“A goal without a plan is just….a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
I recently saw Steve Harvey’s movie; “Think Like a Man” and in all honesty it was surprisingly good. My assumption was that it would be a movie slanted more towards the desires of women and made us men to look like dogs.
Although I love my brother Tyler Perry, I expected a movie like; “For Colored Girls Only”. In that movie almost every man was portrayed negatively and a good relationship seemed out of reach. Think Like a Man however was more of a coming of age story for the bros. Much like Marvin Winans Jr “Image of Man”, Usher’s “Here I am” CD or Jay - Z’s “Kingdom Come” (Yes I just referenced Jay…pray for me). Those of you who have heard those musical masterpieces can appreciate that comment.
In the movie I could relate in varying degrees to the male characters on the screen and saw elements of my friends and myself in each one of them. The movie got me thinking about societies notions of “manhood” and my personal transition from tweenie (twenty something with teenager tendencies) to full grown arse man.
With the advent of social media; allowing communities to coagulate around common causes, likes and preferences the classical picture of manhood has morphed in a good way. No longer is the picture of a man just a bearded, caveman like jock who enjoys meat and potatoes. Those of us who are clean shaven, prefer less meat and a good Neil Ferguson book over the Lakers can also be seen as “manly men”.
Manhood has become less about outward expressions and more about internal character and core beliefs. This is a very good thing because although we all can’t be super star athletes… we all can become good men…and ladies can learn to identify us amongst the other riff raff.
So in the spirit of internal character I decided to share a few of the lessons that men I identify as good, have given me throughout the years. Hopefully this will serve as self check to my brothers and a momentary insight into “man thought” for my sisters.
Purpose: At the CENTER of a good man is a sense of purpose. A good man knows why he is on this earth. Men as a whole need purpose, we need to know why. That’s why we avoid things we don’t understand or things that are void of logical explanation.
It’s important for a man to know his purpose because he will see the rest of the world through that lens. All his relationships, achievements and choices will be seen through his lens of “why?”.
Purpose isn’t a deep thing. It doesn’t have to be contrived. It can be as simple and as broad as “To serve God and people” or as specific and narrow as “to use social enterprise to bring equitable food to urban areas”. The point is that having a sense of purpose will keep a good man on a his life road.
My belief is that the purpose of a thing can only be found in the original designs and for that you need to seek the designer. So by default a good man MUST has a relationship with God. Ill Speak more on that later.
Vision: As a man matures, typically his vision gets clearer and more refined. Vision is what I describe as the vehicle that a man will use to achieve his purpose. Vision takes a broad purpose like: “to serve God and people” and gives it practical application. Vision takes purpose and paints a picture that a man can aspire to. Vision is innate and natural for most men; when PURPOSE is realized and the proper CONDITIONS exist vision just oozes out of a good man.
It may come in the form of a man describing what he wants his future life to look like. Where he want’s to go to school. What he wants to do with his life, his resources and his relationships. Vision will even dictate what type of woman a man will date seriously or marry. Ladies a man without vision and purpose is dangerous. Men without it will never be completely satisfied with you because man was made to achieve. Typically a man will only be as comfortable with a serious relationship as much as he is in this “vision / purpose” area.
Fellas as a side note the more exposure you have to concepts, ideas and other successful men the more your vision will expand. Make it a point to expose yourself to success on a higher level than what you currently see. Read books, study great people and push yourself to be better today than you were yesterday.
Ambition: According to good men ambition is key to being a good man. What good is it to be a man of purpose and vision if you just sit back and watch life happen instead of building a life.
Ambition is what will drive a man to find a career. It will push a man towards finishing his education or to start a business. Ambition will cause him to carry himself a certain way; how he dresses and grooms himself.
Ambition is the x factor that makes purpose and vision work. Without it, man is barely more than a dreamer or talker. However with ambition only man is dangerous; he will go after whatever he wants whenever he wants without regard to anything or anyone else.
Confidence: Good men are confident men. They know themselves and their past accomplishments well. A good man has achieved a bit in the past and knows he will achieve more in the future. These men have been in situations where only God Himself could open a door and He did. Good men have been there and done that and walk and speak with a confidence that matches.
This isn’t a fake confidence or cockiness either. This is a real expectation that a good man has to succeed. They go after what they want and more often than not they see it come to pass.
The better they know themselves then the better acquainted they are with their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. They play up the strengths and likes (this is called swag) and play down the weaknesses.
