Of course, in any marketplace, there is room for only so many competitors. That's where analytics and the ability to execute precisely separate the winners from the losers. There are a few e-businesses that are attempting to reinvent the standard commercial equation or build a new one, and they tend to attract creative thinkers. But the majority are based on adapting existing models. It's misperceived as an absolute prerequisite for success.
Many companies do fine without it.
Others need people who are both analytic and creative, especially in the early growth stages, because they're creating the business proposition as well as executing it. I don't think it's uncommon for creative people to have moments when they make an unexpected connection or creative leap. It's just that these flashing lightbulbs are invariably a single element in a much larger process. For example, our demand collection concept originated in an invention session at Walker Digital, our idea laboratory. We were brainstorming ways for companies to discount their own products without destroying their own pricing integrity.