Stop your innovation. Take a step back. Realize that innovation today is no longer legitimate innovation.

Why? Here’s why.

Innovation didn’t start as innovation. It emerged as an unspoken initiative that predicted what consumers wanted, pivoted how companies operated and altered the future of industries. It was fresh, it was exciting and absolutely revolutionary. Fast forward a few years, and innovation is everywhere, arguably losing its true essence and meaning.

Innovation teams. Innovation consulting. Innovation units. Innovation designers. Innovation this. Innovation that. The commodification of innovation has resulted in companies overlooking that their innovation is possibly…not very innovative. The attachment of the ‘innovation’ label to everything seems to have unfortunately taken priority over the actual delivered results at the end of the process.

Upon its introduction, corporate innovation was supposedly stifled by juxtaposing “forward thinking” teams with more traditional teams. The solution was creating innovation hubs and venture labs, allowing for these innovation units and teams to grow in “open, cohesive and collaborative” environments; mirroring what was known to everyone else as co-working spaces. Corporate innovation then turned towards investing and acquiring start-ups, accepting that repeated attempts to match the agility of early stage companies was becoming rather expensive.

Corporations continue to invest heavily into innovation, until they’re not. Every innovation initiative has been announced with great flamboyance, only to have a noose quietly tightened over time. Why? The results weren’t justifying the investments, transforming every venture lab, hub and innovation initiative into a cost center.

Sadly, the unnecessary hoopla and buzz around innovation is real, and by the looks of it, here to stay. This has resulted in the global commodification of what was once considered as the only way to operate a business. Talking about ground-breaking innovation is fantastic, but in no way does it foster innovation. The real flow of ground-breaking ideas, conceptualizing products and services through the design thinking process is driven through a free mindset. An unhindered mindset that pushes the limits of perception and at the risk of sounding cliché, a reality.

True innovators are and have arguably always been start-ups. Founded by entrepreneurs looking to change the world with technology. Not bound by corporate guidelines, not limited by industry norms – but propelled by true, unadulterated passion. Their fledgling companies are a true mix of backgrounds and cultures, highlighting the diversity that is needed to conceptualize the radical ideas and thoughts that make everyone sit up and notice.

A transformative mindset isn’t forged by big investments and state-of-the-art offices. It comes into being within a safe environment enabling innovators and change-makers do their uninhibited best. Freedom, opportunity and absence of fear may sound like the slogan of a country but in this case, will help drive creativity and innovation through individuals, teams and organizations.

Break through the clutter. Push through the noise. Focus on the basics. Power the process. Switch things up in your team, company and industry. True change is initiated by a single thought. A spark of an idea that emerges when you least expect it. Pursue that spark without any restrictions and follow the path. If you fail, you try again. If you succeed, congratulations – you are now being innovative, somewhat.