Originally uploaded December 15th.
Faces of Manufacturing is a new show to Michigan Business Network. Cindy Kangas, Executive Director, CAMC, Capital Area Manufacturing Council, Lansing, Michigan, co-hosts with Joy Wagner, HR Manager of Granger Waste Services, also Lansing.

Cindy and Joy strive to share the corporate culture, personal stories, and unique personalities of those making a living in manufacturing today, in Michigan. With that in mind, this month they connected with Jerry Norris, who obtained a B.S. in Statistics from the University of Michigan, with a focus on Computer Science. He began his career with the Unisys Corporation as a Quality Engineer and ISO 9000 Lead Auditor in 1988. Throughout the years, he moved up through the ranks of the quality profession (i.e. Quality Manager, Director of Quality, and VP of Quality).

In 1988 as a Quality Engineer and Lead Auditor, he began developing a software product to help manage compliance activities. Jerry developed software for ISO standards and related compliance systems for all industries, before he decided to start his own company, jadian incorporated in 1998. In 2014 jadian was sold. The next logical step was to start a new software company developing a member directory of compliance professionals. He served as the CEO of GAIA, LLC, which operate globally with customers in over 50 countries helping members connect based on expertise and vicinity. GAIA has evolved into a software company supporting start-ups with an emphasis on mapping.

Jerry now serves as the CEO of the Fledge, a radically inclusive ideation and maker space, incubator and accelerator located in Lansing, MI. He also serves as the Chairman for the GAIA Solutions, and the Fledge Music Group. He spent 5 years as a “Gatekeeper” for the Business Acceleration Fund working with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and has a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the community at large.

Jerry’s expertise includes software development, quality management, food safety management, automotive and aerospace related quality management, environmental protection and management, safety systems, regenerative economies, LEAN communities, blockchain, smart contracts and WEB3.

He has worked in the following fields: telecommunications, automotive, furniture, food safety, environmental management, economic development, human rights, labor law, life sciences, advance manufacturing, plastics, consulting, organizational development, systems theory / thinking, sustainability, regenerative economies, crypto ecosystems and more.


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Faces of Manufacturing | Episode 11 - The Fledge, Jerry Norris -ENERGY JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY

lyrics:
i'm groping through the darkness of my fall
i'm groping through the darkness of my fall
my fall, my fall...
i'm groping through the darkness of my fall;
i'm growing through the darkness of it all
i'm growing through the darkness of it all
of it all, of it all...
hmm-mm...

melody is probably not original, but it just hit me and i had to record quick before it dissipated between the folds of my attention-deficient brain. i like how i evolved the lyrics at the end to be more hopeful. we're not groping; we're growing. 

also if i sound very quiet on this recording it's because i don't like to sing when other people are in the same house as me, so i was keeping it low...

through the darkness of my fall (original)

ENCOUNTER 1: A conceptual brainstorm session with ChatGPT to promote a B-Corp Chocolate Brand

probably should mention, i don't feel like i wanna perish.

Already Gone

Sometimes you need to think outside the box to come up with new, interesting, and innovative ideas to solve tough problems. At Expero, we often call that "exploring the art of the possible."

The Art Of The Possible

[9/7/23]

insta :https://www.instagram.com/ihatewulf/

x :https://www.instagram.com/ihatewulf/

wendigo [fxn]

This song is a story about a man and the end of his life and how someone watches it happen. The end of the mans life wasn't the end of the story, as the first person point of view points out. It led the first person to doing drugs just to survive. 

Track written, sang, and produced by N29. 
Credit for beat Prod NoPlanB: https://youtu.be/JuUGLtcYv5s?si=nbL-NqLVffBZVORi

i figured it out

In this week’s episode, we dive into the hidden creativity of AI with "latent-space engines", - tools transforming chatbots from mere answer machines into innovation co-pilots. Join us as we explore how these groundbreaking systems generate genuinely novel product ideas and business strategies. Can AI truly become your next brainstorming partner? Discover provocative insights, real-world case studies, and practical steps to harness this creative frontier in your organization. Tune in and rethink what’s possible with AI-driven innovation.

Bit & Being - AI’s Hidden Idea Factory: How Latent-Space Creativity Engines Are Reshaping Innovation

A dark track capturing a dark mood. The struggle to keep fighting from the lowest point, themes of ideation, reflecting on the need to do better.

Follow for more 👊🏻

The End

Beneath cognition lies a pulse—hunger, fear, mating, migration. The animal dream is not verbal but visceral, shaped by moonlight and scent. “I run / I scent / I leap / I mate / The dream is not mine / It is the drive’s fate…” 

Primal Drive

I am a singer, not a musician. I sing and I record myself singing with my phone, so most of these tracks on here are of poor quality. But if you have come here for emotion and raw articulation with a human voice, then I invite you to stay. I have never shared some of these recordings before now. But they comfort me, so I want to offer that comfort to others. I will not share my name or identity for the purpose of keeping my singing isolated here. That's all I want to share. Thank you for being here, even if you just stumbled on it. I hope you are doing okay.

I'm a creator from Ohio who loves music. Send me beats, I make songs. Usually use beats from youtube. My biggest inspiration is XXXTENTACION and lil peep.

I write every lyric myself—this is therapy, my outlet.
Raw rap, melodic rap, Metalcore, Punk, PopPunk and storytelling born from burnout, heartbreak, and unprocessed grief.

I use Suno (AI) to turn my words into the sound I hear in my head.
Every track is part of my story: real, unfiltered, and deeply personal.

First release: 15/07/25 🖤♥️✌🏻

If you connect with honest music about mental health, resilience, and finding clarity, follow the journey. I’d love to hear what you think, drop me a message, drop me a follow for more.

Welcome to my brain.

The Home of Business in Michigan. Get on-demand access to audio programs, articles and resources presented by savvy business leaders and industry experts.

Join Expero's team of tech experts as they discuss best practices and lessons learned from the battlefield of consulting. Hosts and guests draw from a deep well of experience working with custom software products, supply chain optimization systems, biotech manufacturing workflows, financial service modernization efforts, and everything in between.

New tracks tagged #ideation