And there are many other heroes—developers, investors, and independent business owners—working to revitalize Detroit. We will fail, however, if we continue to measure Detroit’s success only in terms of its size. Let’s be honest, brutally honest.
We don’t have to be one of the ten largest cities in America (a distinction we surrendered in 2005) to be one of the best cities in America. We don’t have to preserve the city’s archaic street grid and restricted residential lot patterns designed a century ago to accommodate 2 million people. Wherever there are neighborhoods of abandoned homes, we should be willing to redirect streets and configure residential lots to be competitive with the land offerings in the suburbs. Why not build a golf course surrounded by homes where dense neighborhoods of row houses once stood? Many cities would be well served by such a creative approach.
There also is an increasing understanding that the Detroit metropolitan area, which reaches well beyond the city limits, is a diverse market of over five million people blessed with a variety of occupational and lifestyle choices. Ann Arbor, Novi, Southfield, Dearborn, Troy, and Detroit are in a very real sense “edge cities” comprising a twenty-first-century metropolis as attractive, diverse, and competitive as any in the nation.
Will Detroit and its downtown play a special role in this region?
Of course.
Southfield will never host a Super Bowl. There is no place in Troy to study an historic Diego Rivera mural (we have one at the Detroit Institute of Arts). There will be only one Hard Rock Cafe in the region (we have one with plenty of Motown memorabilia in the Compuware building downtown). And if you want to watch a beautiful sunset along the Detroit River from the comfort of the Riverfront Apartments, you have to live downtown.
In recent years, I’ve been personally involved with many of the efforts. My friend Max Fisher used to say that there are three ways an individual can contribute to organizations and community initiatives: you can give your money, your time, and your good name. I’ve made a practice of giving all three. Since 1980, I have made personal charitable contributions of more than $125 million. But my greatest satisfaction comes from giving my time and expertise, and in recent years I’ve been focused on ways to make institutions in Detroit different and better. With the help of my good friend and extraordinary architect Michael Graves (working with the Detroit-based Smith-Group), we are creating a much more efficient and welcoming home for the Detroit Institute of Arts’ world-class collections. I’ve helped plan the new internal circulation patterns at the DIA. (You could say we are breaking down threshold resistance!) I am also honored to serve on the board and chair the building committee of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, a unique institution that is effectively training the next generation of artists and automotive designers. And in April 2006, we dedicated the A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield—where I learned many of the architectural and planning skills I use every day.
Like any great city’s, Detroit’s past is full of triumphs and tragedies. We will no doubt continue to struggle with change and opportunity. But from my vantage point, I see plenty of greatness still ahead of this special city—my hometown.
And of course, the Detroit area remains a great place to do business. That little company I started with my father, some big dreams, and a $5,000 loan, is still based in Bloomfield Hills. It has grown into a large enterprise, with twenty-three centers, five hundred employees, and an equity capitalization of $4.5 billion as of January 2007. I own almost one-third of it but am mostly an observer. The management team, led by Robert Taubman, runs it better than I ever did. We’re still developing, still creating exciting new retail environments, and still breaking down threshold resistance. One of our current projects is a retail, office, and residential complex in downtown Salt Lake City. Who would have thought a Jewish guy from Detroit and the Church of Latter-Day Saints would be business partners.
Only in America!
EPILOGUE
Over my lifetime I’ve gotten pretty good at assessing and responding to threshold resistance. It’s a skill that serves you well in business and life. Over the last eight decades, I’ve enjoyed great success and experienced gut-wrenching personal failure. But through it all I’ve stayed positive, always seeing opportunity in even the toughest challenges.
Breaking down barriers is very rewarding. It can be scary and risky. It can also be fun. Bringing exciting new shopping opportunities to communities across America was great fun, as was opening the stimulating world of art and collectibles to broader audiences around the world. Solving building design issues in Baku, winning a football championship, watching a youngster enjoy a root beer float, and looking out over thousands of acres of smart new development along the Pacific Ocean are terrific experiences—especially for an awkward but motivated kid from Pontiac, Michigan.
