"Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community" by Rod Kackley

Here's My Problem with the 99% (Part Three)

2012-05-21T04:18:00.000-07:00

As I have said before I have a problem with the 99 %. My attitude goes against everything I have argued for in the past four decades.

I am as liberal as the next guy and probably more liberal than most. However, I have done a complete 180 on the Occupy movement and the protests of the 99 %. Did I have some kind of an epiphany? No. I have come to the conclusion that my attitude changed because of what I have seen in Grand Rapids, Mich., my adopted hometown, and what I have documented in Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community.

When you read the story of Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile, due out this summer, I think you will understand what I am talking about. Better yet, come and join us. Get into this entrepreneurial environment that is supported by our 1-percent, who by the way, are our friends and neighbors.

I really don’t understand the feeling that life is all so unequal and unfair. I spent most of my life working two jobs, knowing that I was never going to be rich. Oh, I had the dream. But I also understood the difference between a dream and a goal. By the way, the dream has not died.

I know it can be done. I have seen hippies do it since the 1960s. Do you think Jimmy Buffett started life as a member of the 1-percent? Good heavens. He built an empire with a guitar, a parrot and a song. He never even had to wear real shoes.

Maybe my attitude is different because of where I live. I came from suburban Detroit, where the unions were strong. Here in Grand Rapids, Mich. I live in a community where entrepreneurs are strong. I am watching, learning and writing about new businesses that are being launched every day. Where do they get the money? Hold on. This is going to come as a shock.

They get the money from the 1-percent. We have billionaires in this community who are treating us pretty darn well.

You think I am kidding you, but I am not. The 1-percent, even the .05 percent is going out of its way in Grand Rapids to help the 99-percent start new businesses. Is it because they are good people? Yeah. Actually they are good people. But they also know that if you do well, the community will do well. And if they community does well, everyone does well. You, them, me, a rising tide really does lift all boats. That is just physics, or something. But, it does happen. I have seen it.

You could even use your Occupy model to launch a business. Heck. We have some guys in Grand Rapids –beards, tattoos, the whole nine yards of the fashion you like—and they have started the High Five Beer Co-op. What could possibly be wrong with that? Guess where they got their initial seed money. They got it from an event called “5x5” put together by Rick DeVos, son of Dick DeVos, grandson of Amway co-founder Rich DeVos. You saw that one coming didn’t you?

New entrepreneurs like the guys behind High Five Beer Co-op competed for $5,000. But that wasn't enough to really grow their businesses so Rick has created a DeVos family $15 million venture fund to back "hundreds of new ideas."

Now, let’s talk about the 1-percent. Here’s some something that I am afraid is going to rock your world. The 1-percent, the .05 percent, the .0001 percent are doing pretty darn well by us (the 99-percent) in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Oh, sure people in Grand Rapids complain that the 1-percent (DeVos, Van Andel, Secchia, et.al.) has too much influence, and that their names are on too many buildings, and that they are just too darn rich. But you know what? When there is a problem that needs to be corrected, a project that just can’t get a bank loan, or maybe something that we didn’t even know we needed, they are right there.

It is a heck of a lot better than going to Tony Soprano.

They don’t do it alone. They couldn’t. No matter how rich you think they are, they really are not. We help them. It is a partnership. It is a private-public-philanthropic partnership model that works. At least it works for us. Stay tuned for Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community. In this book, due out this summer, I tell the story of the creation of Medical Mile in Grand Rapids. This is a $1billion, 1.5 mile-long campus that was built on a northeast side Grand Rapids street.

Scientists, researchers, students, teachers, patients, and the community-at-large; all sharing a vision, all sharing a goal, all pulling together. And get this: Nobody is in charge! This is a totally czar-less endeavor. Some weeks it works better than others, but it does work.

Maybe that is why the Occupy movement really didn’t catch on in Grand Rapids, Mich. Maybe we don’t need it. Or maybe, we have a better idea.

You are welcome to join. We can always use the help.

Talk to you soon

Rod

Last Chance Mile: The Parkinson's Partnership

2012-05-19T06:56:00.001-07:00

We are getting closer to the publication of Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community, so I thought I would begin sharing a taste of what you will find inside the book.

Last Chance Mile tells the story of the reinvention of an American community, Grand Rapids, Michigan through the creation of Medical Mile, a $1 billion campus of science and medical research that has grown in 16 short years in a northeast side city neighborhood.

Medical Mile combines the resources of West Michigan's three health care organizations, two universities and a research institute devoted to the study of cancer, along with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

It was created through a public-private-philanthropic sector partnership with no single leader, no "czar" if you will. It was created that way and it is operating that way. As the head of one of the health care organizations told me, "Some weeks it works better than others." But the model does work.

There are a lot of communities that need to be reinvented for the 21st century. I believe the reinvention of this American community, Grand Rapids, Michigan could be used as an idea starter for that.

In Last Chance Mile I also attempt to make the point that this "cluster of prosperity" cannot stand alone. This should be the first of many similar clusters. More on that later.

--------LCM-----

Today's excerpt is pulled from a chapter entitled, "The Parkinson's Partnership." This is a key chapter because it brings together all of the elements that led to the creation of Grand Rapids' Medical Mile including the spirt of a shared vision and the partnership to make it happen.

It also demonstrates why Medical Mile has to be more than what has been developed on Michigan Street NE. It has to be a real community that can attract the best minds in science and medicine.

David Van Andel told me that he spent a couple of years trying to convince Dr. Patrik Brundin to move his family from Sweden to Grand Rapids. Below is an excerpt from "The Parkinson's Partnership" that shows the kind of work Brundin is doing on Grand Rapids' Medical Mile.

Dr. Patrick Brundin has been called a “rock star in his field" but you would never know it by looking at him. Brundin is a thin, wiry man whose brainpower could light a city. He told the Medical Mile Resource Group at the Medical Mile's Van Andel Research Institute in March 2012 that there is new hope in the quest to cure people afflicted with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Brundin also said, in his very European, smooth, cultured way, that he is finding smaller institutions like VARI are doing a much better job in this endeavor than their larger counterparts in Big Pharma.

"Very few drugs are being developed because (the process) is so difficult and expensive," said Dr. Brundin. "The drug industry is on the brink of giving up."

