Last week I had the opportunity to stand in front of 50 folks from a sales organization with offices across the country. They met here in Detroit, and asked me to share my vision for the city, our collective creativity and some ideas of where Detroit is heading. Those who know me know I was more than happy to indulge them in my thoughts.
During this chat, I shared Skidmore’s give-back philosophy. I showed them our recent 78-second video on Steve’s Deli, talked about Skidmore’s Resurget Cineribus campaign and shared the work we do as part of Free Art Friday Detroit.
Why?
During the “Q&A” part of the talk, someone near the back raised his hand and asked a one-word question: “Why?” Of course my response was “why, what?” Turns out he wanted to know why we did it. Why did Skidmore move downtown when we were successful and comfortable in the suburbs? Why do we spend so much time donating our creative work to places like Steve’s Deli, Reading Works, Detroit Public Schools and many others? Without much thought, my response was, “Because we can … and we should.”
The creative community has a unique opportunity to dramatically impact what is going on in Detroit. We can design for the good. So much attention is paid to the manufacturing and real estate changes – the big headline grabbing moves that have millions of dollars attached to them. We often forget that it’s all the little efforts, gestures and events that add up to the greater good. I know there are many other smaller companies that share this belief.
I think Steve is a great example of that. Here’s a guy who retired, and had a dream to open a sandwich shop. He found this tiny space on a side street near where I park my car. One day I wandered in and chatted him up while he made me a turkey on rye. It was a long chat, because Steve takes his time making his sandwiches. (Have you heard of sandwich artists? I actually think he has a hard time handing them over when he’s done building them.)
I was fascinated with his story and wanted to share it. Soon, many of the folks here at the studio were walking over for one of his handcrafted sandwiches.
It is hard not to root for Steve.
One time, his hand-painted sign was sitting on the floor of his shop. I asked him how that affected his business. “It’s not too good,” he replied. “I got to get that back up, but the wind keeps blowing it down.” Then he smiled and shrugged and said something about owning a business.
A week or two later, the guys at the studio came in with an idea to create a video for Steve. They asked if we could donate the work to him. (I figured they saw his sign still sitting on the floor.)
There was never even a hesitating thought. We can, and should help the Steves of the world. After a couple weeks of scriptwriting, storyboarding, illustration, and design and camera work, the video was complete. Andre, our “visual assassin,” proclaimed it the most fun he’s had working on a project in a long time. Mike, our new guy, said he felt like he helped make a difference. The result was thousands of views in a single day, and a line out Steve’s door like he’s never had.
Resurget Cineribus
That’s what we meant when we proclaimed: “By virtue of creative might, Detroit shall rise from the ashes.” We all have this opportunity to make a small difference. We can all make the choice to help someone succeed. And in the process you find a bit more hop in your step, you stand a bit taller and can confidently tell the next person you meet on the plane that you are from Detroit. And we are doing just fine, thank you very much.
Tim
@smithcastle