Executive Summary
Proud Executive Summary Sponsor:
June 28, 2017 I hope you enjoyed this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference. In the midst of all the change around us, the 2017 Conference once again delivered a thought-provoking and inspirational agenda. The Conference was built around three timely and wide-reaching pillars that are shaping our future: restoring civility in American politics, winning the race in connected technology and increasing economic opportunity. I believe that we are at a pivotal moment in our state’s history, and that there is tremendous opportunity to further advance our great state. The comeback of Detroit, one of America’s great cities, is gaining momentum and new economic development is underway in every corner of Michigan. Michigan has a rich history of leading the way, with tremendous resources and a track record of innovation and success. Once again we are at the forefront of transformation in the way we live, work and experience life, and the Conference is providing the forum for the conversation about our future. We are in the midst of the greatest change the automotive industry has experienced since the invention of the assembly line. Vehicles are becoming smart devices on wheels and fully autonomous vehicles are not far behind. In the broader economy, the convergence of manufacturing and technology is creating new partnerships and spurring new opportunities. This new landscape presents our state with many pathways for business development and economic expansion. I am very proud that this year Lear Corporation will celebrate its 100-year anniversary, joining other major Michigan companies that have already achieved this milestone such as Ford Motor Co., Dow Chemical, Kellogg Co. and Whirlpool. At this important moment in history, let us all pause briefly to recognize the many achievements of the last 100 years, to celebrate the transformation that is well underway in Michigan and then turn our full attention to making the next 100 years even more successful. Sincerely,
Matt Simoncini President and CEO Lear Corporation
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Table of Contents Michigan’s Center Stage.................................................................................................. 4 Putting Words Into Action................................................................................................ 5 Don’t Fear Cooperation (Or Cannibalization): Walter Isaacson ...................................... 6 Productivity and Inclusion Must Keep Pace: Amy Liu.................................................... 8 Access for All: Inclusion Means More Seats at Policy Table........................................... 9 Detroit Is One City for All: Mayor Mike Duggan............................................................. 10 Inside Washington Politics: No Cease-Fire Yet................................................................ 12 The Friction-Free Economy Is Here, Seize It: Geoff Colvin............................................. 14 3-D Mapping Can Unlock Cities’ Potential: Ingeborg Rocker.......................................... 16 Michigan’s Digital Future: Opportunities in the Connected World.................................. 17 Trump Has Guts, but Stumbled Badly: Michael Beschloss............................................. 18 Inclusion Requires Deliberate Action: Wes Moore......................................................... 20 Progress Begins with Civility: Gov. Rick Snyder............................................................... 22 Detroit Transforming From Problem City to Opportunity: Darren Walker....................... 24 Incivility Is Democracy’s Death Knell: Julie Winokur....................................................... 26 Working Together: Michigan’s Congressional Delegation............................................... 28 Michigan’s 21st Century: Gov. Snyder’s Commission Reports...................................... 29 Auto on the Island: Scrambling for Tech Talent................................................................ 30 Mackinac Moments................................................................................................ 31 Morning View: Mackinac Uncensored............................................................................. 32 Thank You Sponsors................................................................................................. 34 2017 Conference At a Glance................................................................................... 35
A Look Ahead The Detroit Regional Chamber 2018 Mackinac Policy Conference will be held on
T U E S D AY
F R I D AY
May 29 - June 1 Registration will open in fall 2017. Island hotels will begin accepting reservations February 2018. Conference planning will be led by 2018 Conference Chair Ramesh “Ray” Telang, Greater Michigan Market Managing Partner and U.S. Automotive Leader of PwC.
Go to: mpc.detroitchamber.com for Conference announcements.
2017 Executive Summary
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Michigan’s Center Stage The 37th annual Mackinac Policy Conference brought together 1,600 statewide leaders for candid and engaging conversation about what is needed to continue Michigan’s resurgent economic growth. Each year, Conference pillars are selected to serve as a guide to ensure discussions during the Conference are focused on timely and specific themes. The pillars are unique to what is happening both locally and nationally. This year’s agenda focused on the pillars of restoring civility in American politics, winning the race in connected technology, and increasing economic opportunity. Programming on Michigan’s Center Stage addressed how business and civic leaders can shape public discourse to restore the art of compromise, capitalize on Michigan’s strengths to lead in next-generation mobility and technological innovation, and enhance the quality of life for all Michiganders by promoting economic inclusion strategies. With a lineup of 12 national speakers and Michigan’s top political and business leaders, the Conference once again served as the state’s premier policy event. After four days of candid conversation, the Conference concluded with the announcement of the 2017 To-Do List. The annual list is used as a roadmap to translate the conversations into achievable goals for the upcoming year. (Left to right) Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta discusses the upcoming 2018 Michigan gubernatorial race with Truscott Rossman’s Kelly Rossman-McKinney and John Truscott during the Morning View: Mackinac Uncensored program.
2017 CONFERENCE
Leadership
Dennis Archer Jr.
President, Archer Corporate Services; CEO, Ignition Media Group; Chair, Detroit Regional Chamber Board of Directors
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Sandy Baruah
President and CEO, Detroit Regional Chamber
Stephen Polk
President and CEO, Highgate LLC; Chair, 2017 Mackinac Policy Conference
(Left to right) Detroit Public Television’s Christy McDonald outlines the Conference To-Do List with Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah and Conference Chair Stephen Polk.
Putting Words Into Action
2017 CONFERENCE ACTION ITEMS
In order to ensure that the conversation extends beyond Mackinac Island, the Chamber continued its tradition of releasing a To-Do List for the upcoming year based on dialogue from the Conference. In unveiling this year’s list, 2017 Conference Chair Stephen Polk, president and CEO of Highgate LLC, and Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah closed the event during a broadcast on Detroit Public Television with Christy McDonald.
2017 To-Do List Key Takeaways Michigan’s business and government leaders have a role to play to restore the art of compromise and disagreeing without being disagreeable. Unless Michigan is overly competitive in the race for connected technology, it will face serious economic challenges in the next decade and beyond. Talent and economic development are inextricably linked and all Michiganders should have a seat at the table of access and opportunity for the state to truly experience a renaissance. Detroit’s future relies on a robust education system, access to higher education and quality training opportunities, and career pathways for youth.
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Use the Chamber platform to launch a yearlong effort to encourage civility in political discourse in the Detroit region. Increase economic opportunity for Detroit Promise students by creating a pipeline to careers. Create a welcoming environment and platform for mobility entrepreneurs to establish a presence in the Detroit region. Advocate for bipartisan federal support to fund the rebuilding of the Soo Locks.
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DON’T FEAR COOPERATION (OR CANNIBALIZATION):
Walter Isaacson
A century after ushering in the age of motor vehicle mass production, Detroit and Michigan stand on the verge of reclaiming their status as a hub of innovation, said Walter Isaacson, biographer of Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and other great innovators. “A lot of people thought Detroit would never bounce back,” Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, said in his keynote address. The city is doing so by tapping into three key ingredients for innovation – creativity, collaboration and civility. Isaacson said Leonardo da Vinci, the subject of his next book due out this fall, was “the ultimate icon of connecting beauty and technology, engineering and art.” Da Vinci “always felt that those who can combine the arts and the sciences were those who were going to be where value and beauty and innovation is created. And to me, that’s the recipe that I think has done more than anything else to bring Detroit back,” Isaacson said. Civility and collaboration were key to Detroit’s comeback from bankruptcy, Isaacson said, citing bipartisan leadership between Gov. Rick Snyder and Mayor Mike Duggan, plus major contributions from the region’s business leaders, philanthropic foundations, public employees and retirees.
While innovation is sometimes portrayed as one person’s bolt of inspiration in a garage, innovation is “a team sport,” Isaacson said. Even the Declaration of Independence was a collaborative effort, he noted, with important editing input from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and the other Founding Fathers to initial drafts produced by Thomas Jefferson. Most modern inventions – computers, the internet – “no one really knows who invented them,” Isaacson said, because they were collaborative efforts.
The single most important quality to lead collaboration is to think different.” – Walter Isaacson “Top-down hierarchies no longer work as well in the age of collaboration,” Isaacson said. “Collaboration is the most important ingredient besides creativity. It takes a creative individual to have great vision. But vision with no execution is hallucination.” Even Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and mercurial CEO, with a reputation for being a “tough leader” and “a jerk at times,” talked up teamwork rather than his own personal genius in a 2011 conversation with his biographer near the end of his life.
(Left to right) The Detroit News’ Daniel Howes discusses the race to develop connected and autonomous vehicle technology between Detroit and Silicon Valley with Aspen Institute’s Walter Isaacson.