Dr. Brundin was honest with his audience, telling them that "the disease process cannot be stopped. Less than 10 percent of new drugs work (against brain diseases). Current therapies are unsatisfactory."

However he added there is "great hope" in "tricking stem cells" into becoming dopamine neurons, and that could open the door to, if not cures, at least a way to slow or inhibit the spread of Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s.

The best hope could be found in research institutions like the VARI on Grand Rapids' Medical Mile, or as Dr. Brundin put it, "small may be beautiful." He said their rate of success is much higher than Big Pharma is seeing, and the cost of research and discovery is far lower.

Why? That is another mystery that is yet to be solved. But it could be because Big Pharma may not have, in Brundin's words, "the right creative culture."

We are hoping the “right, creative culture” is the ‘high on thought, low on bureaucracy attitude’ that is found on the Medical Mile. Brundin said it could even be "serendipitous," although he said that his team has a different definition for that word.

Rather than making great discoveries by serendipitous accident, Brundin said, with a smile on his face, "We prefer to see it as a happy blend of wisdom and luck."

Medical Mile is more than simply $1 billion worth of buildings. It is more than the hospitals, the universities, the laboratories. More than anything else Medical Mile is the people of the Mile, the people of Grand Rapids, the people who are reinventing this American community. More on that in the next installment.

Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community

Here's My Problem with the 99 Percent (Part 2)

2012-05-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

I do have a problem with the 99% and the hatred of the 1% that I am hearing. This is more than class envy or class warfare as some are calling it. This is the kind of feeling that could, and maybe has, paralyzed our society.

In Part One, which I hope you all read, I told you that I really do share the feelings of pain and frustration that many of you are expressing. I graduated from high school in suburban Detroit in 1973. That is really when the economy started to tank and the American Dream faded to a myth.

However, that did not happen because of the 99% or the 1%. It happened because we suddenly found ourselves in a global community. Could we have planned better? Absolutely. But let's face it, how saw Toyota coming?

One more thought: Don't you think this theme is especially appropriate on Facebook IPO Day? This is the day when the creation of some college kids became the largest IPO in history and captivated the world's attention. A Bloomberg TV anchor said this morning, "Is anyone in the world watching anything else?" as his cable network and at least four others devoted hours to the Facebook IPO initial trade.

That said, let's move on to Part Two of "Here's My Problem with the 99 Percent."

Okay. You say you can’t get a job, because there are no jobs. That is so wrong. I just finished writing a three-part series on open jobs that are not being filled in manufacturing here in West Michigan. It is not a local phenomenon. It is a national trend. Reshoring, the return of manufacturing from China to the U.S., has created a huge need for employees. And this happened before reshoring. Manufacturing has to replace an entire generation who walked past America’s factories. The people who run them are begging you to come to work. They’ll even train you free of charge. Just like the old days, that never really ended.

But you have been trying to get a job, you just couldn’t get anything? Maybe you have the wrong skills. Maybe you need to go back to school. Maybe you need to talk to a manufacturing company in your town about training and hiring you. Maybe that would be a better way to spend your time that occupying parks and telling the 1-percent that it is their fault.

Don’t get me wrong. I have done my share of protesting. I was right out there in the vanguard against the Vietnam War. I was all about Caesar Chavez and union lettuce. In 1971, I told our school’s assistant principal to get the “hell out of the auditorium” during a student council election and won by a landslide, until to find out years later that two of my friends had collected the ballots pretty much saying, “vote for Rod and nobody gets hurt.”

I have grown. I have matured. I think there is a much better way to change society. You have to get right in the middle of it and do it. I am not trying to be a poster Baby Boomer for the Chamber of Commerce. I have hit the point in my life where I really don’t care what they, or you, think of me. But I just think this might be a better idea.

Okay, enough about me. Let’s get back to you.

Maybe you should be working on a plan to start and run your own business, instead of protesting your days and nights away in a park. After all, for most of you; these are the best years of your life. Why waste them?

If you ran your own business, you could hire your fellow 99-percenters. What a concept. You could all go to work with a mission maybe like Google’s old mission, “Do No Evil.” You could change the world. And you could make some money while you are doing it. A house in the Hampton’s looks a lot better when it is yours. At least that is what I have been told.

This is possible. You can have a real impact. I will have more on that in Part Three of “My Problem with the 99 Percent.”

Rod

Fixing GM's Facebook Problem

2012-05-16T16:59:00.001-07:00

I must have had the same grimace on my face watching General Motors try to woo Facebook users into a good click as I had watching Kevin Spacey’s character in "American Beauty" attempt to convince his daughter’s best friend to give him a good…well, you know.

GM isn’t happy with clicks from 2-to-4 percent of the 800-million Facebook users? There is a big difference between a dream and a goal. Just ask Kevin Spacey’s character or any teenage boy. It’s like the difference between Mary Ann and Ginger.

General Motors says its advertising on Facebook failed. That is right. The advertising failed. Facebook did not fail, and should not be penalized for GM’s ineptitude on IPO day, this week.

Facebook and all social media are forcing a reinvention of the American Marketing Community, not unlike the way Medical Mile forced the American community of Grand Rapids, MI into a reinvention without an intervention. The old models don’t work anymore. New ideas are needed. Wait until Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community comes out in less than 90 days. You will see what I mean.

Think of it like this. Radio ads don’t work on TV. TV ads don’t work in newspapers. I don’t believe any of the 20^th century models of advertising will ever work very well on Facebook. Don't believe me? I am not the only one thinking this way. Click on this link for more on that.

What will work well on Facebook is what does work well on Facebook. One word: Games! People play games on Facebook. People play interactive games on Facebook.

GM or whichever company wants to motivate the 800-million Facebook users needs to turn their marketing message into a game. Maybe General Motors could make a game out of its old “See the USA in a Chevrolet” advertising slogan. Or better yet, make a game out of when the Aveo (should have been called the Fubar) that Joe Sucker bought his son will blow up and melt down. That car was such a loser.

However, I digress. I believe you get my point. If you want to run a marketing campaign that works well on Facebook, you have to do what is already working well on Facebook, or whatever social media you choose.

Let me know what you think..

Rod

Here's My Problem With The 99% (Part One)

2012-05-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am as liberal, or progressive, as the next guy and probably more liberalor progressive than most. If you don’t believe that, take a look at the URL for this blog again. However, I have done a complete 180 on the Occupy movement and the protests of the 99 %.

