But it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. That’s why we jumped at the chance to interrogate the critical role imagination plays in making businesses thrive in the age of AI – and the four things successful leaders do to nurture it.

Making sense of uncertainty‍

Rocked by geopolitical, technological and economic shifts, the world is an increasingly uncertain place to do business in. Against this backdrop, companies have come to use ever more sophisticated data analysis – enhanced further by AI – to make sense of the unpredictability. But it’s not enough.

Data is fundamentally about the past, and this is all AI systems can work with. Organisations need to be able to envision, explore and engage with different future possibilities in order to adapt and succeed in the long term. In short, they need the human power of imagination.

Our recent research found that, of highly imaginative companies:

• 58% grew considerably in revenue over the past year
• 63% are performing significantly better than their peers
• 76% are very resilient
• 84% are very confident they can seize new opportunities

In stark contrast, companies with the lowest imagination scores perform poorly across measures of growth and readiness for the future. Of these, 92% say their revenue shrank over the past year, 68% are performing worse than peers, 92% feel they are only “somewhat” or “not at all” resilient, and 83% are only “slightly confident” that they can seize new opportunities.

Imagine better‍

So, what does imagination look like in businesses? We identified four behaviours:

1. Collaboration: bringing people together across an organisation to share ideas, spark new ones and create buy-in.
2. Failing fast and looking to the future: investigating new ways of doing things, having an appetite for risk and the ability to pivot.
3. Letting ideas come from anywhere: considering alternative perspectives that lie outside your own frame of reference.
4. Investing in creativity: nurturing imagination by dedicating specific time, budget and attention to it.

While many high-revenue companies do recognise the importance of imagination, our research found that few are committed to embedding it in how they work. There’s a big opportunity to improve imaginative capacity in most businesses.

Possibilities at the edge‍

AI can play a role in facilitating each of these behaviours, but it can’t replace them. Ultimately, imagination is a discipline that sits in stark contrast to AI's promise to deliver easy answers in an instant. It requires work to create the space and time to combine AI with your own critical thinking and the ideas of others; this is how you can reach powerful, original insights that have a transformative impact on your business.

A recent article in Harvard Business Review stated: “AI provides a single, synthesised perspective, but creative insight depends on exposure to multiple human viewpoints.”

AI, by its nature, tends to produce ideas that converge in the conventional and “likely”. But it takes human imagination to envision the possibilities at the edge that can lead to real breakthroughs, opportunities and innovation which create an enduring advantage.

Our research and interviews with leaders clearly identified the commercial value of imagination. It helps create powerful, interesting content that builds relationships with clients. It allows you to stand out in a noisy B2B landscape by bringing a sense of identity to communications and thereby fostering trust. And it comprises the ability to creatively solve problems – which, as Georgina Peters-Venzano at leading insurer Beazley said, “is what clients really value”.

When it’s embedded in an organisation’s culture and processes, imagination generates a virtuous cycle of ideas and energy that can transform an organisation – for the better.

AI can accelerate, scale and enhance creative execution. But imagination is always the necessary precursor to true impact.

To learn more about how we embed imagination into our mindset, approaches and work (along with AI), check out our blog.

Or, for simple, straightforward advice on how to harness imagination’s power to make your business thrive, read our full report.