Jennette Smith

Biggest achievement: Assuming active control of the company and restructuring it from a small family business to a large player in the construction industry. Increased annual revenue from $10 million to $175 million a year. Current goal: To become the No. 1 road builder in the state. Dan's Excavating Inc., with Chris Peyerk at the helm, has developed a reputation for efficiency.

Detroit will be home to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Final Four basketball games in 2009, the NCAA announced Tuesday. Ford Field will host the games. The University of Detroit Mercy is the host university. Other chosen cities for men’s Final Four sites are San Antonio in 2008, Indianapolis in 2010 and Houston in 2011, according to an NCAA news release. A news conference is being held at 4 p.m. at Ford Field, where local officials will discuss the bid.

Corporate bureaucracy that blocks innovation — and small thinking in general — needs to be squashed in order for organizations to thrive and overcome what Dan Gilbert dubs "horizontal gravity." Gilbert used a speech this morning to leaders from 72 Gilbert/Rock Ventures/Detroit Venture Partners companies as a platform to talk about thinking big, not getting lost in the weeds of spreadsheets and the benefits of making decisions quickly.