Creativity is all about change, some of which bring in new opportunities, some which challenge us to adapt to new situations. The ever-changing world of innovation in technology forces us all to learn to adapt to changes. With the rise of the digital camera market and the fall of print film and the power of international giant, Kodak, Rochester, NY has faced significant changes to its culture and economy.
In basic terms, Rochester has gone from being an international company town with an establishment top-down culture to a vibrant region of small and medium-sized businesses increasingly focused on pieces of larger markets, be it optics or health care or alternative energy or food manufacturing.
Kodak’s historic downsizing in Rochester in the 1990s and 2000s, painful as it was, was gradual enough to allow the displaced engineers and executives to form new businesses or guide existing ones in new directions.
For more on the creative re-purposing of an entire town see “Innovation Spirit Helps Transform Rodchester’s Economy.”