Mary Kramer

MARY KRAMER: Lean in? Women also need to negotiate

05/22/13 "Lean in," Sheryl Sandberg advises in her book by that title about women, work and leadership. Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, touched off a debate this year by suggesting, among other things, that women talk themselves out of many opportunities. Lean into your work, she recommends. Assert yourself. Be heard. Sudip Datta and Mai Iskandar-Datta have one additional piece of advice: Learn to negotiate. Women -- even women in finance who are comfortable with numbers -- seem to be lousy negotiators.

PUBLISHER'S NOTEBOOK: Craft beers on everyone's lips these days

05/17/13 Wine snobs, move over – the beer snobs have arrived. That's a good thing for Michigan because the craft beer industry grew 20 percent in 2012, with an economic impact tallied at $133 million. Seventeen breweries opened last year in the state, which now ranks fifth in the number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs. That kind of impact and growth has garnered attention in Lansing, writes Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer.

MARY KRAMER: Traditional journalism proves its relevance

04/30/13 Pizza never tasted so good. The entire newsroom of the The Boston Globe was treated to pizza last week. The gift card read: "We can only imagine what an exhausting and heartbreaking week it's been for you and your city. But do know your newsroom colleagues here in Chicago and across the country stand in awe of your tenacious coverage. You make us all proud to be journalists. We can't buy you lost sleep, so at least let us pick up lunch. -- Your friends at the Chicago Tribune."

LETTERS: Tougher grad standards work

04/14/13 Editor: I applaud Mary Kramer's column in the April 1 Crain's Detroit Business supporting the graduation standards in the Michigan Merit Curriculum ("Tougher grad standards benefit 'shop,' too"). The State Board of Education developed the standards after much research and having a series of national education leaders meet with us over a couple of years. We learned that all students need the required credits, whether they intend to attend college or go directly into the workforce.

MARY KRAMER: Crain's, WSU help new execs learn the turf

04/18/13 Jim Schmitz moved from Cleveland to Detroit to become the new managing director for wealth management at PNC Bank. Schmitz knew the market and the players in Cleveland. Now he was learning new turf, and he wanted to learn quickly. He had questions. What industries are growing in metro Detroit, he asked me. What are the civic causes that the leaders in the business world fall in behind? What nonprofits should he get involved in? Those questions are typical of many we hear at Crain's from people we meet. And this year, we decided to create a program that would periodically pull new executives together with the most knowledgeable people on specific topics.

PUBLISHER'S NOTEBOOK: Need to fill jobs? Don't hunt the 'purple squirrel'

04/11/13 When front-line managers create excruciatingly detailed lists of skills the perfect job candidate must possess, they may be searching for the elusive purple squirrel, Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer writes. And this varmint could be a factor in keeping Michigan's jobless rate so high while tens of thousands of posted jobs fill computer job boards.

MARY KRAMER: Tougher grad standards benefit 'shop,' too

04/01/13 A shortage of skilled workers was at the top of the list of employer complaints at Gov. Rick Snyder's economic summit in Detroit in mid-March. Some employers complained that "voc-ed" had been abandoned by school districts in favor of curricula geared toward four-year college degrees and high school graduation requirements that added more math and English courses. And some lawmakers are beating a drum to peel back those tougher requirements in favor of "vocational education" -- the old shop classes of yesteryear. Advice to the Legislature: Don't do it.

For Detroit, a new era and new wheels

03/26/13 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 discuss a plan by Mayor Dave Bing and Roger Penske to put more police cars and EMS vehicles on the streets of Detroit, along with the new era for the city under Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Also: A new life for the coupon book company Entertainment Publications.

MARY KRAMER: Rising tide of jobs lifts boats

03/19/13 This past weekend, metro Detroiters enjoyed their second major boating show in a month. Retailers and exhibitors hope that after some tough economic years, Michiganians will resume their love affair with the outdoors, especially golfing and boating. Eric Foster, general partner at Belle Maer Harbor marina in Harrison Township, is among them. But he's also realistic. "I don't think we may see a recovery to pre-2008 levels," he says, "because those UAW jobs that supported them are gone." Foster says factory workers who, with overtime, could earn six figures helped fuel leisure industries, including vacation homes, golfing and boating.

MARY KRAMER: Gilbert plan worth repeating

03/04/13 We're becoming accustomed to big announcements from Dan Gilbert: He's buying an office building one day, making a bid for the Greektown Casino-Hotel the next. At last check, he owns 3 million square feet of office and commercial space -- not to mention a number of parking decks and lots -- with more of both to come. Gilbert isn't kidding when he says there was a "skyscraper sale" in downtown Detroit. In just over two years, he has created a corporate campus at a bargain-basement price, perhaps a little north of $70 million. Even if fix-up costs are twice as much, it's still a bargain compared to new construction. In 2004, when Visteon Corp. created its "Visteon Village" corporate campus on greenfields in Van Buren Township, near I-275 and Ecorse Road, it spent at least $250 million.

LETTERS: Reasons why PA 4 is so bad

02/27/13 Editor: "Remind me again why Public Act 4 was so bad?" Mary Kramer wrote about the Pontiac EFM in your Feb. 4 column ("Pontiac EM's impact noteworthy"). Please allow me to do so. We live in America, where we, the people, elect our representatives. We still have the right to vote for our leadership, no matter how incompetent that leadership may be. Whose idea was it to establish PA 4? It was done with disregard for the democratic process, the unspoken truth being that people cannot vote for their own representatives, no matter how good the books look. How did government entities resolve financial problems before PA 4 and other measures like it? What was so wrong with those remedies that the democratic process needs to be circumvented?