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company from owning the dominant software for the new age of mobility. But can traditional car and truck manufacturers innovate and move quickly to compete with the likes of Google, Tesla, Uber and others vying in that space? “We’re at a total inflection point in the auto industry,” Isaacson said. “Will there be personal cars as our main system 10 years from now? Or will most cars be shared, kind of autonomous?” “We don’t see many examples of old-line institutions that have been able to pirouette and stay on top during periods of great disruption by radically changing their products or business model,” he added. “The fear big companies have is that they will cannibalize their existing revenue streams.” That said, Isaacson senses that leaders at Ford, GM and other automakers do understand that radical change is coming to the industry, and that may just be the innovator’s dilemma. The single most important quality to lead collaboration is to “think different,” Isaacson said, borrowing Apple’s marketing slogan of 20 years ago. “Be crazy enough to change the world.”
Biography WALTER ISAACSON
President and CEO, Aspen Institute Aspen Institute’s Walter Isaacson says collaboration is key to Detroit’s future as a leader in technological innovation.
When Isaacson asked Jobs to name the best thing he did at Apple, expecting him to say the iPhone or iPad or the Macintosh computer, “Steve said, ‘The best thing I did at Apple was create the team that could create great products.’” It was that passion for creativity and leading a team into the breach that really made Apple so innovative. And for Jobs, it required what he sometimes called a reality distortion field – the type of passion you need to bring a team to do things it did not know it would be able to do. In a question-and-answer session with Daniel Howes of The Detroit News following his speech, Isaacson was asked to handicap the race between the world’s big automobile makers – Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota – and Silicon Valley technology giants to emerge as leaders in next-generation mobility, autonomous cars and ride-sharing. “We’ve seen this movie before,” Isaacson said, noting that Bill Gates and Microsoft Corp. created the software, the dominant operating systems DOS and Windows, reaping the lion’s share of wealth while the leading computer hardware companies were commoditized. Car companies might be able to escape the fate of computer hardware companies if they can collaborate and prevent one
Walter Isaacson is the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies institute based in Washington, D.C. He is also the former chairman and CEO of CNN and former editor of Time magazine. Isaacson is the author of several biographies including: “Steve Jobs,” “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life,” and “Kissinger: A Biography.” His most recent book, “The Innovators,” focuses on the people who invented the computer, internet and the other great innovations of the digital age.
Key Takeaways Do not fear innovation. As technology eliminates jobs that become obsolete, it creates future occupations that the world cannot envision today. Big companies must be able to pirouette to stay on top. Vision with no execution is hallucination. Collaboration demands inclusivity.
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PRODUCTIVITY AND INCLUSION MUST KEEP PACE:
Amy Liu
Michigan’s largest cities showed solid economic expansion in the post-recession period from 2010 to 2015, with job growth of 11.5 percent in metro Detroit, 15.9 percent in Grand Rapids, and 4.9 percent in Flint. On that bright note, Amy Liu, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, opened her keynote address on creating inclusive economies in a disruptive age. Liu quickly shifted gears, however, to more sobering trends behind those numbers. Productivity is flat in many regions, and median wages in Michigan’s major cities remain below 2000 levels.
Brookings Institution’s Amy Liu delivers a keynote address on inclusive strategies to accommodate growth in Detroit and large urban areas across Michigan.
2013 and 2015. So basically, the strong are getting stronger. And while Detroit and Grand Rapids did add some digital tech services jobs during this period, both regions are losing overall market share of such jobs to other cities,” Liu said.
…Michigan cities have been effective in reinvigorating economic growth post-recession. Now the task is to ensure that growth translates into greater productivity and inclusion.” – Amy Liu
The urbanization story is not just about urban versus rural, but also about how older industrial areas keep pace with tech-rich sectors in this digital era, Liu said.
And while all 100 major U.S. cities posted economic gains in the past five years, 60 percent of the job growth in the technology sector came from the top 10 metro areas – none of them in Michigan.
“The bottom line is that Michigan cities have been effective in reinvigorating economic growth post-recession, no question. Now the task is to ensure that growth translates into greater productivity and inclusion,” she added.
“The economy is expanding but the progress on productivity and inclusion remains lackluster,” Liu said.
Otherwise, growth will be shallow and short-lived if the state ignores the structural barriers to increasing the potential for more people and firms in communities, she said.
Stagnant productivity makes it difficult for employers to raise wages or invest in training workers. “So this may be one reason that median wages across Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint remain lower than they were back in 2000,” Liu said. “What’s also troubling behind these numbers is that the gap in wages between whites and people of color remain stark in nearly every market,” she added. While Detroit and Grand Rapids have generated buzz recently with entrepreneurial activity and investments by technology firms, Michigan and other traditional manufacturing regions are still lagging national leaders. “What is more stunning is that the top 10 metro areas captured 60 percent of the nation’s new tech growth between
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AMY LIU
Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution Amy Liu is vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. A national expert on cities and metropolitan areas, Liu is adept at translating research and insights into action on the ground. As director of the Metropolitan Policy Program, which Liu co-founded in 1996, she pioneered the program’s signature approach to policy and practice, which uses rigorous research to inform strategies for economic growth and opportunity.
(Left to right) Detroit Free Press’ Rochelle Riley discusses public policy perspectives to foster inclusive growth across Michigan with Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, Hudson-Webber Foundation’s Melanca Clark, Brookings Institution’s Amy Liu and Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s Joseph Lehman.
Access for All:
INCLUSION MEANS MORE SEATS AT POLICY TABLE
In a confusing world of innovation and growing inequality, there is one thing everyone on the panel “Access for All: Public Policy to Shrink Michigan’s Opportunity Gap” could agree on: Do not expect the federal government to come riding to the rescue anytime soon.
than an emergency medical technician to get a license. Getting more workers trained for an increasingly technical work environment requires deep engagement by employers, Liu said. Melanca Clark, president and CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation, said it is critical to involve community voices as well as those of employers and educators in workforce efforts.
Broad coalitions of private business, philanthropic foundations, community groups, and city and state agencies must lead an urgent effort to ensure that “It’s important as we think about equity and inclusion that we access and skills training are available for all, Brookings get very explicit around marrying investments around growth Institution Vice President Amy Liu with investments in people,” she said. stressed in her keynote before joining the panel discussion on also need to be explicit It’s important as we “We ideas for how to make it happen. about addressing racial inequity think about equity and and barriers to opportunity,” Clark “I don’t think growth in Detroit “There can be a certain inclusion that we get very explicit added. is necessarily assured; small and defensiveness around hearing that around marrying investments history, but this is a history that we midsized companies are still trying to just generate enough revenue not be responsible for, but that around growth with investments may to survive,” Liu said. “Two-thirds we are accountable to it.” of low-income people actually have in people.” jobs, so they want to work and they – Melanca Clark are working, but somehow we’re not giving them the pathways to get to better jobs.” Lt. Gov. Brian Calley noted that Detroit’s nascent comeback has spawned a wave of youth employment and internship programs fostering “a sense of corporate social responsibility that is permeating throughout the business community. Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said local governments could make it easier for ex-offenders to find work by eliminating red tape. “In 1950, 5 percent of workers in America needed a government license to work; now almost 30 percent do,” he said, asking why a barber needs more hours of training
Key Takeaways
Government and economic development agencies cannot implement inclusive growth strategies alone; a broad coalition of employers and community stakeholders must be involved. Employers must be actively engaged and intentional about inclusive business practices, not just open to the idea. Quality is as, or more, important than numbers when creating summer youth employment programs. A job description, mentorship and references from a supervisor can be invaluable.
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DETROIT IS ONE CITY FOR ALL:
Mayor Mike Duggan
Detroit is growing for the first time since the 1950s, Mayor Mike Duggan proclaimed in his keynote address. And that fact brings urgency to the question Duggan then asked, as he and others often have since Detroit began restoring basic services as it emerged from bankruptcy.
And he shared some welcomed fiscal news – a $63 million surplus, enabling Detroit to put significant money into its employee pension funds. As business and residential investments continue along the Woodward Avenue corridor, coinciding with completion of Little Caesars Arena and the – Mayor Mike Duggan launch of the QLine streetcar, Duggan also vowed not to support any renovation project that would displace lowincome residents.
During this important time in the city’s history – we must create a Detroit for all.”
