Ask any business leader what their priorities are for the next five years, and most will pull up a forecast rooted in data. Lots of lovely data, perhaps with a pie chart thrown in for good measure. It’s important to keep on top of past events, successes and failures, sure. But if we’ve learned anything from the last five years, it’s that the future often refuses to play ball.
How useful is it, really, to base our future plans on the past? The past isn’t just a foreign country. It’s over.
With markets shifting faster than planning cycles and AI accelerating the rate of change for everyone, the smartest thing business leaders can do right now might also be the simplest.
Start imagining.
Confidence, creativity and commercial return —
At The Frameworks, we’ve always known imagination is important. We’re creative people, after all. But we also know from experience that our clients – many of whom may not have picked up a sketchpad or written a story since they left school – really benefit from the opportunity to imagine a different future for their businesses.
We instinctively knew there was a link between imagination and the kind of resilience and innovation that today’s businesses crave. We set out to prove it by running original research with senior decision-makers across the UK and US at companies representing a broad spread of industries.
The results of our survey showed a clear pattern: companies that intentionally embed imagination into their culture are not only more confident about the future, but also materially outperform their peers.
We defined “highly imaginative” businesses as those that take risks, prioritise collaboration, invite ideas from unlikely places and make time and space for creativity. Of those, 84% feel very confident in their ability to seize new opportunities. And nearly three-quarters describe themselves as highly resilient.
On the flip side, 83% of businesses with low imagination scores lack confidence about the future. More alarmingly, 92% saw their revenue shrink over the past year. The correlation between imagination and performance isn’t just striking. It’s a warning.
Don’t look back: think forward —
Despite the evidence, imagination struggles to shake off its reputation as a soft skill, something better left to the arty types. In reality, it’s a vital counterpart to the data-driven decision-making that dominates leadership teams.
Data is important. But it can only tell you what happened in the past. Imagination allows you to ask, “what if?” and explore the near-certain possibility that the future will look very different.
That’s why businesses that are committed to the future actively encourage imaginative thinking. In teams that regularly explore future scenarios when developing their strategy, 70% are very confident about their future-readiness and 83% reported revenue growth, with nearly 40% saying it grew “considerably”. The benefit shows up on a business’ bottom line.
Create the culture —
Imagination can’t just be the preserve of a handful of creatives. It’s most powerful in a culture that welcomes ideas and inspiration from everyone. Businesses that consistently involve cross-functional teams in ideation see better results: 87% report revenue growth, and nearly half say it grew significantly. Embracing diversity of thought is the only sure way to reduce corporate tunnel-vision.
But this kind of culture requires deliberate effort.
Only 18% of UK companies always involve cross-functional teams when designing strategy, compared to 42% in the US. And only a third of UK leaders say they prioritise collaboration as a hiring trait, suggesting a significant gap between aspiration and action.
Where teams do make space for shared thinking, the effect is measurable. Companies that create environments where employees feel completely comfortable sharing new ideas report stronger results across every indicator.
Setting the tone —
Curiously, people at the very top are often the least comfortable suggesting something new. Only 32% of directors and business owners describe themselves as completely comfortable sharing unconventional ideas, compared to nearly half of senior managers. Fear of reputational risk or of disrupting the status quo still holds back many of those best placed to champion new thinking.
But when leaders do step up, the impact is profound. In companies where leaders actively promote collaboration and imagination, 60% say they prioritise those skills when hiring. And they’re far more likely to outperform competitors.
Imagine the difference —
For imagination to gain traction, it needs more than a motivational speech. It needs backing.
Yet many businesses acknowledge the importance of creative thinking fail to resource it properly. Of those who allocate minimal or no resources to imagination, more than 70% lack confidence about the future, and 65% perform worse than their peers.
In contrast, companies that invest meaningfully in imagination reap the rewards. More than half perform significantly better than their competitors. And almost three-quarters feel confident they can meet whatever challenges lie ahead.
We’re not advocating throwing out the pie charts. In a world where predictability has become a thing of the past, imagination just means making room for possibility. Because the businesses that thrive will be those who are ready to imagine the future – not just analyse the past.
Louise Sheeran, Content Director, The Frameworks
As a senior member of the studio team, Louise delivers big ideas and killer copy for all The Framework’s clients. It’s her job to put a brand’s ambition into words, striking the tricky balance between clarity and creativity. Louise has a knack for drawing out stories that connect with people to create meaningful content about even the most technical subjects.
