Bailey on Mackinac

By Ari Adler

The conference sessions are running hot and heavy today with lots of people racing from one to the next to hear all the latest ideas for the metro Detroit region.

There are a lot of good discussions being had between panelists and among the attendees before, during and after the sessions.

Perhaps even more telling, however, is how many people are not at the sessions but are, instead, networking one-on-one with folks to connect or reconnect. That’s important because as I’ve discovered over the years, media relations, public relations, government relations – they all have to do with relationships.

I sent some Twitter posts out today about what a haven for networking this policy conference is. During a 2-hour span, I said hello and chatted with folks from Gov. Granholm’s staff, Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Sen. Deb Cherry (D-Flint), Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Grandville), key folks at the Michigan Democratic Party, clients, potential clients and a handful of reporters.

That list is quite remarkable when you consider my background – it’s no secret I used to be the spokesperson for a Republican Senate Majority Leader and often sparred publicly with Democrats.

Some question – including some who are on the island right now – the validity of holding this function on Mackinac Island instead of somewhere in the Metro Detroit region. But when you’re here, you can truly get a sense for why it matters to get away from it all.

By pulling everyone out of the region you create neutral territory where folks from both sides of the political aisle can have a nice chat and maybe even jab each other with a few political commentaries but still laugh together – because they aren’t defending any home turf.

You can have people from all walks of life – business, media, public relations, local government, state government, federal government – and you can have them all view the Metro Detroit region from afar. From up here on Mackinac Island, you can get a virtual birds-eye view of Southeast Michigan.

Thursday night is the middle of the conference and tonight’s activities include a tremendous number of events and parties sponsored by all kinds of different causes looking to bring people together under their tent. Sure, in part it’s to grab the attendees’ attention long enough for them to hear about what you or your clients are up to. But it’s also about putting the humanity back into what we spend the rest of the year bemoaning as faceless entities known as “government” and “the business community.”

I can’t wait.

By Ari Adler

It’s that time of year again. The time when the state’s leaders come together on Mackinac Island to review what’s wrong with Michigan, to chart a course for where Michigan could be in a year, and to pledge to really work together this time and get it done.

Messaging will be crucial this year when the annual Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference gets underway on Wednesday. The politicians and business leaders will need to work hard to put away the partisan bickering and the disagreements over who really gets taxed more. Nolan Finley at the Detroit News has his ideas for what should be on the agenda this year.

It’s been a rough year for many attendees, their constituents and their employees. And yet, with each spring dawns new hope for Michigan – particularly Southeast Michigan – as the smell of fudge and horses mingles in the air on a tiny island 300 miles away from Detroit.

Many wonder why the Detroit conference isn’t held in Detroit – and it’s difficult to explain to some folks how much work is actually getting done at such a grand vacation spot. Ron Dzwonkowski at the Detroit Free Press noted a key point recently – that being so far away from the office makes it that much less likely you’ll be tempted to avoid part of the conference for “just a few minutes.”

John Bailey & Associates recently partnered with the Detroit Regional Chamber to find out what’s on the mind of Michigan’s business leaders as they head north this week. The survey results aren’t all that surprising, but they’re still interesting.

The agenda is chock full of ways to ferret out what Michigan should be doing and why. Here’s hoping that this time next year there can be an agenda item for “2008’s results.”