We had the honor of having our friend Mike Gold, CIO at Willow Creek, in town last week and a funny/intriguing conversation started in the car on the way back from eating some world class BBQ. In the middle of a conversation about software and future project development we all realized there was a bad taste in our mouth. No, not from the BBQ, it was this word that kept coming up that seemed to have no definition anymore. It became apparent that if enough people say the word out of contexxt that a word can actually grow to have no meaning at all.
We had reached a cross-roads with our friend. Our friend, the word, Innovation. What does it even really mean to be innovative? To build something innovative? To be an innovator? Can you actually know that you are being innovative? Is it a purposeful decision that is made that is then followed by innovation? I don’t think so. Good old Webster’s says that innovation means:
in⋅no⋅va⋅tion
[in-uh-vey-shuhn]
–noun
1.something new or different introduced: numerous innovations in the high-school curriculum.
2.the act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods.
When reading this I don’t know if innovation should be something that we are externally. Imagine if Apple had been innovative and introduced the idea of the multi-touch, face-rocking phone, but that was where it stopped. Let’s all assume that if we want our businesses/ministries/churches to grow then we better be innovative. At least to a certain to degree. If you are not being innovative, then what is the point.
Ok. So we have decided that being innovative is now assumed. So what do we say then? What is it that we are really trying to say? Mike suggested the phrase “Game Changing”. That phrase had some serious impact on me. Being a creative guy, I could immediately picture the scenario of a game changing performance. I started seeing scenes from some of my favorite movies and epic sporting events that were truly game changing. It was easy for me to get on board with.
So why is game changing better than innovation? Well to me game changing forces an action. You can’t influence change without actually doing something, and that is what I feel like has been missing. If you have an idea that is innovative, then get on it. Be a game changer and make your innovative idea come to life. Build it up and release it out. See where it goes. Lay the path.
Here are some other words/phrases that have also made my personal “dead to me” list:
1. Phat
2. Off the hook/chain
3. Legit
4. Bogus
5. Crunk
6. Innovative
7. Out of the Box
8. Funky
9. Chillax
10. Radical (has been replaced with “Rad”)
Tags: execution, Innovation, slang, Strategy
