When the pandemic struck, I was writing a book about creativity in business that made me think long and hard about why our company became so successful after its humble beginnings in 1984 as a ragtag group of local street performers and what companies in other industries might learn from our experience.

During my 21 years at the company, we have expanded by leaps and bounds, with our touring shows reaching 450 cities in over 90 countries. Overall, more than 365 million spectators have seen our productions, and our 15 million tickets sold in 2019 were more than all Broadway shows combined.

How did we achieve such astounding growth? I kept coming back to one word: creativity. By that, I mean the standard dictionary definition of "making or bringing into existence something new." Which raises the question: How can a company reach the cutting edge and stay there?

First, forget the traditional pyramid structure. That tends to stifle experimentation. We found that employees need smaller, more intimate groups, which we call "innovation cells," to express themselves openly and play around with new ideas. That's why we were able to grow so large without compromising quality. We don't act like a big company.

To maintain our creative edge, we have several cells devoted exclusively to research and development. Our trends group has three full-time employees who search the world for new ideas and talent in music, fashion, architecture, theater, film, games, and more. A larger research department, called Nextasy, selects a few major projects per year to focus on, including new stage technologies and biomechanical breakthroughs that reduce performer injuries. One exciting innovation, developed with Microsoft Corp., is a pair of augmented-reality smartglasses, called HoloLens, that allows our directors to visualize the entire stage before it's even built.

In establishing a creative culture, how you choose your projects and partners is crucial. Informally, we call our guidelines the Four Criteria, which can apply to any company or industry:

1. Is it a creative challenge? This is the most important question. Ask if your team can get truly excited about a new project. Employee engagement is a huge problem—especially now that workers are quitting their jobs in historic numbers—because managers don't give them enough reasons to get excited about what they do. A creatively challenged staff is far more productive and works longer hours because they're deeply engaged.

2. Does our partner share our values? Our greatest partner has been MGM Resorts International, which understands the creative process and has always supported our Las Vegas shows no matter how far-out our ideas or how expensive the theater construction. We've mistakenly worked with other resorts that had no interest in the artistic content of our shows. With our values out of alignment, we clashed constantly.

3. Can it make a profit? Although making money is obviously required, we don't consider it until the first two conditions are met. When we broke this rule—forming partnerships with a casino resort that guaranteed us a profit in exchange for the prestige we conferred—it was a disaster. Almost empty theaters damaged our morale and brand. We should have rejected this deal for the very practical reason that our company has never been driven by a lust for money.

4. Are our partners socially engaged? If the answer is no, we introduce them to causes such as Cirque du Monde, our nonprofit arm that helps at-risk youth. Once our new partners get involved, they are always glad they did.

When Covid-19 hit, we had to quickly repatriate 1,500 cast and crew members stranded in 13 cities before national borders slammed shut. Then we had to find warehouses for almost 500 trucks full of stage equipment. But all that was nothing compared to the trauma of March 19, 2020, when we had to lay off 95% of our 5,000 employees without any idea of when we could rehire them.

During those bleak days, as we went through bankruptcy protection, I was astonished to get a series of calls from blue-chip investors. Despite our crippled state, they were attracted by the tremendous power of our brand and the value of our intellectual property. The winning bid by our creditors put our market value at a stunning $1.28 billion.

That improbable sequence of events illustrates, better than anything else I could say, why creativity is so crucial in business. Now that I've moved on from CEO to executive vice chairman of the board, I plan to travel widely to spread my message: Whether you are an executive, an entrepreneur, or a professional, if you aren't placing a high premium on creativity, you're wasting your time. No company deserves to exist unless it's constantly discovering ways to make its customers' lives better. Simply put, without creativity, there is no business.

That started a conversation that eventually brought us all together in this London hotel suite. I was struck by how each Beatle was almost exactly as I imagined. Paul was clearly in charge, a true people pleaser who flattered us effusively, telling us how much he loved our shows. George, “the quiet Beatle,” was down-to-earth, like your next-door neighbor. Ringo was pure Ringo: hanging back at first, but then cracking jokes, one after another, keeping everyone loose.

Olivia, joining us because George had been ill and needed her assistance, was charming and outspoken. The quietest of all was Yoko, who only talked a little, in her quiet voice, about the artistry of Cirque and how much John would have liked to be involved in this project. Despite the band’s freighted history with Yoko, I saw no outward signs of tension. Remarkably, it was the first time the group had all gathered for a business meeting since John’s death in 1980.

“Okay, so what’s the pitch?” Ringo said.

Guy didn’t miss a beat. “There is no pitch!” he said. “You are a creative force; we are a creative force. Let’s just find a way to create a show together!”

