Your approach to innovation is probably wrong

This piece begins with a lesson in Latin. Bear with me. The word ‘innovation’, as it’s used ad nauseam today, refers to ‘the introduction of something new. A new idea, a new method or a new device that is novel’. On the surface, this Merriam-Webster definition makes perfect sense and should not offend any of you. However, time warp back to the early 1500s and any punter in a tunic will tell you that something’s a bit off about our description. It’s more than simple semantics, and it’s as insightful now as it was in the Middle Ages. ‘Innovation’ was originally derived from the Latin ‘innovare’, meaning