Agenda for Change? It’s already done – now, do your part.

I was recently asked about my interest in helping to produce a Detroit Summit, where various public and private officials would assemble to create a Detroit agenda for change. Nice thought, but aren’t we past the time for events of this nature? Hasn’t it been made abundantly clear what needs to happen to turn the fortunes of this community in the right direction? Perhaps more importantly, don’t we already have the right people in place to lead this effort? Rhetorical questions, all – and the answer is obviously “yes.”

My earlier blog post (“It’s now truly ‘a great time in Detroit”) referenced some of these leaders and the agendas they’re already pursuing. It’s a long road, to be sure, but they’ve already registered significant initial success. What they don’t need is yet another agenda for change. Let them continue to do what they’re already doing. It’s what they do best – that’s why they’re in the leadership positions they’re in.

How we can best help is to volunteer our time and talent on behalf of the many non-profit organizations that are doing heroic work in our community with precious few (and rapidly dwindling) resources from which to draw.

The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), the American Red Cross, the United Way, the Metro YMCA, Cornerstone Schools, The Salvation Army – these are just a few of the many organizations out there that desperately need your time and talent. If you’re a communicator by trade, help one of these organizations get the word out to the right people about the good work they do; if you’re an event planner or logistics person, help these organizations plan their various events; if you’re a fundraiser, help these organizations raise the money they need to survive.

We don’t need any more planning: get out there and volunteer – today. Offer the services you perform best to  the organizations who need it the most. They’re the ones who affect profound, fundamental change in our community every day.  If you’re serious about becoming part of the solution, then stop talking and start volunteering.

It’s now truly “a great time in Detroit!”

Finally, that former Detroit tagline has meaning.

After 12 years, three election cycles (this last one being four elections in one year), and nearly two years of intensified national disgrace, Detroiters went to the voting booth yesterday and sent a sweeping referendum for change in this community by voting for intelligence, civility, and leadership over thuggery, hubris, and gross incompetence.

Mayor Dave Bing and the new Detroit City Council represent the chemistry needed to lead us back to being a city we can be proud of. Bing’s success story is well-documented, and he brings the right approach – a make-the-tough-changes, get-it-done approach – to the position. The City Council, led by Charles Pugh, now appears to be a governing body whose efforts and anticipated accomplishments we can soon actually be (dare I say it) proud of.

Detroiters also voted by a three-to-one margin for true district representation on the Council, beginning in 2013. No more at-large, populist representation on the Council by scheming, self-serving buffoons who seek to line their own pockets with no accountability to any constituency group. All credit for this goes to the yeoman grass-roots effort of the Detroiters for Council by Districts group led by former State rep. Steve Tobocman.

Our antiquated City Charter will now be revised, with appropriate parameters and methodologies to make sure our governing body works properly. And why am I sure of the success of this effort? Because Freman Hendrix is leading it.

Voters also approved a school bond measure to repair the decrepit infrastructure of the Detroit Public School system, whose triage is being directed by Robert Bobb. It’s a nearly impossible task, but Bobb has already demonstrated why he’s the right man for this job.

I’ve been working in and on behalf of this city for nearly twenty-five years. During that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of the successful bid efforts to secure and host many citywide conventions and marquis events, including the North American International Auto Show, the Super Bowl and the Final Four. Those efforts were, and still are, extremely satisfying to me both personally and professionally as they represent the ability of this community to band together and overcome seemingly insurmountable negative perceptions to secure major events that help restore our sense of pride and optimism.

But I don’t think I’ve ever been as optimistic about our city’s chances in achieving a true, sustainable renaissance as I am today.

Finally – our community has spoken.

Finally – we have accomplished leaders at all key positions.

Finally – we have teams of intelligent, competent individuals in all key departments.

Finally – it’s a great time in Detroit.

We will, eventually, get what we pay for

Two interesting factoids this morning on the business model of traditional big-name, big-city journalism. Hat tip for both is the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard (@NiemanLab on Twitter for this kind of stuff on a regular basis.):

1) The Los Angeles Times has 2,700 subscribers to its Amazon Kindle edition. This is a $97,200 revenue stream for the Times, which is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Times has roughly 730,000 print subscribers, which if they were all on Kindle would mean $26 million in revenues…and no printing or delivery costs.

2) For the first time, revenues from subscriptions were higher than revenues from advertising at The New York Times. (Ad revenues were higher across the entire NY Times Co., including the Boston Herald, etc.)

