Is the World Flat or Spikey?

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA, spoke at the Leeds University Innovation & Enterprise Gala Dinner about what factors enable innovation to flourish. He focused on one main theme: The world of innovation is 'spikey' and regions need to develop the support infrastructure and conditions to make them more likely to be where ideas 'happen'.

Moving from a linear process to a richer/broader model, bringing together cross functional teams with innovation occurring at the interfaces of disciplines. Ecology/systems of innovation and the view that innovation occurs in pockets, rather than it being able to thrive anywhere i.e. the world of innovation is not flat! Going against Thomas Friedman's thesis The World is Flat: a Brief History of the 21st Century, he argued Atlantic Monthly's view that the "The World is Spikey" is more to the point.

The trick is to leverage tacit knowledge, that shared uncodified stuff and deploy key strengths, rather than simply try to replicate what was done elsewhere: you can't simply clone silicon valley. The emphasis on networking, serendipidy and common purpose resonated with the Connect model.