In fact when they meet a woman that matches…oh boy watch out! A power couple is about to be birthed.
Faith: Faith is the obvious one because it is the MOST important, but ironically it also is the one that is first to be ignored when most women evaluate men. A good man has a good relationship with God, period.
Sometimes things are not going to be perfect, some goals wont be achieved and sometimes bad choices will be made. A man devoid of a relationship with Christ will fold, he will morph into something other than what he was purposed for.
A man without faith has no sure direction and without that ladies you cannot be sure of where he would lead his future family. So if nothing else check a man’s relationship with God. Can he pray? Does he know what he believes? Does he live it? Is he a man of convictions?
He won’t be perfect and yes there are some things that God may be working out or into him…but where is his heart? Does he find joy in attending church with you? Does he worship? Does he serve the kingdom in some way? (this doesn’t always have to be within the 4 walls of the church) Can this man lead you spiritually?
Just a few thoughts from a random good guy. Fellas lets step up and ladies evaluate properly!
and
Mothers love him…
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One of the benefits of life is that it’s progressive. It’s always moving forward. As long as you are living it never stops. For a person with “stinking thinking” this isn’t good news, because it means they are forever living with the results of their bad choices and attitude. However for the person who is forever growing and seeking to become better this is awesome. Because it means they are constantly seeing the results of new lessons learned and spiritual resolve. Life always being progressive and in the now is a gift from God. I guess that’s why we call it the present. This is a hard concept to grasp in today’s society. As a whole we either celebrate perpetual youth, tempting adults to constantly look backwards or we celebrate constant preparation for the future as if todays importance is minimal.
Recently, I was reflecting on how life can be terribly simple to live and enjoy if we stick to a few simple rules. Today I will share three of them. These rules simplicity provide clarity for life. And clarity for life helps us to learn from our past, be mindful of our future plans but most importantly it helps us to excel in our present.
My good friend Marshawn Evans (@marshawnevans) would say it this way; “Clarity is a divine gift. It fuels our hope, expands our vision and rejuvenates our faith. Clarity is the best motivator on the planet”
You already know. Sometimes complicated life choices will come. Then the preverbal question will arise: “What should I do?”. The reality for those of us who consider ourselves people of faith is that most of the time we already know the answer. The choice typically has only shown up to test our belief in an area of life. Of course its good to think things through and seek good advice, but in the end you already know. In fact, in John 10:27 Jesus says: “My sheep KNOW my voice…” When we pray about the choice…most of the time it shouldn’t be for the “What to do”…it should be for the “How, why, when, strength, resources & where to do it”. You already know what to do and to violate that puts you in harms way making life more murky and difficult than it needs to be.
The road is always roughest when we get off of it. I love cars. My favorite cars are sports cars and I’ve owned a couple in my life so far. My favorite was my Nissan 350Z One thing i can tell you about that car is that it attracts attention, its dual exhaust sounds amazing and it is fast. They are great on open roads, but horrid in situations where you make a wrong turn and end up on a dirt path or unpaved parking lot. They don’t perform nearly as well. Life is the same way. Like a fine tuned sports car as long as we stay on the road and follow directions to our life path everyone sees us and goes, “Wow! Look at that!”. But the second we get off path…things get ugly. Life lesson number two; stay in your lane! As much as you know how, stay on the road…and hit the gas!
Your success is specific to an area. I believe this is true for all people but especially single men. We don’t seem to be able to adapt as quickly as women. It’s not that they are better (arguably they are) :-) its just that we are different. Success is like a football tossed on the field, if you want to catch it you must be in position. You gotta be in the right spot at the right time. You can’t do just anything and expect success. Success is specific and tailored to what YOU are PURPOSED to do in the geography WHERE you should do it. God has tossed the ball and told you were to be to make the catch. It isn’t easy, especially if you’ve mad mistakes or look like me. Statistics say by far you wont make it. You will have to fight to get into position. That may mean more education, watching your resources more carefully, fighting your past, overcoming a poverty mentality, being careful who you align yourself with, getting yourself spiritually fit and making yourself better. It may mean being single for a bit longer so you can focus and bring more value to the family you will build. I know it isn’t easy, but you MUST get into position. I am fighting along side you. This fight is a test of will and skill and you can improve both. Be EXACTLY who you were born and created to be. Be that person in the most vivid way. Get into position. Life is much more clarion clear that way. The world needs YOU!
