Creative Class

Just back from a terrific event, Rotman School Dean Roger Martin and Canadian pollster Michael Adams discussed how Canada can prosper during and after the economic crisis. Martin summarized work led by Jim Milway of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity and our own Martin Prosperity Institute which identifies Canada’s prosperity gap vis-a-vis the U.S. and other advanced nations. Adams summarized the latest polling data on Canadian opinions on the crisis, the state of capitalism, and hot-button issues like immigration. My Rotman colleague Ajay Agrawal discussed his research on the relationship between immigration flows and innovation. McKinsey’s Sacha Ghai outlined the findings of “Breaking Away from the Pack”, a recent study of corporate performance in Canada. Read the full report here; a short oped by Martin and Milway here.

The Toronto Star’s Sandro Contenta provides a sneak peak of our study of future of the Ontario economy, led by Rotman School Dean Roger Martin and myself.

The $2.2-million report is expected in February. Florida and Martin say it’s too early to discuss specific recommendations. But in separate interviews, they make clear they will focus on strengthening the Toronto “mega-region,” investing massively in infrastructure, greatly expanding post-secondary education, and managing a seismic transformation that will eliminate most manufacturing jobs, but may also threaten social peace. “If we don’t do this adjustment right, if we lose social cohesion, we’ll never get it back,” says Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, affiliated with the University of Toronto.

The full story is here.

Richard Harwood sure thinks there is:

I can’t stop hearing about interesting people and organizations in Toronto, Canada. Some of the stuff that has appeared on my radar in the last few months from Toronto include:

• Richard Florida on the creative class
• Jane Jacobs on cities
• Naomi Klein on globalization and brands
• Don Tapscott on Wikinomics
• Rotman Management School on integrative thinking
• The MaRS innovation centre

I’m sure there is lots more that I’ve missed, but the fact that, without looking for them, these things keep cropping up appears to point to a creative and innovative place. Perhaps it’s because Toronto (as I have recently learned), has half of it’s inhabitants from outside Canada, and this diversity drives innovation as I’ve blogged about previously here. What else is it about Toronto, or any place, that makes it an innovative hub?

I just thought I’d capture that there does seem to be a buzz about the place which is hard to put your finger on, but you know it when you see it.

That is precisely the constellation of forces that brought us here.

Roger Martin, our dean, is passionate about design: It’s a critical piece of what we do at Rotman. Writing in Business Week (via Design Management Review), Marty Neumier spells out the connections between design, the creative class, and competitiveness.

Until now, companies have used design as a beauty station for identities and communications, or as the last stop in a product launch. Never has it been used for its potential to create rule-bending innovation across the board. Meanwhile, the public is developing a healthy appetite for all things design.

A 2007 survey … found that when seven in 10 Americans recalled the last time they saw a product they just had to have, it was because of design. The survey found that among younger people (18 to 29 years old), the influence of design was even more pronounced. In Britain, a recent survey by the Design Council found that 16% of British businesses say design tops their list of key success factors. Among “rapidly growing” businesses, no fewer than 47% rank it first …

Design is rapidly moving from posters and toasters to include processes, systems, and organizations. Design is the accelerator for the company car, the power train for sustainable profits. Design drives innovation, innovation powers brand, brand builds loyalty, and loyalty sustains profits. If you want long-term profits, don’t start with technology—start with design.