May 2005

The 'Creative Class' is hot, hot, hot!

by Dr. Madeline Behrendt

When Richard Florida published "The Rise of the Creative Class" in 2002, it was as if an identity barrier had crumbled, unleashing the energy of creatives and city leaders around the world. The response included a Manifesto, countless articles, conferences, media appearances, more research, new books, and a website (www.creativeclass.org). Simply, Mr. Florida's work is hot, hot, hot.

Using both narrative and research, Florida attracted so much attention by:

***  identifying how people, businesses, and cities make money today...

***  stressing that the new economy is based on "human intelligence, knowledge and creativity," and ...

***  ranking cities based on new economy factors, the "3 T's" ‑‑  talent, technology, and tolerance.

More than 30% of the nation's work force, some 38 million people, are members of the Creative Class. Florida states, "If you are a scientist or engineer, an architect or designer, a writer, artist or musician, or if you use your creativity as a key factor in your work in business, education, health care, law or some other profession, you are a member. "   Recently one of Florida's Creative Class research partners, Kevin Stolarick, provided input for Fast Company magazine's "25 top jobs for 2005," and chiropractor was ranked as the number four top job.

My readers know that I'm a "student" of Florida's work. I've been writing about his book for years and encouraging DCs to connect to their role in the Creative Class.  More than two years ago, I started interviewing subluxation‑based chiropractors about Creative Class topics and values, and I compiled the results in a research paper (hopefully published in JVSR by the time you read this).

Members of the Creative Class are distinguished by certain topics and values ‑‑ their  sense and use of time, how they dress, how and where they work, when they start their families, how they view leisure, the role of tolerance in economic success, the role of technology at work, and independence. The main focus of my research article was to identify and define the practices that link chiropractors to the Creative Class. Several areas were explored including practice, play, professional and personal lives. There is also a discussion on place, ranked according to chiropractic statistics.

Topics discussed within the above categories include women's role in chiropractic, why chiropractors become chiropractors, where chiropractors are making the most income, the media, chiropractic college, and why a graduating student may choose one city over another for his or her practice. I also consider what happens when chiropractors stumble, the importance of play, how DCs use time and create an office schedule for the practice, and how they dress. You might be interested in the difference between chiropractic and allopathic reception areas, the tremendous continuing education industry, how and why technology is used in practice, as well as the very touchy topic of tolerance. It's all covered...and much more.

Florida's book stimulated enthusiastic ‑‑ and heated ‑‑ discussions. His work reveals and ranks the very core of contemporary culture's identity, both collective and individual. The research I compiled has a humbler intention. It simply seeks to connect chiropractors to their role in the Creative Class and view the service they provide as driven by their human intelligence, knowledge and creativity.

This project was a tremendous amount of work, although it was interesting, and sometimes fun. Many topics are new or offer a new perspective, such as women's role in chiropractic and their associated concerns of mentoring or fertility, or discussing the shift from practice to a professional life. The most difficult part of the project was deciding when the information gathering needed to end, at least this phase. All DCs have their stories about their road to chiropractic, why they practice where they do, what their schedule is like, and the community they've created through their practice. The project's most controversial part may well be the "ranking" of place. This type of information is a critical element of Florida's work and he does significant statistical research that I couldn't possibly duplicate alone. But I wanted to attempt to tackle the topic, using what chiropractic statistics were available to me. Certainly, more work on this could be done in the future and it would be best with the collaboration of statistical experts.

In closing, feel free to write me at mbcare200@aol.com to let me know your thoughts on the Creative Class, how creativity impacts your practice, as well as how important place is to your happiness. I look forward to your comments and thoughts. As with many of the discussions stimulated by Richard Florida's work, this is just the beginning. There's much more work to be done. Onward!

(Dr. Madeline Behrendt is chair of the WCA Council on Women's Health and associate editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research [JVSR]. An author and speaker, she is committed to connecting women to chiropractic and chiropractors to women, and may be contacted at mbdcawe@aol.com.)