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When it comes to innovation, geography is destiny
Silicon Valley, by Matthew Hendricks
In the Feb. 11 edition of the New York Times, G. Pascal Zachary argues that where you are often trumps what you have when it comes to innovation. He points to the iPod, Google and Silicon Valley, suggesting geography makes the difference in determining who wins in the innovation game.
In explaining why Silicon Valley is more often than not at the centre of tech-innovation, Zachary writes, “Who wouldnât want to play for a perennial contender? For the same reason that Andy Pettitte signs with the Yankees, the best and the brightest technologists from around the world make their way to northern California.”
A hat-tip to Wendong, a participant in the MaRS Entrepreneurship 101 series, for sending the article our way. In his blog, Wendong mentions Sir Peter Hall, the British scholar of urban clusters, who asks in âCities in Civilization,â? his history of geography and business innovation:
“The thought-provoking question at the end of the article is perhaps the central concern of MaRS right now: ‘What makes a particular city, at a particular time, suddenly become immensely creative, exceptionally innovative? Why should this spirit flower for a few years, generally a decade or two at most, and then disappear as suddenly as it came?’”
What do you think? Can places like Toronto compete with Silicon Valley? Can organizations like MaRS attract and create what Zachary calls “a network of seasoned pros” that can react to and commercialize ideas faster and more successfully than anywhere else? Are India and China threats to the reign of Silicon Valley?
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http://www.polarwarming.ca Adam
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Bob
James @ MaRS
James Koole is interning with MaRS while he finishes post graduate journalism studies at Humber College. When not onsite at MaRS, or on campus at Humber, he gathers endless amounts of information from wherever he can find it… much to the chagrin of his wife and two kids.
