The Primacy of Execution Over Ideation: a Critical Analysis of Creative Process, Value Generation, and the Mythology of the Creative Genius
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines the paradoxical relationship between creative ideation and practical execution in contemporary creative industries and entrepreneurial contexts. Drawing from personal narrative and observational analysis, this study challenges the prevalent valorization of the 'creative genius' archetype and argues for a fundamental recalibration of how value is attributed in creative work. Through examination of case studies from the technology startup ecosystem, visual arts, and content creation industries, this research demonstrates that ideation represents approximately one percent of the value creation process, while execution constitutes the remaining ninety-nine percent. The paper explores the sociocultural construction of creativity as a privileged cognitive function, the romanticization of the 'creator' figure over the 'executor,' and the practical implications of this misattribution for creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and organizations. Key findings suggest that the capacity to transform abstract concepts into tangible outputs represents a more critical and sophisticated form of creative thinking than initial ideation. This work contributes to ongoing discussions in creativity studies, innovation management, and the sociology of work by proposing a reconceptualization of creative value that centers execution, iteration, and craft over the moment of conceptual inception.
Author: SÉRGIO DE ANDRADE, PAULO
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7116292682
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