NYC is widely considered one of the premier cities in the world. It attracts talent, diversity, and people who want to create great careers. Despite this reputation, NYC has not been highly ranked in recent articles in the innovation arena. This was an interesting observation, so we decided to create a discussion around the topic.

The feedback from the event was that many of these problems stem from people living in perception and not in reality. In other words there are certain perceptions New Yorkers have about success, but the reality of what works to achieve success is much different.  This is not unique to New York- many world cities are facing this. Economic change is resulting in many of us re-evaluating why we do what we do.

We have listed the challenges, their reasons, and solutions.

Challenge: Lack of Collaboration

In times of flux it is comforting to cluster with types of people you know. In NYC people are not only facing the changes in the economic environment but also a change in their career. The city can feel big and cold, so huddling with your industry makes it feel more comforting and tangible.

Perception
The perception is that if this makes sense, why wouldn’t you want to be around people you identify with?

Reality
In reality people may seem familiar due to industry, however they may not have the same core values as you, making it difficult to collaborate and share ideas. Also, when you get into a room of people who are from the same industry you are faced ego and unhealthy competition. People feel protective over their idea and feel if they do share they will either be bullied or copied.

We are in this together, so the more ideas flourish, the more new businesses will flourish,which translates to a healthier economy.

Solution
The solution is diversity in all aspects; age, gender, industry, culture, etc. The more outwardly diverse a group is the bigger the knowledge pool. Think of it as the biology of ideas, if you start an idea in a homogenized knowledge pool, the idea will be weak and predictable. If you are in diverse knowledge pool the healthier and more unique the idea will be.

Tools
The glue in a diverse group is shared core values and vision. We may all be different, but our cores are quite similar. This is why at WECREATE events we introduce people by their interests, beliefs and preferences. Once people understand the shared core, building trust is easy, which leads to more altruistic and collaborative behavior. Try it next time you are at an event: ask people core questions (about the interests, beliefs, and preferences) and see how it makes a difference to conversation and alliance.

We recommend books like Group Genius by Keith Sawyer or Where Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson.

Proof
Look at industries that are natural collaborators, like Hip-hop. Or the Wright brothers and companies like Cirque De Soleil or NASA.