Second Shift

"When car-making giant General Motors decided to close its plant in Lansing, Michigan, in 1996, one person-the city's newly elected mayor-stood up and said "no." Initially, it was the cry of a man in the wilderness. Not once in its century-long history had GM reversed a decision to close a plant. But Mayor David Hollister quietly went to work building the Lansing Works! Keep GM! movement and succeeded in defying all the odds. Lansing remains GM's Oldsmobile headquarters. Hollister's collaborative problem-solving approach-the Second Shift model-succeeded in bringing together state and regional politicians, economic developers, private sector firms, labor unions, educators, and residents of the region. Powerful, persuasive, and well-organized, this coalition implemented a strategic, six-dimensional framework to achieve the seemingly impossible: Identifying: Name the challenge and its impact, Partnering: Develop meaningful relationships, Building: Construct your strategy as you go, Solving: Engage in constant problem solving, Celebrating: Mark successful milestones, Persevering: Adapt and endure, The Lansing Works! Keep GM! movement was a victory of people over bureaucracy, of a can-d