What 50 Years of Incentive Travel Taught Me About Creativity

Most incentive programs begin the same way: a familiar destination, a predictable agenda, and ideas that feel “safe.” But safe rarely stands out.

That’s why I like to open every conversation with one simple question: 
What’s the one idea you’ve always wanted to try, but never had the opportunity to bring to life?

Because when that question isn’t asked, conversations default to the same standard menu everyone else relies on. And over the years, we’ve learned something with complete certainty:

People aren’t motivated to do extraordinary things for ordinary rewards. 
And ordinary never burns brightly in the bank of memories to move people into action.

The Real Risk Isn’t Competition — It’s Sameness

Incentive programs, events, and recognition initiatives don’t often fail because they’re poorly executed. They fail because they’re forgettable.

When everyone pulls from the same playbook — similar destinations, similar agendas, similar “wow” moments — the experience blurs together. And once something blends in, it stops motivating. It stops inspiring loyalty. It stops creating stories people tell long after they return home.

Sameness is comfortable. It feels efficient. It feels safe.

But it’s also the fastest way to become interchangeable and to be forgotten.

The Question That Changes Everything

Asking what someone has always wanted to try immediately changes the conversation. It signals an interest to go beyond default ideas. It opens the door to originality — and just as importantly, it sets expectations of everyone involved.

When you ask that question, you’re telling your partners, suppliers, and internal teams: 
We’re not here to do what’s easy. We’re here to do what’s memorable.

That doesn’t mean every idea needs to be extreme or extravagant. It means every idea needs to enhance the purpose of making the total experience memorable.

Imagination Isn’t Accidental — It’s Collaborative 

Great ideas rarely arrive fully formed. They’re built through collaboration, experience, and trust. 

We don’t outsource creativity, but we do invite our partners into it. When people know you won’t settle for ordinary, they rise to the challenge. Collaboration becomes energizing, not transactional. The focus shifts from execution alone to distinction. 

Originality thrives where imagination is expected and protected.

Five Proven Sources of Standout Ideas

Over the years, we’ve learned that the most memorable experiences don’t come from trends — they come from a few timeless creative instincts.

1. They come from leaning into destination culture, not just the geography.
2. They come from using time and history to immerse people, not just entertain them,
3. from designing moments that become stories, not schedules to follow,
4. from choosing unexpected settings that elevate everything around them,
5. and from creating rare access — the kind people know they’ll never experience the same way twice.

These aren’t gimmicks. They’re creative anchors — ways to ensure an experience feels intentional, personal, and impossible to confuse with anything else.

Why “Different” Has Always Been Strategic 

We haven’t always been the biggest or loudest. So we chose to think differently. 

Instead of overwhelming people with endless options, we focused on thoughtful curation. Instead of copying what existed, we designed experiences that felt human, intentional, and worth striving for. 

Looking back, imagination was never a creative luxury — it was a strategic advantage. 

Why Ordinary Never Burns Brightly

When people return home from an experience, they shouldn’t struggle to remember it. They should carry multiple moments that stay vivid — stories that resurface years later, long after the program ends. 

Those memories are what motivate future performance. They’re what build loyalty. They’re what turn participation into pride. 

And that’s why we’ve held onto this belief for decades: 

Ordinary never burns brightly. 
It never has. And it never will.

We’re celebrating our 50^th Anniversary this year. Learn more from the Founder and Chairman of Next Level by reading What 50 Years of Leadership Taught Me About Building a Company That Lasts. Stay tuned for the next in our 50^th Anniversary series.