If you stand for great service, low prices, superb quality, stylish design and environmental friendliness, you actually stand for nothing.

Creativity is what will separate the winners from the also-rans in the emerging world of business - and life.

Most people believe a new idea must be fully baked and ready-for-primetime. That is like saying a newborn child should have a college degree and be self-sustaining on day one. Like children, new ideas need to be nurtured, shaped, and protected. People often hold back ideas since they are not ready to defend sharp criticism. Companies that celebrate "creative sparks" and reserve judgment while ideas mature are the ones that enjoy significantly more creativity and innovation.

Creativity is not a talent; It is a skill. A talent is something you are born with. A skill is something you learn.

Today, nearly every competitive advantage of the past has been commoditized. Creativity is the one thing that can't be outsourced. The one thing that can separate a company, team, or individual from the competitive set. Today, precision execution is merely the ante to play. Sustained differentiation can only come from breakthrough creativity.

I admire mold-breakers. People that bust free from traditional thinking and change the game completely. Steve Jobs. Charlie Parker (jazz saxophonist). The Groupon guys. Seth Godin (author). People who dare to be different and end up creating something truly different and remarkable.

Institutions too often focus their energy preserving the problem to which they are a solution than to innovate their way to success.