Michigan's Renaissance Begins with You

Making Michigan a great place to live, learn and earn in 2008 and beyond means creating a transformation … a Renaissance statewide.

And those of us in this room, and those listening in--

• Commission members,
• staff,
• visitors,
• and the entire Department of Labor and Economic Growth, are the face of that Renaissance.

An original Renaissance man, sculptor and painter Michelangelo said, "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

For those of us in this room, if we truly understand what we're up against, setting our aim too low is out of the question.  But if we set our aim high…

• We can create a bright future for our children, our grandchildren, and their children
• We can solve the skilled worker shortage in Michigan and train the workforce of tomorrow
• We can, together, change the attitude of the young and old to include lifelong learning
• We can, make sure that No Worker is Left Behind.

And the heart of my presentation to you, today, is a big piece of the "how and the why".

Michigan is in a crisis. We have:

• Too many people out of work,
• Too few people getting proper training for available jobs,
• Too little recognition of the requirement for continual learning,
• And too much of a "let the other person do it" attitude.

I must admit that before I came to DLEG, I thought that same attitude was afoot in my department.  I think it was humorist Dave Barry who said, "The primary function of the government is - and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution - ‘to spew out paper.'"

I used to wonder whether all government consisted of …

• endless bureaucracy,
• miles of unnecessary paperwork,
• and a general sense of apathy (let someone else do it).

Maybe you've wondered the same - striving to achieve the high standards that this Commission has - providing adaptive training and basic services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired - and sometimes getting nowhere . . .fast!

But I've since found that reality is far different from perception. I've discovered that the DLEG staff, which includes this Commission and its staff, is incredibly hard-working, professional & deeply committed to seeing Michigan succeed.

So to succeed in our mutual goal of developing a workforce that is among the best in the world, we need…

• to break down the roadblocks that interfere with the ability of persons with disabilities to have equality in employment …
• to remove bias and prejudice often associated with these same workers…
•  to create an employment path that will empower workers' values.

For me, values are the first step toward reaching that goal.

My values are who I am…the cornerstone I rely on in developing the vision and direction for the Department.

• I value each and every individual
• I value education… and the opportunity for education, especially lifelong education
• I value determination, selflessness and community service
• I value my opportunity to create a better future for those who follow behind me… so our children's dreams can blossom and grow as part of making Michigan great.

And, growth is what you're all about.

Growth is what "No Worker Left Behind" is about.

The Cherry Commission's report on Higher Education and Economic Growth last year found that a high school diploma isn't enough to launch a successful career.

For Michigan to grow into a competitor in the new economy, lifelong learning must become an ingrained reality for all.

"Whenever culture has gone through a radical change as ours has," said Daniel Greenberg, "- from industrial age to information age - there are people who will deny that things have changed; they resist it and refuse to change."

And we find ourselves in that same circumstance today.

Frankly, lifelong learning for all means huge cultural change!

And I guess you could call me the poster child for such learning. 

I've worked for nearly 40 years in the private sector, and retiring would have been an easy course to take. 

Instead, after 40 years and 10 separate careers (as one of my former employees said, "Gosh, Keith… You can't seem to keep a job!"), I'm learning about a whole new world.  A world of . . .

• dedicated employees,
• difficult assignments,
• and some sleepless nights. 

But, as I learn and extend my reach while I expand my grasp, confronting these new challenges … I need you as a partner.

Let me tell you why.

The Cherry Commission also reported:

"Michigan's residents, businesses, and governments can either move forward to a future of prosperity and growth fueled by the knowledge and skills of the nation's best-educated population…

.. or they can drift backward to a future characterized by..

• ever-diminishing economic opportunity,
• decaying cities
• and population flight - a stagnant backwater in a dynamic world economy…..

As easy as it would be to relax, "go with the flow," and "let someone else do it." this isn't what we want, is it?

Otherwise, we'd be like the guy who's out at a party and has too much to drink. His friends plead with him to let them take him home. He says no - he only lives a mile away.

About five blocks from the party the police pull him over for weaving and ask him to get out of the car and walk the line.

Just as he starts, the police radio blares out a notice of a robbery taking place in a house just a block away.

The police tell the party animal to stay put, they will be right back - and they run down the street to the robbery.

The guy waits and waits and finally decides to drive home. When he gets there, he tells his wife he is going to bed, and to tell anyone who might come looking for him that he has the flu and has been in bed all day.  A few hours later the police knock on the door. They ask if Mr. X lives there and his wife says yes. They ask to see him and she replies that he is in bed with the flu and has been so all day.  The police have his driver's license. They ask to see his car and she asks why. They insist on seeing his car, so she takes them to the garage and opens the door where they find:  the police car, lights still flashing.

Interesting what can happen when you "go with the flow" … take the road of least resistance ... are undisciplined. In this case I'm guessing someone ended up in jail.