This really puts me in mind of an interview that I did with Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos at Amway for Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community. The sons of the men who founded Amway talked about their core belief that "things will get better." Doug and Steve told me that guided their fathers, who learned it from their parents. However, it is also true that nothing really gets better on its own. It depends on you.

At the same time, I hear the argument that the 1% is controlling our government, our society and our lives. Well, nobody controls my life, except me. So, let’s do away with that right now. Now as for the rest of it; this is nothing new. This 99% vs. 1% debate goes back to the founding of our nation, at least to the argument over re-chartering Second Bank of the United States wage by Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. You can read more about that in Almost President: The Men Who Lost The Race But Changed The Nation by Scott Farris.

Let’s go back to the unwashed multitude that has come to be known as the “99 percent.” I did more than my share of protesting and demonstrating in my day. The Vietnam War, non-union lettuce, even marches for open lunch and an end to dress codes in high school. There was a demonstration for everything from 1968 through 1973. However, I have really been embarrassed by my brethren. Think about how much they could have accomplished by getting a job, or by starting their own business. They could be reforming the system, if that is what they really want to do, from the inside. (Sound like my Dad much?)You could even hire your fellow 99-percenters.

You say you can’t get a job no matter how hard you try? You say you don’t know if you can start your own business? I’ll have the answers to those questions coming up in Part Two. Talk to you then.

Rod

Czar Not Needed on Medical Mile

2012-05-11T09:00:00.001-07:00

Reading a Wall Street Journal op-ed written by Arthur Herman Thursday morning, “The FDR Lesson Obama Should Follow,” I discovered a parallel between the way America mobilized for World War Two and the formation of the Medical Mile. This is something that I touch on in Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community, however it is something that I really believe needs more exploration.

Just as General Motors Chairman William Knudsen mobilized U.S. manufacturers into an effort to rebuild America’s military for World War Two without a czar, asking them to volunteer to convert their factories to the mass production that created an “arsenal of democracy,” Medical Mile is being created through a public-private-philanthropic sector alliance that is totally voluntary.

Here is an important note that should not be overlooked. Just as FDR and William Knudsen mobilized America for the Second World War, the institutions on Medical Mile – with people like Dave Van Andel, Rick Breon, and Marsha Rappley at their helms -- are working together to cure some of the diseases plaguing humanity without a czar.

That’s the kicker to this story. Nobody is in charge. While the public sector plays a very important role –and some on Medical Mile wish it would take a more consistent role in terms of funding – no one in Lansing, Washington D.C. or even Grand Rapids City Hall is telling the players on Medical Mile what to do, how to do it, or when to do it.

There is no government czar running this. There is no philanthropic or private sector czar running Medical Mile. Here is part of what Spectrum Health CEO Rick Breon told me during a meeting in his office during an interview for Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community.
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“We had plans of developing buildings around certain clinic services like heart, children’s and cancer,” Breon told me. “The parts and pieces were out there, but I don’t think they were joined together very well at the time.”

The collaboration that made the Medical Mile could be called an evolutionary process, according to Breon. The Medical Mile neighbors had fences. They have yet to take them down. However they slowly begin talking over those fences. It was not always smooth. It never is. And it still is not. These are all individual players with their own goals, their own egos. There is no Medical Mile Czar running this.

“It came with its starts and stops. I think there were times when there was a lot of good conversation around the table and there were times when there wasn’t as much. I think that was to be expected,” said Breon. “Everyone kind of had their own ideas.”

However, the discussions of the Medical Mile’s future hit an “ah-ha” moment when the players saw they did have all of the pieces and parts they needed to form this new cluster of prosperity. It must have been like dumping a jig saw puzzle out of the box, turning all of the pieces over, and realizing you have everything you need. You just have to put it all together.

“We saw that this really could be something. This could be significant for this community,” said Breon. “As this thing grew, and the conversation developed, I think we saw that.”

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I think that is such a vital point to be remembered and an incredibly important lesson learned for the creation of the next cluster of prosperity that needs to be launched in Grand Rapids, as well as for every American community working on reinvention.

You don’t need a czar, be he from the public, private or philanthropic sectors. What you need is a shared vision and the shared resolve to accomplish that vision. Money helps. Of course, it does. However, even with the billionaires who are committed to the Mile and to Grand Rapids, they could never have built this cluster of prosperity with a community that shared the vision and had the determination to accomplish it.

It worked in 1940 when FDR and GM Chair William Knudsen mobilized America. It is working on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile. And, it could be working in your community too.

Try it. Czar-less freedom is a wonderful thing to experience.

Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community will be released in the next 90 days. When it is out, rest assured, you will be the first to know. I am going to offer hardcover, softcover and e-book editions.

Talk to you soon,

Rod

"Last Chance Mile" Goes To Publisher

2012-05-09T11:42:00.003-07:00

It is on its way. "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community" is on its way to Abbott Press for publication in hard cover, soft cover and ebook formats.

This is an examination of the creation of Grand Rapids' Medical Mile, the largest life sciences cluster in Michigan, responsible for 46,000 direct and indirect jobs and $4.4 billion in gross regional product.

Here's a sample of what you will read in "Last Chance Mile."

"There isn’t a city in Michigan, or many in the United States, that are not trying to reinvent themselves following the Great Recession. “Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community” serves as a road map for those cities. It shows the lessons that have been learned, and are still being learned in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the city transforms itself into a scientific community that seeks to attract the best minds from around the world.

Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile, stretching from the GVSU DeVos-Cook Center for Health Sciences on the east to Van Andel Institute and the MSU College of Human Medicine on the west, is the epicenter of this 21st century revolution in the way this community is thought of, and more importantly how this community thinks of itself.

The “Medical Mile,” is cluster of prosperity that is anchored by a world-renowned research institute, a major healthcare organization, a Big Ten medical school, a university Allied Health professions program, and an entrepreneurial incubator where new medical and life sciences businesses are being born.

None of this existed 15 years ago. It all began with a $1 billion gift from Jay Van Andel, a man who was destined to die from one of the diseases being investigated at the research institute (seen in photo) that bears his name, the Van Andel Institute.

