Professional Tinnitus

On the subject of professional tinnitus, the persistent buzzwords that confound the ears and minds of the employee classes are these old chestnuts; “innovation” and “creativity”.

On the surface, one might think that these modern attributes represent an essential capability of anyone wanting to get employed, remain employed, or even for those wishing to ascend glass pyramids.

But a close examination of the matter will reveal that success in these endeavours is actually engendered by an ability to appear to expend little effort in creating the impression that no effort is being spared in creating the further impression of a personal mastery of the dark arts of creativity and innovation.

In practise this means; (a) frequently using the words “innovation” and “creativity” in emails, reports and meetings, (b) attending the odd workshop and/or forum on the subjects and thereby becoming a subject matter expert, (c) not sniggering when anyone else uses these terms, and (d) (most importantly) having an up-to-date awareness of the best and most obscure second-order terms related to “innovation” and “creativity”; these are generally trademarked sub-buzzwords such as “guided imagery” and “ideation”.

Ideating backwards to the mercantile genesis, we can blame the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution for the situation that we find ourselves in. Let me explain.

The Enlightenment brought us creativity and the Industrial Revolution brought us innovation.

Both movements were based  on the then novel idea that the ‘things’ can always be improved upon, a belief that required, inter alia, a disrespect for all things ‘past’, and an apprenticeship in innovation and creativity.

Indeed, the Enlightenment was driven by the desire to free mankind from the shackles of Despots and the Churches; mostly “done” in the West.

The Industrial Revolution hoped to make everyone free from poverty so that a few could get very rich; again, mostly “done” in the West, at least according to the standards of the 1600’s.

So if these movements have been successful, why do we cling to the concepts of innovation and creativity, the vestiges of the key modi operandi of these movements?

If you think about it, it’s quite obvious…

Once the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution were successful in the West, we no longer needed a disrespect of the past. Accordingly it was not necessary to throw out the concepts of innovation and creativity just because (a) they were old-school and (b) we didn’t need them any more.

And without the formerly required truth-seeking apprenticeship no one was (or is) required to notice, or care whether any attributions of character (such as innovation or creativity) are real or otherwise.

My guess is that innovation and creativity are on the rotisserie of recycled buzzwords because of nostalgia for a time when things were a little more interesting. If you will, their continued use represents a metaphorical appendix (of the body corporeal type) in a bored and dull mind.