For us, the consequences to Michigan if we are undisciplined and take the road of least resistance might be far worse.

So with that in mind - I need you as a partner in creating a new compact with Michigan residents:  an expectation that all students, blind or sighted, will achieve a post-secondary degree or credential coupled with a guarantee from the state of financial support linked to the achievement of that goal.

We have a tough job … with real discipline needed to accomplish it… but so what? Those are the cards we've been dealt, and that's what we have to do.

We need people trained. Why? Because while we often only hear about Michigan's unemployment rate, the reality is that we are facing a structural shortage of workers…skilled workers.

And if we don't get people skilled and stop this disconnect - the gap will widen.

The need for skilled workers is immediate and growing, and filling that need is absolutely essential to our economic future and our efforts to attract new business.

I have a plan to address this crisis.

 It's a plan:

• that considers the input of everyone around me,
• and that evolves as we learn and adapt to changing  dynamics.

Adaptation in the face of the kind of dynamics we face is tough… but another story can help us get the right perspective… it's about a time management expert. (Heard it before? That's ok… it bears repeating.)

He was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed pickle jar and set it on the table in front of him.  Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one answered. "Good!" he replied.
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and did the same thing. Once more, "Is the jar full?"  "No!"  Again, he said, "Good."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point."

The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.

What are the 'big rocks' in your life? You're loved ones?  An education? Your health? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.

If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

Isn't it interesting how the changing dynamics around that pickle jar could pave the way for this teacher to provide such a life-altering lesson on perspective relative to work/life balance?

Let me change the argument a little and ask: What are the 'big rocks' for us in Michigan? What do we need to take care of first to address our crisis?

Well, let me tell you about four big rocks we collectively need to get in that jar.

First: As change becomes the constant factor in our economy, we must help workers prepare to navigate and succeed in that new environment.

Around that issue of navigating a new environment - there's a quote by William Arthur Ward that fits well:  "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails."

That's what we're going to do - be realists and adjust the sails. So DLEG's first big rock for addressing Michigan's crisis includes you and your work and starts with: Increasing Skills and Educational Attainment.

In order for our workers to be among the best in the world, we must build a culture that values knowledge and drives decisions by workers, vendors, and companies to invest in that knowledge.

The Commission has shown that commitment by giving thousands (4,500) of Michigan's visually impaired citizens each year the opportunity to receive adaptive training, gain employment, and achieve independent living.

• Just like Mamie Louisa Moore from Detroit . . . a professional seamstress who lost her vision due to glaucoma.  She received training from the Michigan Commission for the Blind and developed new skills that have allowed her to live independently in her home and community-and return to sewing;
• And, Nichole Nevorski of Chesterfield Township . . . a senior at Central Michigan University majoring in chemistry.  The Michigan Commission for the Blind provided adaptive devices and training to help her complete her class assignments more efficiently and independently.  She was selected by the American Chemical Society to receive its national Overcoming Challenges Award.

Next big rock: we must encourage everyone in Michigan to Embrace Lifelong Learning. 

Every one of us is going to learn something new every day for the rest of our lives for good (reading for personal growth can help your career) or for bad (we're not as funny as we think we are after three beers):

Point is - we need to be aggressive and organized about it so we can begin doing the good things and avoid the bad. 

Our mutual goal is ambitious: provoking fundamental change in public attitudes across the state about education and learning… providing constant reminders to Michiganders of the critical need for higher skills.   

An attitude of lifelong learning will provide everyone, from welfare recipients transitioning to the workforce to research scientists seeking a new career, with a path toward a successful future.

Third big rock: we must Energize Entrepreneurship. There has to be a common, practical method for our young innovators - sighted and otherwise -

• to start their own companies,
• to develop great ideas
• and to be given opportunities to take those difficult first steps toward economic independence.

And it's up to us to provide the environment.

According to a study by CEO for Cities, a Chicago-based advocacy group, 64 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds today first choose the city in which they want to live, then look for a job. What qualities do they look for in a city?

• It has to be clean and attractive;
• It has to provide the opportunity for a quality lifestyle;
• It needs to have plenty of parks and green space;
• And it must have plenty of affordable housing.

So we need to look at what's going right and what's going wrong in our cities and uncover the best opportunities to improve.

Michigan's future economic success will be driven by a vibrant Michigan culture that encourages and supports citizens who capitalize on their innovations, inventions and dreams.

As Luci Swindoll, creator of the Women of Faith organization, said, "We need to stop looking at work as simply a means of earning a living and start realizing it is one of the elemental ingredients of making a life."

Entrepreneurism, in many ways . . . is a by product of that realization!

People need to know that creating new products and services - new businesses, some of which may grow into new industries-is an option that can be rewarding for them and for our state.

In fact, every Michiganian must become a "personal entrepreneur."

