Introduction
In the pre-nonsense times, just a few years ago, singing was the preferred way of making a baby sleep. Modernity has since stepped out of that primordial pool and evolved; it now brings in a CEO to give a talk. I recall a meeting some time ago. It was nestled in those sterile rectangular rooms. We all had those padded chairs, which, if discreetly leaned back upon, could substitute a L-AZ-BOY. The room was filled with sleep from the presenter. The presentation was like a spell; the room, Anastasia’s castle. Not one single syllable word poured out of the presenter’s mouth. Each sentence, if they could be separated by some miracle, for there was no punctuation, had a thousand syllables. Words like “coordination” and “synthesize” and “innovation” were mysterious, meaningless words but must have had some importance to the spell. At least Maleficent rhymed with her curse. Anyhow, the spell was complete. After the presentation, an hour had run by in a day. We were spirited away or frozen in place for an eternity and returned back to that office nursery in only an hour. The others around the room were just as confused as I was. The senior staff came back to life and thanked the speaker. They seemed impressed, but they did not know what impressed them. Perhaps it was the spell or the syllable count. I never found out. I was in the restroom splashing water on my face.
There is wisdom in obscuring things with speech. Christ spoke in parables to hide truths in plain sight from the unbelieving audience. Samson spoke in a riddle to fool a wedding party. But they also spoke plainly when the time called for clear speech. God made the world with words. We, His image bearers, use words to create, too. What is often created in our times are giant sheets to cover everything. Words, which serve as clear windows to thought, serve instead as opaque walls. The modern knowledge worker thinks of nothing and says everything.
Post-modern minds can say sentences like, “The innovations of our cultural moment will present opportunities for enhancing our metaphysical ecosystem, our dynamically evolving society, and our shared future.” They go on forever talking like this. When stopped and questioned afterwards for the meaning behind their words, they stare back with a puzzled face. I do not understand what they say most of the time and neither do they. If they had chosen the narrow path of using short, angular words, then we might have heard a coherent idea.
Spellbooks and Definitions
The word “innovation” is the strongest word in the post-modern spellbook. Saying it with wide gestures can do all sorts of things except what it means. Shout it and you will appear wise. Speak it as a witch doctor, in a long drawn out manner, and you will have investors hurling money.
And what is it you ask? We need a definition. Post-moderns do not like definitions. They need them, yes, but definitions make them feel like a cornered dog. Search the websites and conferences. See their mile long definitions of innovation. It is closer to a dance than a definition. Perhaps it is on purpose, for the definition is underwhelming and people do not want to appear underwhelming. An innovation is simply a new thing. That, however, does not sell tickets does it? No promotion material in that presentation, I’m afraid. Using short words takes work; their jagged edges cut with intention, which is not at all what people want.
Would you like to be in on a secret? Between us girls? I like innovation. I like new things and new ideas. I like innovation partly because I am, at times, too weak for monotony. I may watch three sunsets but after a hundred, I may despise them. Variety is a comfort to my weak eyes. God, give me strength to adore the monotonous.
Good Ideas
Back to innovation. Sometimes we need a new idea because the present ideas are not working well. Within our industry, this can be about the work we do, how we go about making things, how we organize our companies, etc., etc. Thinking a new idea is good simply because it is new is where things go wrong. Sometimes these new ideas are yesterday’s ideas sprinkled with new branding like confectioner’s sugar on a day old cookie. Do be honest then and use short words when describing your ideas. You may find that you are reinventing the wheel with your new idea. Resist the temptation to sound distinct by obscuring with large, lazy words. Reinventing the wheel is not entirely a wasted effort. The wheel may have been buried and was waiting for years to be pulled out by some honest fellow, probably with the name Arthur. Restoring a good old thing is just as good as building a good new thing. But that requires a definition of the word good.
God is good. What He does is good. What He likes is good. These truths give me an adequate sense of direction in knowing what is good and what is not. What is not good is a dishonest new idea. Neither is one which God does not like. The former might still be an honest old idea, the latter, an unacceptable idea. What is good is an idea that helps humanity. Whether it is every person on the planet or only Cody in the cubicle, the scale of such help however small is still good. Hopefully you can see my returning to the subject of the industry by now. There are perennial problems in the common cubicles. How do production staff prevent overworking themselves and burning out? How do they get the instruction they need? How do senior staff keep up with the hundreds of emails every day? These are all begging for answers. The solutions I found were indeed innovative, but in the restorative sense. This industry needs two things. Firstly, the old good ideas. Secondly, the admission of some new ideas which were quite bad. Go, therefore, and make good ideas in all companies; teaching them the ways of honesty, ethics, and craftsmanship. And lo, Christ is with you to the end of the age.
