Executive Times
		2005 Book Reviews
		The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent by Richard Florida
		Rating: ••• (Recommended)
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	Thoughtful I skipped over Professor Richard Florida’s 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, despite favorable reviews and some personal encouragement that I read it. I found his new book, The Flight of the Creative Class, to be thought provoking and I recommend it. The book is all about economic growth, and the challenges that the United States may face if we fail to pay attention to talent, technology and tolerance, especially for those creative people who are drivers of economic growth. If people are made to feel more welcome elsewhere, it’s elsewhere to which they’ll go. Here’s an excerpt, from the beginning of Chapter 4, “The Closing of America?” pp. 93-95: In times of shrinking expectations . . . everyone feels like a victim and pushes away outsiders to defend his own corner. —Oscar Handlin It was a gorgeous early-spring evening in 2004, and I was eating dinner at the residence of the president of a small Midwestern liberal-arts college. The home, situated on the periphery of the college, was lovely and the guests were an interesting mix—the head of an innovative community foundation, the newly recruited editor of the excellent local newspaper, and several university types. I sat down at my table with the president’s wife and, to my delight, a group of the college’s students. They were a remarkable lot, intelligent, engaged, and ever ready to ask a probing question or provide a useful comment. They hailed from various parts of the country—two from small, rural Midwestern towns; a young African-American woman from Columbus, Ohio; and another young woman from New Eng gland. Some majored in arts or dance, while others were pursuing political science or economics. I like students, and always find instructive their perspectives as young people entering the labor market and searching for places to live and work. I casually mentioned that I had just returned from Australia and one of the students immediately chimed in. “Professor Florida,” he said, “when I graduate, I’m seriously considering Australia. I did my junior year of study there and it’s a fabulous place. I’m not sure if I’ll get a job, or just hang around for a while and see things, or go there for graduate school.” Before he could finish, a second student piped in: “I’m thinking about Europe. I studied for some time in Spain. I loved it there. I met a girl and had a wonderful time. Maybe I’ll go to graduate school there.” One of the young women jumped in: “I’m thinking of Europe, too. I like Dublin. Or maybe somewhere in Canada. Maybe Toronto.” I was astounded. When all was said and done, three of the five students were seriously considering moving outside the United States after graduation. Such a thing was unthinkable when I graduated Rutgers College some twenty-five years ago. Few of my friends moved outside the New York—New Jersey metropolitan area, let alone out of the country Here, a majority of the students at our table were considering doing just that. “It’s so easy” one of the young men said. “Many of my friends are considering it. Lots of us have been overseas to study. We have friends there. There’s work and scholarships, good graduate schools. Most of us know people there. Some people have significant others who are over there or from there.” Here’s the rub. All of these students were looking for and finding in other countries something I had come to believe this nation’s leading creative centers had in abundance: economic opportunity, careers and education, and most importantly vibrant cities filled with challenging opportunities, exciting people, and great things to do. I had been to all the places they mentioned; now that I thought about it in this context, I realized that they met the needs of creative people. They had what these students, and tens of thousands just like them, were looking for. That’s when it really hit me: All that I’d written about in The Rise of the Creative Class was occurring not just on the national scene, but on a truly global scale. This dinner conversation was not just an intriguing occurrence, but the reflection of a basic modern-day reality. For decades, Americans have taken it for granted that talented and creative people—the world’s best and brightest—would, if given the choice, come here. But in front of me sat three out of five highly educated young people who wanted not only to study but to actually live and work abroad. The more I probed the issue, the more concerned I became. These young people were only the tip of the iceberg. Not just for them, but for established scientists and engineers, for entrepreneurs and inventors, for artists and cultural mavens, America was no longer the only place to be. This was doubly true of foreign-born students, on whom we depend to help build our scientific enterprises, and of immigrant inventors and entrepreneurs, who power so much of our growth. The balance of the world’s creative brainpower was shifting, becoming less one-sidedly American and more global in character. I came to think that this country might for the first time in its history risk losing its advantage in attracting global talent. But why? The consequences of America losing an advantage in attracting global talent are considerable, and Florida explores them in The Flight of the Creative Class. Readers are likely to continue thinking about the content of this book long after the final page is turned. Steve Hopkins, July 25, 2005
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	ã 2005 Hopkins and Company, LLC The recommendation rating for this book appeared in the August 2005 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/The Flight of the Creative Class.htm For Reprint Permission, Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • 723 North Kenilworth Avenue • Oak Park, IL 60302 Phone: 708-466-4650 • Fax: 708-386-8687 E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com www.hopkinsandcompany.com