Category: Bureaucracy

Waxing Poetic About Innovation: Where De Man Wit De Hammer Gone?

December 12, 2009 by Taran Rampersad

I apologize in advance for what is a very long post, but I found it necessary in writing it and could  not find a reasonable way to break it into smaller pieces. Hopefully it isn't too burdensome to read.

When I read that Trinidad and Tobago ranked low in global innovation, I wasn't too surprised. And since, in some circles, I am considered an innovator because of one thing I was involved in some years ago... I have to write something about it. Innovation is closer to my heart than just about anything - or anyone.

When you speak of innovation (as I have been asked to here and there), it's easy to get caught up in abstract concepts framed by our own experiences. So let us start with the etymology of the word innovate - which was derived from the Latin innovatus, whose root is innovare. Literally translated,  it means 'into new'.

Renew. Change. That's what 'innovate' means. But when most people speak of innovation, they immediately start thinking of silicon-based life enhancements. That's wrong.

Innovation is greater than technology. Innovation is a mindset. Innovation is what keeps innovators up at night. It makes us disgruntled. It makes us unhappy. It can make us euphoric. It can make us extremely happy. As Nikola Tesla put it: {Read more}