The Use of the Words ‘Creativity’ and ‘Innovation’
Creativity and innovation are related in opposite ways. On one hand they’ve devolved to be meaningless, questionable, and the most unimportant part of what someone says. While on the other hand they overflow with the sincerity, complexity and magic which makes the human experience so special.
On the end of meaninglessness, the word ‘creativity’ and ‘innovation’ suffer from semantic drift and gross overuse. When they are used, one of two responses usually follows. The first is an immediate onslaught of other words used to prop up, unpack, or explore the original word. The second response is a resounding silence with faces that could (maybe) be interpreted as deep pensive thought; a furrowed brow; or, my personal favorite, an agreeable series of head nods, pretending to ‘get it’, and then going about their day unchanged because what was described was neither creative nor innovative.
Many businesses cling to these ideas as if they were real, tactile pillars of their offering or as keystones of what makes them worth buying into.
They are treated as commodities, made intentionally and available equitably. Creativity and innovation are neither of those things.
Creativity and innovation are verbs informed by their surroundings; they are responses to externalities. They require the presence of some context in order to exist meaningfully. That context can come in many forms. It can be social, environmental, or systemic processes which drive action. They can be creative processes informed by drugs, an unhinged lifestyle, or an obsessively-made studio space. Absorbing any of these happenings around them, creativity and innovation respond via some medium. The outcome questions reality as it exists and challenges the expectations one has for the life which they lead. Because of this dependence on context, true creativity or innovation is hard to come by and impossible to plan for.
Therefore, and on the other hand, we find that the two words are related by the resounding fullness of their meaning. They describe experiences which are so attuned to the happenings of mankind that we are brought to tears, gaze in awe, or are instinctually obliged to own whatever the thing is. They describe the fascination with objects imbued with such authenticity that they feel to become a part of you. They are objects which facilitate more-human relationships or make you feel understood, seen, or validated by others.
Stories about this caliber of creativity and innovation are the same ones we all know to some degree: Jackson Pollock’s reclusive and alcoholic process informing his impact on art; Walt Disney reimagining machinery for storytelling, world-building and delight; Steve Jobs’ intense personality driving change to HCI and technology. These figures have legacy now because they were brave enough to offer their creations to the world. In turn, they are celebrated for their impact on people’s lives.
In the cases of business, legacy’s are continued over many lifetimes and naturally evolve as their contexts evolve. Disney is not the same company it was 100 years ago. Nearly everything about that entity’s context has changed and yet it continues to be creative and innovate. The life and values of Walt still informs the company’s actions today. There’s that idea that says, “It’s 10% the way you behave and 90% why you behave that way.” So if the ‘Why’ is centered on authenticity, and we know that context is ever-changing, then all a company needs to do is act when the time is right.
I think about AirBnB’s response to the pandemic. Their product-wide shift to stay-cations and in-home events is a market innovation derived from a changed narrative. That, coupled with authentic tone and manner, made it one of the most heartening news updates I got in the middle of 2020. Of course, it was AirBnB’s core motivators which drove that change and ultimately will inform its successes as times continue to change. The differentiator here, however, is not only that they observed the change and pivoted, but that they were poised to do so as soon as context required it.
Creativity and innovation are related in that they are both meaningless and powerful beyond definition. Their meaning relies on their context and our willingness to respond with sincerity. That means that the only thing standing in between an individual and creative/innovative greatness is a willingness to be vulnerable– to go out on a limb and to dare to do things differently. We as creative people must be more willing to leave behind the B.S. buzzwords, our obsession with what others are doing, and our fear of being bad in order to articulate our own response to the world. Otherwise, we’ll be left with a burnt-out planet, mediocre work, and a vocabulary of words that don’t mean a thing.
