The Creative Shift, he tells snackable stories, culled from decades of award-winning collaborations, that demonstrate how leaders can enable teams to realize their true potential."
--Richard Dickson, CEO, Gap Inc.

"Here is your chance to learn from one of the most impressive and consistently creative minds I have had the pleasure to work with in my career. Every company needs to harness creativity, and The Creative Shift gives you the insight and practices of an industry icon who has embedded himself in some of the world's great companies, harnessing creativity to solve the most pressing market challenges when they were needed most."
--John Stankey, chairman and CEO, AT&T Inc.

"In this book, Andrew Robertson reaffirms a timeless principle by which he has lived all his life. Creativity is a differentiator and a tangible accelerator for growth. In no time has this become more essential than in the age of generative Al. The good news? Your people have the creativity! Robertson shows us how to uncover and leverage it."
--Antonio Lucio, EVP and chief marketing and corporate affairs officer, HP Inc.

"There are books that present readers with the latest trends and those that ground readers in practical advice. This book does both. I loved the focus Robertson brings to the continued need to foster and unleash creativity in any organization--no matter the size."
--Carla Hassan, chief marketing officer, JPMorgan Chase

"To succeed--even survive--long term, any institution must creatively change. Andrew Robertson has likely helped more legacy companies make such essential shifts than anyone in recent times. This is an essential book for senior executives and management scholars alike."
--Frederick W. Smith, founder and executive chairman, FedEx Corporation

About the Author

Andrew Robertson is Chairman of BBDO Worldwide. He served as President and CEO for two decades, during which BBDO was recognized as the world's most effective network five times, and as Network of the decade at Cannes Lions. Inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2022, he has taught guest classes at NYU, UNC, and Wake Forest University, appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg News, and The Today Show, and is a Chairman Emeritus of The Advertising Council.