by @waltward3
Walter Ward is a…
God Chaser. Sneaker Lover. Blogger. Banker Guy. Good Friend. Story Teller. Influencer. Urban Professional. Speaker. Voracious Reader. MBA Candidate. Curator of Cool.
and
Mothers love him…
When a person departs the land of the living and enters the hereafter, those of us who remain eulogize them in a ceremony. We discuss their life; what they accomplished, the love ones they left behind and life lessons they taught us. At the completion of the ceremony, we bury their body; marking the burial place with a headstone. The headstone displays their name, the date of their birth, the date of their death and the focus of this post; the dash in between the two.
In the end, the dash is all we have. The dash is the most important and valuable part of life. The value is derived from the fact that life itself is brief. God has given a finite measure of life to each of us. He alone knows how much. Consequently, the demand for life is very high, but the supply is low. You can’t buy more of it, you can’t trade for it and taking it from someone else doesn’t add more to yours. The dash is all we have and individually it is up to us to make it worth something.
Every so often a person emerges showing us just how valuable that dash can be. They live their life to the fullest. And much like a meteor streaking across the sky, their accomplishments become a spectacle of awe for the rest of us to see. Dr. Martin Luther King was such a person.
Martin was only 39 years old when he was killed April 4th, 1968. In that short 39 years he achieved much. Dr. King was the catalyst to the civil rights movement. However in many ways he also is the father to the modern human rights and social justice movements today. Echoes of his methodology can be seen in the Occupy Wall Street protests as well as last year’s Arab Summer. As a reference point here are a few of Dr. King’s accomplishments:
MLK is a shining example of the true value of the dash. The world needs leaders and heroes who like him will dedicate their life to something more. Martin left a mark on the world that cannot be erased. Although an imperfect man, he was a perfect example of what a man yielded to God’s plan for his life can do. Martin’s accomplishments should be a sign post to motivate us to do greater and achieve more. Here are three lessons his life has taught me.
Be Driven: Even apart from the civil rights movement when you look at MLK’s accomplishments they are impressive. He was a man that pushed himself to his physical, emotional and intellectual limits to do what was necessary. His motivation to do so came from an internal engine and not an external situation. This is why he was able to keep going in the face of adversity. President Obama embodies this in our generation. My challenge to myself and you is this; Push. Be driven to be your best. Why would you settle for anything less? It’s a slap in God’s face to not rise to your potential. Go to school. Raise your children well. Get an advance degree. Be aware of what is going on in your community. Contribute to the world around you and make it a better place.
Live Urgently: Things typically don’t change unless you change them or influence others to do so. One lesson that Martin Luther King taught me was to never wait for someone else to do what you ultimately can achieve yourself. Urgently pursue whats right. Urgently go after your dreams. The 1955/56 Montgomery bus boycott is a great example. Inside of one year MLK had the supreme court declare that bus segregation was unconstitutional. His only weapon was to peacefully organize financial resistance to the bus system. This Supreme Court declaration later became the precedent for other desegregation laws. The non-violent method of resistance also became a precedent for Dr. King himself. My question is this; What is it that needs to be changed in your life or in the community you belong to? What is stopping YOU from changing it? Don’t wait for someone else, live urgently and make the change yourself.
Have a dream: It’s interesting to me that Dr. King’s most famous speech was the “I have a dream” speech. That speech was his mantra, and the world could sense it. It was the power of that dream that pushed him to accomplish the things that he did. It’s been said if you have a big enough “why” you can go through any “what”. My question for you is what is your dream? What is your why? What are you pushing for? What would you like to see in your own life and in the lives of others?
The best way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King on January 16th is not only to have a day off from work but to engage in service and reflection on what you want your lasting legacy to be. And legacy is nothing more than purpose fully grown. How will you change yourself, your family and your community for the better? What will your dash represent.
by: @waltward3
Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.
Im starting a new series called: “#30by30 30 Lessons to Learn before you turn 30 Something”
Life is an amazing gift. There are so many things to enjoy, places to go, food to eat, people to meet and lessons to learn. It’s important to note that life is more than just concerns about things. However when we keep the proper perspective on them, they can help enhance life’s real purpose of glorifying our creator.
I hope by the time you are “30 something” that you have experienced enough of life to know what you like. Its the ability to identify what you like and maximize those that makes you interesting to others. Some call the summation of the last statement as “Swagger”.