“What kind of city do we want to be?” In a speech that veered from typical political rhetoric, Duggan launched into a history of racially charged federal and local policies that sent Detroit into a downward spiral after the city’s explosive growth before and immediately after World War II – and vowed not to repeat them. Detroit’s guiding principle must be, “One city, for all of us,” he said. “We all work together. We should all live together,” Duggan added, taking aim at concerns that a growing Detroit could evolve into a prosperous downtown-Midtown core surrounded by poor neighborhoods whose residents do not benefit from the city’s resurgence. “We were at a crossroads in the ’50s and ’60s,” Duggan said. “Now we are at another (crossroads) during this important time in the city’s history – we must create a Detroit for all.”
He spelled out a list of eight principles to ensure that Detroit’s existing residents are not pushed aside as the city attracts a variety of new development: 1. Everyone is welcome. 2. No tax breaks will be approved for developments that move people out. 3. The city will fight economic segregation by pushing jobs into the neighborhoods. 4. Blight removal continues (but the city will save every house it can). 5. Detroit will create dense, walkable neighborhoods. 6. Those who stayed have an active voice in a neighborhood’s redevelopment. 7. Jobs and opportunities are available first to Detroiters. 8. The Detroit riverfront belongs to everyone.
“Growth is happening,” the mayor said, noting that there were 3,000 more residential utility hookups in March 2017 than in the same month a year ago. Total population in the city has not risen yet, because – as Duggan noted – “families with school-age children are still leaving the city.” “We have more occupied units, now we want more families with children,” Duggan said, noting last year’s failure by the state Legislature to adopt a Detroit Public Schools rescue plan that he favored. While schools remain a challenge, Duggan hailed blight removal and home renovation efforts in city neighborhoods, and announced a new initiative of “board-up brigades” to board up 11,000 derelict houses that demolition crews cannot get to in the next two years. Mayor Mike Duggan delivers a powerful keynote address on racism and opportunity while outlining his vision for how Detroit can move forward as “one city for all.”
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(Left to right) WJR NewsTalk 760 AM host Paul W. Smith talks about the city’s comeback with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
Those principles, Duggan said, are intended to reverse – or at least avoid repeating – a half-century of destructive urban planning decisions in the years during and after the great migration to Detroit from 1925-1945, when 200,000 homes were built in the city as production of automobiles, and then armaments for World War II, soared. Some of those decisions may have been innocent – “There was no thought to long-term planning, we were trying to win a war,” Duggan said. But many were racially motivated, including redlining of Federal Housing Administration mortgage guarantees. “The 1940s and ’50s were the last period of Detroit growth,” Duggan said, “and many of those (bad) decisions were rooted in racial discrimination … Historically, urban redevelopment (in Detroit and other U.S. cities) was about removing the poor.” Duggan’s powerful speech prompted a standing ovation from the Mackinac crowd and lots of animated talk among attendees afterward.
Biography MIKE DUGGAN Mayor, City of Detroit
Mike Duggan is mayor of Detroit. Duggan is perhaps the area’s most successful turnaround specialist, having rescued Wayne County’s finances, the SMART regional bus system and the Detroit Medical Center from financial collapse. As mayor, Duggan is focused on rebuilding neighborhoods, improving public safety and transportation, encouraging job growth and economic development, and restoring parks and recreation. Duggan’s tenure includes the launch of the Detroit Promise, which provides free college tuition assistance to city high school graduates, and expansion of the summer youth job program, Grow Detroit’s Young Talent.
Key Takeaways Detroit’s guiding principle must be, “One city, for all of us.” The city will not provide tax breaks for developments that move people out of Detroit. Development will combat economic segregation; there will be a place for people of all incomes in all areas of Detroit.
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Inside Washington Politics:
NO CEASE-FIRE YET
In just a few short months, President Donald Trump has failed to close the political divide or restore civility to the dialogue, but somehow he has managed to make the Affordable Care Act more popular and awoken the press to do a better job as fact-finders. Those were just a couple of the twists in a spirited “Inside Washington Politics” discussion at the Conference between Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter and Republican Ana Navarro. The two were joined by former U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr., political analyst for MSNBC and CNBC, who has appeared regularly on Michigan’s Center Stage.
Cutter and Navarro said they are friends on camera, but it is becoming rare in Washington that political people can be cordial across the partisan divide. More and more, they go for the jugular. Noting that Trump was not initially taken seriously as a candidate, Cutter gave him credit for having the media savvy to get elected. But his combative relations with the news media resulted in the emergence of “a breed of surrogate who offers no admission of error or fault,” she said.
When Ford asked Navarro for some positives about Trump, she rattled off a couple, namely Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court and James Mattis’ The press has gone back to appointment as defense being fact-finders, true journalism. secretary.
Navarro cut quickly to the heart of current political chaos by recounting three bizarre happenings in the week before the Conference. First, Montana Something has awoken in America. “He also changed the congressional candidate Greg Gianforte, who body-slammed Sometimes we take democracy for granted.” relationship with the a reporter (and then went on to press,” she said. “The – Ana Navarro win his election). Secondly, a press has gone back to white supremacist, who insulted being fact-finders, true two Muslim women in Portland and then killed two men journalism. Something has awoken in America. Sometimes who tried to intervene. Lastly, comedian Kathy Griffin, who we take democracy for granted.” held up an image of a severed Donald Trump head during a controversial photo shoot. Cutter said Trump’s victories in the heartland states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin should persuade “To me, all three things are horrible, a symbol of the hate, Democrats not to take anything for granted again. the anger, the passion gone awry, of the partisanship we have right now. It worries me tremendously about where we “You’ve got to talk to people on the ground,” she said. “If we are,” said Navarro, a political commentator on ABC News, had talked to people on the ground … The loss of Michigan CNN and Telemundo. by the Democrats is sheer malpractice.” Cutter, an advisor and campaign operative for presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, said Trump, despite a narrow victory margin, “is approaching the job as if he has a mandate.” Have you ever heard anyone talk about their electoral votes as much as this man? – and it’s proving to be divisive, so it creates a negative cycle,” she said. Can Trump change that? “Sure,” Cutter said, “you can create a mandate by persuasion – not by trashing or disparaging somebody else, but by making your case for what this country needs to do. Unfortunately, that’s not the track we’re on.”
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Economic anxiety still hangs over people, Navarro and Cutter agreed, leaving neither political party with a clear advantage going into 2020. Both Navarro and Cutter agreed that Trump’s failed first attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act has made it more popular than it was during Obama’s presidency. And even the narrow passage of a repeal bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on a second try subjected the GOP majority to some hoots of derision, given its uncertain fate in the Senate. Speaking on the Rose Garden celebration at the White House after the House vote on health care repeal, Navarro got a hearty laugh from the Mackinac crowd after saying,
(Left to right) Precision Strategies’ Stephanie Cutter, former U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr. and GOP strategist Ana Navarro discuss the lack of civility in Washington, D.C. leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election while also prognosticating the future political landscape in the nation’s capital.
“They spiked the football, drinking beer in the Rose Garden … Who celebrates a halftime, folks?” Where does the Trump presidency and the Washington political scene go from here? The Russian probe continues to be a distraction and will remain so for awhile, said Navarro, who cannot fathom why Trump kept defending Michael Flynn, his former national security advisor. “This is a man who’s divorced three wives and fired a helluva lot of people,” she said. “What does Flynn represent that there’s this kind of loyalty? I can’t figure it out. Why spend so much political capital on defending Michael Flynn?”
To conclude, Ford asked Cutter and Navarro for predictions on who might run for president in 2020, aside from the incumbent. Cutter said Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey or Kamala Harris of California. Navarro said Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska or Mitt Romney of Utah.
Key Takeaways Social media has moved political discourse to highly partisan, anonymous posts and 24-hour news cycles that fuel Americans’ anger.
Cutter took a wait-and-see stance on the Russia probes saying, “Impeachment is not something we should be talking about.”
Political activism has awakened in America; more young people are interested in running for office.
In any case, she added, Vice President Pence is much more ideological than Trump and said Democrats should be careful what they wish for.
Political pundits did not realize in 2016 how much change America wanted and how voters were willing to “burn down the village to save the town.”
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THE FRICTION-FREE ECONOMY IS HERE, SEIZE IT:
Geoff Colvin
Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large at Fortune magazine, began his keynote on “Winning in a Friction-Free World” by sounding an alarm of sorts about the radical impending changes coming to business. However scary the changes may be, they provide unique opportunities to come out of nowhere to compete against established leaders in almost any industry. Most business people have heard of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, AirBnB, or Uber. But ponder for a moment the implications of this simple statement Colvin made on the Mackinac stage: “Alibaba Group, by volume the largest retailer in the world, holds no inventory. AirBnB, now the largest provider of accommodations in the world, has no rooms. Uber,
the world’s largest car service, has no cars. All of these companies have become incredibly valuable by putting buyers and sellers together,” he said. That is the upshot of a friction-free world, one that makes the act of shopping almost invisible. It is naturally scary, especially in a state where companies once paid millions of people to make physical things by riveting and bolting steel panels and glass and tires together. But Colvin says not to worry.