Fourth big rock: we have a responsibility to Help Companies Find, Develop, and Retain Talent. 

Business leaders who are part of the emerging economy know that talent is the most important ingredient for success. 

Bill Gates summed it up like this:  21st century businesses are "…far more sensitive to the quality of talent in a location than they are about tax incentives."

If we focus on helping existing employers maximize productivity & performance through talent strategies, we can prevent the need for future downsizings in many cases and minimize them in others. 

This means

• engaging groups of employers to identify and solve common workforce problems, as we now do with Regional Skills Alliances;
• assessing their current workforce strengths and weaknesses;
• determining skill needs for the future;
• and attracting smart, talented people to, and retain them in, Michigan communities;
• and doing all of this with an open agenda when it comes to any of our ADA issues.   

And this is where "No Worker Left Behind" will play such a crucial role - Governor Granholm's vision for helping displaced - and soon-to-be displaced - workers learn new skills for a new career. 

For too long, our unemployment system has benignly encouraged workers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing and globalization to wait for a better opportunity to come along.

By redirecting the state and federal dollars already used for worker training programs, we can open the doors of education and training to every displaced and low-wage worker who needs it.

Governor Granholm's plan will help more than 100,000 workers over the next 3-4 years by:

- providing up to two years free tuition at any Michigan community college or other approved training program;

- allowing unemployed or underemployed workers to receive needed training in high demand skills while receiving unemployment benefits.

To qualify for the NWLB program, these workers will need to take a skills assessment test administered by our partners at the Michigan Works! agencies.

Qualifying workers pursue a certificate or degree in a high-demand occupation, emerging industry, or entrepreneurship program.

High-demand occupations vary from region to region, however some common examples include

• healthcare,
• accounting and bookkeeping services,
• information technology,
• auto service technicians and mechanics.

DLEG's partners, community colleges and Michigan Works! agencies, will show our citizens that lifelong learning can create a rewarding future for them and their families. So today is our collective call to action.

Equipped with "No Worker Left Behind"… this is a race we run together. And the Michigan Commission for the Blind is important to our success. Why?

Because your mission is to provide leadership and assistance for

• education,
• adaptive training,
• services and, again,
• opportunity for blind and visually impaired citizens in the State of Michigan

In line with that concept of leadership…

Last story… let me tell you about a true leader in my life, my grandfather.

My mother's father as a young man worked in a drug store in the early 1900s.

 He wanted to be a doctor; he wanted to help others. He decided that somehow he would go to the University of Michigan and get his medical degree and practice medicine.  Problem was he had only a high school diploma, he had no money, and he lived in the Caribbean in a poor neighborhood of a poor country, Jamaica. That didn't stop him.  He made his way to the States with a forged college diploma, graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1925 and practiced for 30 years in and around Atlantic City, New Jersey.  A true leader, he demonstrated to me that through hard work and determination, success was possible.

He challenged obstacles to success.

Leadership took him around, over and through problems that would have stopped lesser individuals.

Obstacles to economic development and job training will rise to challenge us.  Especially for those who are visually impaired.

His example is one of which to be mindful if we are to succeed. In his own way my grandfather was my original Renaissance man, because of his enlightened view of what success looked like in his changing world.

And so that brings us back to where we started:  Making Michigan a great place to live in 2008 and beyond means we must create a Renaissance. 

And for those of us in this room… for all the reasons I've just articulated… for us… setting our aim too low is simply out of the question.

But remember what's possible if, on the other hand, we set our aim high:

• We can create a bright future for our children, our grandchildren, and their children
• We will be the solution to the skilled worker shortage in Michigan. We will train the workforce of tomorrowWe will, together, change the attitude of the young and old to include lifelong learning.

Now, I am going to ask for your help. I want to ask you for two things.

First, as the Governor battles in Lansing for a budget that includes resources for the programs we need, I need to ask you to take the message about No Worker Left Behind to every corner of this state.  Build on the great work you're doing today… go back to your communities and educate each and every state legislator and all of our newspapers and other opinion makers about why training our workers for the jobs of tomorrow is a vital necessity for turning Michigan around.

 Get to the business leaders out there.

 Get to the potential nursing students who are on the waiting list.

Get to the person whose life was transformed by your services to help tell our story and win funding for these programs!

Second, we have launched No Worker Left Behind.

 Regardless of what the legislature does, we need to put this program in place in the field.

We'll use our existing federal resources and come up with enough funding one way or another to keep it going.

But this is our shared vision.

So can I count on you to work with the rest of DLEG to make No Worker Left Behind a success . . . whatever comes?  It will take our blood, sweat and tears.  It will be risky . . . but it is doable if we do it together!

Together, we can turn this state around, one citizen, one worker and one company at a time!

Together we can make sure that No Michigan Worker is Left Behind!