Innovation

This word has been the bane of my existence in this job. I dont know what it means, how its done and I gawk in awe at people who earn such fame with their innovative projects, whatever they may be. I was reading C.G.Somiah's autobiography and it struck me quite glaringly that in all his anecdotes (the book is more like a collection of anecdotes, very interesting to read, without much personal opinions), the work that the earlier generation of civil servants used to focus on and take pride in, was getting the system up and running properly by taking timely, sensible decisions over things, taking a stand on right or wrong and helping those in need by all the resources at their command. Much to its contrast, current day administration is more about innovative projects. All the things mentioned above are maybe taken for granted, taken as routine or maybe somewhere down the line, these expectations from officers itself has disappeared. Now a good officer isnt necessarily an honest guy who takes a stand in a tough situation in the larger interest of society. I find that increasingly, it is one who can manage all local forces - other departments, media, unions and other sundry pressure groups - such that no wrong messages go upwards and then as a bonus, roll out some new project once in a while.

I dont mean this in a demeaning manner. The fact is, this kind of management is a very difficult skill to hone and not everyone's cup of tea. Certainly not mine. And in addition to all that jugglery, to come up with interesting projects to work on, is really something. The only bee in my bonnet is, what about regular administration? Why isnt that a priority any more? What happens when the officer leaves and the project fizzles out? Isnt that a sheer waste of energy and effort? Isnt it necessary to discern between eye catching and meaningful innovations - those which are sustainable after the officer leaves, and continues to deliver long after it has, to use Weber's word, routinized? 

I dont know why, maybe all these questions are rising in my head because I am not a competitive person by nature and I find people always comparing me to others to assess how 'innovative' I am and it makes me so uncomfortable.. like a little school boy under the scrutiny of the strict school headmaster, maybe because I see so many 'innovative' projects lying wasted, like a street after a carnival.. maybe its because I am trying to work on a few long term projects and I am finding the going so so tough.. starting it was easy enough, but to put in place a system which will make the changes last is proving to be formidable.. and I am realising that this is the actual challenge, to 'make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas or products' ( thats the definition of 'to innovate' as per Oxford Dictionary) proper long term result yielding changes.