We will also discover this story is far from over. We will see that the Medical Mile needs to be much more than it is now if it is to become the cluster of prosperity that it could be, and we will also look to the future to see that Grand Rapids needs much more than just the Medical Mile to become the community it needs to be in the 21st century."

More to come soon,

Rod

Medical Mile to Medical Mecca

2012-05-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

If the ultimate goal is to make Medical Mile a global destination for health care and research, we have to introduce the world to Michigan Street NE in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Medical Mile. That is one of the themes of "Last Chance Mile" The Reinvention of an American Community" because I believe strongly that the Mile has to be seen as a concentric circle around the globe.

We can't afford to be Grand Rapids- or even West Michigan-centric because while we may think this is the greatest place on Earth, it is not the only place on Earth.

The news that Spectrum Health is going to be hosting the 2012 Transplant Games of America is right in line with that. This is one more way for us to tell the world about Medical Mile. For more on that story, please click here.

While we are talking about Medical Mile, our friend Don Beery of Blendon Consulting and the executive director of the West Michigan Medical Device Consortium is out with a great two-part series on marketing technology, making, as usual several strong points. Click here for more on that.

Finally an update on my first book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community;" it should be going to the publisher by the end of this week.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me, so many people on Medical Mile are a part of this. When the book is out, you will be the first to know..

As soon as this book goes to the publisher, I begin working on my next...the story of the reinvention of West Michigan's manufacturing community. This story will begin with the partnerships that are being formed among manufacturers thanks to WMSTI and the West Michigan Medical Device Consortium.

Rod

The Best Advice is Often Ignored?

2012-04-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is the weekend, so it is time for something different. Lets consider for a moment, the word, "advice."

Anyone who has known me for the past 56 years knows I am better at giving advice than taking advice. But here is something I do like..When asked to give advice to beginning writers, John Steinbeck wrote, "Sorry. If I had any advice to give I would take it myself."

Carl Sandburg wrote, "Beware of advice--even this."

Those are attitudes I can respect. Here's some advice for you: If you truly find this interesting, click on this link for an excellent Writer's Digest article on the topic of advice.

Here's something else to think about for what is left of Saturday and all of Sunday. Who can come up with the best punchline for this story about a dentist who got dumped by her boyfriend and then pulled all of his teeth out?

And have a great weekend.

Rod

Creative Destruction = Reinvention?

2012-04-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Is Joseph Schumpter's "creative destruction" necessary to spark reinvention? That is not happening on Medical Mile in Grand Rapids. It is true that Spectrum Health, the giant of West Michigan health care and a centerpiece of the Mile was created by merging Butterworth Hospital and Blodgett Memorial Medical Center, but I really don't think anything was destroyed to do that.

Yes, there has been a change in the culture of West Michigan's health care community. As you will read in my book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," there are complaints about the "bedside manner" of the people running health care on the Mile (i.e. Spectrum Health).

However, we have only seen growth on Medical Mile, not destruction. We have seen the creation of a new community inside the American community that is being reinvented. And, one health care entity that chose not to be a geographic part of Medical Mile has formed its own community in southern Kent County.

Metro Health created Health Care Village and reinvented the city of Wyoming and the community of southern Kent County in a very positive way. You can read more on that struggle when my book comes out, within 100 days.

However, the force of creative destruction is a factor. I am reading "The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America"by Marc Levinson. Fantastic book! Not only is creative destruction a factor, but what happen with the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company really foreshadowed what would happen with WalMart.

It also foreshadowed what is happening now with small, local bookstores. Are they being run out of business by Amazon? Creative destruction would also seem to be a part of the reinvention of that business sector. Excellent take on that in this NY Times column written by Timothy Egan.

Egan and Levinson both make the point that the reinvention of the way world shops for food and books has been changed for the better. There are plenty of people who would disagree with that, but far fewer would choose to shop for more expensive food and books.

As a writer and owner of a newly formed self-publishing group, I applaud the final paragraph written by Egan. It is time to stop fighting the change that is happening with Amazon and e-books and adapt. Look at what happened and is still happening to the recording industry. We are also seeing the reinvention of radio, television and the motion picture industries.

The way we communicate will never be the same. Hopefully the way medical treatment is delivered will be reinvented as well. That will all be for the good.

Rod

Reinventing The Business That Invented a City

2012-04-22T04:39:00.001-07:00

--If we stand still, people catch up. --John A. Bryant, Kellogg CEO

I remember the first time I went to Battle Creek. I couldn't have been more than eight years old. Our family drove a couple of hours from Warren to get to the city where Kellogg made the cereal that made our mornings.

A few decades later, I had to be in Battle Creek for a morning business event, a Kellogg event. Driving in the dark from Grand Rapids was a real adventure. Battle Creek really isn't near anything and the city was like a ghost town before dawn. It wasn't much livelier after the sun came up.

But back to the pre-dawn hours. I pulled into a parking lot, unsure if I was even in Battle Creek, when off in the distance...what did I spy..but three little figures...the Rice Krispies Snap, Crackle and Pop guys..walking down the street toward me. Incredible. From the left, came Tony Tiger. No kidding. Not a flashback to some self-medicated, pharmaceutical mistake of the early 70s; this was really happening.

I was in Battle Creek.

Spotted an excellent NY Times article today on the reinvention of the business that invented Battle Creek. A quote from John A. Bryant is my favorite: "...if we stand still, people catch up.

That is why communities of all shapes and sizes need to be constantly reinventing themselves. They are being pushed forward, whether they know it or not.

Rod

Reinventing the Financial Model On Medical Mile

2012-04-21T15:47:00.001-07:00

One of the most interesting chapters to write in my new book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," was the chapter detailing the way Grand Rapids' Medical Mile has driven a reinvention of the community's financial model.

As you will see in the book that should be published within the next 100 days, new money is coming into Grand Rapids for the first time. It is actually being welcomed in. And for the first time, smaller investors who never had a chance to put any skin into the game are being allowed to play.

Southwest Michigan First CEO Ron Kitchens also talks about crowdfunding, where anyone could be an investor, not only in health and life sciences but in other entrepreneurial efforts.

Well, that could be just the beginning. Just read a fascinating article in Fast Company that raises the possiblity of local stock exchanges. Imagine that! Dumping Wall Street for Main Street. Wouldn't that open the door to new money? Wouldn't that be an incredible reinvention of what drives your local economy?

