Leading change through your creative class

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share how a professional service firm transposed Richard Florida’s “Creative Class” concept from the urban environment into a corporate one for the purpose of organisational change. The validity of Florida’s concept is not here reviewed; rather, the paper is a case study on how his theory – that talent, technology and tolerance compose the high-value triptych driving a city’s growth and attractiveness – can be appropriated by HR to trigger profound changes in corporate governance and culture. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a return on experience of a project that was implemented at Mazars, an international mid-cap of 20,000 people in 86 countries, over the course of one year. Approximately, 50 individuals participated in the initiative, lead by the firm’s HR leadership team, which used an under the radar approach based on a revamped version of Owen’s Open Space Technology. From an academic perspective, the approach is inspired by Argyris’ action science, and more specifically a derivation of the “double loop learning” where the initial intent of the research might be modified by intermediary findings. Findings The paper offers a model for identifying the members of the “creative class” in a corporate environment and a tested approach for integrating the “creative class” into the exclusive and institutional exercise of setting strategy. The cumulative effect of this “unofficial” operation is the creation of unique thought leadership and projects, some of which have now been officially adopted in the four-year strategic plan and institutionalized in the new governance system, results difficult to achieve through conventional approaches. Research limitations/implications The case study, which is still in progress, has been implemented in a non-conventional organisation in a very specific industry. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first application of Richard Florida’s urban renewal theory in the corporate environment. This is an example of innovative HR management responding quickly and effectively to the digital, disrupted business landscape. It is designed in the modern managerial spirit of test-and-learn, structured as an agile initiative in an open-source world. It provides a prototype to be replicated and tested in other environments.