A brief presentation discussing the current Conceptual Age and driving value of the Creative Class. Given November 5th, 2021 for the AIA - Christopher Kelley Leadership Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

1. The Rise of the Creative Class
Impact on Business and Management
Ed Morrissey
Partner & Chief Creative Officer
6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 444
Saint Louis, MO 63130
ed@integrityXD.com
www.integrityXD.com

2. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 2
• Logical
• Factual
• Realism
• Planned
• Math & Science
• Nonfiction
• Emotional
• Creative
• Imagination
• Dreaming
• Storytelling
• Fiction
Our economy is transforming & creativity is to the 21st century
what the ability to push a plow was to the 18th century.
2

3. Life is short. Do stuff that matters.
The Age We Are In…
Agricultural
18th Century
farmers
3
Industrial
19th Century
factory
workers
Knowledge
20th Century
doctors,
lawyers,
teachers,
accountants
Conceptual
21st Century
the creator and
the empathizer
age of awesome &
highly creative ideas
& inventions drawn
from "unfamiliar
areas or things"
3

4. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 4
The Creative Class
•Comprises ~40M workers:
•Super-creative core: 12% of US jobs – science,
engineering, education, computer programing, arts,
design and media
•Creative professionals: classic knowledge workers -
"draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific
problems" using higher degrees of education to do so
•Bohemians and artists included
•All add economic value through creativity

5. Life is short. Do stuff that matters.
MacroEconomic Trends
•Asia – Cheaper workers getting smarter
•Automation – Tech replaces routine
•Abundance – We have every ‘thing’ so
are searching for meaning
•Any job that can be reduced to a set
of rules, or broken down into a set
of repeatable steps— is at risk.
•See next slide…
5
5

6. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 6
Trying to ScareYou
•Multiple Revisions
•Delivered in 1 day
•Multiple Design Options
•$5.00

7. Life is short. Do stuff that matters.
Covid Has Sped up Automation
7
7

8. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 8
What isVUCA?
Volatility
refers to the
speed of
change in an
industry, market
or the world in
general.
Uncertainty
refers to the
extent to which
we can
confidently
predict the
future.
Complexity
refers to the #
of factors we
need to take
into account,
their variety
and the
relationships
between them.
Ambiguity
refers to a lack
of clarity about
how to
interpret
something.
Impacts how individuals and organizations make decisions,
plan forward, manage risks, foster change and solve problems.

9. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 9
In Demand Skills (Future of Jobs 2020)
•Analytical thinking and innovation
•Leadership and social influence
•Active learning and learning strategies
•Critical thinking and analysis
•Technology design and programming
•Complex problem-solving
•Technology use, monitoring and control
•Creativity, originality and initiative
•Emotional intelligence
•Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation

10. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 10
6 Senses
•6 senses will
continue to drive
our lives a
nd shape our
worlds…
•Key ‘skills’ of the
Creative Class

11. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 11
Creative Class CoreValues
•Individuality – resist traditional group-oriented norms
•Meritocracy – favors hard work challenge & stimulation
• No longer value money & titles alone
•Diversity & Openness – favor environments they feel
anyone can fit into and get ahead
• Same sex partner benefits – open to differences
•Street Level Culture - "teeming blend of cafes, sidewalk
musicians, and small galleries and bistros, where it is hard
to draw the line between participant and observer, or
between creativity and its creators"

12. Life is short. Do stuff that matters.
Lessons Learned
A Few Strategies
12

13. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 13
Holacracy Operating Model
Program Management
Sales Strategy
Research & Analysis
Marketing Analytics
Lead Gen
Social, SEM & SEO
Association Management
Media Planning
Design Thinking
Branding
UX
GUI
Usability Audits
Information Design
Direct Mail / Print
Video Production
Web Sites / CMS
Web Apps
E-Commerce
Web Products
Mobile Apps
Integrations
Innovation
DevOps Support
Partners
Operations, Executive Account Management, Sales, Recruitment
Strategy Design Dev / Engineering

14. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 14
Integrity Team Structure
UX Design
Lead
Engineer
Lead
Program
Strategy
Lead
Marketing
Analytics
Lead
• Unique operating model
distributes decision
making to the experts
• Empowers team to
advocate with and for
program goals
• Increases agility
• Enhances efficacy
• Ensures transparency
• Enables innovation
Client

15. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 15
Some of Our Other Strategies
•Office location in the Loop
•Work from anywhere model
•Self-managed PTO
•Self-managed employee reviews (like video games)
•Radical transparency
•Logic-based processes revisited frequently
•Continued learning opportunities
•Break down barriers to creativity
•Iterative organizational development…

16. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 16
Iterative Development
Ideate
Empathize
Define
Experiment
Sprint Planning
Sprint
Execution
Learn
Pivot/Persevere?
Product
Backlog
Customer SOLUTION
DESIGN THINKING
Sprint
Review
Shipable
Increment
LEAN STARTUP ITERATIONS
Customer PROBLEM
Concrete
Abstract
B
u
i
l
d
Measure
Iterate
Research

17. Life is short. Do stuff that matters. 17
Questions and Answers
Q A
&

18. Thank You!
It’s Nice to MeetYou
Ed Morrissey
Partner & Chief Creative Officer
6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 444
Saint Louis, MO 63130
ed@integrityXD.com
www.integrityXD.com