Every success involved placing opportunities in front of customers, offering value, and providing an enriching, entertaining experience. Figuring out how to make things better, not just different, is the first step in any business plan. For whatever reason, it came naturally to me to look at things differently. But it’s something you have to work on and became accustomed to doing. And success always leads to greater confidence.
You’ll always face resistance. In fact, the better your idea, the more some people will want you to fail. Believe in yourself, and you’re on your way.
As I look back over my life, my family, without a doubt, has been my proudest accomplishment. They’re terrific. They’re also why I wrote this book. Everyone, of course, is welcome to read my thoughts. But I had a very specific audience in mind as I tackled this project: my nine grandchildren.
These lessons and reflections are for my daughter Gayle Kalisman’s two sons. Jason, continue embracing life and your skyrocketing career at Goldman Sachs. And Philip, with your PhD in chemistry from Berkeley, you’ll be the first scientist in the family—and hopefully our first Nobel laureate.
My son Robert will have to buy at least four books for his sons and daughter. Alexander Alfred, as you continue your studies at Harvard University, get over to the Taubman Center as often as possible. And Ghislaine, Theodore, and Sebastian, I hope when you’re old enough to read your grandfather’s musings, you’ll put down Harry Potter and give me a chance.
My son William’s children, Oliver and Abigail, may want to read my book with their father. It’s okay to ask your dad to explain some of the stuff about the art world.
And I hope my stepdaughter Tiffany’s beautiful young girl, Tatiana, already multilingual like her grandmother, will enjoy hearing about my international experiences. Who knows; the book may someday be translated into Azerbaijani.
Jason, Philip, Alexander, Ghislaine, Theodore, Sebastian, Oliver, Abigail, and Tatiana, now you know a whole lot more about “Pops.”
SEARCHABLE TERMS
A&W Great Food Restaurant units, 59, 60 A&W Restaurants
advertising of
brand image of
hot dogs of
marketing failures of
purchase price of
resale of
in shopping centers and malls
A&W Root Beer
Acquavella, Bill
advertising
of A&W Restaurants
of department stores
television
African Americans
Agnelli, Giovanni
Agree, Charles N.
AIDS
Ainslie, Michael
Albert J. Frankel Co.
Albright, Burl
Allen, Charles, Jr.
Allen, Herb
Allen, Roy
Allied Stores
Allison, Graham
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Andy Warhol Collection
antitrust laws
Arborland mall, 13arcades
Archer, Dennis
Arnault, Bernard
Aronson, Arnold
>
art
pop
root beer and
stolen
Taubman’s collection of
art auctions, see Christie’s; Sotheby’s
art dealers, professional
art marke
t Art of the Steal, The (Mason)
art press
art registry, international
Ashcroft, John
Asia Pacific markets
AT&T
Athena Group
Azerbaijan
azidothymidine (AZT)
Bacon, Francis
Baker, Samuel
Baku, Azerbaijan
Ballard, Claude
Bank of America
banks
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
Baron, Ronald S.
