Enough With All the Innovation
At Wayne State University, a commuter campus in Detroit where faculty members and students struggle to turn people out for events, the opening of the Innovation Hub last fall was a big deal. I have rarely seen so many people in one room on campus. Speakers gushed about the university’s « innovation ecosystem » and the « disruptive » start-ups sure to blossom in its « incubators. »
Speakers paced the stage giving TED-style speeches rich in the soothing platitudes of business books. To nurture innovation, explained one, « you’ve got to have serendipity and creativity, and that’s when two plus two equals seven — apologies to the math department, » he added, chuckling at his own baffling joke. « You’ve heard the word ‘innovation’ a lot so far this evening, » said another, apologetically, briefly giving me hope that the term would finally be defined, or better yet, discarded. He continued: « You’re about to hear it a lot more. »