Check out the link to this story and please let me know what you think. A professor in Lancester, PA aptly named, Proffitt, believe it or not, says he is going to do it. We will have to keep track of that for you.

One more thing before I let you go. The Medical Mile Resource Group. I am a member because I believe the next step in the development of this cluster of prosperity called Medical Mile will be the creation of businesses that support the cluster. These are not spin-offs of the research being done on the Mile. These businesses are the companies that will offer services to support the people who work on Medical Mile.

These are essentially service businesses. And don't turn your nose up at that. Lawyers, accountants, and yes, the baristas, the cooks and more. All of these businesses are needed to support the Medical Mile. All of these businesses pump new money and energy into the Mile and the community.

Reinventing Retirement, Where Do I Sign Up?

2012-04-21T03:01:00.001-07:00

None of us thought, in 1963, when this photo was taken that we would be thinking about reinventing retirement.

Guess what? We are.

This is such a great idea. Retire in a historic home in New York, live rent-free as a caretaker. I think Michigan was doing this for a while with lighthouses. We should be doing this with our historic properties.

Why tear them down? They don't have to be relics. These historic homes can be what they were built to be: Homes.

I really like this article published in America's greatest newspaper, The New York Times.

The idea of reinventing retirement really hits home for me. Although I am not of retirement age, I will be 57 in May, I have, in a way, retired early. I left my 9-to-5 job, which was really more of a 9-to-7 job (aren't they all these days) when I realized that I didn't owe anyone a dime. My home was paid off, my cars are paid off...why knock myself out?

It is true that I do not have a pension, but I do have some money in the bank, and hopefully my freelance writing and book publishing will pay some bills.

Have you found an interesting way to reinvent retirement? Let me know.

(I am second from right in that photo- May, 1963.)

Rod

Collaboration on Cancer, The Reinvention Continues

2012-04-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

Organizations that could be competing on Medical Mile are collaborating. Scientists who in other venues would be working solitary 80-hour weeks laboring over research papers, scared to death that their colleagues would steal their data, are working side-by-side to find cures for diseases that are plauging the world.

Michael Nielsen writes about the power of this collective intelligence in Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science.

I found this kind of attitude, this reinvention of collaboration that is the foundation of the invention of Grand Rapids' Medical Mile, time and time again while doing research for my book, Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community.

Is this a case of accidential good fortune, an example of serendipity? Not really. Nielsen uses the term "designed serendipity" to describe what happens when discovery is reinvented and science is networked.

That is what is happening on Medical Mile..designed serendipity. Here is one of the latest examples from Van Andel Institute.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 3, 2011 – Spectrum Health and Van Andel Research Institute are part of a new national research effort that could help patients with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is spearheading the multi-year, multi-million dollar research effort. In 2012, more than 21,000 adults in the United States were diagnosed with multiple myeloma and approximately 11,000 people died from the disease. The five-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is approximately 34 percent, one of the lowest of all cancers.
Spectrum Health was selected to participate in the study because of its extensive research, which currently includes over 800 studies, and because its Advanced Technology Laboratory has extensive experience in diagnosing and monitoring patients with multiple myeloma, is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) laboratory.
“We are very excited to be a partner in this effort to determine how to conquer this disease,” said Lisa A. Shannon, Chief Operating Officer, Spectrum Health Grand Rapids. “This is very important research and we are proud to lend our expertise and experience to the effort. Partnerships like this expand the opportunity for success in conquering diseases like multiple myeloma.”
Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) will work with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to centrally collect and store tissue samples and extract DNA and RNA from samples for next-generation sequencing analysis including whole-genome and RNA-sequencing. TGen will provide the central hub for the sample analysis.
“We are gratified to participate in a landmark study with such potential to uncover previously unknown molecular processes of multiple myeloma,” said Scott Jewell, Ph.D., VARI Deputy Director for Research Resources and Director, Program for Biospecimen Science. “We look forward to close collaboration with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Spectrum Health and TGen.”
The national foundation hopes that this research will provide a comprehensive view of myeloma at the molecular level and enable the research community to better understand what drives a patient’s response to treatment or disease progression and tailor therapy accordingly. This may also generate new leads for targeted drug development, with the goal of increasing response to therapy and overall survival.
“The strong collaboration of academia, the clinical community and industry in this landmark project will enable us to translate new information into improved treatment approaches more efficiently and effectively than ever before,” said Louise M. Perkins, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
One thousand patients from throughout the country will be enrolled in the study. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation began enrolling patients through a network of academic and community clinical centers last year. Study participants will provide an initial tissue sample at the time at which they are newly diagnosed, and will provide follow-up tissue samples at the time of first and additional relapse. Sequential analysis of these tissue samples will shed new light on the relationship between molecular variation and patients’ response or resistance to therapy.
Spectrum Health will provide the BRAF gene analysis and a flow cytometric immunophenotype of each patient’s myeloma using state-of-the-art analytics in its clinical diagnostics laboratory.
“It is exciting for us to be involved in such a comprehensive and important national research effort. This puts our technological expertise and experience to the best possible use – potentially saving lives,” said Sue Mammina, director, Spectrum Health Lab & Pulmonary.
Using the Program for Biospecimen Science and its biorepository at VARI, Dr. Jewell’s program will produce the collection kits used in the collection of patient specimens using collection and biobanking best practices to centrally manage the collection and biobanking for this study.
VARI will process the specimens and isolate the cancer cell population and prepare derivatives for genomic analysis at TGen. VARI will use the VARI/TGen bioinventory software to assist in the tracking and management of the biospecimens throughout the life of the project.

Business Has A Voice in Michigan

2012-04-19T11:40:00.001-07:00

Four decades on the radio -- I got into that business in high school when I figured out it was inside work and no heavy lifting -- and finally I get on the other side of the microphone.

I was interviewed by Chris Holman for his "Business Beat" show on the Michigan Business Network, an Internet radio operation that is an excellent venue the business community can use for communication.

We talked about my book, "Last Chance Mile:The Reinvention of an American Community," along with discussing how Grand Rapids, Mich. has changed since 1990, and we got into the rebirth of manufacturing in Michigan.

Here is a link to that interview and to the Michigan Business Network web site.