We hear a lot about the “death of newspapers.” I disagree, I think we’re seeing that people are willing to pay for access to quality journalism. What we are seeing, however, is the death of the business model where you print what happened yesterday onto a couple pieces of paper and drive them to somebody’s home or newsstand, covering the cost of the paper and gas by printing advertisements onto the paper as well. We’re increasingly going to be asked to cover the costs of journalism with our subscriptions (or some one-time access fee, a la micropayments) for the forseeable future.

This’ll be interesting to see what effect it has on journalism, because even though there’s usually a good-faith effort to build a wall between ad sales and editorial, advertisers still influence newsroom decisions. (Just ask any TV producer who ever considered doing an investigative report on auto dealers.) When the money supporting the reporter and editor comes from the readers, what might that do to what gets covered and how? Will stories get freed up or dumbed down? The NPR model would seem to imply the former, but it’s certainly going to be interesting to watch and participate.

Not so fast, Sporting News

The Sporting News came out with its annual list of the “best sports cities.” Pittsburgh was #1 this year, which is at least a reasonable option given that the Steelers and Penguins (ugh) won championships.

Detroit came in 10th place. More amazing than that, look at who beat us.

How can you possibly argue that Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami are better sports cities than Detroit? LA can’t even support an NFL franchise, while hundreds of thousands of tickets were sold last year at Ford Field, which arguably hasn’t hosted a legitimate NFL franchise in years. Phoenix’s NHL franchise went bankrupt and is the center of international legal drama and most of Miami’s baseball “fans” show up disguised as empty orange seats, with just over a 50% home attendance rating this past season. (For that matter, those great sports fans in Pittsburgh left PNC Park half-empty this past season.)

When you compare not only the successes of Detroit’s teams over the past year (Game 7, Game 163, a Lions win…) but also the economic challenges facing anybody making the investment in team fan-hood in our local economy, it’s inconceivable to me that Detroit could come in 10th, especially given the fair-weather nature of so much fan support in cities higher on the list.

Dream Cruise Catharsis

I’m not a Car Guy.

Don’t get me wrong. I love cars; I’ve got my favorites; I’ve got my first-car memories. And for the record, that would be my 1972 Cougar XR 7, all black w/black and green tartan-patterned bucket seats and the eight-track player bolted underneath the glove compartment blasting the Stones’ Midnight Rambler up and down Telegraph. And yes, Telegraphing was as big as Woodwarding back in the day.

But, I digress.

Car Guys are the ones who can ID a ’53 Chevrolet BelAir from a two-second glimpse of the valve stem on the tire; who will then go on to tell you (whether you’re listening or not) all about the sweeping lines of the side panels, and how that car begat the next BelAir, which of course they totally ruined because they changed the chomogater on the whoopdeboop and added chrome hoopyschmoopys. (I must say, though, I think that’s what they did to the Cougar after 1974 when they ruined it, effectively turning the equivalent of Haagen Dazs Rum Raisin into Sealtest Vanilla).

They’re the guys who can ID a ‘65 Mustang before it turns the corner just by the sound of its engine; who then snort, flex, and give whoever’s around that told ya’ so nod just as the car comes into view; who then take off running to meet the car much the same as I did as a seven-year-old whenever I first heard the Mr. Softie Ice Cream truck’s music in my neighborhood, then saw it turn the corner and come down my street.

Car Guys transcend all socio-economic boundaries. Car Guys are guys – both executives and line workers – who work at “Ford’s” and proudly (albeit anonymously) drive their ’69 Firebird at the Cruise. They’re entrepreneurs who run multi-million dollar corporations – and have grease permanently lodged underneath their fingernails from restoring their ’55 Thunderbird.

In the case of a good friend of mine, he’s a banker in Birmingham whom I’ve known since high school who swoons at the sight of a ’65 Bonneville; who will call me during the week leading up to Dream Cruise as he’s looking out his office window, nose pressed against the glass while foaming at the mouth, and describe in vivid detail the classic cars driving past.

“Oh, man, Tom, there’s a ’64 Buick Wildcat convertible driving past me right…right NOW! Oh my God, it’s cream white with tuck-n-roll cherry red interior. Oh…that’s so-o-o cool! I can’t wait for this weekend – AAAARGH!!!”

He’s a banker.

I can’t hold a candle next to these guys. Their passion, their knowledge, their zeal for the automobile. They’re who this Dream Cruise is for; they’re center stage, both on and off the street. They take off their butcher/baker/candlestick maker day-job uniforms at 5pm on Friday; put on their Ted’s Drive-In t-shirts and wraparound shades and hit the streets. They gather in the parking areas off Woodward, with their vehicles perfectly staged for the rest of us to gawk at. And gawk we do.

In the New York Times’ recent rather positive wrap-up of their Dream Cruise coverage, writer Paul Stenquist hopes that “we’ll see G.M. and the other automakers pushing future, greener products at next year’s Dream Cruise, alongside their Camaros, Challengers and Mustangs. Let’s make the Cruise as much about the future as the past.”

