Will Davis, Outbox CEO and Co-Founder quoted “The Princess Bride” in his testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Census. Davis mentioned the repeated use of the word “innovation” in reference to Postal Service reform, and stated that after hearing the word used so often “a movie is the only thing that comes to mind.”
Davis then skewered the innovations discussed by previous witnesses with his declaration: “Innovation. I don’t think that it means what you think it means.”
Davis explained that the line is a reference to the oft-quoted scene in “Princess Bride” where Inigo Montoya declares “you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means” in response to another character repeatedly exclaiming “inconceivable!”
He then used his pop culture reference to point out that innovation is often a difficult, and destructive process, but that this process is necessary for economic growth. Davis added that in the context of the Postal Service, this means the Postal Service must go through a fundamental overhaul that will probably cost jobs in the short-term if it hopes to stay reliable.
It seems that the previous witnesses fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is never go against a CEO when innovation is on the line.
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