I appreciated the opportunity, and was very glad to learn about Michigan Business Network. The business community has needed this for a long time. We have excellent print publications like MiBiz and Crain's that give us ink and now web space, along with MLive and the Detroit News and Freep.

However, there is something special about the spoken word. I am glad the Michigan Business Network is here for us...and I will be listening.

Rod

MarketLab Sparks Creativity in Caledonia

2012-04-18T11:14:00.002-07:00

The West Michigan Medical Device industry will surprise you. This partnership of health care and manufacturing holds tremendous potential for the region.

“Once you lift the cover, you will be surprised by what’s there,” said MarketLab Inc.’s new product development manager, Tom Howing.

He came down the hall of the MarketLab complex in Caledonia for our meeting, a little out of breath, a little flushed in the face and carrying two bottles of water. Howing is a man on a mission.

Howing, who is also a member of the West Michigan Medical Device Consortium Task Force, said as much as our conversation began, “It is kind of a personal mission of mine to say ‘how can I make an impact in the community?”

"Spark" is a program that Tom Howing (pictured above) and MarketLab are using to attract new ideas from people who work in health care every day...the people who know that changes have to be made, the people who have great ideas, but need help with development, manufacturing and marketing.

For more on the MarketLab story that I wrote for MiBiz, click here.

Even though MarketLab is not physically on Grand Rapids' Medical Mile, it embodies the spirit of the Mile. It is a great story of a young entrepreneur who started a medical device direct mail operation in his basement and wound up selling it to a private equity company. That is why I am going to give MarketLab a chapter in my book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of An American Community."

Rod

Reinvention: Sometimes They Just Don't Get It

2012-04-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

Rick Haglund wrote a great column for M-Live.com on the Chevy Volt and why Republicans just don't get it. The way he tells the story, this is not about technology. This is about politics. And, as he points out so well, GOP politics could block one of the finest pieces of auto technology we have ever seen.
Here's the link. Please read and let me know what you think.

Former GM Executive Bob Lutz, a man who certainly knows cars and never backs away from a fight is also taking the Republican Party to task for this. Here's a link to that story.

There was nothing political in the story of Apple creating the iPod, iPad etc. But those reinventions of how we stored our audio and video and the way we thought of computers was certainly revolutionary and were certainly underappreciated in the beginning. I can remember wondering, "Who is going to want to put hundreds of songs on a stick?"

What other stories of misunderstood or underappreciated reinvention can you think of? What was the technology you totally missed? Would love to see those stories too.

Rod

Reinvention of the Publishing Industry

2012-04-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Taking aim at Amazon and....missing. Great article on the reinvention pains of the book publishing and selling industry from The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/business/media/amazon-low-prices-disguise-a-high-cost.html?src=recg

Love that last line..."maybe I'll order it(Fifty Shades of Grey) at my local bookstore instead." I think, or at least wish, that more of us will be thinking that way.

I took a look at the Amazon contract for publishers and authors the other day. You know when my book if published, if I list it on Amazon, I could go to bed with a book retailing for $24.95 and wake up the next morning with a book retailing for $9.99.

The publishing industry, of which I am a small part now, is undergoing the pain of reinvention, and yes, reinvention can be painful. As evidence I submit this story from The New York Times about a small publisher battling against Amazon. Everyone has been talking about this 500-pound gorilla in the room. Here is the story of someone doing something about it, even if it is only poking at it with a sharp stick.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/business/media/amazons-e-book-pricing-a-constant-thorn-for-publishers.html

I am sure manufacturers who have had to deal with Wal-Mart, for instance, can understand this company's pain. And so the reinvention continues.

By the way, my reinvention or at least evolution as a journalist, author, editor continues. I have signed with Abbott Press. My book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," should be published in the next 100 days.

Now the countdown clock starts ticking....

Thanks as always,

Rod

Great Story of Invention and Reinvention

2012-04-14T03:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Don Beery posts the story of "A Focused Capitalist." That is a good title. It is also a great story of invention and reinvention, which is really what capitalism, at least modern capitalism, is all about.

Please follow this link for more.

When you come back from that link, I want to share another story. This one could be titled, "When Reinvention Goes Wrong." It can happen. Like the classic Thomas Edison story of how he invented and then had to reinvent the light bulb. Edison said he never failed, he just discovered ways the light bulb would not work. That is where reinvention comes in.

Pop quiz, hot shot. What do you do when it doesn't work? This is a link to a great story about that.

Speaking of reinvention, a word about my book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," the story of Grand Rapids' Medical Mile and the city that has changed so much since I moved in April 12, 1990 (Happy Anniversary to me). I have signed with a new publisher, Abbott Press. We are hoping to release book in the next 90 days...should be a much, much better book because of this partnership. It will be the kind of book that the Medical Mile deserves.

The countdown begins. This is such an exciting time for any entrepreneur with a new product...scary too. Thanks for coming along on the ride.

With that said, it is Saturday. Good time to relax, refresh and....reinvent.

Rod

Best Hillary Text of All

2012-04-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

It's Friday. Lets have some fun. The Best Hillary Text of all.

And so it ends, this "re-invention" of our Secretary of State. Just kidding. She obviously has a great sense of humor.

Continuing with our re-invention theme...What's next?

TTYL

Rod

Another (Herman) Miller Man Running For Congress?

2012-04-12T04:41:00.001-07:00

We could see another Herman Miller man running for Congress in West Michigan. Here is an article I pulled out of Politico, this morning. Remember...former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, now a U.S. Senate GOP Primary candidate is a former Herman Miller executive. He rode his bicycle to Congress, upsetting Guy Vanderjagt.

As always, thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments.

Rod

Now..from Politico...

By Darren Samuelsohn | 4/11/12 6:51 PM EDT

Democrats are eyeing an ex-Marine turned renewable energy expert to run for the House seat now held by GOP Rep. Fred Upton, according to three sources in the southwestern Michigan district.

Political novice Mike O'Brien is expected to be the Democratic candidate to face either Upton or Jack Hoogendyk, a former state representative mounting his own long-shot bid against the 13-term incumbent in the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

O'Brien has worked since 2010 on marketing and product design at Herman Miller, a Michigan-based office furniture and equipment manufacturer.

He previously worked as a renewable energy developer for NRG's Bluewater Wind and served on then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm's 29-member Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council. O'Brien also was featured in a 2009 NPR story about organic farmers.

