Frans Johansson writes about these dynamic opportunities and challenges as they relate to the fostering of creativity specifically within organizations. Johansson focuses on what he calls the Medici Effect and the “Intersections” between different disciplines and cultures—what Thomas Kuhn (1962) might consider the Intersections between differing paradigms. Harkening back to the “explosion of remarkable ideas” during the reign of the Medici family in Florence during the Italian Renaissance, Johansson suggests that “if we can just reach an intersection of disciplines or cultures, we will have a greater change of innovating, simply because there are so many unusual ideas to go around.” (Johansson, 2004, p. 20) Like Florence of the 14th and 15th Centuries, New York City is filled with Intersections that create opportunities for the generation of new ideas, as well as the challenge of choice and potential diffusion of power and control. In a recently published book, Moisés Naim (2013) writes about the impact of diversity and complexity on the allocation and application of power. We find that the traditional, centralized sources of power—the government, churches, large corporations—are no longer able to command full authority. In large part this is because there are now many sources and kinds of power. We are living in a world (at least in New York City) that is diverse with regard to disciplines and cultures. It is also diverse with regard to power, leading to what Naim calls the “end of power.”
The BIG Apple
New York City is BIG. It is big in many ways. A large number of people live in the city–especially when you include all of the boroughs (not just Manhattan). But there is something much greater in terms of being BIG. Many cities in the world are much larger than New York City when it comes to total population. Somehow, New York City remains the BIG apple. When you enter Manhattan, everything seems large—size of many buildings, number of people wandering around the streets, famous names on the buildings and streets (Broadway, Carnegie Hall, the Empire State Building and the lingering “ghosts” of the World Trade Center). Some of this has to do with the Big Apple being a remnant of the modern era when there was an emphasis on size.
Ambivalence is to be found in this modern emphasis on size. While we still seem to be enthralled with big business, big ventures, big finance and big ideas, we are entering an era when some small things also entice us. The niche marketplace is now in fashion: microbreweries and small boutique wineries, craft fairs, farmers markets, made-to-order dressmakers, small theaters. We appreciate specialized products for a distinct customer base. Yet, there is New York City, featuring both big and small. Though Las Vegas was the first city to be declared “postmodern,” New York should really win the prize. It is startling. Very postmodern. Yet, also modern. We live in a world that is both modern and postmodern.
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