one of the best-ever written arguments against totalitarianism. In his book on creativity, The Act of Creation (1964), Koestler defines an idea as “a bi-sociation of two previously unconnected thought matrices”. It may not be great philosophy, but it’s a great definition – perhaps for the very reason that he was a creative writer himself. Let’s paraphrase it as “an unexpected combination of two previously unconnected things”. I’ve always found that it helps to keep in mind this definition of an idea when looking at work. Quite simply, it helps one pick the stronger ideas from the weaker. Arthur Koestler – philosopher, provocateur and proponent of the best definition of creativity I’ve heard. His interpretation acts as my lens when evaluating work. The more original, subtle, involving and intriguing the combination is, the more likely we are to notice it: the more it is a Big Idea. Ideas are precious things, and in the digital world it is clear that it is strong ideas alone that will defeat the noise, the fragmentation and the clutter. But ideas have different forms. In fact, there is something akin to a hierarchy of ideas: 1. At the top, the strategic idea, where an idea about how a business should be positioned, defines a platform for a company or a brand.