Creativity as a shift in perception: how CMOs can win by changing their mental models

Highlights from the keynote of Luc de Brabandere at Innovation Day 2025.

Jun 04, 2026

Luc de Brabandere, Corporate philosopher
Gent

Thinking is the most important soft skill we have. Yet, we’re never taught how to think. What we have in our minds is a simplification of the world to make sense of it. It’s a mental model that can either trap us or set us free. In this episode of Beyond the Echo Chamber, business philosopher Luc de Brabandere has a clear message for CMOs battling with an ever-changing world: your creativity isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a survival skill. But you need to hone that creativity by rethinking how you perceive reality and rules.

Luc questions every part of how we are wired to think. For starters, we use a process called induction, where our brains simplify the world so we can function in it. Acting on those simplifications is deduction. It’s when we treat these processes as fixed that we become stuck and that’s why we need to find a new middle ground.

 

Our first podcast episode explored how CMOs should reinvent themselves as growth architects. Luc offers a refreshingly philosophical counterpoint: a reminder that growth starts not with strategy, but with how we see the world. Learn how to unlock the true essence of creativity by rediscovering the freedom to induce differently. Because innovation can be automated but creativity can’t.

We’ve captured the key takeaways in the full article here.

Contributor in this article

Luc de Brabandere
Corporate philosopher , Gent
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