Video of the recent Concentrate event has now been posted online, for those of you who weren’t able to attend in person. Among those interviewed are local illustrator Dustin Krcatovich, soon-to-be-graduating MBA Newcombe Clark, and U-M postdoc Linda Foit. (A fourth woman was plucked from the audience, but I don’t recall her name.)
I’ve yet to watch it, but I seem to recall at some point telling Dustin that we could get him to move back if we wanted, by making his parents deathly ill. I think I probably owe him an apology for that… Otherwise, I think I did OK.
Those of you who are interested, will find our archive of Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews here.
[note: Word is that this event went over so well that Concentrate would like for me to host another one… this time in Ypsi. So, if you know of anyone interesting who’s leaving the area, please let me know.]
13 Comments
Cheat Sheet:
39:40 Discussion on the uniqueness of Ann Arbor changing as rents rise.
53:30 Newcombe Clark on the “culture of excellence” that Ann Arbor doesn’t have.
I like the discussion about economic diversity.
1:15:00 “Those opportunities are gone for Ann Arbor.”
There are people I would like to have leave town. Would you like their names?
Re: “Those opportunities are gone for Ann Arbor.” What follows– after Mark’s “That’s Scary” interjection– is essential. “It’s really scary. But the question is– Do we choose to create those opportunities through Government opportunity, through subsidies, etc? As of now, as of recently, we have been unwilling to do those things. we, as a poplus of voters, have not been willing to take those steps” [roughly]
It is possible. We need to have a serious conversation around inclusion and smart development. There are still plenty of people of low income living in Ann Arbor. They are well served in terms of safety nets, but poorly served in terms of real empowerment, paths to home ownership, educational parity, etc. They are, in particular, poorly served in terms of real inclusion– as opposed to mere tolerance. They are not embraced and welcomed and, fundamentally, valued. (i.e. possible closure of Roberto Clemente) Ann Arbor is growing wealthy, but culturally (and I would say spiritually) impoverished, as a result. Further we have the talent and expertise here to inform that work, both in the public, academic and private sectors. I do think there is a culture of excellence in this county, but it is not high profile excellence and it is largely not civically engaged. The political conversation cuts the conversation short in A2. It is reflexively anti-growth. It is also not well informed about basic economics– what is possible, what isn’t, what mechanisms could make the town better. I would love to see a more lively conversation about growth, economic diversity, economic well being and inclusion county wide. We are only having that conversation in terms of wall street bogey men right now. What is that Pogo line?– I have seen the enemy and he is us.
I recommend sticking to those leaving Ypsi. Much more interesting people who have unique stories to tell. These four leaving Ann Arbor will be replaced by four more Hipsters just like them next Fall
I believe Dustin lives in Ypsi. As for the others on the panel, I don’t think any of them were hipsters. Two were MBAs. One was a PhD. Yuppy might be a more fitting description.
Okay, Yuppy then. Still not a very interesting group in my view. Moving to Portland, however, would make me lean toward Hipster for the one dude. Chicago fits the other guy – I have him pegged for either a downtown loft or Lincoln Park.
I would have preferred the puppet doing the interview.
Mark actually is a pretty good interviewer. He’s learned a lot from that puppet.
Tommy, did you actually listen to the interview and hear Newcombe Clark’s story or just jump to conclusions based on appearance and a few clips? One of the things I liked about this interview was how the guests defied my initial assumptions about them.
I got thru about 30 minutes. I will try to get to more of it after I get home from work. And I have to admit I did jump to some conclusions or should I say, some personal biases that have always gotten in the way. I have never met and/or worked with someone who has recently finished up “B” school at prestigious institution who wasn’t a self-absorbed know-it-all. The conclusion that I drew was based on my personal bias and the referenced statement aboutthe ‘culture of excellence’ that Ann Arbor apparently doesn’t have. This coming from a former corporate real estate broker. So Jean, you called me out and I respect that, and yes I should probably think twice about labeling someone. I simply should have said, ‘good luck – I hope you find success in whatever you do in the future with your MBA’.
I don’t think Newcombe would object to my saying he’s a polarizing figure. He’s confident and he comes across in some instances like, as Tommy would say, “a self-absorbed know-it-all”. I think, if you dig beneath the surface a bit, though, you’ll find that he’s got the capacity to be pretty thoughtful. He’s definitely complex… as I think you might come to appreciate later tonight, when I post my follow-up interview with him.
OK, I posted the written interview with Newcombe that I mentioned earlier… Enjoy.
3 Trackbacks
[…] Ann ArborYpsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Newcombe ClarkBy Mark | April 10, 2013A week or so ago, in front of an audience at Conor O’Neills, I had the pleasure of conducting a live exit interview with commercial real estate broker turned […]
[…] hosted one of these events for Concentrate, and, if it’s anywhere near as interesting as the last one, I think you’ll find it well worth your time… and not just because they’re known […]
[…] A few years ago, as the editor of Concentrate, you asked me to host a live exit interview at Connor O’Neil’s in front of an audience. Among those on the panel was Newcome Clark, who, at that time, was on his way out of town, headed […]