If I had to summarize my experiences at the Challenge Detroit Innovation Boot Camp, I would use one word: Perspective. Boot Camp was jam packed with presentations by city leaders, a tour of city neighborhoods, a team building retreat, interactive workshops, and hands-on service. My name is Fares Ksebati, and I am one of the 32 Challenge Detroit Fellows who will be blogging through the year on all things related to the program and the city. I work as a project manager for an awesome technology start-up called hiredMYway.com. Additionally, I am also working as a marketing coordinator for Challenge Detroit documenting the challenges and cultural events fellows engage in through written word, photography, and videography. I am honored to be a Fellow, and am excited to Live, Work, Play, Give and Lead in the city this year. This is my first blog as a Fellow. I hope you enjoy a behind-the-scenes look, from my perspective, on our in-depth week of Boot Camp.
Hearing from leaders in our community is essential to understanding the issues and opportunities facing Detroit. Over the course of the week, we heard from dynamic leaders, thinkers and doers in Detroit including Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand who spoke to us on Day One and said, “This is a unique opportunity to get involved with a major American city.” His message kicked off a week of passionate words of wisdom from like-minded leaders. We also heard from Karla Henderson from the City of Detroit who talked about the Detroit Works Project and gave us an inside look at city operations. But, more than hearing from speakers, getting to know each other was priority. Each fellow presented a three-minute TEDx-style talk. Some shared stories of summers abroad, others talked about the evolution of their nicknames. Our diverse backgrounds promise innovative ideas and solutions for our non-profit partners.
Day Two was an in-depth review of Detroit’s past, present and future starting with a neighborhood tour. Jeannette Pierce from D:Hive led the tour sharing the complexity of the challenges facing several distressed neighborhoods, and the opportunities at our fingertips. We heard first hand from Kirk Mayes, the executive director of the Brightmoor Alliance along with several other city leaders including: Mark Petroff, President of Marketing Associates; Kurt Metzger, Data Driven Detroit; Freda Sampson, Michigan Roundtable, and Dan Kinkead, Detroit Future City. Our final speaker was Sandy Baruah, the president of the Detroit Regional Chamber. He shared an interesting perspective on how the different connotations of the City can affect our ability to make market based sustainable solutions.
Day Three took us out of the city and to the Walled Lake Outdoor Education Center. It took a combination of physical and mental perseverance to overcome the challenges we faced on the high ropes course and to complete our team activities. Similar to our upcoming challenge projects that will serve the Detroit community, the outdoor experiences tested our patience and focus as we learned humility and the importance of communication. The course pushed boundaries, and our minds and bodies embraced every challenge presented.
Building on our experience at the outdoor retreat, Day Four advanced our problem solving and team working skills. Matt Didio hosted us at his incredible office – Gyro Creative. A daylong design-thinking workshop with Dylan Box of Wedge Detroit prepared us to think collaboratively and develop solutions for our nonprofit partners. During the workshop, our challenge statement: “How can we make the citizens of Detroit feel safer?” set the framework for ideation and prototyping sessions.
In our final day of orientation, we ventured to Compuware’s outdoor garden: Lafayette Greens for some hands-on giving. After a morning outdoors, we walked over to “the Qube” a.k.a. Chase Tower for lunch with the Inaugural Fellows. The Fellows shared insights, highlights, and lessons learned from their year before we heard from David Carroll of Quicken Loans. It was refreshing to hear about Quicken’s investment in the City of Detroit. Like us, they want good things for Detroit.
I am enthused for the year that lies ahead. After gaining a greater understanding of the city’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, I’m excited for what this year has to offer. I hope you’ll follow all the fellows on our journey this year.
Until next time,
Fares