“Ideas are the currency of the new economy.”
That quote came from Richard Florida, an economist and social scientist who authored The Rise of the Creative Class… over fifteen years ago in 2002.
Florida argued that creative work is not exclusively about artistic pursuits but rather a focus on generating new ideas and solving complex problems. He maintained that creativity was a critical skill for people to develop and for cities and businesses to foster if they wanted to thrive in the coming century. It was an idea that took time to build momentum.
Design thinking, the notion of using the same creative strategies designers employ to solve problems, was gaining traction around the same time. Ideas about creative work generated plenty of conversation – and Florida’s work spawned its share of debate— business leaders weren’t losing a lot of sleep over the creative output of their organization. They were far more focused on efficiency, getting lean and going global.