The great news is that every person can possess the 21st century’s most valuable assets – openness to new ideas, ingenuity and imagination.” – Geoff Colvin
(Left to right) “Autoline” host John McElroy discusses disruption in the automotive industry and Michigan’s manufacturing and technology leadership with Fortune magazine’s Geoff Colvin.
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Biography GEOFF COLVIN
Senior Editor-at-Large, Fortune Magazine Geoff Colvin is an award-winning author and senior editor-at-large for Fortune magazine. One of business journalism’s most respected commentators, Colvin is featured on CBS Radio Network and has appeared on “The Today Show,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Good Morning America,” “Squawk Box,” “CBS This Morning,” “ABC World News Tonight,” PBS’ “Nightly Business Report,” and CNN.
Fortune magazine’s Geoff Colvin urges Conference attendees to embrace a “friction-free economy” during his keynote address.
History tells us that disruption hurts, or eliminates some industries – think kerosene lamps or slide rules – but benefits consumers and creates new industries and jobs in the long run.
Colvin’s international best-seller, “Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” has been published in a dozen languages. His book, “The Upside of the Downturn: Management Strategies for Difficult Times” was named “Best Management Book of the Year” by Strategy + Business magazine.
“Labor, information and money move easily, cheaply and almost instantly today,” Colvin said. Labor is the new piece of that equation, he said, noting that at HourlyNerd.com, you can rent professionals of any stripe – strategists, even chief financial officers – as easily as a temporary typist was once hired. What is important, for companies and individuals in industries facing major disruption, is to adapt before it is too late. The most profitable industries now are what Colvin called “asset light.” And while corporate lifespans are shorter today, “the winners are winning bigger than ever,” he said. Some companies have a hard time growing, but other companies are reaching the scale of nations. A friction-free economy may drive more businesses toward a Hollywood model of projects, where people and assets come together for a project and then disperse. In that model, Colvin said, “the great news is that every person can possess the 21st century’s most valuable assets – openness to new ideas, ingenuity and imagination.”
Key Takeaways Companies can no longer compete merely by lowering costs and creating efficiencies. They must fundamentally rethink and redefine their business for a friction-free economy. Information, money and labor increasingly move cheaply, easily and instantly. A friction-free economy may drive more businesses toward a Hollywood model of projects, where people and assets come together for a project and then disperse.
A daunting prospect? Certainly, for many people. But Colvin insists that this future economy will create more opportunity than ever before in history. “My plea to you,” he said, “is to seize it!”
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3-D MAPPING CAN UNLOCK CITIES’ POTENTIAL:
Ingeborg Rocker
Michigan, as a hub for automotive research and development, is well-positioned for leadership in the connected technology race. But the digital future presents opportunities and challenges extending far beyond transportation and into health care, education and urban planning.
By 2050, when the world’s population will exceed 6 billion, 72 percent will be urbanites living in cities that are decades old, built for smaller populations with different needs.” – Ingeborg Rocker Ingeborg Rocker, vice president of 3DEXPERIENCity at Dassault Systèmes, a French software firm, kicked off the Conference with a vision for modeling and simulating virtual cities, capturing data that enables more informed decisions on things ranging from housing and trash to planning for autonomous vehicles on city streets. By 2050, when the world’s population will exceed 6 billion, Rocker said 72 percent will be urbanites living in cities that are decades old, built for smaller populations with different needs. Cities with just 3 percent of the world’s land will consume 50 percent of global water, generate 70 percent of greenhouse gases, and consume 75 percent of all natural resources, she said. Resources such as land, water and energy will become harder to manage and each region will have different challenges. Detroit, Rocker noted, has been a shrinking city for the past half-century, and must now deal with the stresses of failing infrastructure. Not an unusual problem, she added – much of today’s urban infrastructure is more than 80 years old – but Detroit’s economic challenges require different future strategies than cities that have been growing rapidly. 3DEXPERIENCity’s 3-D modeling was recently used to virtually map the city of Singapore using a combination of images and data collected from public agencies.
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Dassault Systèmes’ Ingeborg Rocker outlines a vision for modeling cities using 3-D technology so that leaders can proactively address issues such as overcrowding and resource allocation in urban areas.
Rocker said with Detroit and Michigan leading the way in the convergence of technology and big data, the state is perfectly positioned to map its future so that all citizens can succeed. “If we look at Detroit, we have a number of stakeholders building the city. What if they all worked together?” Rocker asked. By working together and planning for the future via 3-D mapping or other means, Rocker said collaboration opens a window into how systems impact each other. For example, building a virtual Detroit can better help city leaders conceptualize how a new development might impact traffic, pollution, population density, etc.
Biography INGEBORG ROCKER Vice President, 3DEXPERIENCity, Dassault Systèmes Ingeborg Rocker is vice president of 3DEXPERIENCity for Dassault Systèmes. She is responsible for developing the Dassault Systèmes vision and strategy for modeling and simulating the planet, with a focus on urban settlements. She is also part of the Dassault Systèmes corporate strategy team, with a focus on developing new business visions and opportunities worldwide. Prior to joining Dassault Systèmes, Rocker worked for nine years as a professor of architecture at Harvard University, where she taught architectural and urban design. She has also taught at Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her work and research has been publicized in numerous international magazines and books.
(Left to right) KC Crain Jr. of Crain Communications Inc. moderates a panel discussion on big data and Michigan’s digital leadership, along with SAS’ Keith Collins, Ford Smart Mobility’s John Kwant, Henry Ford Health System’s Wright Lassiter III and Dassault Systèmes’ Ingeborg Rocker.
Michigan’s Digital Future: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONNECTED WORLD Detroit may be known as the cradle of 20th-century mass production, but it is also breaking new ground in digital technologies that are transforming industries from transportation to health care.
Lassiter said the health care industry sees new breakthroughs in technology, but must wrestle with the questions of who owns personal data and decides how it can be used.
Following Ingeborg Rocker’s keynote on modeling virtual cities of the future, she was joined on stage by John Kwant, vice president of City Solutions for Ford Smart Mobility; Keith Collins, executive vice president and chief information officer for SAS; and Wright Lassiter III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, for a discussion on “Michigan’s Digital Future.”
“For us, as we begin thinking about wearable sensors and swallowable technology – swallowing a pill with nanotechnology that will monitor your blood levels and send data immediately to your doctor, for example – how much intervention is too much?” he asked.
We envision a world that’s going to be completely connected ultimately.” – John Kwant “Over the last five to 10 years you’ve seen evolution of a transportation system that’s looking more at shared ownership and a services-based model,” said Kwant, “and in the future, urban settings are where the problem becomes most acute in terms of moving people around. So we’ve got to look at higher carrying-capacity options like shuttles versus individual cars.” Ford Motor Co. bought Chariot, a shuttle-van service, last year for $65 million. “We envision a world that’s going to be completely connected ultimately and as a car becomes just another node on the Internet of Things, helping orchestrate that connectivity to move vehicles around is what we see,” Kwant added. Car companies are not alone in dealing with upheaval in their traditional business models.
Collins said Europe is about to make a big mistake by implementing policy that prevents the collection of data without justifying its use. As debates rage over who owns and controls the use of data, technology-aided progress zooms on. Last year there were 3.2 million digital visits made by Henry Ford doctors. “In the future, we will treat only the most acute people in our hospitals,” Lassiter said.
Key Takeaways Michigan and Detroit can be technology leaders by bringing analytics to the edge. Startups such as those participating in Detroit’s Techstars Mobility accelerator program play a key role in technology innovation. The Internet of Things (IoT) will soon connect vast amounts of data that was stuck in silos until now. Clear government policies for data access and ownership are critical.
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TRUMP HAS GUTS, BUT STUMBLED BADLY:
Michael Beschloss
For a presidential historian accustomed to assessing his subjects about 40 years after they leave office, it was a lot to ask of Michael Beschloss to weigh in on the dizzying early days of President Donald Trump in his conference keynote. Beschloss gamely took on the challenge, sharing some historical context with anecdotes of how former U.S. presidents Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman and John Kennedy dealt with the news media and political civility – and then fielded the Trump questions in a question-andanswer session with Nolan Finley of The Detroit News.