Mark Miller, the Democratic Party chairman for Michigan’s 6th Congressional District, and two other sources told POLITICO that O'Brien is planning to announce his candidacy April 21 during events in the district. In an email, O’Brien said he wasn’t ready to confirm his run for Congress yet.

Democrats have an uphill climb to win the race.

Upton cruised to reelection in 2010 with a 62 percent to 34 percent win over Kalamazoo City Commissioner Don Cooney. This time around, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee would be in position to significantly outspend his Democratic opponent if he wins his primary.

Miller said he hopes O’Brien can secure funding from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and insisted that Upton could emerge from the primary bloodied and in a position to be beaten in a general election. "The difference is Fred's newfound prominence and his newfound notoriety for being a hard-right Republican now," Miller said.

Democrat John Waltz had announced his plans to run for Upton’s House seat, but the Navy veteran pulled out of the race in February because of a life-threatening illness.back

Auto Manufacturing Pays, Factories Fire Up

2012-04-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

We are getting more evidence today of just how critical manufacturing is to the Michigan and U.S. economies. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR), totally non-partisan except for its support of the auto industry, is out with proof today. I have pasted the press release below, along with a link to the full study at the bottom.

Before we get to that, let me point out that this only reinforces what I have always believed and written about not just auto manufacturing but all manufacturing. I am getting new anectotal evidence this week of the resurgence of manufacturing in West Michigan this week while working on a new article concerning "reshoring."

One West Michigan manufacturer told me an OEM's order shot up from 250,000 units to 750,000 units almost overnight because his company will be doing work that was being performed in China. Harry Moser, head of The Reshoring Initiative, told me yesterday that reshoring is still coming into the U.S. at a trickle compared towhat went out over the past decade, but it is happening.

However, he has some concerns that I will tell you about later this week. Chief among his worries: the lack of a skilled workforce in the U.S. We are missed a generation of people who could be working in our factories. More on that in the next couple of days.

For now, let me leave you with this great news out of CAR.

Again, thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments.

Rod

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

In 2010, the production, sales and service, and use of the automobile contributed $91.5 billion to state government tax revenues and at least $43 billion to federal government tax revenues according to a newly-released study conducted by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), a nonprofit research organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“The automotive industry accounts for 13 percent of all state government tax revenues,” said Kim Hill, director of the Sustainability and Economic Development Strategies group at CAR and the study’s lead. “This analysis furthers our understanding of how the automotive sector has a substantial impact on the U.S. economy by contributing to the fiscal stability of state and federal governments. As economic conditions continue to improve, auto companies could see an increase in sales and employment that would generate additional state and federal tax revenues.”

The study, produced by the Sustainability and Economic Development Strategies group at CAR, quantifies the financial support from the automotive sector that is provided to state and federal governments in the form of taxes and fees collected due to sales, employment, and business operations, as well as the use of the automobile, and highlights the breadth and depth of these revenue contributions. Beyond the obvious sales taxes generated when vehicles are purchased ($30 billion), government agencies collect taxes from a variety of sources. These sources include income taxes paid by employees working in the automotive sector ($15 billion); taxes and fees on fuels, registrations, and licenses paid by drivers ($89 billion); and corporate income taxes and licensing fees paid by automotive companies themselves ($750 million). The study also provides a detailed breakout of automotive tax revenues for each state in the nation.

The report was funded by The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and is available on CAR’s website, www.cargroup.org.

The Center for Automotive Research’s mission is to conduct research on significant issues related to the future direction of the global automotive industry, as well as organize and conduct forums of value to the automotive community. CAR performs numerous studies for federal, state and local governments, corporations, and foundations. The Sustainability and Economic Development Strategies group offers objective analysis and advice while encouraging collaboration between the automotive sector, academia, and communities, with the goal of long-term sustainability of both the industry and communities.

CAR Research Study

Stabenow Pushes Bio-Based Manufacturing

2012-04-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Chairwoman Stabenow Delivers Keynote Address at Midland Area Chamber of Commerce Issues and Answers Forum

Stabenow Highlights Efforts to Spur Bio-Based Manufacturing, Increase Access to Capital for Small Businesses, and Boost Michigan’s New Clean Energy Economy

Editor's note: This is just the kind of thinking I believe we need in Michigan, the kind of thinking that led to "Medical Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," the book I am writing that should be out this spring.

The reinvention of our communities is going to be a lot like doing a crossword puzzle. As I heard former President Bill Clinton explain in a documentary about people who, like him, love to do those puzzles, you hardly ever start at 1a and work your way through the puzzle. You start with something you know and go from there...you build upon what you know.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's "bio-based manufacturing" proposal builds upon our knowledge of agriculture and manufacturing. Her idea of offering tax cuts to Michigan that Grow It Here, Make It Here, explained below, is the kind of "partnership thinking" that is needed to join the public and private sectors in a shared vision.

And let me add this: This is not about government picking winners and losers. This is about an elected officials, a U.S. Senator, showing leadership. Stabenow is not picking winners and losers. She is showing the kind of leadership that we once applauded...and should be cheering again.

Now back to her proposals. This is what we need to be doing in Grand Rapids, in Michigan, in all of our American communities, large and small, that need reinvention. And they all need that, whether we know it or not. We have to be concentrating on creating the "clusters of prosperity," again borrowing a line from Pres. Clinton's latest book, that are going to move our communities forward.

Please read, enjoy and as always...comment..

Rod

MIDLAND -- U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today delivered the keynote address at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce Issues and Answers Forum. During the address, Stabenow highlighted her new Grow it Here, Make it Here initiative to advance Michigan’s emerging bio-based manufacturing industry. Bio-based manufacturing, using agriculture goods to make value-added products, is an industry poised to grow and create jobs in Michigan. Stabenow also discussed efforts she has championed to increase access to capital to Michigan small businesses and initiatives such as her Battery Innovation Act to help our advanced battery industry expand and create new clean energy jobs.

Senator Stabenow said: “When we grow things here and make things here, we create jobs here in Michigan. That is exactly what is happening across our state as new bio-based manufacturers are making things with Michigan-grown products. At the same time Michigan innovators and entrepreneurs, a majority which are small businesses, are leading the nation in clean energy patents. I am laser-focused on initiatives to help Michigan companies access the capital they need to grow their business as we work together to transform Michigan’s economy to create new jobs.”

