Frequently, I read or see something that infests my thoughts and shades my observations for days, or weeks – or life! Those things often find their way into my writing.
Since Saturday it is and has been: Club Sandwiches!
I’ve previously mentioned Tyler Brûlè – the talented editor of Monocle, and his column in the Financial Times. He is always though-provoking, but last Saturday (Come on hotels, use your loaf, - linked to the right of this commentary) Mr. Brûlè introduced a “yardstick” for determining the performance level of a hotel based upon their execution of the Club Sandwich.
Why? Because it is one of those small and simple things, and if they can’t get the seemingly trivial and allegedly easy right, the rest isn’t going to be any better – at least not consistently or long.
Since I am not an hotelier, this led me to ponder the identity and nature of the “club sandwich” in my own business and life. While I ask myself searching questions spurred by the Mr. Brûlé’s comments, I offer them to you too:
“What is the ‘club sandwich’ (i.e. basic, seemingly trivial, and supposedly easy) in my service, industry or business?”
“How consistently well are we making and delivering those ‘club sandwiches?”
“How is the value of that ‘club sandwich’ perceived by our ‘diners’?”
“Where are the gaps?”
“What must I do to close those gaps?” (And please Lon, don’t simply answer, “Employee Training” or “Process Improvement!”)
Effective Next Steps
Last evening, while chairing a board meeting for a mid-sized Utah credit union, and receiving reports from our excellent, but somewhat insulated, senior staff, I was reminded just how difficult receiving and using feedback can be for an organization unused to seeking, receiving and acting on it.
Something I now see as universal in our human nature bristles at criticism or even suggestions. This defensive mechanism often stops us from formulating truly effective next steps.
Often, the feedback received does not fit our own experience. Too often, the anecdotal experiences of one can nullify data that conflicts with it. This can be especially pervasive among senior leaders in an organization.
We may understand that our executives are not the target demographic – or even a customer of a firm, but they often become a “focus–group of one” that overpowers customer complaint data.
Once you have figured out what your club sandwich is, and while you are ordering, tasting and critiquing that experience, remember your experience is no substitute for the feedback of your customer.
Base your next steps on customer perceptions and not on your own very singular (and perhaps “special”) experience.
That is unless, of course, you are planning to buy and eat each and every club sandwich yourself. Otherwise, your opinion should carry no more weight than one data point on the overall plot.
And perhaps, for a lot of possible reasons, you are the outlier.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Well said Carly!
Carly Fiorina missed her calling. While clearly a failure as Chairman/CEO at HP – she has shown real insight in her observation and writing on business and the economy. Today, she does a nice job with a WSJ Opinion, titled: Corporate Leadership and the Crisis. (This page includes a link to the right but a subscription is required.)
Reading the whole article is more than worth the effort, but please allow me to share a few quotes and thoughts:
“To earn a bailout, a CEO and board should be held accountable for the decisions they’ve made – or perhaps the actions they’ve failed to take.” Mr. Wagoner, that means you don’t get to show up in Washington peddling the Credit Crisis as THE GM-Killer and try to tie it to your poor performance as CEO since June 2000!
Further, Carly writes, “Employees bet on a company when they show up at work. Shareholders bet when they put their money to work. Customers bet when they buy a product. And now we’re asking taxpayers to bet.” She then goes on to make an outstanding case for full corporate-reporting transparency. Here are the beginnings of a superb next book.
Ms. Fiorina also nails that oft touted but never mitigated scapegoat: short-term earnings tyranny. “Quarterly earnings and share price cannot be the singular purpose of business or metric of success for CEOs.”
She goes on to fill in the blanks on what to do to mitigate it the despotism of the shareholder – one stakeholder in the modern corporation - at the expense of all the others. Most commentators’ leave this scapegoat dangling, expecting it to somehow fix itself because they identified it.
For all the spending, our government, banking and business leaders continue to miss (and therefore have no answer for) the biggest reason this years Holiday Season will be a consumer spending bust. The tyranny of short-term earnings, that is: shareholder expectations of continual growth and need for constant profitability added to limited cash-flow; has or will drive vast lay-off activity.
Layoffs bring earnings contraction to those laid off and economic uncertainty to those who are afraid they will be the other shoe that drops. Said simply – consumers either have no money to buy stuff, or they are afraid they will have no money to buy stuff – so they don’t buy stuff.
Lay-offs and future lay-offs may well be a larger force driving the length and depth of the recession than continued lending contraction.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not advocating business become a massive welfare program, continuing to employee myriads for whom they cannot actually provide work now or in the future. Everyone with an MBA (isn’t that most of America these days?) knows that a lean organization will be well-poised to come out of the gates when growth returns.
