Episode 046 – Jeanette Pierce – Connecting Us to the Detroit Experience

Episode 046 – Jeanette Pierce – Connecting Us to the Detroit Experience

By on Oct 4, 2015 in Bottom Up Reinvention, Change, Collaboration, Connect, Detroit, Disruption, Diversity, Lead by Action, Learning Laboratory, Ownership, Passion, Podcast, Reinvention, Reinvention Laboratory, WE.INVENT, Women in Leadership |

Jeanette Pierce Promo

 

There’s no other way to say it: Detroit can give you first-hand experience and unforgettable lessons that will make you re-examine what you thought you knew – about the city, about reinvention, and about your every day experiences.

Jeanette Pierce, executive director of Detroit Experience Factory, has been letting the city be her teacher for more than a decade. In fact, she is living a reinvention lifestyle inspired by a place she has been familiar with since she was a kid.

There is so much to learn from Jeanette’s story, like her approach to entrepreneurship and her passion for her work, we dare you to listen to this podcast and not be curious to learn more about what you can learn from the people, places and projects in Detroit.

QUOTE IT

“As much as I know about Detroit, I’m still learning stuff every day.” (7:05)

“We’ve had people come from all around the country to learn from the people, places and projects here – to see how we’ve (reinvented) outside the box…actually we’ve done it without a box at all.” (22:53)

 

DIG IN

Around 5:35 Jeanette talks about her experience growing up in Detroit and then returning after living abroad as a metaphor for discovering something new in a place where you thought you knew it all.

Jeanette has a really good description at 10:25 about why experiencing Detroit is something that “you can’t Google.”

Then at 18:35 she uses one of her beloved metaphors to illustrate how quickly change began springing up on the streets of Detroit, like popcorn.

TAKEAWAYS
1- Coming at an old idea in a new way (in Jeanette’s case, experiencing Detroit on foot) can give way to a new understanding of something you thought you understood.

2 – Adding realistic but firm deadlines helps motivate you to stay on track and keep working toward your goal.

3 – There is a difference between doing research and getting first-hand experience.

4 – Change usually takes on a popcorn effect; first it starts slow and steady, then begins popping faster and more sporadically.

5 – Detroit is a working laboratory for people who are curious about how to nurture a change-oriented environment with room to grow and do.