People equate job titles to levels of creativity. We think that musicians are creative while accountants are not. Job title has nothing to do with human creativity. In fact, we all have enormous creative potential. Even those that often state with authority that "I'm not creative." With a systematic approach to building creative capacity, we all have the opportunity to create and leave a mark on the world.

To me, leadership is about first defining purpose. Why does a company exist and what problem does it solve for customers? How is it different than everyone else, and what difference do they plan to make in the world? Companies (and people) should be measured based on the impact they make in the world. If the purpose and solution are solid, the money will follow.

Innovation is a subset of creativity. Innovation often deals with product launches and is often relegated to the C-suite or to heads of R&D departments. Innovation requires creativity, but creativity is something that is much more broad. It applies to people at all levels of an organization. Today, we all are responsible for delivering "everyday creativity". Small creative acts that add up to big things.

Business today is all about improvisation, which is the essence of jazz. Perhaps in the past we could just follow the operating manual and do what we were told, but today the world is too complex and fast. Today it's all about real-time innovation and creativity. Individuals may get hired based on their resumes, but they'll get promoted and reach their dreams based on their ability to create. In that context, being a jazz musician was the best MBA I could have ever received.

Build creative cultures, and work with purpose to unleash the creativity of your team. Creativity is the most valuable natural resource in any organization, yet it is often a resource that is largely untapped. The leaders that prioritize and invest in creative cultures will be the wall street darlings of tomorrow. In fact, they're the darlings of today (Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn, etc).

You don't often see the words "Discipline" and "Dreaming" in the same sentence. But I believe this duality is critically important to win in both business and life. Dreaming without discipline is fantasy land. Discipline without dreaming creates rigid and stifling bureaucracies. Having a process to enable the creative process will help liberate the creativity that lives within every organization and individual.

In the business world, there are systems and processes for just about everything else. Yet creativity and innovation, arguably THE most important aspects of progress, are often left to happen by chance. The system provides a scaffolding for creative support and exploration, yet is open enough to avoid curbing creativity or outputting cookie-cutter solutions.