Sid Allen, President/CEO of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce said: “We were pleased to hear Senator Stabenow’s positive comments regarding small business. To enhance business growth and development, and entrepreneurship, there should be a strategy to ensure opportunities exist that will encourage and facilitate future possibilities for small companies. We hope Congress hears that message.”

Stabenow’s Grow it Here, Make it Here initiative would create a new tax cut for Michigan companies that invest in new facilities or purchase equipment to manufacture bio-based products. Her initiative would also increase access to capital for bio-based manufacturers, improve marketing of bio-based products, and spur the commercialization of new agricultural innovations to create new jobs. Bio-based manufacturing is a key sector of Michigan’s agriculture industry, which is the second largest part of Michigan’s economy and supports one out of every four Michigan jobs.

During the event, Senator Stabenow also discussed initiatives she has championed to cut taxes and red tape for Michigan small businesses, including the elimination of an overly burdensome 1099 IRS paperwork requirement. Stabenow led the effort to pass the Small Business Jobs Act, which has provided small businesses in Midland County with over $5.8 million in financing since October 2010. Stabenow was appointed to the President’s Export Council by both President Bush and President Obama, where she helps Michigan companies export their products overseas.

On Monday, Senator Stabenow participated in a forum with U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and local businesses, which highlighted resources to increase access to capital for Great Lakes Bay area small businesses, boost exports, and spur job growth. The forum was hosted by the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance, which includes the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce, and Delta Community College.

As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Senate Manufacturing Caucus, Senator Stabenow highlighted initiatives she has authored to provide clean energy manufacturing tax cuts for companies like Dow Chemical and support Michigan’s new clean energy economy. Stabenow discussed her Battery Innovation Act, which is the first comprehensive plan offering Michigan companies the support they need to expand advanced battery production and job growth and ensure that America wins the race in the development of new advanced energy technologies. The Act incorporates all aspects of advanced battery production, from research and development, to the availability of raw materials, to the manufacturing of these high-tech products.

Congrats to Michigan-Made Valentine Vodka!

2012-04-09T12:29:00.001-07:00

Valentine Vodka Wins Gold Medal at Esteemed San Francisco World Spirits Competition

To begin with, I love the logo. Who wouldn't? We have to celebrate this. Another Michigan product wins significant industry recognition.

Detroit-made Valentine Vodka won a Gold Medal award last week at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Overall, 1215 spirits from 60 countries were submitted.

“We proudly add this to our two consecutive Gold Medals from the BTI and our Double Gold from the 50 Best,” says Owner/Distiller Rifino Valentine. “San Fran is arguably the most respected competition in the world and winning a Gold Medal there reinforces that what we’re doing here in Detroit works! I challenge bars and restaurants to stop carrying inferior brands from half-way around the world and focus on those that are made locally and decorated as among the best of the best!”

There you go. Buy Michigan. Ask for it tonight in a bar near you.

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is the first comprehensive, international spirits judging ever held in the United States on an annual basis. Celebrating its 12th year of awarding spirits excellence, the 2012 Competition was held at the distinguished Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco on March 23, 24, and 25. Judging is based on a blind, consensual procedure ensuring competitive integrity, making this annual competition the most reputable and recognized competition in the spirits industry. (www.sfspiritscomp.com).

Here's a thought. How about organizing an office party or a neighborhood bar-b-que with only Michigan made or grown products? We could go from the hamburgers to the buns to the beer (Lord knows there is plenty of choice there) and now to the vodka. Maybe we could even find Solo-style cups made in Michigan?

Of course only office furniture made in West Michigan would be allowed.

As Detroit’s first micro distilled spirit since Prohibition, the award-winning Valentine Vodka continues to raise the bar for ultra-premium hand-crafted vodka with its clean, crisp and uniquely flavorful taste. As one of the first distilleries in the world to use a triple-grain recipe, Valentine Vodka is hand distilled from a blend of Red Michigan wheat, malted barley and corn, and is proud to use a 100% American supply chain.

After three years of intense research and study, Valentine Vodka reached the market in March, 2009. From Christmas 2009 to the same time 2010, sales for Valentine Vodka quadrupled in sales. In April 2011, production moved to a 5000-square-foot facility in Ferndale and in February 2012 production once again expanded with the addition of a new world-class Christian Carl Still. Valentine Vodka can be found in more than 1200 outlets throughout Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee.

And Ferndale is a great city. If you haven't checked it out, do yourself a favor and take I-696 to Woodward go south into Ferndale, then back north and jog over to Main Street and go north into Royal Oak. Great way to spend a weekend, I think.

Talk about a city that was reinvented!!! Royal Oak is an incredible example of that. We will go into the history and rebirth of Royal Oak another time. You know that is one of my favorite topics...the reinvention of American communities.

Valentine Vodka is located at 161 Vester Street in Ferndale, Michigan. Online at ValentineVodka.com (facebook.com/valentinevodka | twitter.com/valentinevodka.

Empty Buildings? Start Urban Farming

2012-04-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is a great twist on my favorite subjects, reinventing a community. It turns out you no longer need a barn to start a farm. All you need is an empty building and the desire to do some urban, vertical gardening.

Could be the answer for Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and even some sections of Grand Rapids. Michigan has plenty of empty buildings. Read this article, then find a building in your city that would fit and you have another great way to reinvent a community.

Of course, my book, "Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community," due out this spring, tells the story of how Grand Rapids, Mich. is reinventing itself with the Medical Mile.

But I also make the case that Grand Rapids' reinvention can't stop with what it happening on Michigan Street NE. Grand Rapids has to constantly be thinking about the next cluster of prosperity. I was leaning toward manufacturing, but this idea of urban farming could be a great idea too. Think how we could build a cluster of prosperty with urban, vertical farms in some of our old factory buildings.

Too bad we didn't think of this before General Motors liquidated its old buildings.

Here's a good question: What about people power? Do we have enough young entrepreneurs who want to get into agriculture? That answer, if you read this article I wrote for MiBiz, is obviously "yes" and if you hit the following link, you will see that with the price of land going higher every day, one of these old factories might be a very good option.

Something to think about...your comments please.

Rod