As an example of guts, he cited President George Washington’s decision in 1795 to send John Jay as a special envoy to negotiate a treaty with Great Britain, which Washington feared might invade the United States over trade and other disputes. Jay’s treaty concessions averted a conflict then, but generated so much ill will across the country that Jay, the Supreme Court’s chief justice, was called an arch-traitor and hung in effigy by political opponents. For persuasiveness, Beschloss invoked Abraham Lincoln, whose staff warned him he would fail to win re-election in 1864 if he did not withdraw or water down the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed the freedom of 3 million slaves in 10 states. Lincoln refused, opting instead to argue, successfully that the newly freed slaves would improve the North’s economy and help win the war.
Beschloss’s first impressions of President Trump were that he missed a honeymoon opportunity with his inaugural speech and that the presidency will largely be “a stuck needle” until he gets the Russian investigations behind him. The founders wanted conflict – In terms of initial turmoil, other presidencies have they didn’t want to be like the come “nowhere close” British monarchy where the king made all to what has transpired in the decisions. They felt that if our citizens and the first few months of the Trump administration. leaders duked it out that’s the way you get Trump’s rocky start is due to the best policy – not only conflict, but also “his own belligerence and his unwillingness to reach compromise.” out as other presidents do,” – Michael Beschloss Beschloss said. In his presentation, Beschloss, author of nine books, including two on Lyndon Johnson and several others on World War II and Cold War presidencies, identified four important qualities of great presidents who succeeded – guts, persuasiveness, a sense of history and civility. All are related to the difficulty of making unpopular decisions and dealing with the blowback.
(Left to right) Presidential historian and best-selling author Michael Beschloss shares his first impressions of President Trump with The Detroit News’ Nolan Finley.
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A sense of history is “absolutely essential,” said Beschloss, citing Harry Truman, who had no college education but was an avid reader who went on to make important decisions about the atomic bomb, ending World War II and the country’s involvement in the Korean War. “Not all readers will be leaders, but all leaders must be readers,” Truman said. On civility, Beschloss said he had never seen a successful president who did not work with political opponents.
“I don’t see signs that he has people in his entourage who are willing to tell him things he does not want to hear. So given what I’ve seen so far … I wouldn’t bet on it,” Beschloss added. In one of his final questions, Finley noted that Trump calls himself the most persecuted president in U.S. history and asked Beschloss, “Who else is in that category, or perhaps has topped him?” “I think it’s a horrible metric,” Beschloss replied. “I mean, do we evaluate presidents in terms of self-pity?”
Biography MICHAEL BESCHLOSS
Best-selling Author, “Presidential Courage”; Presidential Historian Presidential historian and best-selling author Michael Beschloss shares his perspective on President Trump’s administration while also exploring effective leadership styles from past U.S. presidents.
Michael Beschloss is an award-winning historian, best-selling author and columnist for The New York Times.
“The founders wanted conflict – they didn’t want to be like the British monarchy where the king made all the decisions. They felt that if our citizens and leaders duked it out that’s the way you get the best policy – not only conflict, but also compromise. That’s what’s become a dirty word in this country and especially in the U.S. Congress,” Beschloss said.
One of the most widely recognized experts of the American presidency, Beschloss serves as NBC News’ presidential historian. He previously served as a historian at the Smithsonian Institution, a resident scholar at Oxford University, and a senior fellow of the Annenberg Foundation.
He cited Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, as a shrewd practitioner of civility, for leveraging his warm friendship with Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois, the Republican leader in the Senate, to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dirksen rounded up enough GOP votes to offset opposition from southern Democrats.
His 2007 book, “Presidential Courage” covers nine presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan and was a New York Times best-seller. His book, “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations,” which he co-authored with Caroline Kennedy, was No. 1 on The New York Times’ best-seller list.
Sometime in the future, Beschloss expects there will be a U.S. president impeached and removed from office, but said it is too soon to tell whether that is a likely outcome for Trump. Of the four qualities Beschloss cited in great U.S. presidents, he said Trump has guts, but comes up short on civility, persuasiveness and a sense of history. Can Trump recover from his rocky start and become an effective leader? “I think it’s very tough,” Beschloss said, “because he did not give himself that running start at the very beginning. So he begins his presidency with a substantial opposition furious at him and rock-solid, and not inclined to be persuaded. That was not necessary. That, from my point of view, came because of his own belligerence and his unwillingness to reach out as other presidents do.”
Key Takeaways Key qualities for a successful president include: guts, persuasiveness, civility and a sense of history. Initial turmoil at the start of other U.S. presidencies is nowhere close to President Trump. To regain his footing President Trump must overcome his own belligerence and reach out to those with more knowledge on domestic and foreign policy.
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INCLUSION REQUIRES DELIBERATE ACTION:
Wes Moore
(Left to right) Detroit Free Press’ Stephen Henderson discusses how to consciously find ways to include everyone in Detroit and Michigan’s ongoing economic revitalization with Robin Hood Foundation CEO Wes Moore.
Wes Moore, at age 38, has already lived more lives than most men can imagine – a child of Baltimore and the Bronx, petty crime, military school, college, Johns Hopkins graduate, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, financier, paratrooper in Afghanistan, author of two best-selling books, social entrepreneur, TV producer, political analyst, CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, and dedicated to eliminating poverty in New York City.
“What’s it all mean for Detroit, Saginaw, Flint and the Upper Peninsula? Or the people who have been left out of progress for a very long time?” Moore asked.
With that, he launched into the story of his own personal journey from poverty to dedicating his life to improving the lives of underprivileged youth and veterans. Inclusion and education, he said, are the first necessary steps to shrink Poverty is a chronic, systematic, generational challenge. the opportunity gap and enhance of life in communities that It was not one action that led to it, therefore it will not take quality feel left behind.
one action to solve it. We have to be urgent, but not impatient.”
Moore grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx. When he was just 3 years old, Moore witnessed his father’s death. Afterward, he was sent with his two sisters to live with his grandparents. Academic and disciplinary trouble ensued, and his mother enrolled him in military school. – Wes Moore
So it would not seem that he would be wowed or daunted by a speaking gig to talk about “economic inclusion and why that matters” at the Mackinac Policy Conference. Yet he did appear to be genuinely struck by contrasts of a Conference agenda where subjects ranged from political civility to a futuristic world of personalized health, DNA sequencing and self-driving cars.
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Had it not been for that timely maternal intervention, Moore’s life might have had a far different trajectory, as he seemed to understand in talking about Baltimore today.
“I’m proud of what Baltimore has done,” Moore said, alluding to the impressive Inner Harbor and other economic development efforts. “But far too many Baltimore people don’t feel it.” Reflecting on the case of Freddie Gray, whose 2015 death while in police custody sparked weeks of protests in Baltimore, Moore said he was struck by news video of Gray’s neighborhood in the morning and how many people were just standing around on the streets, apparently not working or attending school. “What happened in Baltimore was not solely about policing,” Moore said. “If we’re not doing something about the macro, we can’t mourn the micro.” In other words, the systemic exclusion of large parts of society from economic opportunity exacts a heavy toll on communities. “The rise of disillusionment is not just about income numbers,” he added. “The Inner Harbor was built in eight years; my old neighborhood hasn’t changed in 40.” Moore knows he was fortunate to be sent to military school. “Early in life, I was hurting people who loved me so I would impress people who didn’t care about me,” he recalled. And he knows that many young people today are at a crossroads where they cannot imagine “the incredible, exciting innovations” being discussed at the Conference. Innovation and change are happening at an ever-escalating pace, but for an individual that lives in underserved communities in Michigan or elsewhere, he or she cannot tell a difference. It is important to never forget about who it is that we need to fight for and who it is we need to be remembering, Moore said, because there will never be inclusive conversations if only a sliver of the population’s voices are heard. During a question-and-answer session with Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press, Moore was asked about poverty. “Poverty is a chronic, systematic, generational challenge,” he said. “It was not one action that led to it, therefore it will not take one action to solve it. We have to be urgent, but not impatient.”
of influence, power and significance here,” Moore told Conference attendees. “The future of Michigan will not be bright unless we are being very deliberate about what it means for areas like Flint, and areas like Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula and Detroit.”
Biography WES MOORE
CEO, Robin Hood Foundation; U.S. Army Combat Veteran; Best-selling Author Wes Moore is the CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the nation’s largest foundations with a sole focus on alleviating poverty. He is also founder of BridgeEdU, an organization that provides support to students as they try to navigate higher education. Moore is a retired decorated combat veteran and officer who served a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne division of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. His decade of military service inspired him to become a passionate voice for veterans. Moore is the author of four books including The New York Times best-seller, “The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters.”
