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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew Manos The Templatization of Innovation

In the 18th Century, just 3 decades prior to the birth of Leland Stanford, Adam Smith defined entrepreneur as

a person who acts as an agent in transforming demand into supply. This specific definition, the concept of an

entrepreneur as a supplier of what the customer wants, is in agreement to many definitions that preceded

Smith. However, this was not a philosophy that remained a static definition of the practice. In his book, The

Design of Business, Roger Martin speaks of entrepreneurship and innovation as a way of seeing the world not

as it is, but as it could be. The book goes on to argue that true innovation stems from the exploration of

problems that can not actually be found in history, or proven by data. Perhaps in a more extreme use of

language, Erik Reis offers up another take on the practice defining entrepreneurship as the act of creating

something new under extreme uncertainty.From juxtaposing the 21st Century definition of the field with the

18th and and early 19th century definitions, it might seem as though entrepreneurship has evolved from a

practice that supplies a demand to a profession that creates demands from a field of regurgitation to a

practice of innovation. However, I argue, these theories are not honest representations of the true landscape of

contemporary American innovation.

I believe we are headed towards an era of sameness an era in which innovation by mankind is impossible

because all "newness" hashalted. As a result, society will be hurled into a static existence in which progress

will cease to prevail.The Templatization of Innovation identifies 4 signals that point toward an impending Era

of Sameness: Design-Thinking, Knock-Off Products, Feature Companies, and Product-Enhancing Products.Iargue that the current landscape of innovation is driven by enhancing that which has already been innovated,

as opposed to creating that which is new. These tendencies amongst innovators is a sign that the practice of

entrepreneurship is on its last leg. My thesis offers a speculative alternative to human innovation through an

extensive study on the necessity of algorithmically dehumanizing entrepreneurship.My projects subvert

corporate brainstorm activities by stripping human creativity and intuition out of the process of entrepreneurial

creation. The project invents a kit of parts that creates a space for critical discourse around the templatization

of innovation in order to define a new kind of malpractice.

Alternative Titles:

Dehumanizing Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Machines

Automating Automation

8/2/2019 The Templatization of Innovation - work in progress

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew Manos The Templatization of Innovation Projects

Newness Accountabilityis a pack of stickers that empowers citizens to hold entrepreneurs andinnovators accountable for their contributions bylabeling in-storeproducts as "knock-offs," "product-

enhancers," or "feature companies." The project aims to attack sameness by making malpractice transparent.

Era of Samenessis a video piece that aims to hyperbolize the "templatization of innovation"

in

entrepreneurial methodologies. Through the course of the video, 25 companies are generated by leveraging a

systematic process that relies upon the temporal quality of the internet.

For Your Consideration, 94025is a workshop and toolkit that uses writing restriction to foster the

development of business plans that lack human intuition and creativity. The activity creates a space for

conversation around the sameness that plaques 21st century innovation, and moves that dialogue out of the

workshop by shipping the plans to a selection of venture capital firms.

Glorification of the Templateis a framed portrait that features an eternal family of Snuggie owners. The

piece suggests a naive worship of these malpractices amongst entrepreneurs, but also speaks to the static

existence that serves as a side-effect of methodologies that favor short-term implications.

Entrepreneurial Bridgesis a diagram that defines entrepreneurship, and subsequently illustrates an

impending Era of Sameness. The diagram represents the context in which my thesis is designing for, and

provides grounding for the speculation and conspiracy as a whole.