Coffee shops boost innovation. 10% more Starbucks in an area --> 3-4% more inventions. People gather over a cuppa. They share ideas, discuss how to untangle a knotty problem, help see an issue from another perspective. These conversations lead to breakthroughs and inventions. A very fun paper finds that when Starbucks rolled out to a new county, it fueled a coffee-shop culture, urging more and more people to “grab a coffee” together. The authors compare the counties where Starbucks had rolled out to those where it had not yet arrived. And they find that the number of patents in caffeinated counties is meaningfully higher. This paper underscores how essential the face-to-face encounter is. Starbucks isn’t that old. People Could have picked up the phone and chatted at any time. People Could have dropped an email. Probably they did. But those connections didn’t yield the same insights and creativity. Turns out that a Cup of Joe really does help the knowledge flow. We talk about how much in-person connection boosts creativity in In Person. It’s out in just few days, so now is a great time to pre-order. To see the full research use the link in the comments. #Innovation #InPerson #FutureOfWork #CoffeeCulture #NewBook