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Why is responsibly handling Detroit important?

The city represents a potential outcome for America in real time. The citizens of Detroit are just wild about the demise of the Big Three. Economics dictates that unprofitable companies won’t succeed in an open marketplace. As the current global market is wide open with products, like electric cars, being introduced now, as of December 15^th in China when the BYD, a $21,000 plug in hybrid, rolled out for consumption. Big 3 remains at least one stage behind, with Volt introduction scheduled for 2010 at a higher price point. The business model in Detroit can’t compete with the BYD or the rumored Indian creation the Oreva Super. Have you hugged your Smart Car today? Little Montreal Smarties have zoomed through the streets of Montreal for nearly a decade. The Big 3 could win if they introduce a cheap electric model, the 2.0 if you will, tomorrow, the next day, or very shortly after that.  Is that a realistic expectation?

The business model of the big car companies just can’t compete with the rapidly changing marketplace, which is already producing the next desired auto products. Say I’m in the market for a personal transportation device. I have a lot of options and I’m aware that I have a choice to make. I’m not suggesting that someone somewhere isn’t going to need an F-150. It just won’t be me.   As a city dweller, I don’t need an F-150 everyday to hall my crap around town. I make due with a backpack. MacAir owners only need a large purse (lugging my laptop, obviously).

America as I know it deals with issues similar to those ingrained societal issues found in Detroit.  We should broach the urban social issues of the city as they impact the potential for progress in the city.  Let’s just call it beef, and it’s everywhere. I’m currentlt surrounded by social beef between English and French speakers.  The end thought is that smart people with good ideas don’t have beef.  And it helps that we speak second and third languages (though lots of us have trouble spelling and have been spell check dependant since a young age). All problems can be overcome. America has already proved this fact, hola Obama, it can happen in Detroit too.

This is where the Millennials come in. Many of us are capable of directional thinking; starting with an idea and finding out the pathway to the conclusion, discovery or incorporation of the end into current psyche. We can do it really fast too. Jon Husband proposes the idea of the Wirearchy as the paradigm shift noticeable to the youth set and slightly obscured from the view of the older generation, more ingrained in the ways of the traditional past. From  great idea onset to identifying exactly who might be interesting consultants and problem solvers, to finding out what parts are necessary, creating and implementing the plan and producing whatever the project happens to be attempting to complete happens more quickly than many people even realize as long as you’ve got someone from the hybrid generation bridging the gap.  (That’s us by the way, go Millineals go.)

This is a big deal. If anyone is going to help put Detroit back on the path into the future, put a lot of quick thinking creators together with the single idea, technology will enable the new idea to go from germination to production a lot more quickly than anyone in Detroit currently believes is possible. Detroit is a mess right now. Citizens are distressed, losing their jobs, fearing the loss of their jobs… Mostly the adults- those people previously relied on to safeguard the industry of the city. The inner argument is that the world changed too rapidly for the juggernaut sized company to slow down and make a turn. Well, the market turned and at this point, staying the course leads to chapter 11. Restructuring is going to happen weather it’s government mandated or not. Pushing for a profitable and competitive restructuring is the best thing the government can do for the city of Detroit and America. That’ll involve sifting through the plethora of amazing ideas and enabling enough of them to develop (ie employee talent) that the market will enable the rest.  Time is of the essence.  Some people understand more than others.

Forward thinking idea completers are the wave of the future. And the future is here.

People actually believe this in San Francisco. I believe that of San Francisco.