Please, God – no. That’s what NAIAS, and Paris, and Frankfurt and Geneva are for. That what dealer showrooms (remember them?) and Ride ‘n’ Drives are for. And that’s fine – that’s needed.

But not at The Cruise. This event is supposed to focus on the past – it celebrates the glory days of spirited automobile design and manufacturing. That’s a good thing. It’s Car Guy’s dream to revel in the muscle, the mechanics, and the moxie that went into the creation of these vintage vehicles. To be officially accepted at The Cruise, you gotta pass the Car Guy sniff test. Let’s keep it that way.

If, after seven to ten years of HEV green car production, some of those vehicles can pass that sniff test, then by all means bring ‘em on down to Woodward. (Do I smell a Tesla?) But spare me the commercialized “(name of OEM here) Cavalcade of Green Cars” event as part of next year’s Dream Cruise.

Tony Michaels, are you listening?

Summer in the city

A former colleague who lives in Livonia and has been working in Dearborn for the past few years has recently been doing some onsite contract work here in downtown Detroit. His Facebook status updates have been an interesting narrative of somebody discovering the quirky joys of working downtown, especially during a beautiful, mild summer.

I’ve worked in the city for roughly half of my professional life, with forays out to Troy, Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights and Dearborn. While working in the city does have the occasional downside, it does offer wonderful moments that just don’t exist in the faceless-glass-box office complexes of the suburbs, where you go from home to car to office to car to restaurant to car to office to car to home without ever actually interacting with the community in which you’re spending your days.

Working downtown is different, and I love it.

I love the buzz of an afternoon Tigers game, lingering over a burger and fries at Jacoby’s to catch the top of the first inning as fans in their Old English “D” gear stream past down Brush to get to the stadium.

I love the insanity that is St. Patrick’s Day, where lunch is interrupted by musicians from the Windsor Police Department band and the revelry at the Old Shillelagh is heard in North Carolina thanks to a sensitive conference call speakerphone.

I love watching movie crews do their thing. You start understanding the economic impact of the film industry around here when you see how many semi trailers full of stuff and people with clipboards are required to shoot what’ll be a 30-second scene in the finished movie.

I love taking the People Mover to meet with clients, catching up on my Blackberry while riding instead of staring at traffic lights.

I love watching the Blue Angels doing loops over the river to promote the Willow Run Air Show, and the practice sessions for the Red Bull Air Race.

I love seeing the kids in their strollers being walked around the neighborhood from the daycare in the Wayne County building.

I love when my wife and son meet me for lunch at the office en route to the DIA or Science Center.

I love “Oh, you’re working downtown now? Let’s hook up for lunch or happy hour.”

I love the way the streets turn red and white before a Red Wings playoff game.

Detroit’s certainly got more than its share of issues, but on a gorgeous 80-degree day when I’m taking a two-block walk to get a fresh-squeezed lemonade and a bag of popcorn for an afternoon snack, I’m glad to be where I am.

My bankruptcy lies over the ocean

I was talking the other night with a friend who’s a finance person at an automotive supplier that’s in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He’s in the joint venture side of the business, and his job these days is to go around to foreign JV partners, especially in Asia, and convince them that the JVs are still ongoing, valuable concerns regardless of the American supplier’s bankruptcy.

He said that the American concept of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization — that it’s a reboot, not a death sentence — is literally foreign to many of their partners and that the American supplier is having to do some fast talking to keep the foreign partners from taking over the JVs altogether. From what he’s said, there’s a lot of these discussions happening at all levels of the automotive industry.

Talk about a topical communications issue. These are global companies with global audiences, but understanding what’s happened to them requires an understanding of American business structures, culture and law.

It’s doubtful that companies that are in the middle of reorganizations have the time or resources to spend significant amounts of proactive time educating the global business and consumer communities on the intricacies of American finance, but it certainly seems as if American businesses would benefit from somebody taking on this sizable task.

I don’t know if this is a job for the U.S. State Department, or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or some other organization with appropriate resources and constituencies, but there’s an American brand around the world that’s being damaged by association with foreign concepts of business failure and some basic outreach now would seem to be a good investment in the future global competitiveness of American business.

For American companies that are going through this on an individual basis, my friend was fortunate to be receiving support from his corporate communications team. I doubt that’s the case in every bankrupt or almost-bankrupt or recently-bankrupt American company with overseas business operations, I’d love to know how many of them have finance or sourcing or manufacturing people coming up with their own key messaging on this topic simply to make it through the next meeting with their foreign stakeholders.