It was a risky maneuver to place Cirque on the same creative level as the Beatles. But it worked brilliantly, piquing their artistic curiosity. “That’s quite a change,” Ringo said, impressed. As we talked, Paul became inspired. He drew a picture of the Nowhere Man on a piece of paper, gave it to Guy and said, “When you guys figure out what this means and can do a show with it, I’m in!”

Laughter all around. All in all, it was an encouraging first meeting. Then, in November, we were all devastated by George’s death from cancer at age 58. The Beatles-Cirque collaboration appeared dead before it got started. But during the ensuing months, a miracle happened: Paul, Ringo, Olivia and Yoko decided to revive the project as a tribute to George.

One of the many lessons I drew from working with the Beatles for nearly five years during the creation of LOVE was this: Emotion can be a powerful force in driving a project forward. Finding the emotional heartbeat behind any new venture can unleash dynamic currents of energy that can make the difference between success and failure.

My other learnings were no less influential as I absorbed the creative culture of Cirque du Soleil and rose to chief executive in 2006.

Among them:

Showcase What You Do. When I joined the company in early 2001, I noticed that Guy was spending $1 million of company money on a lavish—and legendary—annual party in Montreal. I objected to what seemed like a ridiculous waste of money until I attended the bash that June and realized the huge networking potential. George Harrison had shown up the year before and was transfixed by the eclectic 19-piece band, Fanfare Pourpour. Despite his illness, he ended up staying until sunrise, had a magical time and invited Guy to his home. That was the first step in what became our historic collaboration (which also happened to be an enormous commercial success; in this case, the party turned out to be quite a bargain). Most companies don’t need to throw a huge party like that, of course. But every firm can find original ways to showcase their ingenuity to attract potential customers or partners.

Don’t Force Your Vision on Partners. Early in the development process, we gave executives at the Beatles’ management firm, Apple Corps, a compact disk of the band’s music recorded by local Montreal musicians, spliced with electronic beats, or rhythmic accents. We usually use live musicians for our shows and wanted to offer the Beatles some ideas. What a huge mistake! The Apple execs thought the music was awful and almost ended the relationship right there, questioning the taste of our creative team, and insisting that the show use only Beatles recordings. “What do you mean?” Cirque cofounder Gilles Ste-Croix said. “Play CDs?” “We don’t really know,” confessed Neil Aspinall, the CEO of Apple Corps. But his message was clear: We shouldn’t be giving the Beatles advice about music any more than we’d want them lecturing us about acrobatics.

Trust Your Partners’ Expertise. When Guy and I got the idea to ask longtime Beatles producer George Martin, “The Fifth Beatle,” to handle the music for the show, it was a breakthrough. Both parties agreed that Cirque would have final say on the visuals and the Beatles would control the music. Finally, the project had some direction, rooted in our respect for and trust in the other’s expertise. When George Martin teamed up with his son, Giles Martin, they created an astonishing soundscape that thrilled our audiences and went on to win two Grammy Awards.

Mobilize People Around Your Project. Inviting all four Beatles stakeholders—Paul, Ringo, Olivia and Yoko—to participate deeply in the creation of the show, from concept through rehearsals, may sound like a major potential headache. But it turned out to be a blessing. Paul was relentlessly upbeat and encouraging, providing inspiration to our awestruck cast and crew. He became so invested in the show that at one point, during a long day of rehearsals, he began calling it “our show”—a sure sign that we were on the right track. Yoko and Olivia, meanwhile, channeled the spirits of their late husbands to insist on changes that made the show better and more authentic. (Ringo didn’t get very involved; he was OK with just about everything.) Every business has similar constituencies to satisfy—customers, government regulators, shareholders, suppliers and others—and learning how their concerns can improve the product is a crucial part of trusting the creative process.

Back at the Mirage last summer, the gorgeous harmonies of “Because” from the Abbey Road album finish playing and the sailors slide back down their ropes. The last chord of “A Day in the Life” rings out (played backward), followed by the opening chord of “A Hard Day’s Night.” Then Ringo’s drum solo from “The End” fully ignites the show, the stage exploding with light, sound and color as dancers in flamboyant costumes let loose. Next, we hear recordings of shrieking fans, wailing guitars and Paul’s voice blasting through state-of-the-art speakers: “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last…”

The Beatles LOVE remains a major cultural event, the last live show the band produced together. At the emotional premiere in June of 2006, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the families of George Harrison and John Lennon, and George Martin and his son Giles joined director Dominic Champagne, Gilles Ste-Croix and Guy on stage to celebrate after the show. At one point, Paul and Yoko hugged and kissed. Aspinall turned to me and said, “I never thought I would see that.”

It’s true that the creative process can be difficult, unpredictable and maddening, just like life. But in the final number of the show, the Beatles offer the best advice I’ve ever heard about how to deal with it: “All you need is love.”