Richard Florida

No longer are cities competing with neighboring cities, rather mega regions are competing globally. Focusing on city, regional, and global economic growth, Richard Florida shares the knowledge that gives community leaders the tools they need to generate greater economic prosperity in their region. In this talk, Florida presents the most current regional economic and demographic data of cutting-edge community-building practices to give you framework to make your community more competitive and vibrant.

Richard Florida ignites new thinking and strategic initiatives on how to manage, motivate and inspire creative people. Drawing from his breakthrough Harvard Business Review article and more than two decades of research and experience on leading edge companies, Florida show teams of executives and managers how to manage.

Who is the Creative Class and why do they matter? They are a consumer group, consisting of scientists, engineers, managers, innovators and people in research and development, as well as artists, writers and musicians are the most educated and demanding consumers in the marketplace. The Creative Class is 40 million strong and makes up 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, with 50% of wages earned. They control nearly 70% of discretionary spending in the US. That is over $500 billion in purchasing power annually. In this talk, Richard Florida presents years of data on who they are, where they are, what they read, what they purchase and the ethos that drives their decisions.

Between 1980 and today, even with one of the greatest crises in world history, the United States added 20 million new jobs in the creative sector of the economy. This shift toward a “creative economy” has been the focus of Florida’s research, and, of his keynote speeches. This transition has not only transformed our economy, but, it has transformed our communities. And, it continues to do so even today.

In this presentation, Richard Florida provides an engaging and sweeping examination of previous economic “resets,” distilling the deep forces that shaped their physical and social landscapes, reshaping economies and societies. Looking toward the future, Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and simultaneously reshape virtually every aspect of our lives, from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, and how we shape our cities and regions. In a refreshingly optimistic tone, Florida shows how these core elements, when taken together, will spur a fresh era of growth and prosperity, define a new geography of progress, and stimulate surprising opportunities for each of us.