Detroit and Cobo Center may seem synonymous, but Cobo has a unique reinvention story all its own. In this episode, Patrick Bero, CEO/CFO of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) gives us an interesting account of Cobo’s reinvention starting with a major disruption in the belly of the economic decline. Patrick has a lot to say about what happened after the reality set in that there was no way Cobo could keep doing business the same way and remain in existence.

 

QUOTE IT

“[Political leaders] knew that the city didn’t have the resources to do what was being asked of them. And this was going to require a broader solution.” (5:22)

“It all starts from a crisis point. We had to clear a lot of hurdles to get to this point. We had to earn a lot of trust.” (9:28)

“Are you really going to just change the cosmetics and throw a little paint on something or are you going to fundamentally change the way you live and work every day?” (15:55)

 

DIG IN

At 5:45 to hear Patrick give the back story on how the five entities that make up the DRCFA came together to do things differently and rally around Cobo’s comeback.

Around 15:20 Patrick describes their struggle with whether or not to rename Cobo and why they decided to stick with it even though they had an image problem.

TAKEAWAYS

1 – It takes courage and leadership to admit it’s time for a complete overhaul even when you don’t know exactly how to execute it.

2 – Commit to transparency to build the trust of your market despite the desire to dress up reality for a more pleasing picture.

3 – Empower employees to do their jobs well by giving them the training and experience they need.

4 – A unified decision making body that is fully invested in the outcome can drive big results.

5 – Don’t just tolerate something when you can take action by demanding higher expectations and change the outcome.