“I have observed that there is a tendency to treat creativity as a commodity. The approach often seems to be that “I’m the client and I’m paying for creativity! – So where is it? Bring me something creative!” Of course it’s not just Japanese clients that do that actually, it’s fairly universal but I can’t say that on the whole I’ve experienced much respect for a creative solution in Japan. And when it is delivered it’s almost like ‘well that’s what we paid for anyway….’”

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This post is part of a series of excerpts from interviews with foreign executives in Japan, focusing on creativity. Excerpts have been edited for confidentiality.
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