The concept of a 'sense of place' means not only understanding WHO you ARE and WHERE you are as well as WHAT you expect to achieve.
For a good example, consider the competent salesperson. This is not your razzle-dazzle superman/woman who could sell a wheelchair to a lemon shark. This is the person who believes in his/her product, knows the value of both the product and what it can do for the customer and, most important, understands that his/her company is going to be around for the next decade even as the Internet changes the world.
This person understands his/her world. Because of that understanding, this salesperson will do well because he/she will fit the product to the market. The salesperson is also building credibility with the clients because, more than anything else, people buy things from people because they want the service that comes with the sale. A software program for $100 may be a great buy if the nearest competing product costs $300. But if the service for the $100 program -- i.e., the instruction manual or the human who can and will come to your home and make the program work -- is inferior, you will be better off getting the more expensive program.
Cheaper is not better; it's just cheaper. American businesses are learning this the hard way. Cheaper, younger workers do not have the maturity that older workers have earned year by year. Foreign workers may be cheaper by the hour but they do not speak English well, do not have the same work ethic as Americans and don't spend their salary on Main Street where the so-called American products are being sold. Paying teachers less does not get you a higher quality of education and cutting employees' benefits will leave you with the worst workers because the better ones can always find another job.
What does this have to do with creative thinking?