For once I’d just like to see business be able to hang on to some of the “institutional knowledge” they so often cut in lean times. If so, we may not see the negative effects of whip-saw hire and lay-off cycles.
Government may have to stop taking shares in every bank or unprofitable auto company and provide assistance on this front. Frankly, if businesses with a real future could have needed capital infusions, or borrow on their closed or rapidly closing lines of credit, it may not be necessary to talk about incentives to keep staff. All of that may depend upon just how deep we get in the next six months or so.
My recommendation to CEOs would be: If you believe your post-recession capacity will be X then if you can, remain staffed to support X, find marketing solutions to help get to X more quickly than your competitors, and do not cut spending beyond X now.
You’ll not only be poised to get to X, you will also not have to spend future profits on expensive talent searches, new hire training, and on the repair of the damage new employees do to long-term customers. You may also earn a little future devotion from those on staff today who will know you stuck with them.
Perhaps the next Treasury Chief will have some sense of how to make this happen so we get back to business soon.
Ah, forgive me, it must be the Christmas Season – I just keep on dreaming!
Reading the whole article is more than worth the effort, but please allow me to share a few quotes and thoughts:
“To earn a bailout, a CEO and board should be held accountable for the decisions they’ve made – or perhaps the actions they’ve failed to take.” Mr. Wagoner, that means you don’t get to show up in Washington peddling the Credit Crisis as THE GM-Killer and try to tie it to your poor performance as CEO since June 2000!
Further, Carly writes, “Employees bet on a company when they show up at work. Shareholders bet when they put their money to work. Customers bet when they buy a product. And now we’re asking taxpayers to bet.” She then goes on to make an outstanding case for full corporate-reporting transparency. Here are the beginnings of a superb next book.
Ms. Fiorina also nails that oft touted but never mitigated scapegoat: short-term earnings tyranny. “Quarterly earnings and share price cannot be the singular purpose of business or metric of success for CEOs.”
She goes on to fill in the blanks on what to do to mitigate it the despotism of the shareholder – one stakeholder in the modern corporation - at the expense of all the others. Most commentators’ leave this scapegoat dangling, expecting it to somehow fix itself because they identified it.
For all the spending, our government, banking and business leaders continue to miss (and therefore have no answer for) the biggest reason this years Holiday Season will be a consumer spending bust. The tyranny of short-term earnings, that is: shareholder expectations of continual growth and need for constant profitability added to limited cash-flow; has or will drive vast lay-off activity.
Layoffs bring earnings contraction to those laid off and economic uncertainty to those who are afraid they will be the other shoe that drops. Said simply – consumers either have no money to buy stuff, or they are afraid they will have no money to buy stuff – so they don’t buy stuff.
Lay-offs and future lay-offs may well be a larger force driving the length and depth of the recession than continued lending contraction.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not advocating business become a massive welfare program, continuing to employee myriads for whom they cannot actually provide work now or in the future. Everyone with an MBA (isn’t that most of America these days?) knows that a lean organization will be well-poised to come out of the gates when growth returns.
For once I’d just like to see business be able to hang on to some of the “institutional knowledge” they so often cut in lean times. If so, we may not see the negative effects of whip-saw hire and lay-off cycles.
Government may have to stop taking shares in every bank or unprofitable auto company and provide assistance on this front. Frankly, if businesses with a real future could have needed capital infusions, or borrow on their closed or rapidly closing lines of credit, it may not be necessary to talk about incentives to keep staff. All of that may depend upon just how deep we get in the next six months or so.
My recommendation to CEOs would be: If you believe your post-recession capacity will be X then if you can, remain staffed to support X, find marketing solutions to help get to X more quickly than your competitors, and do not cut spending beyond X now.
You’ll not only be poised to get to X, you will also not have to spend future profits on expensive talent searches, new hire training, and on the repair of the damage new employees do to long-term customers. You may also earn a little future devotion from those on staff today who will know you stuck with them.
Perhaps the next Treasury Chief will have some sense of how to make this happen so we get back to business soon.
Ah, forgive me, it must be the Christmas Season – I just keep on dreaming!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Of Waiters & Character
If, “you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat the waiter,” then too many of those who can afford to go out to dinner are lacking in more than basic civility.
