Business Facilities - February 2008 - (Page 12)

Austin, for example, has a rapidly growing high-tech industrial center, lifestyle centers for cycling and outdoor activities, a vibrant downtown community, the warehouse district, and a thriving music scene. The city, Florida notes, has worked hard to provide a broad creative ecosystem. In the 1980s and ’90s, Austin bolstered its technology base and recruited a number of major, high-tech compa- nies; it invested heavily in the University of Texas and drew hundreds of millions in federal research dollars; and it made considerable investments in its lifestyle and music scenes. The city is open and tolerant, with many different types of people living there. Florida’s theories have raised a few eyebrows, particularly because of the connection he’s drawn between gay and bohemian populations and eco- nomic growth. Despite having to explain his conclusions when accused (falsely) of being gay or advocating the end of Judeo-Christian civilization, Florida’s theories have had a tremendous impact on the way cities and organizations look at shaping their economic futures. In fact, many have called upon Florida’s Creative Class Group Inc. to help examine and steer their cities Google Culture: The Corporate Model for the Future? In the lobby of Google’s world headquarters in Mountain View, CA, there is a piano, lava lamps, and a live projection of current search queries from around the world. In the hallways are bicycles, large rubber exercise balls, and press clippings from around the world on bulletin boards. Inside the Googleplex offices, employees work in high-density clusters, with three or four workers sharing spaces with couches and coffee tables. When not at their workspaces, employees may be found in the exercise room, massage room, or even in the game room playing Foosball or ping-pong. When hungry, they can go to the cafe and eat at stations like “Back to Albuquerque,” “East Meets West,” and “Vegheads,” or sit outside. PHOTO CREDITS: GOOGLE, INC. Scenes from everyday life inside Google trying to be hip and trendy, but an adaptation to the rise of creative work. Its core principles and practices are spreading because they are efficient, in the sense of being well-suited to mobilizing talent around creative tasks,” Florida writes in “The Rise of the Creative Class.” Companies that harness human creativity tend to provide more open workspaces, casual dress codes, and flexible schedules, though not with fewer hours. Many offer more amenities and services such as child care in order to keep the workers present and happy. “You can’t pump creative work out of people, assembly-line style,” Florida says in his blog at www.creativeclass.com. “Motivating this kind of mental work requires a new kind of workplace, one that appears to be nurturing, attuned to individuality, and fun.” Florida points to the SAS Institute, based in Cary, NC, as a company that knows how to effectively retain creative talent. Its CEO, James Goodnight, created a campus setting, peppered with public art and landscape sculpture, jogging trails, and even a Montessori school and Welcome, as Richard Florida would say, to the no-collar workplace. “It is not merely the result of business 12 FEBRUARY 2008 http://www.creativeclass.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - February 2008

Business Facilites - February 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Texas Capturing the Creative Class Green with Energy Automotive Opportunities in a Green Economy Corporate Moves: Wyoming Metro Spotlight: Overland Park, KS Metro Spotlight: Long Island, NY Get Ahead in Alabama Indiana: Sending Tech Messages How to Successfully Negotiate a Lease in Today's Real Estate Environment Legislation Spurring Innovation in Kentucky New Center will Propel Ontario's Automotive Future Virginia's Vital Signs Eating Well in the North of France Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.