How would you describe yourself? Have you learned to enjoy the flavor of life? Take some time and visit somewhere; New York, Chicago or Atlanta. Visit London, Tokyo or Rome. Learn the area’s history, the culture of its people take what you like make it your own and leave the rest for someone else.
Go to colourlovers.com and create your own life pallet. Visit http://bit.ly/Ei6Wl and create a lifestyle design plan. Do something, but by God’s grace go and enjoy life!!!!
by @waltward3
Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.
Disclaimer: I am in fact a single, straight, educated black man who has JUST within the last few years matured enough to seriously consider marriage. Now for me its about timing and the right woman.
There is an epidemic in The United States. A country wide problem that threatens to destroy the very fabric of our union if we don’t get it figured out. The problem is this; people are not getting married as often as they have in the past. In fact, many of the people who do get married don’t stay married. The numbers say close to fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. Selah.
My question is why? Intuitively we know marriage is a good thing. Couples that marry have children and create families, which make strong communities, cities, states and ultimately a strong vibrant country. Statistically speaking married people live longer, healthier, happier and wealthier lives. Marriage is surprisingly beneficial for men. Married men have sex more often and make up to 40% more than their single peers. Yet our generation seems to be waiting longer to get married and in many cases not at all.
The situation is substantially worse in the black community; black women are two times less likely to marry than any other ethnic group of women. The numbers for black men are down right scary, almost twenty five percent of us will end up spending time in a jail cell. In all honesty when you look at the statistics, many of the problems within the black community can be traced to the lack of couples that marry and stay together. But again the real issue is why. Based on my observation and the input of friends here are six reasons.
Finances: Getting married is expensive. In fact dating is expensive, particularly if you are a man. The average couple spends over 26k on their wedding and that cost doesn’t include an engagement ring or honeymoon. The average cost of dinner and a movie is north of 145 dollars when you include hair cut, dinner, tip, drinks, movie tickets and popcorn…and I didn’t include taxi(for us Chicagoans and New Yorkers) or gas. It takes cold hard cash to date and get married. And if you look at the fact that less than 20 percent of black men advance to college and only a third of those graduate you start to see how this plays out. The average salary for a black man with no college degree is $18,396 a year. Its hard to pay 145 dollars for a date on that salary let alone pay 1.5 times it for a wedding. As a side note: Ladies, men are usually happiest when we are satisfied with our career direction and financial state…dating a man with issues in those areas is usually problematic.
Too Many Choices: For the fellas that are in a practical position to date and marry choosing who to date can be tough. There are many choices and it can be hard to figure out who is for you. I call it the “candy store effect”. Even the most God fearing and well intentioned man can find himself entertaining too many “friends” if he isn’t careful. This causes a completely different set of problems. 1) Men don’t really pursue women like they should…because somewhere some woman is pursuing them. 2) Men can become selfish, seeing women they date as a commodity that can be replaced when the situation requires. 3) Women become objects and trophies to be collected. The only cure for this is maturity, Jesus and a renewed mind towards relationships. The unfortunate thing is that it takes time for that to happen. Many black men aren’t ready for marriage until there late 20’s and most in there 30’s.
Lack of Maturity: It’s a sad fact but most black boys grow up without a father in the home. According to the US census, 75 percent of black children will spend some portion of their childhood without a father in the house. It’s hard to mature into something you’ve never seen. Additionally the media (music, videos, radio) in our community define a man as a testosterone driven, misogynist who’s main goal in life is the pursuit of pleasure the consumption of more alcohol, more toys and more women. Look at the most popular rappers and athletes to see my point. Many boys grow up trying to emulate that type of man; the rappers they see on television without even knowing it. The sad part is they are often successful in doing it. It’s just too bad that type of a man doesn’t value marriage.
Too Much Baggage: The lack of a healthy marriage in the home doesn’t just affect young men. In fact, it may be difficult for women to identify the traits of a good future father and husband as a result. This means that many women make poor choices in who they date and are hurt because of the experience. Often times the damage is carried into the next relationship with similar consequences. Unfortunately many of these women never understand that the issue is not that good men aren’t available. The problem is actually that they don’t have the internal discernment to identify a good future mate. That kind of intuition can only be passed from father to daughter. Many times they prefer the immature man without even knowing it…passing over many “good” men in the process.
