Have a Question About the “Creative Class” for Richard Florida?


Would you like to ask a question of Richard Florida, the bestselling author of The Rise of the Creative Class?

creative-class2Please join me Monday, December 14, 2009, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm New York time (EST).  I’ll be live-tweeting a webcast with him.  Join me and you will have a special opportunity to submit questions to him.

Florida is well known for coming up with the term “creative class” which he has described as:

“… a fast-growing, highly educated, and well-paid segment of the workforce on whose efforts corporate profits and economic growth increasingly depend. Members of the creative class do a wide variety of work in a wide variety of industries—from technology to entertainment, journalism to finance, high-end manufacturing to the arts. They do not consciously think of themselves as a class. Yet they share a common ethos that values creativity, individuality, difference, and merit.”

I’d say that describes a lot of the people who read this site — perhaps it describes you.

To ask a question of Richard Florida, please include it in a comment below.  Or if you prefer, tweet it to me @smallbiztrends.   I will make sure your questions get passed along to him.  I can’t guarantee he’ll have time to answer all questions, but I will definitely pass them along.

I did a quick informal poll of some of the  Small Business Trends community and here are a few questions to ask Richard Florida so far:

  1. What are some of the ways to identify people who are in this “creative class” so you can hire them for your business?
  2. Is it possible to keep these creative types happy in jobs in old rust belt cities like Detroit and Cleveland?
  3. Sometimes creative people are unhappy in routine jobs, feeling they’re being held back. Is it always wise to hire the most creative if you can’t change the job?

I’m sure you can think of other great questions.  Here are the event details:

What: How the Creative Class is Affecting the Way Businesses Think  (live video interview)

Description: Now more than ever, companies need unconventional thinking to work within the new rules set by the economic recession. Richard Florida has persuasively demonstrated how artists, scientists, engineers, writers, musicians and more can revitalize an entire city from urban decay. With today’s companies in a similar situation, what can members of the Creative Class do for businesses? We will discuss where your new hires might come from and the impact they can make.

When: Monday, December 14, 2009, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm New York time (EST)

Where: Online at INPUT / OUTPUT (shortened link for Twitter: http://bit.ly/KClzT )

Registration: Not required — just watch and follow the tweet discussion

Hashtag for tweeting: #hpio

PS, Many thanks to HP which is bringing us this event, and whose sponsorship of this site makes it possible for the Small Business Trends community to have this opportunity to participate.

5 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

5 Reactions
  1. Anita,

    You are right, as an individualist, I don’t think I belong to a special class, but at the same time, I “value creativity, individuality, difference, and merit.”

    Richard Florida: Do you see parallels with a renaissance man and a member of the “creative class”? Have you read Edwin A. Locke’s book, The Prime Movers: Traits of the Great Wealth Creators?

    Could you list places (cities, areas) with plenty of creative individuals? See question 2 in the post on the rust belt, Detroit and Cleveland.

    • Martin,

      That’s a good question, about cities with creative people. Florida has some of that on the website for his latest book, Who’s Your City?

      I find Florida’s premise very very interesting about creative people gravitating toward certain cities over others. However, I think there are “quiet acts of random creativity” everyday — even in cities that don’t make the “most creative cities” list.

      The part of Florida’s site that I like best is called “Who’s Your City” where people can leave comments about their own cities. It shows you that “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to places to live.

      – Anita

  2. Anita:

    Thanks for the book tip. I will buy Richard Florida’s book, Who’s Your City. I think it will be a good companion to Immigrant, Inc. by Robert L. Smith & Richard T. Herman.

    You could say that I ended up by “quiet acts of random creativity” when I started to study in Manchester, New Hampshire, and worked in Troy, Ohio. Do you think that I could find a mix of these cities together with Gothenburg, Sweden?

    I look forward to your readers’ tips and suggestions on where I should move. As an American in spirit and potential green card recipient, I am open to locations all around the United States of America. Please read my post, USA – Land of Opportunity, for a background of my situation.

  3. For Richard: How do you help an organization overcome the old 9-5 mindset and allow the flexibility demanded by these individuals?

  4. As a creative and an entrepreneur I would like to get your thoughts on how a creative can integrate into a corporate culture that is systems obsessed and analytics crazed when it comes to job performance and evaluation.

    We have written many posts and articles on being creatives and self employed on our online business cookbook site.