(gentle music) - Sandy, Bob, thanks for being here.

Sandy, tell me about what this conference means to the State of Michigan.

- Well, the conference is truly unique in the nation.

I mean, 1,500 of Michigan's top leaders, philanthropic leaders, academic leaders, corporate leaders, and of course our congressional delegation, our legislative leaders, all in one place for two and a half, three days, and it allows the kinds of conversations that you couldn't have if you're sitting in an office because everyone's on equal footing.

It doesn't matter what your title is.

If you're at the conference, you're accessible and you can have these conversations.

And that's why I'm so excited about the theme that our Chair Bob Riney developed for the conference, which is "A Quest for Common Ground."

- Yeah, Bob, "A Quest for Common Ground."

Tell me about why this theme this year?

Why now?

- You know, we're at a very divisive time, and we're more caught up sometimes in the fight than what we really want to achieve.

And so "Quest for Common Ground" is really to remind people that there's a goal.

And that goal usually has an intersect between people that have very different views about how to move forward.

And we have to work that intersect.

We can't get paralyzed by differences because then we lose.

If we find our sweet spot of things we agree on, we advance.

- Who do you think needs to hear that message the most right now?

- You know, I think all of us need to hear that message because when the temperature is up, it doesn't matter why the temperatures rise, but it brings out the worst in all of us.

And so I think it's a collective of helping lower the temperature and role modeling a different way.

- Sandy, tell me about some of the highlights.

- Well, we are super excited with an incredible lineup.

So, one, we're gonna have the former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence.

On our stage, we're gonna have actor, humanitarian and philanthropist Gary Sinise.

And he's gonna help us celebrate America's 250th birthday.

We're gonna have lots of conversations with a lot of former governors.

(all laughing) - A record number.

- A record number of people who had the title governor, which actually Vice President Pence was a former governor as well too.

But we're gonna have former Governor Grant home, former Governor Schneider, the former governor of New Hampshire, former Governor Raimondo, who is also the former Secretary of Commerce.

- You know, the highlights for me are not just the names that Sandy talked about, but what they represent.

And so all of these individuals are playing a role in one way or another, in "A Quest for Common Ground."

If you look at someone like Pete Buttigieg, he's really saying, "Let's have adult conversations."

You know, he's not trying to silence the other side.

He's saying, let's have fact base, let's have substantive dialogue and then move forward.

I wanna make sure that people don't think that common ground means we just all need to work the middle.

I think we need very different debates on issues.

You know, the energy-centered debates and AI debates, I think are healthy.

If they're the right kind of debate, they're substantive.

And if those debates lead to a common action, paralysis is a losing position.

And so I want to make sure that we see whether we're in business or whether we're expecting behaviors out of our legislature that they know paralysis is not an acceptable place to be.

- Well, speaking of paralysis, one of the themes also of the conference is, "What's the Fix?"

A series of conversations looking at education, at AI.

I'm interested, Sandy, about why that decision was made to sort of talk about, I think one of the things you're talking about is the house is on fire here in Michigan.

What does that mean in terms of the conferences here?

- Well, since the year 2000, Michigan has fallen dramatically in everything from population growth, per capita income, educational achievement.

And we have found through our statewide polling with the Glen Gareth Group that our Michigan neighbors across the state don't know that we've fallen.

So, we are going to ring the alarm bell, which is Michigan's house is on fire, which leads to these common ground conversations because we need to reverse these trends, and we can only do it by finding common ground to move forward.

So, we're not just going to talk about problems, we're gonna talk about problem solving, and the "What's the Fix?"

Series, which is gonna be led by our friend Devin Scillian, the former WDIV anchor.

We're gonna talk about data centers, we're gonna talk about economic development.

We're gonna talk about K through 12 education reform.

What is the fix for these falling numbers that we have in Michigan that frankly we just can't settle for?

- We're gonna also highlight what other states have done that have been in negative positions, negative rankings, to inspire people that this doesn't have to be a long journey back, it has to be a purposeful journey back, and we can get there.

- So, what is the main takeaway?

I mean, I'm hearing common ground, but that you want after the conference to see, let's say for the next year, folks who attended the conference, what does that work look like for them to do once they're not on the island anymore?

- Well, one, you know, we really do hope that ringing the alarm bell and saying that Michigan's house is on fire will resonate.

Just ringing that alarm bell will hopefully get our leaders, all of our leaders, in a different frame of mind saying that, okay, the state's too important, I want my kids to do well, I want my communities to do well, I have to change my approach.

I have to be able to learn and listen from others and find that common ground.

- I think you have to hold up a mirror.

You know, you have to ask people, how's playing for your base work?

You know, we're 44th in education, and we've had education a whipsaw for decades now, as opposed to a long-term sustainable solution because of partisanship.

And I think we have to ask ourselves, how's that working for us?

If you're 44th, it's not working very well.

- You know, you have to admit that in today's political environment, the way things work is that our politicians are not rewarded for reaching for the center.

You know, very different than when I was growing up in politics in the '80s and even the '90s.

You are now rewarded for playing to your base.

And what the conference does is that it puts everyone in a different frame of mind.

And again, this is why we're really, you know, ringing the alarm bell that our house is on fire.

And you know, if you wanna be a leader in Michigan, not just in the political realm, but in the business realm and the philanthropic realm, you know, you've got to strive for common ground.

And that means, are you willing to change your mind?

- I think winning companies have diverse views in their teams, but they find a way to collaborate and move it into action.

That's what we need as a state, and we need as a region.

Let's debate, but there's a period when the debate ends, we agree on some actions, we lock in, and we work to support those actions, not to make sure that they unwind.

- It can't be the perfect solution for everybody- - That's right.

- But it needs to be, you know, the Ronald Reagan line.

It's like going, you know, "I'll take 80% of what I can get.

I might try to go back and get the other 20 later, but I'm happy with 80 so we can move forward."

- Yeah.

- The best presentations don't raise stock prices in companies, the best actions and the best results.

And we've gotta take that attitude forward.

And that means compromise, collaborate, get things done, measure it, quick fixes if it's not working right, and celebrate the wins together.

- Bob, Sandy, here's to a successful conference.