Fear: Personally I define fear as faith based on bad experiences or information. Unfortunately because so many of our families had bad experiences with relationships and marriage we fear it. We internalize the pain and frustration we saw so many loved ones go through and shy away from marriage as a result. For men oftentimes we see it as restriction and loss of freedom. Many women see it as pain; submitting to a man who ultimately may hurt them emotionally. It’s a tragedy in the classic sense when you think about it.
Dating Poorly: My pastor used to tell us that dating was to collect data on a future mate. He also would say if you weren’t ready to be married, then why date? In today’s day and age, dating is less about finding a life long mate and more about selfish pursuits in the now. Let me explain. Some women are going out to dinner because they are bored, hungry or just want to get out the house. They aren’t looking to focus their attention on learning about the guy. As a consequence they aren’t asking the right questions to identify traits of a good husband and father. We already know what most men want and even if it isn’t sex, they want the attention from the woman and could care less about her being a good wife or mother.
Conclusion: What if we decided to change? What if we changed our focus? What if we made it popular to be married? Making it a point that Sean Carter and Beyonce aren’t just “together” but they are married and then had a child. What if we saw Barack and Michelle as more than just the first couple, but as blue prints to design our life after? What if women were open and decided that they would learn how to identify a good man instead of screaming that they don’t exist. What if we did a better job educating our young men instead of labeling so many “emotionally disabled” at a young age? Then they would have a fighting chance in life and be able to afford marriage. Fellas what if we decided that central to manhood was the ability to love and cherish one woman…as a wife? What if we stopped honoring the rappers and singers who blatantly objectify women? If we did this, things would change. We would see marriage levels rebound within our community and our social ills decline. The United States itself would be strengthened if we got married more often.
What do you think?
By: @waltward3
Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.
2012 is no longer just around the corner but it’s here. As humans when calendars change we seem to develop an attitude of reflection. Often times this attitude is accompanied by an acknowledgement of lessons that were learned in the past season. Lessons that become a watery soup of “rules to live by” going into the next.
For me this is true and I wanted to take a few moments to detail six of the lessons that I learned or was reminded of in 2011.
Fear Not: At first glance, 2012 seems to be a year that has people fearful. Whether it’s the predictions of the Mayan calendar, the possible return of Jesus or the failure of the Eurozone people are finding reasons to be scared. What I learned in 2011 is that fear is not fair. It’s one sided. It only looks at the possibilities of one outcome, usually the one that seems to cause us the most harm. Fear is usually a liar too. The things that fear has been telling us in the past usually never happen. Most importantly fear is an emotion and as such it can be controlled. Just because you feel fear today doesn’t mean that you have to keep feeling it tomorrow. For those of us who consider ourselves people of faith, think on these words: “God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of love, power and a sound mind.” - 1 Tim 1:7
Some people cant go: We all know it intuitively and have heard it said many times before: “some relationships are for a season, some are for a reason and others are forever”, yet it still hurts when we realize it personally. 2011 has taught me that the people you started 2011 with are not always the ones that will be with you when it ends. It’s not a bad thing and it isn’t up to us to classify people, it’s just for us to know this is God’s way. People in your life typically do one of four things: 1) develop you for what is coming 2) introduce a challenge or opportunity to go to the next level 3) reveal a deficiency in your life that needs to be fixed 4) accompany you on life’s journey and strengthen you when you need it. In 2012 focus on creating quality relationships with people around you, invest the time necessary to do it. But also let people play their role in your life. Remember it was Judas who ultimately revealed Jesus as the savior.
Be legacy minded: Legacy is purpose all grown up. 2011 has taught me that you have to have the end game in mind. Never sacrifice your future on the altar of the present. Choices when at all possible should be made with your long term goals in mind. This implies a level of planning and foresight; things that take work and discipline. It’s important to be proactive with your own planning because things are always going according to a plan, either your own or someone else’s. Other’s plans FOR you will be made with their limited knowledge OF you. And for that reason they can’t be legacy focused. You are the only one that can effectively plan for your future so do just that. Most people don’t effectively plan their day, let alone a whole year or more. Legacies are built and planned, they rarely just happen.
