With the GOP Convention just weeks away, Republicans are anything but, “All In.” With a sparse list of speakers ranging from members of the Trump family to a handful of athletes and actors, the Republican National Committee (RNC) must wrestle control of the convention back from the Trump camp.
The Ann Arbor Art Fair is one of Michigan’s finest summer traditions and one of the largest outdoor art fairs in the nation. Each year, thousands of artists compete for a limited number of spaces in one of the four art fairs that make up The Ann Arbor Art Fair. For the first time in the 57-year history of The Ann Arbor Art Fair, the art fair will open on a Thursday (July 21) and end on a Sunday (July 24).
To Defeat A Bully, Take Away Their Ammunition. Politics can be brutal. If you run for office, you should prepared to face your toughest critics and have your dirty laundry aired. As a serious candidate, knowing the bad choices you made, you can pre-empt your opponents attacks by addressing your negatives and turn them into something positive.
The State of Michigan is seeking input on a plan for transforming Michigan’s health care system. The state will submit an operational plan for the SIM initiative to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 31, 2016. The draft plan is available here for public review. Public comment is being accepted through a survey of SIM initiative stakeholders. Your feedback will help guide the state's efforts as it moves forward with implementation.
If you are interested, please follow this link to view and respond to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VV8BQCG. Responses to the survey should be submitted by 5:00 PM on Monday, May 18, 2016.
In today's economic and political climate, companies need to work hard to gain or build trust, especially if it is a company that impacts the environment. While companies do have politically outspoken CEOs or active corporate social responsibility programs they need to find ways to meaningfully engage the community. This includes understanding the personalities and politics of the issues, familiarizing oneself with the influential community groups, knowing the political leaders in the community and finding ways to build trust and valued relationships to show that your company wants to make a meaningful impact in their community and that you are willing to work with them, no matter what their concerns are. By doing so, you can advance your agenda while respecting local concerns and end up with mutual gains.
We have a lot to learn from each other. “Another year older, another year wiser,” can often be found on the inside of a birthday cards, but in reality we have the most to learn from those who are younger than us – especially in the creative economy.
New tools emerge daily to help companies enhance their brand. Some stick around longer than others but knowing which tool can really help companies target their core market.
Crises happen! Products are recalled, natural disasters strike and scandals pop up more frequently than we would like, but they happen. Other than being prepared for the unexpected, how quickly and meaningfully a company, public official or even a spouse responds will determine how quickly trust is restored and people can move forward from blame to fixing the problem.
Politicians must confront those that disagree with them, just as the protestors are confronting the candidates. They can leverage the protester's comments in their favor and use it to help rally a crowd that is there not to be won over, but there to rally behind the candidate. In fact, the protestor can be used to drive home a point.
As providers and as elected leaders, we both need to put people first and focus on the communities we serve. Good government should be about creating better opportunities for people in our state and I strongly encourage each of you to seek out the providers in your district, visit them, talk with the consumers and their families, and get a strong sense of the vital role you play in the direct care of our consumers.
Public policy disputes have the potential of polarizing communities with the affect of delaying important decisions on vital issues of public policy, often resulting in diluted policies or no action at all. Facilitation helps resolves some of the high-profile policy disputes and finds resolution through controversy and clarity amidst chaos.
If we don't trust those whom we elect why should we trust their spokesperson. According to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, in the US, more people place their trust in business before government. To gain the public's trust and avoid difficult situations like those that have emerged in Flint, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland and other cities those that we elect have to start to listen to those they represent and communicate with the people affected directly.
