Deming’s wisdom is more important than ever. If you’re not familiar with Dr. W. Edwards Deming, you’re probably not alone. Many of us have forgotten who he was and the profound influence he had on corporate leadership, especially here in Detroit. In the day, Deming was largely thought-of as a quality systems guru. In truth, …
Welch was an icon, but he doesn’t deserve that sort of credit. A friend of mine passed along this New York Times piece about David Gelles’ interviews with Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric. The title of Gelles’ book, which is based on the same interviews, is, The Man Who Broke Capitalism. To …
It’s hard to gain, and even harder to regain. Trust is a word that tends to elude a hard and fast definition. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as, “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” There’s a lot to that, most of which is just as elusive as the …
Opportunity abounds when we let nature inspire design. When I was a kid, my family would vacation “up north” in the UP, which meant time outside. Whenever we went up north, my mom would always say, “There’s something about the air up here.” It took awhile, but I finally understood what she meant. There is …
Where we’re headed and why it’s not good for business. What does business have to do with liberal democracy? Before setting out to answer the question, it’s best to consider our terms: What do we mean by “liberal democracy”? The first term is liberal, and in this sense, it has nothing to do with left …
Why can’t we stop urban sprawl? Why does the problem of urban sprawl in Southeast Michigan seem intractable? Though the issue pops up now and again, the most recent example is the impasse we seem to continually confront when it comes to a regional mass transit plan – we simply do not seem to have …
What’s SB have to do with land conservancy? Many think of sustainable business as a fairly narrow thing: It has to do with business and being “green”. This is certainly reasonable, but it’s a long way from what sustainable business means. Not long ago, I spoke with Chris Bunch, the Executive Director of Six Rivers …
Are we taking time to SEE justice? There’s an old saying, “Think before you leap.” Before we do anything, it’s always best to have an idea of what the outcome ought to be. When it comes to acting as a city, it’s best to make sure everyone is at least reasonably close to being on …
Why do we have a problem? The answer is absurd. I found a report, published in 2018 by the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), Michigan Section that’s quite revealing. In the report, the ASCE gave Michigan’s stormwater infrastructure a grade of D-. Somehow, a grade of D- seems like a veiled attempt at saving …
Have you ever wondered which is more sustainable, suburban or city living? For those living in Metro Detroit – a place that necessitates driving just about everywhere, all the time – it seems almost intuitive that city living would be more sustainable. After all, reducing or eliminating the use of an automobile would have a …