Focus on the details: Details are pesky; they are so small, intricate and seemingly unimportant. For many of us we think in big graphic pictures. We see things from a 10,000 foot view and place our value on the overall image. But 2011 has taught me that the details are important too. How many times have you seen a great idea lost in poor writing or speaking? Many times the details that are missed can disqualify you from even pleading your case. Those pesky details can give people a reason to not hear you. They are smoky clouds blurring peoples vision of who you are and what you can do. To be successful in 2012 you must concentrate and remind yourself to focus on the details. It just may be what separates you from the next level.
Do what you can…in excellence: You cant control what others think of you or how they see you. What you can do however is your best. Today It’s almost cliche; “do your best”, and unfortunately, “do your best” seems to be translated as “do good enough”. 2011 has taught me that good enough is rarely good enough. In fact good enough is at best average. Doing good enough is what everyone is looking for. Good enough keeps you where you are. But being excellent is purposefully looking to offer more than what is expected. Excellence is a sign that you are ready for the next challenge, the next promotion in life, work and relationships. In 2012 purposefully decide to be excellent. - Dan 5:12
Prayer works: Guess what? God is real and He answers prayers. God is sovereign and can do whatever He likes, however something seems to happen when we echo a written promise in His word to the world around us. Things tend to line up with that written promise. 2011 has taught me and people around me that when we pray in faith, we should expect things to happen. If not, then why pray? Prayer can be one of the most powerful tools we have to affect change in our lives and the lives of others. When we pray God can heal. When we pray God can provide. When we pray God can move. When we pray God opens doors. But remember prayer isn’t a one time thing. It isn’t a shot in the dark and hope type deal. In 2012 let’s use prayer in a faith-filled, systematic and consistent way to make our lives look the way God designed them to.
Twitter: @waltward3
NormalisDead.com
Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.
Detroit has always been a very industrious city. Industrious even before Henry Ford and the famous auto revolution that our city is known for. Actually it was the fact that the city already was industrious that allowed Henry Ford to see the success that he did. And if Detroit residents are wise, it will be that legacy of industry that returns Detroit to prominence.
People that count Detroit completely out based on current circumstances would make a tremendous mistake. It would be a failure to recognize history. Not just Detroit history, but world history and we don’t need to look far into world history at that.
Berlin the capital city of Germany is a great example. Berlin was destroyed as a result of the Allied Nations bombing runs during World War II. Most of the cities buildings were bombed out, the infrastructure destroyed and over 125,000 of its citizens killed. The city eventually became ground zero for the cold war. Most people over the age of 27 remember President Reagan’s famous edict to tear down the Berlin wall.
The interesting thing is that 20 years after that statement Berlin came to be known as the culture capital of Europe with over 440 art galleries in the city today. Even MTV has its European headquarters inside the city limits. Economically the city has growth, close to 2 percent yearly despite a contracting economy overall in Germany.
And Berlin seems to be just ramping up with droves of the youth from Eastern and Western Europe moving to the city for its nightlife, diverse atmosphere and universities. The lesson of Berlin is that even though cities die; from war, from economic decline or simply growth elsewhere…they can come and often do come back.
Detroit is poised to make the same kind of comeback but much faster and with a much more dramatic effect. Detroit’s return if done right can literally be the poster child for American development. And with our cities natural resources such as its labor force, production facilities, salt mines and water ways we can supply goods to the rest of the world. Here is a very simplified and brief synopsis of how.
1) Economic Development Corp
In order to get any substantive change done in the city of Detroit it will take money. Not just tax revenues but when i say money I mean systematically deployed investment capital and lot’s of it. That isn’t a problem to fret about because it can be solved relatively easy.
Money can be raised and utilized by creating a City of Detroit Economic Development Fund. The fund’s sole purpose would be to raise money for strategic development of the city and to be a social investment vehicle for Detroit citizens much like war bonds were during World War II.
The target funding level would be set at just over 2 billion dollars. Funding would come from a myriad of sources. 40 percent can come from a diversified bank group, depending on borrowing costs this percentage can be adjusted up or down. 20 percent should come from churches, non-profits and corporations who could purchase bonds with a 20 year maturity in 10,000 dollar blocks. The last 40 percent would come directly from citizens who could purchase 20 years bonds in 100 dollar blocks. The fund should be well publicized and investments transparent.
The fund would only pay a nominal rate of return. But participation would be driven from the opportunity for individuals to participate in Detroit’s resurgence.
An advisory board of 5 governors appointed by the mayor would operate the fund. The fund would invest primarily in commercial and residential real estate as well as green manufacturing and alternative energies. The development fund is central to this plan and leads us to growth point number two.
