5 myths of innovation – why the ‘I’ word needs to become a new discipline - Haydn Shaughnessy - Re:thinking Innovation. Stop saying innovation – here’s why. [Update: an edited version of this post was published at The Economist] I’m confident in this advice: Stop using the word innovation. Just stop. Right now. Commit to never saying the word again. Einstein, Ford, Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Jobs and Edison rarely said the word and neither should you. Every crowd I’ve said this to laughed and agreed. The I-word is killing us. Pretentious words like gamechanging, breakthrough, radical, paradigm-shift, and transformative are used by people trying hard to impress someone. Calling yourself tall doesn’t make you tall. Unless you are taking the time to ensure everyone in the room uses these words to mean the same thing it’s jargon – the words fails to convey meaning.
There are four things you can do: Ask people who use the word what they mean. You can’t have innovation by any defition without being willing to take risks. Breakthroughs are a matter of perspective and if you take a wide view it’s being good that beats innovation nearly every time. TR50. The 2011 Most Innovative Companies.