Creativity in Motion: Bridging Art and Business

In today’s business world, meeting customer needs and managing processes are often seen as the ultimate goals. While these are essential, they are not enough. Businesses must also create possibilities, forge new paths, and embrace the unknown. Art offers a powerful metaphor for this endeavor. Through its emphasis on ambiguity, experimentation, and perspective, art challenges us to rethink the way we approach leadership and innovation.

The Art Gala as a Metaphor 

At Interlub Group, creativity isn’t just something we talk about, it’s something we live. Our 40th-anniversary celebration, Gala de Arte – 40 Años de Interlub Group, provided a unique opportunity for us to reflect on these lessons. At the event, we showcased 40 works of art created by distinguished artists and musicians from our community and displayed in our headquarters. Each piece, crafted specifically for the event, carried references to our industry while inviting us to see the world through a broader lens. The event served as a metaphor for the journey of shaping the next 40 years of our organization — an invitation to embrace ambiguity and discover meaning amid complexity, much like artists facing a blank canvas.

Drawing Inspiration from the Dynamics of Music and Art

Reflecting after the event with my colleagues Rene Freudenberg, Jan Freudenberg, and Roberto Iberri, we explored how music and art offer profound lessons for building dynamic workspaces. Music, considered by Jan as one of the most powerful art forms, teaches us an essential lesson: the balance between stability and unpredictability. A classical suite thrives on this tension, grounding listeners with recognizable motifs while surprising them with unexpected shifts that create intrigue and emotional depth. Similarly, in jazz, musicians balance structure with improvisation, adding vibrancy and keeping the audience engaged.

Like in the greatest musical works, the tension between order and chaos is not something to fear but to harness. A workspace that is both structured and charged with the possibility of change can lead to deeper emotional investment and the kind of breakthroughs that propel businesses forward.

Visual art offers equally valuable lessons for rethinking how we approach work. Where music demonstrates the importance of tension and rhythm, Rene felt that Impressionism teaches us to find clarity in fleeting moments and adapt to change; Cubism encourages breaking barriers to see challenges from all sides; and Surrealism invites bold experimentation, showing us that extraordinary possibilities lie just beyond convention. Together, music and art remind us that embracing complexity, creativity, and collaboration is the key to building vibrant, high-performing teams that dare to challenge the status quo.

Lessons From Art for Building Dynamic Teams

Together, music and art inspired us to build workspaces where creativity thrives alongside structure. They show us that progress doesn’t come from avoiding tension or adhering to rigid routines, it comes from embracing complexity, celebrating diverse perspectives, and nurturing the courage to innovate. This artistic mindset is the foundation of truly dynamic teams and organizations.

At Interlub, we’ve seen firsthand that innovation doesn’t rely on unlimited resources but on a mindset open to exploration. For instance, some of our most impactful breakthroughs, like the development of over 2,500 niche-specific products, emerged not from cutting-edge technologies but from small, agile teams addressing overlooked needs. These teams viewed constraints as challenges to overcome, much like artists finding beauty in limitation.

This approach draws on three key principles we’ve observed: fostering empathy and adaptability to align goals with shared purpose, breaking silos through cross-departmental collaboration to solve challenges holistically, and embracing creative tension to uncover new possibilities.

Ultimately, it’s the uncertainty — the awareness that things could change at any moment — that keeps the momentum alive and inspires people to think, act, and create with greater purpose.

The Canvas Awaits

For us, art — perhaps we should say the spirit of art — holds a transformative role in fostering creativity and innovation. At Interlub, integrating art into our corporate culture isn’t about brightening spaces but about opening minds. It’s about creating an environment where individuals can grow unexpectedly, uncover solutions previously unseen, and forge deeper, more authentic bonds within their teams.

Art, in all its forms, offers new ways to perceive the world and invites us to embrace transformation. It reminds us that each individual holds the power to reshape themselves and their environment, pushing toward new realities.

We believe modern organizations are living organisms, constantly evolving through dynamic and creative processes. It’s not just about meeting expectations; it’s about envisioning a future abundant with possibilities. While uncertainty comes with risks, those risks should never hold us back because the future, by its nature, is uncertain.

The canvas is ready. What story will your leadership create?

About the Authors:

René Freudenberg, CEO; Jan Freudenberg, Artist in Residence; Roberto Iberri, CTO, and Daniel Pandza, Global Director for Innovation Partnerships, bring together a shared passion for reimagining leadership and fostering creativity at Interlub—The Uncommon Lubricant Company®. Known for their pioneering spirit and innovative leadership philosophy, they have guided Interlub to global recognition. Under their stewardship, Interlub has received three prestigious national awards from the President of Mexico: the National Export Award (2017) for exporting Mexican technology to over 40 countries, the National Quality Award (2018) for its groundbreaking business model, and the National Technology and Innovation Award (2019) for advancing scientific paradigms through innovation.

All images are property of Interlub Group (2025) and can be freely used in the publication of the article. They can be downloaded here: 

Sources: 

1. Artlex. “Cubism vs. Impressionism: Differences and Similarities.” Available at: https://www.artlex.com/art-movements/cubism/cubism-vs-impressionism. Accessed on Jan 13th, 2025.

2. Interlub Group. (2016). Arte en la fábrica – Interlub Group apoya a una buena causa [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50z6yiH8WC8

3. Nota de Prensa. “Gala de Arte – 40 años de Interlub Group.” Available at: https://discover.interlub.com/gala-de-arte/2-0-2-4/nota-de-prensa. Accessed on Jan 13th, 2025.

4. TEDxZapopan. (2014). ¿Podría una obra de arte transformar a una colonia? | Jan Freudenberg | TEDxZapopan [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zj8n0qHA1Y

5. TEDxZapopan. (2017). La confianza es el lubricante de la prosperidad | René Freudenberg | TEDxZapopan [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN19_5EVYQA