During my visit to United States late last month, I got the opportunity to hear one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. Jeffrey Katzenberg is the CEO of DreamWorks Animation. With this opportunity came the privilege of seeing extended previews of a couple of megareleases from the animation giant, including Kung Fu Panda and Megamind. Without any exaggeration, Kung Fu Panda blew my socks off! It was an incredible piece of animation, full of action and emotion, painted in vibrant colours, texture and depth. There was a remarkable change from the earlier version of the film. Not that I am an ardent follower, but it was perhaps the most impressive piece of animation I had seen in my life.

Along with the preview, came Katzenberg's keynote. And from that hour-long speech, one statement stuck on. “Every single thing you see on-screen comes out of somebody's creativity. It doesn't exist already. Nature didn't deliver it to us. Everything had to be dreamt. And to make these dreams a reality, one needed to be very innovative.”

Did he say something new, or radically different—perhaps not. Why then, do I remember it so clearly?

Because there is a message for all of us in what Katzenberg said. Five years ago, operational excellence was probably the key driver in a CIO’s life. Today, that is not all that you need to focus on. Innovation is now an inseparable part of the job. It is the winning formula. And being the CIO you should be driving innovation. The ongoing thrust to innovate may have come from the need to reduce costs, but in the long term, you—as the CIO—are expected to create competitive advantage. There's no shortage of creative ideas for making business more competitive. All you need to do is to conjure creative ideas that can be realised through innovation.