2) City Geography & Services
Detroit has the one of the largest land masses for a metropolitan city. In fact within the city limits you can fit Manhattan and San Francisco at the same time and still have land left over. However unlike those cities who have a combined population of at least 7 million of people living inside them. Detroit only has 700,000 plus thousand.
This creates a unique challenge for the city. Tax revenues are much lower than other cities, yet Detroit city services (Education, Police, Fire, Trash) need to stretch a much longer distance. Often this means that the city services aren’t sufficient for the area they cover.
However Detroit could use the economic development fund to strategically buy up properties in areas where population levels are lowest. The goal would be to tear those properties down and develop urban food and wind farms. Imagine areas of Detroit that are currently vacant or severely damaged now generating enough wind energy for the city to use and sell…generating enough food to sell through out the city on Detroit Market Sunday’s. As a side benefit Detroit’s real estate market would see an increase in home values from less inventory and increased activity.
The residents of those areas would be moved into more densely populated portions of the city, this would make it easier for city services to be concentrated in areas where they are most needed.
3) Manufacturing & Energy
Detroit has always been a manufacturing powerhouse. Even before Henry Ford and the assembly line. In fact it was Detroit’s ability to manufacture carriages that made it possible to manufacture cars. Without a labor force that knew how and facilities that could be used for auto manufacturing it may have been too expensive to make cars in Detroit and the great auto boom may have happened somewhere else. Perhaps even Berlin after all Germany is where the car was born.
I believe we can use the same manufacturing power to make electric batteries as well as components for wind and water energy farms. In fact because Detroit plants have capacity and its work force is highly skilled in manufacturing we can make those parts quicker, cheaper and with higher quality than many other places on earth. But for this to work Detroit needs to move quickly to be the first. Otherwise places in China or India could easily become the manufacturing centers for those types of components.
To speed the transformation the Economic Development Corporation would make strategic investments in corporations that focus on energy development providing a healthy rate of return to its investors. The end result of this type of strategic investment is substantially lower unemployment, higher tax revenues, higher property values and an increase in the population. Not to mention restoring pride to Detroit and the American economy for being first in the world economy 2.0.
4) Young People
Detroit in the last few years has been in the middle of what some have called a talent drain. Let me explain. Some of Detroit’s most talented young people left the city and state in many cases for opportunities to attend school or better jobs. The unfortunate thing is that many of them don’t plan on coming back.
In order for Detroit to flourish we need those young people. People who specifically are under the age of 40, willing to build and have the resources to do so. Young people who are educated, married or single, have disposable income and either extremely creative, highly educated or both.
Cities are almost always developed by young people who eventually marry and start families. Additionally it is usually the consumption of young people that help fuel local economies as they are typically the ones with the highest disposable income.
The Detroit Economic Development Corporation can help attract these types of people through advertising and social media. The local city government could sweeten the appeal by providing student loan forgiveness in full or in part for any person who lives inside the Detroit city limits for five or more years.
Advertising at top tear universities and graduate schools could also bolster the effort. The residual benefits of a move like this are seemingly endless. Improved night life and art culture to name just a few.
5) Economic Empowerment Zones
The idea of a designated area for commercial tax benefits is nothing new and in fact has been employed by the leadership of Detroit for years. However in this plan the city would expand the programs by harmonizing all zones as corporate tax free for 10 years. These zones would also be targeted around specific industries such as urban agriculture, alternative energy or electric propulsion. Additionally, in each and every zone the city could use the Economic Development Fund to finance business incubators for the very same industries.
Doing this would attract a very specific industrial base to the city and as a result create manufacturing synergies similar to the ones that exist for auto manufacturing today.
In Conclusion:
The ideas that i am proposing are not terribly radical or even new, however enacted in harmony and in a bold way they can change Detroit for the better. These ideas can serve as the blueprint for American economic development going into the next 10 to 20 years.
In fact if other cities in the so called “rust belt” enacted similar plans nationally we could lower unemployment, increase our gross domestic product and reduce our trade deficits with other nations.
We also would see a decline in energy prices, less dependence on foreign oil and an improved quality of life for American workers. Lastly we would re-establish The United States prominence as the manufacturing capital of the world.
It’s just a thought of an urban righteous hipster…hopefully someone is reading or listening…
By: @waltward3
What do you think?
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