If innovation (the term) is dead and we will continue to engage in innovation (the activity), how do we talk about creating meaningful change without falling back on meaningless buzzwords? The answer isn’t finding a single replacement word – it’s building a new innovation language that actually describes what we’re trying to achieve. Think of it as upgrading from a crayon to a full set of oil paints – suddenly you can create much more nuanced pictures of progress.
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All
We’ve spent decades trying to cram every type of progress, change, and improvement into the word “innovation.” It’s like trying to describe all forms of movement with just the word “moving.” Sure, you’re moving but without the specificity of words like walking, running, jumping, bounding, and dancing, you don’t know what or how you’re moving or why.
That’s why using “innovation” to describe everything different from today doesn’t work.
Use More Precise Language for What and How
Before we throw everything out, let’s keep what actually works: Innovation means “something new that creates value.” That last bit is crucial – it’s what separates meaningful change from just doing new stuff for novelty’s sake. (Looking at you, QR code on toothpaste tutorials.)
But, just like “dancing” is a specific form of movement, we need more precise language to describe what the new value-creating thing is that we’re doing:
- Core IMPROVEMENTS: Making existing things better. It’s the unglamorous but essential work of continuous refinement. Think better batteries, faster processors, smoother processes.
- Adjacent EXPANSIONS: Venturing into new territory – new customers, new offerings, new revenue models, OR new processes. It’s like a restaurant adding delivery service: same food, new way of reaching customers.
- Radical REINVENTION: Going all in, changing multiple dimensions at once. Think Netflix killing its own DVD business to stream content they now produce themselves. (And yes, that sound you hear is Blockbuster crying in the corner.)
Adopt More Sophisticated Words to Describe Why
Innovation collapsed because innovation became an end in and of itself. Companies invested in it to get good PR, check a shareholder box, or entertain employees with events.
We forgot that innovation is a means to an end and, as a result, got lazy about specifying what the expected end is. We need to get back to setting these expectations with words that are both clear and inspiring
- Growth means ongoing evolution
- Transformation means fundamental system change (not just putting QR codes on things)
- Invention means creating something new without regard to its immediate usefulness
- Problem Solving means finding, creating, and implementing practical solutions
- Value Creation means demonstrating measurable and meaningful impact
Why This Matters
This isn’t just semantic nitpicking. Using more precise language sets better expectations, helps people choose the most appropriate tools, and enables you to measure success accurately. It’s the difference between saying “I want to move more during the day” and “I want to build enough endurance to run a 5K by June.”
What’s Next?
As we emerge from innovation’s chrysalis, maybe what we’re becoming isn’t simpler – it’s more sophisticated. And maybe that’s exactly what we need to move forward.
Drop a comment: What words do you use to describe different types of change and innovation in your organization? How do you differentiate between what you’re doing and why you’re doing it?
Indeed. We need to work more on reminding that innovation as well as technology is a means to an end not an end itself. Therefore, we need to focus more on the transformation of our business to keep growing and making better quality goods or offering better quality services at lower prices. Creativity and invention should be an ongoing process that starts at home, continues in schools, colleges, universities, and workplaces. As financial, environmental, political, and social crises persist, it is imperative to pursue creative and sustainable routes in order to conceive new strategies and tools for solving problems and accomplishing goals.
Beautifully said, Magali! Thank you for highlighting that this (innovation is a means to an end) is true in companies AND all the educational, financial, encironmental, and political systems in which we live. We should constantly be questioning how we can do better, be better, and be of service to others. Your comment highlights that perfectly. Thanks for adding to the conversation!
Very much agree Robyn. In fact, I think specificity in all things is enhancing. To that end, I’d argue that “novelty that is useful” defines creativity (at least traditionally) and that innovation is the application or scaling of creativity. Still, definitions of creativity abound. A favorite is from Ackoff and Vergara (1988) “creativity is the ability to modify self-imposed constraints.” Thanks for another thought-provoking, discipline evolving post!
Fantastic additions Judy! I never thought of creativity as “novelty that is useful” and it opens up all sorts f wonderful questions and ideas. And your other contrbution that “creativity is the ability to modify self-imposed constraints” is music to my ears. People have such negative associations with “constraints” so to use the word as part of a definition for creativity probably creates a cognitive dissonace that gets people to pause and think – a necessary step in all creative endeavors! Thank you for sharing and making us all smarter.