Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up

Gord has a good post up making the inevitable comparison betweenthe big, evil Atlantic Technology Centre, and the Queen Street Commons, inspired by the low-key, free and very worthwhile event with David Holtzman on Monday, which he thinks would never happen at the ATC. Link.

Wow, that turned bitter quickly. I started out wanting to mention how great the Queen Street Commons is (and can be) and I was immediately drawn to the comparison to it polar opposite: the ATC. If ever there was a comparison between the top-down approach to fostering innovation and the bottom-up approach this is it. The ATC provides big everything: lots of services, lots of building, lots of flashy equipment, and lots of suits. There is a lot of window dressing (even the hand towels are dispensed automatically when you need them) inside an office building that cost so much that I cannot imagine how it can break even in operating costs, even given the exceptionally high rent. The Queen Street Commons is an older house that has been fixed up with good services (no fancy hand towels) and a low-key atmosphere that is conducive to working and talking together.

The ATC would never bring in David Holtzman and provide the talk for free. If such a talk were to happen it would be be invitation with catering by the in-house coffee shop for a fee. I am pretty sure there would be suits and handshakes and maybe a photo opportunity for the Guardian. It is not the same.

I hope what the ATC desires to produce in innovation the Queen Street Commons actually delivers. Charlottetown does not need fanfare; it needs results.

I've criticized the ATC many times in the past, it's certainly an easy target. It's nice to see that some Islanders are bypassing the government's ham-handed attempts to force innovation from on high and just getting to work in the most sensible, low-cost way possible.

The suits need structure, they are afraid of one of us stripping away the layers of institutional weight to expose who actually does real work and who just works and lives to preserve his or her own place the system. Taking away the facades and the trappings of the corporate world is like taking a king's robes and jewels away, so the worth of the man can be measured against everyone else.