Ireland

Michael, the Managing Director of Creativity Co., ¹ looks out over the high-spec open plan office, noting that the organisation was fortunate to weather the storm of global recession, and in particular the dramatic economic decline experienced in Ireland. It has certainly been an interesting few years for Creativity Co., a small indigenous Irish organisation operating in the creative space of industrial design. Creativity Co. is exemplary of the knowledge-intensive and creative firms said to hold the key to the Irish government’s knowledge-based agenda. While technically the organisation is small, employing some 45 employees, in industry terms it is a relatively big player. Success to date is credited to its highly skilled staff and international focus. Both were critical in protecting the firm from the severest consequences of the economic crisis in Ireland. Michael is very conscious that economic revival will once again provide attractive opportunities for his talented workforce to work elsewhere. He also knows that with 45 employees the organisation is an optimal size for an informal approach to managing staff, but how should the organisation manage the growth that might come with success? He puts down his coffee and points to a recent international design award achieved by the organisation; laughing, he notes ‘the problem of success, now that’s a nice problem to have’.