bazaars, oriental
Beaux-Arts school of architecture
Bellamy, Richard
Best of Everything, The (Marion)
Beverly Center
Beyer Blinder Belle
Bithell, Tom
Blanchard, Jim
Bloomingdale’s
Bloostein, Allan
Boardman, Dixon
Boies, David
Bond, Alan
Borbón, Infanta Pilar de, Duchess of Badajoz,
Borovik, Artyom
brand images
at A&W
of department stores
brand images (continued)
in fashion merchandising
off-price outlets and
of Sotheby’s
of Trump
of Wal-Mart
Brandt, Ralph
Brazil
Bren, Donald
Brio Tuscan Grille
Broadway Stores
Brooks, Diana “Dede,”
Ainslie’s absences tracked by appropriate punishment avoided by
as CEO
in collusion on commission schedules
false testimony of
“flipper” lawyer hired by
Taubman’s misplaced trust in
unauthorized sale offer of
Brown University
Brunton, Gordon
Bucksbaum, Martin and Matthew
Burger King
Burke, O. W., construction company
Burlington Arcade
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Bush v. Gore,
business precepts
Business Week,
family businesses articles of
Taubman in
Cadillac Fairview Corporation
California
see also Irvine Ranch, purchase of
California Pizza Kitchen
Camoys, Lord
Canada
cancer research
Carrington, Lord
Carter, Anthony
Castelli, Leo
celebrity auction sales
Central Intelligence Agency
Charlston Place
charter schools
Chase Manhattan Bank
Chazen, Jerome
Cheesecake Factory
Chicago
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
China
Christie’s
disclosure of guarantees at
French acquisition of
management transition of
Sotheby’s relationship with
see also Sotheby’s-Christie’s price-fixing scandal
“Chunnel” project, joke about
Churchill, Sir Winston
Cigar Aficionado,
Coach
coat buyers
Coats, Williams
Cogan, Marshall
Colasuonno, Lou
Coldwell Banker
Coleman, Mary Sue
collecting, popularity of
Comerica
commodities businesses
comparison shopping
Concise Townscape, The (Cullen)
Concord, Calif.
conscious parallelism, legal concept of
consistent mediocrity
corsages, wholesale
Costco
Coste, Pascal
Courting Justice (Boies)
covenants of operation
Crate and Barrel
credit
“cross-shopping,”
Cullen, George
Curiel, François
Cushman & Wakefield
customer service
Daniels, Judge George B.
Adam Smith quote allowed by
delayed judicial decisions of
instructions to the jury of
motions repeatedly denied by
at sentencing hearing
Davenport, Iowa
Davidge, Christopher
amnesty granted to
in collusion on commission schedules
false testimony of
Tennant’s “memo” stolen by
Davidson, Daniel P.
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Dayton’s
DeBartolo, Edward J.
department stores
advertising of
anchor
as arcades
bargain basements of
brand images of
customer confidence in
customer service of
as dinosaurs
downtown locations of
fashion
full-line
influence of
as large employers
name brand distribution controlled by
“one piece for all” in
as “people pumps,”
retail competitors excluded by
retail industry changes and
suburban branch stores of
department-store-type merchandise
(DSTM)
Detroit, Mich.
African Americans in
College for Creative Studies of
developmental history of
Eastern Market of
future development of
metropolitan area of
Renaissance Center of
riverfront housing in
Rosa Parks incident in
Detroit Bank and Trust
Detroit Free Press,
Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Lions football team
Detroit Medical Center
Detroit Renaissance
Dillard’s
discount stores
Dornbrook, Thom
Dreamer, The (Modigliani) drugstores
DuBose, Cullen
Dunleavy, Steve
Dunne, Dominick
Durant, Lydell
Eastdil Realty
Eastridge shopping center
education
charter schools in
corporate importance of
higher
high schools
teachers in
E. J. Korvette
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Emporium Capwell
Engler, John
entrepreneurs
creativity of
difference in
optimism of
ESPN
ethics, professional
Fairlane Town Center
fair-trade laws
family businesses
fascia treatments
fashion department stores
fashion merchandising
in bathrooms and kitchens
brand image in
in commerce revolution
democratization of
good design in
mass merchandising vs.
off-price outlets and
price in
taste in
utility vs.
Wal-Mart question and
Federal Express
Federal Medical Center
Federal’s
Federated Stores
Feldman, Eva
Field, Marshall
Finkelstein, Ed
&
nbsp; Fisher, Marjorie
Fisher, Max
Fisher Building
Fiske, Robert
Flint, Mich.
Fluor, Simon
fluorescent lighting, outdoor
Flutie, Doug
food franchises
see also A&W Restaurants
football, professional
Ford, Henry
Ford, Henry
Ford Motor Company
Forrester, Glenn
Fortune,
France
Threshold Resistance Page 21