MARY KRAMER: Republicans may not want Brewer successor

02/18/13 This weekend, Democrats will brawl at their state convention as Mark Brewer tries to save his job as chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. (See story, Page 3.) Brewer has been waging his take-no-prisoners approach to political campaigning for 18 years. Remember the "sleeping judge" TV spots that cost Michigan Supreme Court Justice Cliff Taylor his seat? Those realistic-looking photos were a "re-enactment" of a never-proven allegation that Taylor had slept on the bench. Taylor lost to none other than Diane Hathaway, the now-disgraced, Democratic-nominated ex-judge. And it was Brewer's calculated "shipping jobs to China" tactics that hurt GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos.

MARY KRAMER: Pontiac EM's impact noteworthy

02/07/13 In this week's column, Crain's Detroit Business Publisher Mary Kramer wonders why Public Act 4 was so bad. In the 14 months since Louis Schimmel was appointed Pontiac's emergency manager, he has contracted out for many city services or launched deals for combined services, saving the troubled city millions of dollars and restoring confidence in the city.

A state stake where Wings would skate?

01/28/13 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 talk about possible state ownership of a new arena for the Red Wings. Also: Hundreds of more auto jobs for Michigan.

The Pointe people; Gilbert's gamble

01/21/13 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 discuss plans for a new dining and entertainment district in the heart of Grosse Pointe Park — and the family behind it. Also: Dan Gilbert's plan to take over Greektown Casino and the barriers he might face.

MARY KRAMER: News Hub's work needs to be sustained

01/24/13 Like the weather, people grouse about Detroit's image. There are warts, to be sure. You can't brush away the poverty, the crime statistics, the political corruption scandals and so much more. But other major cities have problems, too. Our warts just seem to stick. On Jan. 13, The New York Times published a story by Jennifer Conlin about a business-backed effort, the Detroit Regional News Hub, that has been an effective media outreach. Conlin had been part of a group of nearly 40 journalists and bloggers who were part of a 36-hour immersion in Detroit organized by The Hub.

Newsmaker of the Year and the newsmaker of the week: Autos

01/14/13 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 talk about Crain's Newsmaker of the Year: Nancy Schlichting of Henry Ford Health System. Also: Did you know there's an auto show in town this week? (No, really.) Is Detroit finally going to get bucks from the feds for M-1 light rail?

LETTERS: 'Single issue' needs a response

01/14/13 Editor: Having read Mary Kramer's column ("Are women single-issue voters?" Dec. 17), I need to respond. I am disturbed by the title of the column and the further discussion of the topic of women being single-issue voters. Nowhere in communications (with me) was the topic of single-issue voters raised. The title, the disgust with single-issue voters and the anonymous quote from the executive woman who stated that she did not want to be "defined by my sex organs" somehow casts disdain on me and perhaps others mentioned or referred to in the piece.

Compuware's not-so-subtle suitor

01/07/13 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 discuss the hedge fund company seeking to take over Compuware. Also: Crain's Newsmakers of the Year, the new family in charge at Guardian Industries.

MARY KRAMER: Cleveland travels right line

01/07/13 Most developers like density. So it's not surprising that so much investment occurs along heavily developed corridors. On Pages 12 and 13, we offer a summary of 2012 investments along five major corridors in Southeast Michigan: Woodward, Michigan, Van Dyke and Grand River avenues and the busy northern thoroughfare M-59. It's a good story, with more information available online. But after visiting Cleveland last month to ride that city's bus rapid transit line, I can see how Southeast Michigan can benefit from even greater investment if our newly authorized regional transit system invests in BRT.

Next steps for right-to-work

12/19/12 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and Paul W. Smith of WJR AM 760 discuss what's next for right-to-work in Michigan. Also: Reaction of women to lame-duck abortion legislation.

MARY KRAMER: Are women single-issue voters?

12/18/12 Will he or won't he? After a breathtaking week of legislative initiatives, we went to press Friday with many Michigan women wondering: Would Gov. Snyder sign into law what many view as the most regressive new laws governing abortion procedures in the country? Let's face it. The lame-duck Legislature in Lansing was anything but lame. In just a few days, we saw a dizzying array of new laws: a tax break for a new hockey arena and entertainment complex in downtown Detroit. Elimination of the personal property tax on businesses. A new public lighting authority to fix the streetlights in Detroit. Regional transit for Southeast Michigan. A new emergency manager law giving municipalities four paths to solvency.

The window of opportunity for right-to-work

12/12/12 Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer and WJR AM 760 host Paul W. Smith talk about the right-to-work legislation that quickly made its way through the Michigan Legislature, why it happened when it did, and what it may mean for Michigan.

LETTERS: Granholm is no joke

12/03/12 Editor: It was sad for me to read Mary Kramer's cheap shots at Jennifer Granholm here in the D.C. region ("Granholm post-Lansing: Now we're blown away," Nov. 12). Jennifer Granholm is well respected and is rumored to be on a number of short lists for positions in the president's second-term Cabinet realignment. The pettiness of Kramer toward Granholm is not good for those of us who champion the state of Michigan here in the nation's capital. Envy is never a good posture to take, especially when it is so obvious. Greg Thrasher National Harbor, Md.

MARY KRAMER: Senator's Detroit bus ride drives transit bills

12/03/12 For years, some have suggested that if elected officials were ever forced to ride public buses in Southeast Michigan, the region's transit problems would miraculously be resolved. A Republican state senator from the Upper Peninsula town of Escanaba not only volunteered to do that, he helped get regional transit halfway to its goal. State Sen. Tom Casperson, who chairs the Senate's transportation committee, spent about eight hours one day riding buses operated by the city of Detroit and by the suburban SMART system. He quickly learned it is not easy to get from Point A to Point B, especially with transfers and late buses.