Creativity is strategy.

The nickname for the department I belong to is "Mushroom." Members come from diverse backgrounds—CM planners, copywriters, art directors, strategists, sales—but the idea is to mash up these strengths and take on new challenges!
The other day, I gathered with this team at an izakaya around a duck hotpot. We dipped thickly sliced duck meat into the broth, counting one, two, three... Overcooking is strictly forbidden. When you pop it into your mouth at your preferred medium-rare, the aroma floats up, and the umami bursts out. "Winter really is duck season, huh?" "Hey, you're gonna toughen the meat if you leave it in too long!" "I actually like it that way." "Pass the shichimi pepper." "Pass the sake." Amidst the raucous chatter, the mountain of duck vanished, and we finished with a satisfying rice porridge. We headed home thoroughly content.

Male club members delighted to receive Valentine's cookies.

 

Now then. Not just at Dentsu Inc., but looking at the global advertising industry, "strategy" personnel (strategists) and "creative" personnel (creators) are clearly distinguished. It seems to be a long-standing "common sense" in this industry that interesting creators leap based on strategies logically derived through repeated analysis by calm and collected strategists.
Underlying this division of roles is the philosophy that "strategy is a science" and "logical thinking through analysis will yield the right strategy." A leading proponent of this view is management scholar Professor Michael Porter. In the advertising field, it represents those interested in how to scientifically manage the rather dubious concept of "creativity."

On the other hand, there's the view that "strategy is a much more human endeavor." These are the people who say: "No matter how much you analyze the past, you can't predict tomorrow, can you?" "People don't move according to scientific theories." "What truly matters is innovation that radically changes the rules of competition overnight." Professor Ken Kusunoki, who argues that "great strategy isn't something you think is brilliant; it's an interesting story you want to tell others," belongs to this group.

These two schools of thought are not mutually exclusive, with one being right and the other wrong. This is because business strategy is generally defined as "a pattern of matching a company's strengths and weaknesses over time in response to environmental opportunities and threats."
The "strategy is a science" faction focuses on the external environment, believing that correctly analyzing its opportunities and threats allows one to derive a competitive position in the market – essentially answering "where to compete?" – which is the "strategy."

On the other hand, those who believe "strategy is a more human endeavor" consider internal assets crucial. They pursue a "strategy" that addresses "how to fight?"—how to evolve over time, based on their strengths and weaknesses, to win the competition.
In this approach, the key lies in what management theory calls the "concept," the "idea" from circular thinking, or what the advertising industry generally terms the "Big Idea" – a new perspective that solves problems to achieve objectives.
Since "strategy = ideas that break the status quo," the traditional division of roles between strategists and creators becomes meaningless. Instead, a unified management approach is needed, driven by a creative perspective deeply familiar with the idea, from strategy all the way to concrete execution.

When solutions don't seem to lie along the path of past extensions. When some form of innovation is required. At such times, what's needed isn't "strategy as science," but rather the kind of "strategy" sought by those who believe "strategy is a more human endeavor." Unfortunately, the advertising industry hasn't yet perfected new organizations capable of meeting such expectations, but surely "Mushroom," the company I belong to, is one such challenge toward that goal.

Next time, I'll expand on this topic and discuss the two models for explaining strategy: "maps and concepts."

Enjoy!