Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) was a great marketer. Shallow assessment? Offensive, even? The recent experience of one who followed in his footsteps may illustrate my point.

Former Washington Mayor at U-M
Adrian Fenty, former mayor of our nation’s Capitol and featured speaker at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business on Martin Luther King Day this year, was once described as a “reform-minded problem solver.*” So I found it ironic that Fenty began his speech by alluding to the election he lost after a single term in office. Maybe he felt that his audience would be wondering why the D.C. voters gave him only four years to make good on his campaign promise of reforming the schools.

Fortunately, Fenty also described his approach to fulfilling his promise, how he consulted with the mayors of New York City and Chicago, and ultimately selected a Chancellor, Michelle Rhee,who warned him that if he wanted to be re-elected he shouldn’t hire her. By “taking control of the school system,” Fenty and Rhee brought about dramatic improvement in graduation rates, test scores and the budget in just four years—an impressive record, but apparently something was missing.

Looking Back from the Mountaintop
There in the distinguished Ross School on MLK Day, Fenty called up King’s “Mountaintop” speech, delivered just before his assassination.

This speech communicated to the depths of people’s hearts. How? King knew his people and their sufferings. He had suffered with them. King was comparing his (and their) experience to that of Moses and the enslaved Israelites in the Bible, where Moses led the people out of Egypt to the Promised Land which he viewed from a mountaintop, but did not enter with them.  

Looking back we hear King imploring the people, “We need all of you.”

 Fenty’s speech set me thinking. First, I care about kids and their education. I have five grown children, a grandchild and two degrees in education. I have spent much time in the schools, both as an educator and a parent volunteer. As a company we at MOVE have done projects for higher-ed institutions like the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Spring Arbor University and Cornerstone University. Lastly, as a business owner I am keenly aware of the symbiotic relationship between school success and business success.

The marketing business is really about helping businesses build relationships. Businesses strive to satisfy customers’ needs. To succeed they have to do it again and again. That takes a relationship in which the customer feels an emotional connection, a loyalty to a brand. When King cried out, “We need all of you!” he was building an emotional connection, a loyalty within the people.

In business and in politics, you can’t leapfrog that connection. Perhaps that’s where Fenty and Rhee misjudged. Perhaps they felt that if they took the time to put relationships first, they would lose the opportunity to get the job done.

I’m fortunate to have had the chance to celebrate MLK Day by hearing Fenty’s story and I commend his efforts on behalf of justice in education. I hope that all adult Americans will take some time to reflect on how they can build relationships with the next generation. 

*The Huffington Post

Posted on a fence near the entrance to Greenfield Village is this quote from Daniel Webster:

“When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.”

If Webster’s pithy claim was true for an upstart America two centuries ago, could it also resonate in today’s post-industrial post-modern post-information America?  It would seem that more and more people believe so.  On Thursday I found myself enjoying their company at the Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) Conference for “Building a Better Food System in Southeast Michigan” held in Jackson.  Jeff Bodtke, our new Account Coordinator at MOVE, who grew up on a blueberry farm in west Michigan, joined me for a full day of informative, interactive sessions, with topics ranging from savoring local flavors in Jackson to food and agriculture policy for Michigan.

Jeff and I attended separate sessions and we made some discoveries throughout the day:

Sandhill Crane Winery of Jackson makes a delicious, sweet raspberry wine—a dessert in itselfJ.

A grassroots campaign called Ten Percent Washtenaw affirms the enthusiasm for "locally grown" in our area, but wants us to know that at present only ½ of 1% of the $1 billion in food we consume annually is actually grown in Washtenaw County.  Ten Percent’s goal is to get us to 10% locally grown by 2010.

Ginny Trocchio, Project Director for The Conservation Fund/Ann Arbor Greenbelt, noted that, as Greenbelt land is being acquired, the Advisory Commission is strategically identifying critical areas for farmland preservation.  For a tour of Greenbelt farmland, check out the Greenbelt Bus Tour on July 17^th.

The keynote speaker really brought it all together for me.  Michael Sands, founder of the Farm Business Development Center, described the Prairie Crossing project in north suburban Chicago as "an incubator for beginning organic farmers committed to creating financially rewarding and ecologically healthy farm businesses in the suburban landscape."  The incubator is not just a cool design for a suburban development connected to a local food source.  It makes economic sense.  One acre of intensively farmed organic vegetables can generate up to $20,000 in revenue, in contrast to the same acre of corn or soybeans at $600-$700! This revenue generates local jobs and pumps money into the local economy. 

Could Ten Percent become a reality if Ann Arbor developed an incubator program in the Greenbelt?

As a business committed to helping our local economy go and grow, MOVE sees local farming as an essential ingredient of our area's future.  Hats off to Jennifer Fike and her team at FSEP for organizing a terrific event.  I wish I could have mentioned all of the incredible things Jeff and I heard, saw and tasted on Thursday, but hopefully this post will serve as a reminder that Webster’s fencepost quote rings true today.