Key Takeaways Poverty is a chronic, systematic and generational challenge. Communities should feel a sense of inclusion and that they are part of important conversations. In impoverished communities, children’s education and access to opportunity are the first and foremost priorities.
And it will take sustained efforts of government, philanthropy and others to find solutions. “There is not a single issue that the folks in this room could not make something happen on. There’s that level
2017 Executive Executive Summary Summary•• 21
PROGRESS BEGINS WITH CIVILITY:
Gov. Rick Snyder Gov. Rick Snyder, in his closing keynote, put some exclamation points on the three pillars of the 2017 Conference: restoring civility in American politics, winning the race in connected technology, and increasing economic opportunity. “To make it blunt, I view this lack of civility as one of the greatest risks to our country,” Snyder said. And one of the exacerbators of that incivility is changing technology, a different media landscape of highly partisan cable TV stations, websites and social media outlets. “Now people tend to watch the station that’s going to tell them what they want to hear,” he said. “So you get an amplification not necessarily based on facts. People are feeling pushed to bring up the same issue over and over again, and not hear that there’s another side to that topic. Ultimately we have to make that personal decision that we’re interested in other people’s perspective.”
To make it blunt, I view this lack of civility as one of the greatest risks to our country.” – Gov. Rick Snyder Snyder said Michiganders must have the courage and conviction to say, “Somebody else may be right.” Underlying the combativeness of our discourse, the Governor said, is the issue of economic opportunity, or lack thereof. “There are angry people out there,” he said. “Why angry? If people lose hope, what are you left with? They feel that no one’s listening to them.” Snyder mentioned several groups that the state has recently aided with increased funding or training to find work, including military veterans, ex-offenders, people with disabilities and, through the Community Ventures program, more than 7,000 long-term unemployed citizens. A moving target when it comes to matching skills sets with available and future jobs is that changing nature of work, Snyder said.
Gov. Rick Snyder says Michigan’s future is dependent on restoring civility in American politics, winning the race in connected technology, and increasing economic opportunity during a keynote address on Michigan’s Center Stage.
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“Having that high school diploma is not the only answer anymore,” he said. “We need to think more broadly of how we get that credential.”
(Left to right) WOOD TV’s Rick Albin talks with Gov. Snyder about Michigan’s future and how the Governor is working with lawmakers in Lansing to collaborate on key issues such as infrastructure and education.
Snyder noted that there are more than 100,000 job openings in the state.
Biography
“The question is not, ‘Is there a job?’ There are thousands of unfilled jobs, but how do you get the skills for those jobs?” he said.
RICK SNYDER
“We have done a lot but there is still more work to do. It takes all of us participating in the solution. The pieces are there (for Michigan’s bright future) but now we must change the conversation and put those puzzle pieces together,” Snyder added. Citing the need for more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, Snyder invoked one of his favorite programs, FIRST Robotics, which he called a “rock concert for nerds.” Detroit will be one of two host cities for the international FIRST Robotics championship competitions in 2018, 2019 and 2020, thanks in part to Snyder’s promotion of the program in Michigan. Tying together the Conference pillars of connected technology and economic opportunity, Snyder reiterated the need to move forward with a plan to provide affordable broadband connectivity for all Michiganders. With urban areas looking for new ways to offset dense population growth, the Governor said broadband access would allow people to work from anywhere. Snyder added that limited broadband access is the main constraint to expanding business opportunities in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula that otherwise could be desirable places to live and work.
Governor, State of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder became Michigan’s 48th Governor in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014. In his first term, the state passed four balanced budgets, eliminated a $1.5 billion deficit and reformed burdensome tax and regulatory codes as Michigan created more than 300,000 private sector jobs. Among his greatest achievements, Gov. Snyder built a bipartisan coalition of Michiganders to ensure Detroit exited bankruptcy successfully. He also successfully implemented Healthy Michigan, an innovative and bipartisan plan that has provided affordable and quality health care for more than 500,000 hardworking Michiganders.
Key Takeaways Private business can do more to send professionals into schools to educate students about good, well-paying jobs. Boosting broadband access will allow more people to find employment in areas outside of large cities. Michigan’s fiscal soundness is reflected in its Rainy Day fund, which has grown from $2 million in 2011 to $770 million.
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DETROIT TRANSFORMING FROM PROBLEM CITY TO OPPORTUNITY:
Darren Walker
“The greatest threat to our democracy is not terrorism, or pandemics, or climate change. It’s hopelessness,” Ford Foundation president Darren Walker declared in an eloquent conclusion to one of the most enthusiastically received sessions at the Conference.
Ryan’s appointment to Detroit marks the return of the Ford Foundation’s presence for the first time since it left the Motor City in 1953. It is now ramping up a major initiative to invest in affordable housing in the city where it was founded 81 years ago by Edsel Ford.
“Hopelessness will drive people to do desperate things,” he added. “We have to have hope because hope gives democracy the oxygen it needs to breathe.”
In his discussion with WDIV-TV 4 anchor Devin Scillian, Walker also talked about the the current state of democracy in the United States, and reflected on the Grand Bargain and repairing the Ford Foundation’s relations with its hometown and The greatest threat to our democracy is not terrorism, founding family.
or pandemics, or climate change. It’s hopelessness.” – Darren Walker
Walker’s profile and influence in Detroit spread a few years ago, when he re-engaged the New York-based Ford Foundation with its hometown after nearly a half-century of estrangement. He had joined the Ford Foundation in 2010, and was named president in 2013. Collaborating with The Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and others, he helped bring to fruition the Grand Bargain that sped Detroit’s exit from bankruptcy. The Ford Foundation has committed $15 million a year in grants to Detroit and is now basing program officer Kevin Ryan at the downtown Detroit office of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Its grant-making will focus mainly on housing, blight, jobs, culture and “helping to renew civic spirit,” Walker said. “It is quite encouraging to see how much progress the city has made these past few years,” Walker said. “The narrative about Detroit has moved away from a problem city to an opportunity narrative. Detroit will continue to capture the imagination of the country.” “The issue for Detroit, and the issue for our country today, is the scourge of inequality,” Walker added. “We have this huge challenge in this country of growing inequality.”
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The state of America’s democracy, he said, continues to be full of surprises. Walker said he “naively thought”
that Barack Obama’s election as president represented progress. But instead, he said it “unleashed and exposed a vicious response to the fact that a black man could be president of the United States.” And on the day of Walker’s Conference session, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord. “It’s really quite unfortunate because it would be the people most vulnerable that are left behind,” Walker said. Reflecting on the Ford Foundation’s history, Walker said Henry Ford II, then CEO of Ford Motor Co., resigned from the Ford Foundation board in 1976. “Henry felt like the Foundation had become a caricature of East Coast liberalism,” Walker said. “It was a contentious time. We were the single largest funder of the civil rights movement, also women’s rights.” Ford did have some legitimate complaints back then, Walker conceded.
“He was right about the arrogance, about spending the dollars too freely, about attitudes,” he said. After Walker joined the Ford Foundation, Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., reached out to him and introduced Walker to his mother, Martha. “The family is deeply committed to this city and philanthropy,” Walker said.
Biography DARREN WALKER
President, Ford Foundation Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, the nation’s second largest philanthropic organization. He also led the philanthropy committee that helped bring a resolution to the city of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy and chairs the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Walker served as vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he managed the “Rebuilding Together New Orleans” initiative after Hurricane Katrina. He also served as chief operating officer of the Abyssinian Development Corporation in New York, overseeing a comprehensive revitalization program of central Harlem. In 2016, Time magazine named Walker to its annual list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”
Key Takeaways Major problems are too numerous to be solved without collaboration, or by grant-making alone. Foundations can only be successful if they are willing to cooperate. People want to feel like they are contributing to something larger than themselves. Never take justice and progress for granted. (Left to right) WDIV-TV 4’s Devin Scillian talks with the Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker on Detroit’s transformation as a city of opportunity and the long-term impact of philanthropic investment to sustain the city’s growth.
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INCIVILITY IS DEMOCRACY’S DEATH KNELL:
Julie Winokur “Five years ago, people were putting party before country and I was among the people pointing fingers,” Julie Winokur said. Her son called her out for her narrow-mindedness, and thus was born “Bring It to the Table,” an award-winning documentary that captured Winokur’s interviews talking politics with 125 Americans on a cross-country road trip. In her keynote address, Winokur, executive director of Talking Eyes Media, urged Conference attendees to set aside their own partisan differences and help break down political barriers. When she realized her son was right to call her out, “I took it as my duty to set out and become a better version of myself,” Winokur said. She put radical civility in action by setting up a small table with a flower in familiar places and inviting people to sit down and talk politics with the goal of understanding their ideology. Each conversation starts with her asking the interviewee to place the flower on the table somewhere to the right or left, to indicate his or her political leanings. “And then I asked questions; I had set out to listen,” she said.
