Universities are facing challenges not seen before. Academic development is expected to address many of these challenges, creating conditions supportive of teaching and learning. However, increasing managerialism, measurement, and risk-aversion make this difficult as the emphasis shifts from supporting individuals towards delivering institutional strategy. This can lead to a lack of creativity, a stifling of innovation, and a fear of failure. This paper uses the creative industries as a 'parallel' sector of practice. It outlines the challenges, similarities, and differences between the sectors, before explaining what lessons higher education can learn from the creative industries.