Listening to a podcast from August 31, 2009, the two speakers began with the claim that "transformation" is the new hip, hot, PC term in organizations and consulting. I am here to say that "transformation" is far from new. For instance, I took a week-long training class entitled "Business Transformation" in early 1997 which had already been existed for a few years.
I think the term transformation is preferable to "innovation" because it conveys a more holistic picture that includes both design and implementation, whereas "innovation" could be construed as just the design or the "thinking" part.
In the 90s we used the terms "re-design" and "re-engineering" after Hammer and Champy's book. Again, "transformation" may be preferable to both of these because it encompasses many types of change or innovation whereas "re-engineering" clearly connotes a redesign of a function or operation that already exists. For example, "transformation" can cover a merger or the addition of a new line of business (new product or service) but "re-engineering" cannot.
On a different note, the interviewee in the podcast also said he uses the term "change management" for the process of implementation. Hmmm, I think a distinction needs to be made between implementation which is making a change and CM which is managing that change. More on that later.
here's a good video round table discussion on change, innovation, transformation:
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