…is well-written and thought-provoking. As we move -whether by choice or by chance -towards a more human-scaled, entrepreneurial economy, I would like to see more support via our government and our financial institutions, but I’m not going to hold my breath. For the near future, I think the biggest share of support will more than likely come from groups of like-minded people, taking turns at pulling on each others’ bootstraps.

Thanks for sharing this; looking forward to hearing more from you!

Doc

I find your insightful, detailed view of this region’s economic and growth issues poignant – especially from an individual in an academic setting such as yourself.

Thank you for the time, energy, and vision you shared on this post.

Your take on Bob “Biggby” Fish is duly noted, and I agree wholeheartedly with all you say. His comments about “courage” and “fear” during the recent Launched event at East Lansing’s Technology Innovation Center strike a familiar chord. Yet, you are right about Biggby’s innovation, or seeming lack thereof. Certainly, he was innovative enough to envision a business opportunity, and for that I applaud him.

It doesn’t take tremendous innovation to succeed as an entrepreneur even in a town as economically crippled as Lansing, Michigan. It takes vision to fill a need, intelligence to map a strategic plan to see that vision through fruition, and courage to execute the plan – no matter the obstacles and fears that present themselves along the way.

Your point about Biggby (and Bob Fish) underscores my point even more: If we get off our La-Z-Boy butts, we can foster rather than flounder – and ultimately rebuild this state, one city at a time.

Thanks for the comments, Jack.

~ T

Thank you for your positive reinforcement! As a collective minority in this region, I feel grateful to be swimming in the same pond as you. ~ T

I just read your latest blog and it is truly excellent! I hope that a good, many people check it out and embrace the eminently-practical points that you’d raised within. As stated, the time is at hand for this region to encourage and foster an atmosphere of creativity that will replace the time-worn ideals that were once the bedrock of the area’s financial health and prosperity. The domestic auto industry is still reeling and the State government is struggling to keep from becoming fully-immersed in red ink. Even Michigan State University – generally considered to be relatively immune from lay-offs – has proposed the elimination of 600 employee positions in the not-too-distant future. Overall, the outlook is still rather bleak, despite modest indications that some improvement is being seen within certain sectors. But, I’m certainly not telling you anything you weren’t already aware of with respect to any of this.

You know…I was thinking about something and I wanted to share it with you: I was pondering Bob Fish’s entrepreneurial endeavor as it compares to other ventures that are currently underway – (or are being explored) – within this area. And my over-arching conclusion is that – while Bob should surely be lauded for his obvious success – he wasn’t exactly being particularly innovative compared to others who are trying to establish endeavors that are either ‘leading edge’ or are simply new/unique to this part of the country. In essence, Mr. Fish merely found an appealing, effective way of marketing a product – coffee – that was already a popular, well-entrenched staple within many people’s lives. Obviously, a high-quality product is involved, as is excellent service, strategic storefront placement, skilled management, recognizable advertising/branding, etc. But, from where I stand, he really didn’t bring anything new to the region, he just did something that caught on extremely well with the large coffee-drinking segment of the population. So, while I’d certainly be foolish to scoff at his undeniable success or to dismiss his ‘vision’, initiative and acumen, I’m not all that enthralled by his ‘entrepreneurial innovation’, as was so highly-touted at the recent ‘Launched’ event. So there you go…that’s my $.02! That…and $2.98…will get me a medium latte’ at Biggby.

From my admittedly-narrow perspective and to restate the obvious, this area needs to eschew the old ideals that are no longer relevant and supplant them with ‘new’ ideas and enterprises spawned by ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking; bolstered by the necessary financial capital that will enable entrepreneurs with bold, innovative ideas to develop them and, hopefully, to bring them to fruition; ultimately creating successful ventures that will stop the ‘brain drain’, put people back to work, generate revenue to maintain/upgrade the infrastructure and just generally shine a bright, positive light on this great State of ours once again.

Anyway…your blog definitely got me thinking about this. Unfortunately, by virtue of my particular career path, I’m not in a position to make any measurable difference. However, for those who are in that position, perhaps what you’ve put forth will supply them with the necessary food-for-thought and the subsequent motivation to spur them on to make some significant contributions that will ultimately make a difference.

By communicating and promoting a spirit of creativity and excellence, YOU are truly an asset to this area, and the insight and perspective that you bring to bear within this realm has a depth of value that goes well beyond that which may be easily quantifiable in a purely tangible sense. And that’s exactly what this region needs right now: intelligent, energetic and motivated people like yourself who are willing to be ‘open’ to new and creative ideas and solutions; sharing those intellectual resources within a network of like-minded and equally-committed stakeholders within the business/economic development community.

I look forward to your subsequent postings with much anticipation.