IgniteDetroit: Beginning the Roadmap . . .

It has been a while – a LONG while – since my last post. But recently, I’ve found a renewed purpose and vehicle for pursuing this topic: IgniteDetroit.  Ignite is a national challenge that invites participants to speak for 5 minutes to 20 slides, auto-advancing every 15 seconds, on the topic of their choice.  Ignite began on the West Coast, Seattle I believe, and has gained popularity across the country.  Although our neighbor to the west, Ann Arbor, has had a few Ignite events, this is the first for Detroit.

I have submitted the purpose of this blog as a topic for IgniteDetroit.  If you would like to give me the opportunity to speak, for 5 minutes, please vote for me here:  http://tiny.cc/ignitecxiro Voting ends on Monday, February 8 at 5pm!

I will be building the content of my presentation as part of this blog.  I would like this to be a collaborative effort and would appreciate any and all comments / suggestions.  I am not big on speaking in front of a large audience.  I may not even make the cut.  But I have a family that is counting on me and this region to nurture, support and grow and I am committed to making a positive impact on Detroit.

Thanks for listening.

I didn’t mean to start a blog . . .

I didn’t plan to start a blog, really.  I was just posting a comment on Time’s Detroit Blog when WordPress asked me, do I want to create one.  So, now that it’s here, what do I say? What makes my words heard amongst the hundreds of thousands of other blogs out there?

I don’t know – and I don’t care.  I will be accused of rambling, not being concise, repeating myself, being sarcastic, not knowing what I’m saying or doing; did I say repeating myself?

I will be talking from my heart.  That is why I chose a theme that I feel passionate about, that I have remained quiet on for too long.  Detroit needs a groundswell of people who are frustrated and mad enough to take positive action. Now. Today. The decay in the city will affect the entire region. It has already taken its toll on the first ring of suburbs. Birmingham, Bloomfield, Royal Oak, Ferndale, the Pointes, Grosse Ile – none of them are immune in the long-term to the effects of a dying core.  Even Ann Arbor will not be able to reach it’s potential with a cancer 40 miles away.

I want to remain positive, as the premise of Time’s Detroit Project states, but does not quite deliver. I don’t want to go on a trip down memory lane, re-living the glory days, but I will do that occasionally to remind every one of how tall we can stand.  Real, positive change won’t happen if we shoot for 4th best or where we were 20 or 30 years ago.  We need to be Number One as a community, a totally committed region to providing the best possible to all its residents.

There is a reason Ford is where they are today and the others are not: Ford leadership crafted a plan, to strive for the highest quality, on every vehicle, in every segment they compete.  Detroit need to fabricate a similar plan. What are our assets? Where do we excel? What needs fixing first? If you’re fixing a house, you don’t remodel the kitchen if you have a leaky roof.

I hope I have provoked some of you to leave me your thoughts.  I want this to be a conversation.  I the end I do want to come up with an outline or a blueprint of where Detroit should be heading and how to get there.

Thanks for listening.