Why Creativity Beats AI Every Time
Part 1 of the AI Leadership Triad: The skill that sees what algorithms miss
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In the AI Leadership Triad, creativity, adaptation, and innovation work together as one system. You can’t adapt strategically without creative thinking. You can’t innovate meaningfully without both. But creativity is where it all starts. It’s the foundation.
When I say creativity, I’m not talking about being artistic. I’m talking about seeing connections AI misses, asking questions AI doesn’t know to ask, and solving problems when resources don’t match ambitions. This is the skill that makes everything else possible.
I asked Anjeanette Carter to break down how creativity works in real leadership because she’s lived it. She built a seven-figure agency as a solopreneur by getting creative when she had no other choice. When Google demonetized her YouTube channel overnight and wiped out her income, she didn’t panic. She got creative. Here’s what she taught me about the creativity that matters when AI handles everything predictable. I’m honored to have her share with each of you.
Anjeanette helps solopreneurs and entrepreneurs build profitable businesses through strategic positioning and client acquisition. Subscribe below or download her free LinkedIn Audit Checklist at anjeanettecarter.com
Here is Anjeanette…
The Creativity You Need Has Nothing to Do With Being ‘Creative’
I’ve been six different people professionally in the last 15 years.
Failed actor. Successful 6-figure YouTuber (until Google demonetized my channel overnight).
Broke freelance copywriter. Then 7-figure agency owner. Business strategist.
Now, I’m someone who teaches others how to navigate the chaos of building businesses that actually work.
None of these transitions happened because I had a brilliant long-term plan. They happened because I had to get creative or go broke.
That’s the thing about being a solopreneur. Creativity isn’t some nice-to-have skill you develop when you have extra time. It’s the difference between surviving and shutting down.
The creative skills you develop when you’re the entire company are the same skills all leaders need in this era of constant disruption. Whether you’re leading a team of 50 or a team of one, the ability to think creatively under pressure determines whether you adapt or become obsolete.
The Cheesecake Factory Problem
When you run a business by yourself, you don’t have the luxury of unlimited resources. No marketing budget. No team to delegate to. No safety net.
This forces a specific kind of creativity that most corporate leaders never develop because they’ve always had infrastructure to fall back on.
I used to look at successful agencies and think I needed to copy their model. Big teams, specialized roles, premium office space. But I was trying to run a Cheesecake Factory operation with food truck resources.
The creative breakthrough came when I stopped trying to scale like a corporation and started building systems designed for one person. Instead of hiring a full marketing team, I developed a LinkedIn content strategy I could execute in 30 minutes a day. Instead of complex project management software, I created simple tracking systems that actually worked.
Constraints don’t limit creativity. They focus it.
Leaders with teams face different constraints, but the principle is the same. Budget cuts force innovation. Time pressure eliminates perfectionism. Limited staff requires better systems.
The question isn’t “what would I do with unlimited resources?” It’s “what’s the most creative solution I can execute with what I actually have?”
What Google Stealing My Income Taught Me About Creativity
My YouTube channel was generating solid income. Then Google changed their monetization policies and I lost everything overnight.
My first response was panic. My second was blame. My third was bargaining (maybe if I just work harder at YouTube, it’ll come back).
None of those responses were creative.
The creative response came when I stopped trying to resurrect what died and started asking “what did this failure teach me that I can use next?”
Turns out, losing a business to an algorithm change taught me the most valuable lesson of my career: never build on someone else’s platform. That insight led to my agency model, which led to my current business teaching others these same strategies.
Every pivot in my career happened because something failed first. And each time, creativity meant letting go of what wasn’t working instead of clinging to it.
Leaders face this constantly. The strategy that worked last quarter stops working. The team structure that made sense a year ago creates bottlenecks now. The product that built your company isn’t what your market needs anymore.
Creative pivoting isn’t about having a backup plan. It’s treating failure as information instead of identity. When something doesn’t work, the creative question is: “What does this tell me about what might work better?”
Standing Out When Everyone Says the Same Thing
When I started offering LinkedIn management services, the market was already saturated. Thousands of social media managers. Hundreds of LinkedIn specialists. Everyone saying roughly the same things.
But I had something most LinkedIn specialists didn’t: I’d already built a seven-figure copywriting business. I understood how to generate revenue through strategic messaging, not just get likes on posts.
So I got creative with positioning.
Instead of being another LinkedIn manager, I became the person who helps service-based solopreneurs turn LinkedIn into a client acquisition system. I wasn’t selling social media management. I was selling what I’d already proven worked for my own business.
And instead of hiding my unconventional background (actor, YouTuber, copywriter), I used it as proof that I understand reinvention and adaptation. My “messy” career path became my competitive advantage because I reframed it creatively.
This works for any leader trying to stand out. You can’t out-resource your bigger competitors. But you can out-position them by finding the specific angle only you can own.
Creative differentiation asks: “What do I have that no one else does?”
Not just skills or experience, but perspective, background, approach, values.
Three Ways to Practice Creative Survival
These three creative skills (problem-solving under constraints, pivoting when plans fail, and differentiation in crowded spaces) aren’t innate talents. They’re muscles you build through practice.
Practice making decisions with incomplete information. Creativity requires moving forward before you have all the answers. Solopreneurs do this daily because we have no choice. Leaders with teams can practice this by reducing analysis paralysis and testing ideas faster.
Embrace failure as creative feedback. Every business I’ve built taught me something the previous one couldn’t. The YouTube failure taught me platform risk. The copywriting struggle taught me positioning. Each setback became curriculum for the next attempt.
Build systems that allow for experimentation. Creativity dies under rigid structures. Whether you’re leading yourself or a team, create space for testing new approaches without betting the entire business on them.
Creativity or Failure. Pick One.
I didn’t become creative because I’m naturally innovative. I became creative because I ran out of other options.
That’s the solopreneur advantage. When you’re responsible for everything, creativity stops being optional. You either figure out creative solutions or you fail.
But every leader faces this now. Markets shift faster than strategic plans. Technology disrupts industries overnight. The skills that got you here won’t get you there.
The most successful leaders aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the best credentials. They’re the ones who can think creatively when everything else runs out.
Creativity isn’t a personality trait. It’s a survival skill. And in an era where change is the only constant, it’s the one skill you can’t afford to ignore.
All my best,
P.S. Want to turn your LinkedIn profile into a client-attracting system? Download my free LinkedIn Audit Checklist at anjeanettecarter.com
Thank you, Anjeanette!!!
Creativity is the foundation of the AI Leadership Triad, but it’s only the first pillar. Next week, Dennis Berry breaks down the second pillar: how elite leaders adapt strategically instead of reactively in constant chaos. Adaptation is what transforms creative insights into sustainable momentum.
Until then, ask yourself Anjeanette’s question:
Where in your leadership is creativity being replaced by efficiency? That’s where AI threatens most. And that’s where your biggest opportunity lives.
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This was so fun to write, thanks Joel!
Love the cheesecake factory reference. It's like reading a book everytime you go... talk about decision fatigue.