South Africa, Sept. 22 -- At Cannes Lions, conversations with creatives from around the world reinforced something I had already begun to feel: creativity does not begin with the brief. It begins with everything we notice before it.

It starts with how we live, what we pay attention to and how curious we are about the world around us. A brief can give our thinking direction, but it cannot give us a point of view. That comes from our experiences, the people we meet, the cultures we encounter and the things we remember.

That is why I believe creativity is a mindset, not just a job title.

You do not suddenly become creative because you work in a creative department. To me, creativity is about noticing things differently: being curious abou...