Bruce Nussbaum wrapped up 2008 with a post on his BusinessWeek blog titled "'Innovation' is Dead". Most of the follow-up commentary revolved around whether "Transformation" was better/worse than "Innovation" as a focal point for 2009, given the apparent overuse of the word "innovation" throughout 2007/2008.
Sadly, the most important part of the post was overlooked in the commotion:
“Transformation” deals with a new Creativity Society, in which we are all both producers and consumers of value. Look around and you can see Gen Y in particular creating practically from birth, mashing music, designing Facebook or MySpace pages, doing videos and podcasts—creating value.
My comment to his post follows:
I agree with and like the sound of so much of what you wrote. But I don't think another term is necessary. While I like "transformation" because it implies a shift or a change, and is in some ways a more focused activity, it is just as likely to achieve buzzword status once money enters the picture.
That was the problem with "innovation". "Innovation" got hot; consultants, speakers, designers, artists, ex-CEO's jumped on the bandwagon and started selling "innovation". The hype machine rev'd up and reality distorted. Like innovation, you really can't deliver "transformation" or "change". But if they get hot enough, people will try to sell them to you.
So what did I like about your post?
The point almost got lost in the ensuing commotion, but you touch on one trend that *will* make a difference in the next 10 years -- the speed and ease with which ordinary people can create sustainable value by building narrow, tightly focused solutions that address needs in niche markets that they understand well, but that can be served nationally or globally using the power of the commerce and communication infrastructure the last two waves of tech investment have created.
These innovators won't *talk* about "innovation". They might not even know what the word means, but they will be the ones creating value.
More to come on this idea. I'm in the midst of a series of meetings with people and companies who are creating this next round of infrastructure and business.
- Todd
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