What made Silicon Valley?Why is it so hard to duplicate it around the world?

Why not other places?

Harvard University - CambridgeWall-Street, New York London, England Tokyo, Japan

People is the key

“We invest in people first” - Ron Conway - an American investor -

An investor told me that people are different. So what make Northern Californian different? People are shaped by their environment and culture. So What make Northern California environment and culture unique?

Hospitable weather – less worry and fear

“The Ant and the Grasshopper” - Aesop fable -Hippie like grasshopper play all throughout the summer. So, when the cold winter came, he suffered.

However the story does not apply to California.

Hospitable weather – less worry and fear

California does not have a cold harsh winter. Therefore, Californian have less worry and fear - free mind. Many Start-ups were encouraged by the family, friends, and the community.

Open Space

Open Space

In 1970s, there were lots beautiful open spaces, where all the members of community, rich and poor can mix naturally.

Open space facilitates the social interactions, childlike curiosity and community culture. Non private, public open space is #1 public wealth for the cultural development.

In the 1960's and 1970's California, Civil Rights movement, hippie, anti war movement, and women's movement brought open-mind, fun – not serious attitude, diverse perspectives, and rebel culture.

Culture Shift

Women's movement and Women's social status

Women’s social status and other cultural values (Interpersonal

trust, flexibility, tolerance, collaboration, and creativity) are

intertwined in a society.

Biologist ‘Karen Strier’ has been studying primates for decades (

http://bit.ly/1aQCJ5G).  She found that if female primates have

a higher social status in a community, the community has more

sustainable, quality, peace-loving culture; flexibility, tolerance,

respect and collaboration over competition.

Women's movement and Women's social statusWomen are physically weaker, so in order to women to advance in a society, the society have to advance in diverse perspective ways: provides non-physical jobs, social kindness for the minority, less competitive sports and collaborative culture.

Only few states in U.S. and around the world match Northern California's gender equality.

Women's movement and Women's social status

Why is it important? Many creative people are like women. Not physically competitive, bad at physical sport and socially inept, but they are the genious behind the creative revolution.

Women's movement and Women's social status

“In Asia, time to time a rich aristocrat woman had inherited leader position in history. But that did not changed much.” - historian

When an ordinary woman could advance in society, that is the tipping point of the creative revolution.

Collaboration over Competition

Many people believe that competition bring innovation. That is false. Too much competition harm the innovation. Look at Mafia. Mafia are highly competitive, and like competitive sports. But, Mafia destroy innovation, and discriminate women. Look at Italy and Detroit. Male dominated greedy Detroit auto industry killed their own innovation EV1, electric car, in 2002.

Collaboration and creativity go hand in hand,

No monopoly

In the early 20th century, U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt restrict the power of big business by breaking up a monopoly, and brought trust, justice and harmony to U.S. market. 20th century became a U.S. century.

In 1970s and 80s, there were no monopoly in Northern California. Good environment for small start-ups.

Kindness & Accumulate Knowledge“But what does symbolize Hewlett-Packard is a revolutionary attitude toward people, a belief that people should be treated fairly, that the differentiation between labor and management should go away. And they built a company and they lived that philosophy for 35 or 40 years and that’s why they’re heroes. Hewlett and Packard started what became the Valley.” - Steve Jobs – 1984-

The kindness help accumulate knowleges to spread. Fairly treated HP engineers help children to learn new technologies. Steve job got a summer job at HP at age 13. Kindness and relax atmosphere foster childlike curiosity for creativity.

Good living condition for an ordinary man

Paul Jobs, Steve's father - high school dropout, were able to afford living, and to raise family. In the 1960s and 1970s California, you did not have to be rich, aristocrat, prince, Cinderella, nor elite to have a good life.

An ordinary person could afford living, enjoy life, and change history. No worry and fear.

Paul and Steve

Only few countries around the world offer good living condition for an ordinary man.

Failure is not fatalIn the public wealth perspective, Silicon Valley were richer than any other places at the time. Open spaces, open perspectives, hospitable environment, kindness, colloborate culture, and livable wage and a good living condition for ordinary people. Failure was not fatal: you could start again and again.

All these encourage people to take risk. Encouragement and risk taking embeded into the culture.

In South Korea, failure is often fatal.

Why is the creative revolution matter?

Computer and software development will soon surpass human capability in many areas.

“Many types of jobs as these powerful new technologies are increasingly adopted not only in manufacturing, clerical, and retail work but in professions such as law, financial services, education, and medicine.”

- MIT Technology Review -

Many traditional jobs will be disappear, and many creative jobs will be created.

MIT Review

Time of change.

- Great Disruption -

Why is the creative revolution matter?

Detroit: the pinnacle of industrial automotive revolution, greedy, gender gap, racial discrimination, big 3 monopolies.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

-Leo Tolstoy

It also applies to societies; all happy societies are alike.

Finland – Creating a Culture of Kindness

hospitable social environments

fun & quality education system

social welfare programs

no gender gap

open space

livable wage

kindness

accumulate knowledge

Good living condition for ordinary people

“The creative revolution = The kindness revolution”

Paul, Wozniak, Hewlett and Packard, and other countless kind people were behind the revolution success.

These are the lessons I leaned in California.

The Last Keynote.The Kindness Revolution.

-the end-

- wwTurtle -