As markets shift and consumer behavior adjusts in kind, one thing remains the same; there’s simply no substitute for “Miller Time”, “Just Do It” or “Aflac!” The blinding power of a smart, well-executed creative idea is matched by little else in American business and can have a greater impact on a company’s success than a bus load of MBAs and all the spread sheets they can carry.

Though MBAs are likely to disagree, I believe that strategically-sound, distinct and artfully crafted creative work is one of the most valuable business tools your company has at its disposal — one with the power to lift your claims above the din of your competitors, get you noticed, remembered and preferred.

That kind of work — the most effective, most original, most provocative work — can only flourish where the absence of conformity is an integral part of the process. So I solve communication problems based not on expediency or what’s trending, but rather which path will most effectively and creatively implement your strategy.

And that strategy is super important. A process that defines a plan of action is the foundation upon which any effective creative work rests. Without it, any success one achieves through the skills of talented creative people will be little more than luck, not necessarily replicable, and ultimately short lived.

I also believe that “Just Do It” isn’t something a computer — left to its own devices — might have come up with. Original ideas are not discovered by writing prompts. They’re typically unearthed through hours of wandering through one’s own mind, and sometimes in collaboration with others. Sketching, noodling, scribbling down thoughts; those are the actions from which truly unique idea come, and where fresh design begins. A computer may help to bring them to life, but there is no button on its keyboard that can create something new.