The 6 words that could change your career forever
When Today’s Marketplace invited Nathan Preheim, director for the Center for Enterprise Value at Creighton University, to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, they expected a conversation about entrepreneurship, tech trends and AI.
What they got instead was a mic-drop moment that applies to anyone building a career in today’s rapidly changing world.
Nathan shared his six favorite words. Words he believes explain the surge of innovation happening across industries. Words that could reframe the way you approach your work, your future and your place in the world:
“There is always a better way.”
Those six words shaped the entire interview. And if you apply them the way Nathan does, they can shape your future too.
Below, we break down what these six words actually mean, and how you can use them to unlock a more innovative and future-ready career.
1. You don’t have to wait for the “right” time to innovate
Most people think innovation happens when everything aligns via the idea, the moment, the funding, the team.
Nathan says that’s backwards.
His take? “The appropriate time for innovation? Anytime, anywhere.”
Innovation is not a calendar event. It’s a mindset. It’s noticing friction and asking, “Why does it have to be this way?” It’s spotting inefficiencies others overlook.
In a world changing this fast, waiting for perfect timing is the only real risk.
2. You don’t need to quit your job to think like an entrepreneur
There’s a myth that innovation only happens in a garage or co-working space. But according to Nathan, some of the most powerful disruptors are already inside established companies.
“Entrepreneurs are not only independent operators—they can be disrupters from within. We call this ‘intrapreneurship.’”
Intrapreneurs:
- take ownership of problems
- propose smarter, faster ways to work
- build solutions that make the whole team better
- bring bold ideas into spaces that often resist change
And companies crave them.
This is exactly why Creighton builds intrapreneurship into its business curriculum, because the future belongs to people who can lead improvement from anywhere.
3. Seeing ‘a better way’ is the first step...building it is the second
Nathan’s conversation with Neal Harmon, co-founder and CEO of Angel Studios, proved this point instantly.
Angel Studios began because its founders noticed a gap: families wanted uplifting, values-based stories that Hollywood wasn’t making.
Instead of accepting this reality, they built a new model. “We looked at something missing for our children… so we set out to solve the problem.”
Their idea flipped the industry: A community of more than 1.5 million people—the Angel Guild—now votes on which projects get made.
It’s crowdsourced greenlighting.
Not from executives.
From the audience.
It’s the perfect example of what those six words look like when someone acts on them.
4. Innovation today is driven by community...not gatekeepers
Another outdated belief? That innovation happens only when a select few decide what gets funded or built.
Angel Studios proves otherwise.
Nathan’s interview underscored a larger trend: collective decision-making is reshaping entire industries. Crowdfunding, open-source technology, real-time user feedback are examples of how modern innovators aren’t building for audiences, they’re building with them.
If you want to thrive in this landscape, think less like a gatekeeper and more like a collaborator.
5. AI won’t replace creators, but creators who use AI will win
Nathan’s NYSE conversation took place with AI dominating headlines. But Harmon surprised everyone with a simple statement: “I’ll worry about AI when AI has a family and that is never going to happen.”
In other words, AI can accelerate ideas, but it cannot replace deeply human experiences, motivations and emotions that shape truly impactful work.
Nathan’s perspective aligns with this: innovation in the AI era isn’t about competing against machines. It’s about understanding what makes us irreplaceably human and using technology as a tool, not a threat.
6. The most valuable career skill? Seeing opportunity everywhere.
Nathan describes innovation as a lens you can choose to put on at any time.
Once you adopt his six-word mindset, everything shifts. Obstacles look like opportunities. Annoyances look like problems worth solving. And inefficiencies look like openings for leadership.
This mindset is one of the core values at Creighton’s Heider College of Business, where students aren’t just taught how to analyze markets, they’re taught how to shape them.
Because the most future-proof skill isn’t coding, or forecasting, or even strategy. It’s the ability to look at the world and think: There is always a better way.
The bottom line
Your career won’t be defined by what role you start in.
It will be defined by how you think.
Nathan’s six words aren’t just advice. They’re a roadmap for anyone who wants to lead change, spark creativity and build a meaningful, resilient future. And if you’re willing to see the world through that lens, the opportunities are everywhere.
Explore how Creighton’s Heider College of Business prepares students to be the best in business.
