Born
and raised in metro Detroit, David Naczycz attended the University
of Michigan, before heading off to New York City and later Venezuela.
He returned to Detroit in 2000 to pursue a career in organizational
change consulting and contribute to the city he loves. In 2002 he
co-founded Detroit Synergy
Group (DSG), a grassroots organization whose mission is to promote
community. By bringing people together to create projects and events,
DSG helps to connect people to the city and help them discover the
great qualities of Detroit. Today he remains heavily involved in
DSG, and is a Senior Associate of The
Rae Group, Inc., a firm that specializes in leadership and change
consultation.
Naczycz spoke with Nick Sousanis over
lunch (at Detroit's American
Masala) and answered thedetroiter.com's famous four questions.
WHY
DETROIT?
I've always believed in the
potential of Detroit. It's home, and my job brought me back here
in 2000. A lot of the work I want to do professionally is here.
Plus it's a great town - the most exciting
thing about Detroit is the potential to do all kinds of different
and interesting stuff.
WHY
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE CONSULTING?
In my job we engage with leaders
of organizations and communities to help them achieve their visions
and goals. I enjoy helping people become successful in whatever
they do. I also think that our firm's methodology can be used to
overcome many of the ills that plague cities.
WHAT
IS THE FUTURE OF DETROIT?
It's unknown. However, since
the city is such a blank canvas, I would expect it will continue
to be a place where people come to experiment, create, and innovate
in all its empty and abandoned places. If this community can figure
out a way to encourage that innovation, they can tap into a significant
source of growth for the city.
WHAT
IS THE FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE CONSULTING IN DETROIT?
Specifically as it pertains
to Detroit - I hope the city will be one that embraces it and uses
it to become viable and prosperous. Obviously a community with a
lot of obstacles to growth could benefit very well with our methodology,
so that it literally could be an example of a major metropolitan
region that uses our work to turn itself around. If there is leadership
in this community that wants to take on this challenge, we can help
them.