Listening is not just waiting for the other person to stop speaking.” – Julie Winokur
Each participant discussed the current political climate, how to best respond to others’ beliefs, and how to talk across party lines about issues that matter. Like many Americans, Winokur had watched with dismay the partisan gridlock in Washington and thought, “We are not witnessing problem-solving, we are witnessing obstructionism.” Her film, recounting many of her one-on-one discussions, aired on NBC News around the time of the 2012 election. The movement to restore civility in American politics, Winokur said, needs to start from the ground up by engaging in civil political debate. Talking Eyes Media’s Julie Winokur shares her experience on learning how to be tolerant of other people’s political viewpoints during her keynote address on civility.
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Julie Winokur (right) demonstrates her method of active listening using a fellow Conference attendee as part of Winokur’s “Bring It to the Table” project to encourage political civility.
“It is unacceptable where we have arrived, but this is not the end of days that we’re sitting in right now, this is the opportunity. Things must get bad to get better. This is that moment and this is your moment,” Winokur explained in concluding her keynote. “I’m going to ask that everyone here in the next week does a random act of civil discourse and approach a conversation that you don’t agree with your arms open and help me understand your attitude.” “Politics can be uncomfortable,” she said, “but if you can’t talk politics, that’s the death knell for democracy.” In an interactive session with about two dozen Conference attendees the morning after her keynote, Winokur used the same setup she used when traveling the country – a table and a flower. She invited an attendee to join her at the table. He moved the flower to the right, and she asked why he felt he identified as conservative. She followed up with leading questions, encouraging him to elaborate and tell her something personal. “Listening is not just waiting for the other person to stop speaking,” Winokur explained. “I want to task you all with approaching political conversations with an, ‘I want to understand you better’ mentality.” Following the demonstration, Winokur asked the audience to sit across from a stranger and try it for themselves. After identifying who would be the questioners and setting the flower, participants exchanged stories and opinions on immigration. Winokur, a University of Michigan graduate, hopes to conduct a 10-table “Bring It to the Table” event at U of M this fall.
Biography JULIE WINOKUR
Executive Director, Talking Eyes Media; Producer and Director, “Bring It to the Table” Julie Winokur is the executive director at Talking Eyes Media. She launched the company in 2002 to create visual media that catalyzes positive social change. Her work has appeared on Discovery, the Documentary Channel, MediaStorm, MSNBC, National Geographic magazine, The New York Times magazine, PBS, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Beyond broadcasting and publications, Winokur works extensively with nonprofit organizations to develop messaging. She is also a faculty member at the International Center of Photography. Her other projects include “Bring It to the Table,” “Newest Americans” and “Hijabi World,” a film about Muslim women which appeared in The New York Times.
Key Takeaways A civil conversation on politics occurs when you learn to listen or change the way you listen. Seek a spirit of understanding, not to prove the other person wrong. Ask, “What can I do?” Although we all may not be able to influence Congress, we can influence a small part of the world through community and family.
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(Left to right) “Michigan Matters” host Carol Cain discusses the importance of bipartisan collaboration on key issues for the state’s economy with U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI 12), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI 14), Dave Trott (R-MI 11) and Fred Upton (R-MI 6).
Working Together:
MICHIGAN’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
“I hate the partisanship. You’ll never see me throwing these hand grenades or blowing people up,” said U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-MI 6). “I have the greatest respect for all of my colleagues. We do have to work together. In Michigan, we’ve proven that our delegation can.”
We do have to work together. In Michigan, we’ve proven that our delegation can.” – U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-MI 6) Upton’s words crystallized the interaction between four members of Michigan’s congressional delegation on the “Cutting Through Politics” panel at the Conference. In an age of hyper-partisanship in Washington, D.C., the foursome – Upton was joined by U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI 12), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI 14) and David Trott (R-MI 11) – may not always vote together but kept the discussion civil onstage.
Key Takeaways
Funding for a new Soo Lock is one of the most important infrastructure issues facing Michigan and the United States. Michigan’s congressional delegation won’t approve a budget without support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Probes of Russian interference in the 2016 election could stymie progress in Congress for a year or more.
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One after another, they stressed how they are working hand-in-hand on several fronts, including the recently announced legislation to secure appropriations for a new Soo Lock; advocating for the protection of funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; and support for Michigan’s manufacturers and automotive industry. Democrats Dingell and Lawrence even ladled out some praise for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. Lawrence gave Snyder credit for supporting welding programs inside the state’s prisons, while Dingell offered kudos to the Governor for continuing to back the Healthy Michigan plan paid for by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. All four emphasized their commitment to the Conference pillar of restoring civility in American politics and raising the bar of debate and discourse. Dingell made a plea for renewed attention to the auto industry, with signs of a softening in car and truck sales and some recent white-collar staff cuts at Ford Motor Co. “The auto industry is critical. People in the industry haven’t forgotten the fear and anxiety of 2007-2008,” she said, recalling the collapse of FCA US LLC and General Motors Co. into Chapter 11 bankruptcies and the subsequent bailouts that got them back on their feet. Upton said he is hoping that tax reform legislation can pave the way for a surge in U.S. economic growth. Trott, a second-term congressman, said he was impressed with how Congress was working during his first term, but said in his second term Congress is now dysfunctional and as partisan as it can be.
Michigan’s 21st Century:
GOV. SNYDER’S COMMISSION REPORTS
Michigan’s economy has rebounded strongly in the past decade, from bottom-of-the-barrel to middle-of-the-pack in many 50-state rankings. But while it might be nice to take a breather after such a climb, the Mitten State is still far short of top-tier – or even acceptable – status in critical areas such as infrastructure and education.
If we don’t get the talent equation right, it’s game over.” – Sandy Baruah Those were the challenging headlines from a mainstage panel discussion on Gov. Rick Snyder’s 21st Century Commission reports, as the three commission chairs urged state leaders to invest as needed to make Michigan competitive in areas where it is still lagging. Snyder was joined on the panel by Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah, Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas, and Edw. C. Levy Co. Vice President S. Evan Weiner, the chairmen of the commissions on the state’s economy, education and infrastructure, respectively. “If we don’t get the talent equation right, it’s game over,” Baruah said, noting that Michigan ranks 33rd nationally in per capita income and 34th in educational attainment, a metric that is strongly correlated with economic prosperity. Haas urged the business community to rally behind his commission’s recommendations to improve teacher preparation and increase access to preschool education. “You hear time and again, it’s all about talent,” Haas said.
Weiner’s report was equally ominous. Michigan’s infrastructure, he said, is in “a state that we are not, and should not, be proud of – 40 percent of roads are in poor condition, 1,200 bridges are deficient, 25 percent of beaches are closed every summer because of E. coli.” Snyder said many recommendations from the three commissions have already been adopted and some projects are underway. Michigan has launched a pilot integrated asset management plan to better inform government and community leaders of infrastructure needs for the next 50 years. Targeted efforts to increase access to early childhood education and improve third-grade reading scores are also underway. “These are nonpartisan, data-based reports that set out a clear framework for legislators who can then take this information when crafting legislation and ask themselves, ‘Does this legislation advance the recommendations that the infrastructure, economy and education reports require?’ If not, why are we spending time and taxpayer dollars on it?” Baruah said.
Key Takeaways Government, business and community leaders must beef up their commitment to infrastructure investment for the next generation. Michigan and the entire nation are lagging in computer and tech skills. More emphasis on STEM education is needed.
(Left to right) “MiWeek” anchor Christy McDonald discusses key recommendations of Gov. Rick Snyder’s 21st Century Commission with the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Sandy Baruah, Grand Valley State University’s Thomas Haas, Gov. Snyder and Edw. C. Levy Co.’s S. Evan Weiner.
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(Left to right) KPMG’s Claudia Saran and Kate Jackson, along with Toyota North America’s George Cook III and Brose North America Inc.’s Mike Brosseau participate in a panel discussion on human capital in the digital age.
Auto on the Island:
SCRAMBLING FOR TECH TALENT
MICHauto expanded its “Auto on the Island” programming this year to include two CEO sessions. The invitationonly sessions were attended by 35 automotive CEOs and provided a platform to gather their insights on the challenges, opportunities, threats and weaknesses in the automotive industry. The first session, an open discussion moderated by “Autoline” host John McElroy, uncovered emerging trends in the convergence of big data and next-generation mobility. Some of the overarching topics included: How to acquire the right talent; how the industry can influence career choices; the NAFTA agreement; and infrastructure and roads.
