Howard Bell, executive director of TechTown, the Wayne State-affiliated high-tech incubator, told a Friday session at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference that political leaders "need to get comfortable with the concept of failure." Speaking as part of a panel on defining Michigan 's leadership agenda, Bell said leaders can't afford to be worried about failure or playing it safe. He pointed out that moving forward with new technologies can result in failure for some entrepreneurs, so leaders need to be "marathon oriented".