12 rules for innovation, according to Innovation Festival Speakers

“Innovation” is everywhere—splashed across corporate memos, LinkedIn posts, and marketing strategies until it can feel more like a buzzword than a meaningful ambition. So what separates genuine breakthroughs from empty rhetoric? Ahead of Fast Company’s 12th annual Innovation Festival, we asked 12 of our speakers what the word means to them, what their number-one rule is when it comes to innovation, and what attendees can expect from their sessions: What does innovation mean to you in 2026...