…Instead of looking at technology as a tool, you’re talking to the workforce about technology as a colleague of yours.”
The second session included an open dialogue with Gov. Rick Snyder, where auto leaders shared how industry and the state can partner to strengthen Michigan’s competitiveness in this growing global industry. Mayor Mike Duggan, also in attendance, demonstrated his continued commitment to leverage mobility advancements for the benefit of Detroit’s continued renaissance.
Key Takeaways Critical and analytical thinking, problem-solving and time management are uniquely human traits that are in-demand. Manufacturers work closely with schools to create curriculum and training to dispel the myth that a fouryear degree is the only path to success. Think about technology not just as a tool for IT to deploy, but as a colleague to help problem-solve.
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On Wednesday, the MICHauto Roundtable, “Human Capital the Digital Age,” featured a presentation by Mike DiClaudio, principal for KPMG, and was proceeded by a panel discussion with Brose North America’s Mike Brosseau, Toyota North America’s George Cook III and KPMG’s Claudia Saran and Kate Jackson.
– Claudia Saran
“Competition for talent is not just within your industry, but starting to come from other industries,” DiClaudio said. Automakers should extend their talent search beyond the traditional automotive talent pool, he said. “As we make autonomous vehicles, we may displace a number of people who make a living driving, right? Toyota has recognized that,” Cook said. “We’re working with other companies to think about that displacement.” Saran, of KPMG’s “People and Change” advisory group, talked about a mindshift change with regard to technology and the relationship between humans and machines. “Most companies tended to approach tech as a tool, an enabler in the past. But now instead of looking at technology as a tool, you’re talking to the workforce about technology as a colleague of yours,” she said. Employee retention in a hyper-competitive talent market, the panelists agreed, has less to do with pay and more to do with company values and culture.
Mackinac MOMENTS
TOP: Harold Ford Jr., former U.S. representative and political analyst for MSNBC and CNBC, shares his thoughts on President Trump’s administration and explains how the latest shakeup in Washington is positive despite several controversies. “The political system needs a good shove every 10 to 15 years,” Ford said. “I think Trump is reflective of where people are today. People have changed the way they view and interpret politics.” He also said that the shakeup forced both parties, Republicans and Democrats, to think differently on how they offer plans and how results are achieved. MIDDLE: Celebrating its 200th anniversary, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel discusses the school’s mission of making the world a better place through research and academics. “One thing that we are most proud of is generating human capital – the talented people – that will drive the economy,” Schlissel said. BOTTOM: Anya Babbitt, founder and CEO of SPLT, shares her journey to Detroit and discusses the importance of SPLT, her digital ride-sharing business and other transportation solutions in a shared economy driven by innovation and technology. “There is a new shift in mobility,” Babbitt said. “Access and automation is much more important than how we get to our destination. We are in this amazing race of connected mobility and we believe firmly that you have to be in it to win it and Detroit is in it to win it.”
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MORNING VIEW:
Mackinac Uncensored
This year’s Mackinac Policy Conference closed out with a brand-new series of fast-paced, off-the-cuff sessions featuring 21 thought leaders from across the state sharing their unbridled opinions on everything from the Michigan governor’s race to term limits in the state Legislature and President Trump’s first six months. Dennis Archer Jr., president of Archer Corporate Services, and Tammy Carnrike, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s chief operating officer, emceed the morning program.
Governor’s Race
President Trump Report Card
Political experts Kelly Rossman-McKinney and John Truscott of the public relations firm Truscott Rossman engaged in an honest and poignant discussion with Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta about the 2018 gubernatorial election. All agreed that the state is in uncharted territory politically, and that any viable candidate would need to have legislative experience to govern effectively.
Just over 100 days into his first term, Lena Epstein, general manager of Vesco Oil Corp., Michael McGee, CEO of Miller Canfield, and moderator Nolan Finley, editorial page editor of The Detroit News, graded President Trump’s progress. Finley gave the president a “C,” Epstein’s grade was “A-,” and McGee gave an “I” for incomplete. All agreed that the president would survive recent talks of impeachment and would run for re-election, making the 2020 election another interesting race.
Michigan Term Limits The effectiveness of state lawmakers’ ability to govern knowledgeably under term limits and a proposed parttime Legislature were discussed with Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and Randy Richardville, former majority leader in the Michigan Senate. The session was moderated by Crain’s Detroit Business’ Chad Livengood and both panelists agreed that term limits have not lived up to voters’ expectations.
Detroit Elections Crossroads Consulting and Communication Group’s Sheila Cockrel and Clark Hill PLC’s Reginald Turner joined moderator Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press for a discussion on Mayor Mike Duggan’s prospects for re-election and the most competitive city council races. Cockrel and Turner both agreed that Duggan has significantly moved the needle on major issues and deserves more time to reverse the city’s decline that was decades in the making. Both Cockrel and Turner were also optimistic for the incumbent city council members, but expressed that races in District 5 and District 2 could be competitive.
(Left to right) WDIV-TV 4’s Tim Pamplin discusses the island buzz during Morning View: Mackinac Uncensored with Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing’s Marcie Brogan and Tanner Friedman’s Matt Friedman.
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(Left to right) Detroit Free Press’ Stephen Henderson discusses the upcoming Detroit mayoral and city council elections with Crossroads Consulting and Communications Group’s Sheila Cockrel and Clark Hill PLC’s Reginald Turner.
Forecasting the 2020 Election
Island Buzz
Whether President Trump can win a second term in office and Republicans hold onto their majority in the U.S. House and Senate will rely largely on voters’ temperament regarding the economy, job creation and national security. In a session moderated by Ron Fournier of Crain’s Detroit Business, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer Sr. and Robert Schostak, CEO of Templar Baker Group, offered bold predictions of the political climate in Michigan and the United States in 2020. Both panelists said negativity cannot continue in 2020 or Americans will return to the polls angry and disheartened. Neither Archer nor Schostak offered a prediction on presidential candidates for 2020.
Detroit’s communication professionals Marcie Brogan, partner and chair at Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing, Matt Friedman, partner at Tanner Friedman, and moderator Tim Pamplin of WDIV-TV 4, spilled the beans on the buzz that lingered through the Grand Hotel parlor and around Mackinac Island during the Conference. Friedman noted that local and state politics dominated discussions throughout the week and would only ramp up more next year with the governor’s race, state Legislature and midterm Congressional elections around the corner.
Millennials’ Perspective of the Conference Future leaders Peter Ghafari, director of business development for Ghafari Associates, and Dannis Mitchell, diversity manager for Barton Malow Co., joined Ingrid Jacques, deputy editorial page editor for The Detroit News, to discuss their view of the Conference. A highlight of the Conference for both was being included in conversations throughout the week centered around entrepreneurship, diversity and neighborhoods. When returning to Detroit, Ghafari and Mitchell plan to spread the word that the Conference is where millennials who want to make a difference in Detroit and Michigan need to be.
Ghafari Associates’ Peter Ghafari and Barton Malow Co.’s Dannis Mitchell discuss millennials’ perspective on the Conference.
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T hank You 2017 Sponsors DIAMOND
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER AARP Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Delta Dental Detroit Public Television ITC Office Depot The Skillman Foundation
BRONZE AAA Accenture American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) Business Leaders for Michigan Crain’s Detroit Business DENSO Detroit Medical Center Eli Lilly and Company Enbridge EY Fakhoury Global Immigration General Motors Co. Greektown Casino-Hotel GS3 Henry Ford Health System
Skidmore Studio
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Ice Mountain Ilitch Holdings Inc. Kelly Services Michigan REALTORS Miller Canfield Nexteer Automotive Plunkett Cooney Priority Health PwC SME Toyota Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Washtenaw Community College Wayne County Community College District
DETROITER DESIGN PARTNER
89%
60,000
+ Number of People From Across the Globe Who Watched DPTV’s Coverage of the Conference On-Air and Online
Attendees Indicated They Received Value
144
Government Officials Attended
12
National Speakers Taking Center Stage
145
451
MEDIA
Top Tier Executives Attended
1,669
Members of Working Media From Print, Digital and Broadcast Outlets
Total Conference Attendance
900
1,100+
+
Instances of Earned Media Coverage
4
Downloads of the 2017 Conference App
Number of Days the Conference Hashtag #MPC17 Trended on Twitter 2017 Executive Executive Summary Summary•• 35
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