Sweden - the most creative
country in the world!

Creativity and not the trade in goods and services is the driving force of the economy of today and tomorrow. And Sweden is the top creative performer in the world, outperforming not only its European competitors but also the US. All according to Richard Floridas latest study on the growth of the creative class, the Creativity Index.
Go Vikings!

The ability to create competitiveness and wealth will depend upon the capacity of creativity and innovation. And the class working with this kind of creative work is growing rapidly. The American Professor Richard Florida stated that point with facts and figures in the mind changing book The Rise of the Creative Class (2002). Florida used the 3 T's of economic development - Technology, Talent and Tolerance - to study different regions in the US. Recently, Florida launched a new study called Europe in the Creative Age based on the same parameters as the American study. This is some of the interesting results he found:

Sweden ranks number one in the world with top scores in R&D Investments (R&D percentage of GDP), creative values (for example secularism, women's rights) and the possibility of self-expression (for example individual rights, gay tolerance).

Finland is also well positioned in the creative race with a high level of overall creative competitiveness and a rapid growth in creative potential (high percentage of the population that are researchers and people with bachelors degree or higher).

The Creative Class makes up more than 25% of the workforce in half of the studied European countries. The Creative Class has a rather rapid growth in European countries with Ireland as the fastest grower and Italy and Portugal as the poor cases.

A cluster of Northern European Countries - Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium - are at the creative forefront. These countries have considerable technological capabilities, have invested and are promoting the creative talent of the workforce and some, like Sweden and the Netherlands, have attracted concentrations of foreign-born people. This analysis suggests that the competitive epicentres of Europe is shifting from the traditional powers of France (Paris), Germany (Berlin) and the UK (London) to city clusters in the north like Oresund, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Countries where English is widely spoken have an additional advantage in the marketplace of global talent.

The US is loosing some of its momentum in attracting global talent, because of its "unilaterally aggressive manner" and it's unwelcoming of foreign-born people. European nations will benefit from the new US policies as well as the freer flow of people across their own borders.

The survey ends with saying that the competitiveness in the Creative Age is still an open and fast changing game. The key determinant of global success no longer turns simply on trading in products, services or flows of capital, but rather in flows of creative people. The winners and losers of the Creative Age will be the countries that are best in attracting, retaining and developing creative talent. So the race is on - raise your bets!

If you would like to read the full report you can download it as a PDF-file at http://www.creativeclass.org

N E W S

Leading creatives is a delicate task that is one of the cornerstones of modern leadership. As a manager of today you often experience the balance between being inspiring and motivating people to come up with ideas, but also have to be harsh when it comes to screening and maintaining productivity.
What would be possible for you if you had access to personal creative support? What could happen if you had the help you needed to tap into your own and the creative potential of your team?

Idélaboratoriet is launching a new service - Coaching Creatives - together with our partner Evolver  who has well documented coaching experience and works in different fields of coaching today. Please contact us for further information

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