new knowledge economy

My podmate handed me an article for the Lab the other day: Spatial Relations printed in Adweek. Collaboration is the new business buzz word, it says. The article goes on to talk about how more and more companies are designed spaces to foster collaboration. And agencies are at the forefront of this creativity. Just think about the one you're in: how easy is it to have a conversation with someone outside your department? How easy is it to find someone to share an idea with?

One reason cited for this evolution, particularly in agencies, is the fact that companies who wish to participate and engage with culture need to constantly be reinventing themselves. (because, culture is constantly reinventing itself)

"It used to be that 90-95% of America was based in the service economy that was modeled upon an organizational pattern formed in the last industrial age and based on how people thought about factories and how people were productive in a factory-like way. We've come into a new knowledge economy, a new-idea economy that's definitely moved away from routine drudge work...people spend a lot of time in meetings and in collaboration, so when they do concentrate at work they don't need to be around people."

I think it's great to see the trend of community and sharing ideas come into the workspace. Opportunities abound when you get lots of smart people in one place.