Impressive

Detroit – A Case Study in Resilience?

“Detroit’s struggle matters, because there isn’t a tidy conclusion. Nothing is certain.”

What happens when the main economic drivers in a city disappear? Does the city decay and die or does new growth take shape?

The case of Detroit provides us with an opportunity to observe what can happen when decay results in fertile ground for new growth.

So, facts about Detroit:

• Since 2000, population has dropped by 25%
  • Tax base has also dropped while geographic size of city remains same meaning upkeep remains largely the same
  • 60,000 houses sit empty
    • Vacant properties magnets for crime such as vandalism, drugs and arson
    • Only 11% of Detroit residents between ages of 24-35 have a college degree
    • 50% of Detroit’s population do not graduate from high school
    • Murder capital of the U.S.

As the population left the city, houses were left empty and the decline of the city continued. The manufacturing industry has been the main employer for the city since the 1940’s and even well educated citizens found themselves facing unemployment. People had to decide whether or not to stay in Detroit as it became evident that that industry was not going to revive.

Stories abound about Detroit’s demise – the poverty, the devastation.

Yet, there is another story taking shape – one about the resilience of the city and its people.

There is a concerted effort by government, non-profit organizations, entrepreneurs and the citizens of Detroit to create something new in their city; something to fill in where others have left.

Business:

• Entrepreneurs and start-ups are benefitting from the opportunity that low real estate values are providing to purchase space
• Young entrepreneurs in particular are selling their assets in other cities and moving to Detroit where their dollar goes further
• Green manufacturing opportunities being explored

Government (Flint, MI):

• Created 20 year master plan for the city
• Started the Genesee County Land Bank to buy vacant properties and encourage neighbours to buy these properties around their homes for alternative land use

Government (Detroit, MI):

• Tearing down derelict buildings (though this is not without controversy)
• Investing in public transit planning
• Engaging the public in the conversation for future planning (though again, the effectiveness and effort of the city and state on this is debated)
• Engaging in public-private partnerships for redevelopment

Non-profits:

• Foundations engaging in addressing systemic challenges
• Investing to address gaps not met through other channels
• Grassroots groups collaborating, amplifying impact of their work
  • Community centres, literacy programs, youth programs, computer training being built around urban gardens
  • microfinance

Urban farming/gardening:

• Use of vacant land to grow food for own consumption and for sale
• Cooperatives purchasing power being used
• Reclaimed land usage; use of reclaimed materials
• Larger scale farmers markets in operation; supplying small grocery stores that have opened to fill in where large national grocery chains pulled out of Detroit

Arts/Culture:

• Artists are moving to the city as it is an affordable place to live while creating
• Lots of space available as studios, theatres, galleries
• Open, vacant lots provide space for community art; adds to the vibrancy of the city and building new culture
• Restaurants that are new and exciting are drawing tourists and locals alike

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Detroit stands poised to be crowned SuperMom. The key to their resilience is not any one thing, it is all of these initiatives and more yet to be introduced.

The reason for the creation of these initiatives may be that opportunity presented itself, it may be a desire to build the model for the reshaping of the American city and economy or maybe it was for shear survival. Whatever the reason, Detroit is a city to watch and learn from; an incubator of what is possible when the old is allowed to die and the new is allowed to take hold.

posted by margo in Uncategorized and has No Comments

This Risk of a Hyper-Focus

Having a clear focal point is a great benefit to an organization, a team, an individual. Can there be a risk though?

Absolutely. A hyper-focus on any one objective or goal can lead to the organizational equivalent of a monoculture. In nature, a monoculture is highly susceptible to disease. In fact, in a monoculture, a single disease or meteorological event can wipe out the entire system.

We have seen this in companies time and again, often following the meteoric rise experienced with a new CEO who has “clear direction”. Think Enron – boil it down to the very simplest of terms and their focus was profit. It was such a focal point throughout the company that it became of culture of profit at all costs – the cost being the catastrophic collapse of the company with both economic and human repercussions that are felt by many to this day.

Enron is just one of many companies that exemplify the risks of a hyper-focus.

Your team fits into the larger system of your organization. Your organization fits into the larger system of your community and economy. Consider the greater landscape within which you reside and allow diverse, complimentary activities into your immediate landscape that actually highlight your focal point.

posted by margo in Uncategorized and has No Comments

The Value of a Clear Focal Point

People don’t like change. Right?

In my experience, people don’t like change without clear purpose or intention.

That’s where having a clear focal point is essential. This is different from having a goal. A goal is a desired end result. A focal point on the other hand is more of a design element, a reference point that as things continue to unfold allows everyone involved to check and see how they’re doing individually and collectively.

Take Finland for example. They realized that there was a clear need for change in their education system. While other governments have a goal of excellence, they chose to have a focal point of equality.

Read more about the results they are achieving from a clear focal point of equality: http://bit.ly/w3kl7Y

Through this focal point, they were able to design an new approach to education and prepare their teachers through conscious development programs prior to implementing new policies and programs. A focus on equality also allowed them to keep up the motivation and energy of the teachers and Finnish people alike as they nurtured the new approach, giving time for things to establish and grow.

The results speak for themselves.

posted by margo in innovation and has No Comments

Lessons from Lindsay

We can learn a lot from Lindsay Blackwell – lessons that are both basic and profound.

Lindsay Blackwell read about a job opening – Director of Social Media at the University of Michigan. Lindsay LOVES social media. Lindsay is from Michigan. Lindsay wants that job.

So, she used her passion for social media and her skills of designing, public engagement and creativity to apply for that job in an innovative way. Check out www.dearlisarudgers.com. After creating the site, Lindsay then used her skills of networking, promoting and campaigning to get her application in front of Lisa Rudgers – the person who may one day be her boss.

And it worked. Within 24 hours, Lindsay got a call for an interview. She made sure she is a candidate for the job.

Brilliant!

So, lessons from Lindsay?

• focus on your strengths – they will inevitably position you well for things you want in your life
• follow your passions – you’re more innovative and creative when you do
• know your audience – future boss, future users all know what she is capable of now
• have fun – people like working with people who are fun to work with

Now, even if Lindsay doesn’t get the job she applied for, what are the chances that she will get noticed by someone else before long and have more than one opportunity? I’d say they’re pretty high.

Hats off Lindsay!

posted by margo in innovation and has No Comments