Advice for All The Innovation Buzzword Boys and Girls: Hugh MacLeod

“Crea­tive”, howe­ver, is more of an “inter­nal” word. It’s sub­jec­tive, it’s mur­kier. It’s far har­der to mea­sure, it’s far har­der to define. It’s an inward jour­ney, not out­ward. Which is why a lot of peo­ple in busi­ness try to keep the word out of their offi­cial lexi­con, pre­fe­rring ins­tead more neu­tral, more externally-focused lan­guage like “Value”, “Exce­llence”, “Qua­lity” and yes, “Inno­va­tion”. 
The trou­ble is, of course, that approach doesn’t work as well any more. In this glo­ba­li­zed, hyper-linked, internet-enabled world, “Boring” has sud­denly become a very expen­sive luxury. 
Do you REALLY think Apple is afraid to use the word, “Crea­tive”? Do you REALLY think Steve Jobs goes around his office yak­king on end­lessly about “Value, Exce­llence, Qua­lity and Inno­va­tion”? No, of course he doesn’t. Apple’s UTTERLY AMAZING design, busi­ness and mar­ke­ting pro­wess comes from the UTTERLY AMAZING crea­tive fire in their collec­tive belly, not the other way around. 
I want to make limited-edition prints that somehow, even in a small, indi­rect way, helps make com­pa­nies and indi­vi­duals less afraid, and more willing to be CREATIVE, more willing to embrace the CREATIVITY that they already have. Because eco­no­mi­cally and spi­ri­tually, that is ulti­ma­tely where our future lies, even if that idea some­ti­mes terri­fies us. 

There. So now you know my sec­ret, evil plan. You have been warned.