It is not just waiters. Several years ago when I had an enviable title and worked for one of the most articulate and seemingly gentle of men, I was perplexed by his poor treatment of not only his own secretary, but mine and his bosses’ too. I never fully trusted him. His behavior was predicated upon education, status and station. And it turned out I was right to be wary.
My father, “The Major” – as my brothers and I fondly referred to him – never, ever told us anything about how we should treat waiters. But Dad used the names of barbers, clerks, dry cleaners, tellers, waiters, busgirls, secretaries, and the attendants who filled his car with gas.*
Dad was always kind and patient, even when there was something wrong and he needed to be firm. He never bullied anyone, even when I thought they clearly deserved it. He never rolled his eyes. He never even sighed loudly. And despite his rank, and even when he gave “lawful orders” to subordinates, he always couched it in terms of a request, complete with a “please.” He always thanks people for what they do.
He is the consummate egalitarian. He really doesn’t believe his education, rank, age, political affiliation, or religion makes him superior to anyone. He is, in short, the gentleman I’d like to be, and a man of high moral character.
One of my own experiences in the military almost three decades ago still evokes feelings of relief and appreciation for my Father. My Training Sergeant discovered he had worked for my Dad. As the realization dawned on both of us, I experienced a feeling you can only understand if you know what it is like to have your life in the hands of an unpredictable and all-powerful NCO.
My relief was obvious when Sgt. Berger told me that my Father was “tough but fair and one of the kindest, most competent officers” in the Air Force. (As a former NCO myself, I know just how rare a breed that “competent officer” is – and a kind AND competent officer is even more scarce.)
I am personally embarrassed and angered, when I see someone berate a waiter, yell at a cashier, mistreat a busgirl, embarrass a secretary, or abuse a teller. I apologize for the bad behavior. I smile and joke with them. (I learned that from Dad too.)
If I have previously associated with the bully voluntarily, I will be far too busy to spend any social time with them thereafter. And if I have little or no choice of association, I am apt to limit the time I have to spend with them to only the necessary.
I’m apparently not alone in my feelings on this subject. I recently came across copy of an article in USA Today from 2006 that I’ve kept with the stuff I just can’t throw away.
The article says that CEO’s overwhelmingly agree with Bill Swanson’s adage about character and the treatment of waiters. **
From a purely observational point of view, I’d say that we are showing less character in public than we were a few years ago, and the trend is getting worse.
If you are interviewing for jobs, you might want to remember that CEOs and hiring managers often pay attention to all kinds of behavior. (JC Penny, a Utah Mason and Millionaire Retailer, apparently would not hire anyone who seasoned their food without tasting it first.)
If an interviewer thinks your character is lacking because you were curt or rude with their admin, it can be as deadly as un-shined shoes.
These days, as we mourn the passing of good economic times, we need more men and women with character and fewer that are characters. And if Bill Swanson is correct, the waiters will know we are getting there before the rest of us.
* Cultural note for my children: In the “olden days” we didn’t fill our auto’s gas tank. Guys in dark uniform shirts, greasy jeans and dirty Converse, poked their head into our driver-side window, usually wiping the grease from their hands with a stained shop-towel, and ask “what’ll it be?” We’d reply something like, “Filler up with high-test,” or something similar. These guys were invariably named “Bob” and I grew up thinking I my parents didn’t want me pumping gas because they didn’t name me “Bob.”
** USA Today, “CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character,” by Del Jones, 04.17.2006.
It is not just waiters. Several years ago when I had an enviable title and worked for one of the most articulate and seemingly gentle of men, I was perplexed by his poor treatment of not only his own secretary, but mine and his bosses’ too. I never fully trusted him. His behavior was predicated upon education, status and station. And it turned out I was right to be wary.
My father, “The Major” – as my brothers and I fondly referred to him – never, ever told us anything about how we should treat waiters. But Dad used the names of barbers, clerks, dry cleaners, tellers, waiters, busgirls, secretaries, and the attendants who filled his car with gas.*
Dad was always kind and patient, even when there was something wrong and he needed to be firm. He never bullied anyone, even when I thought they clearly deserved it. He never rolled his eyes. He never even sighed loudly. And despite his rank, and even when he gave “lawful orders” to subordinates, he always couched it in terms of a request, complete with a “please.” He always thanks people for what they do.
He is the consummate egalitarian. He really doesn’t believe his education, rank, age, political affiliation, or religion makes him superior to anyone. He is, in short, the gentleman I’d like to be, and a man of high moral character.
One of my own experiences in the military almost three decades ago still evokes feelings of relief and appreciation for my Father. My Training Sergeant discovered he had worked for my Dad. As the realization dawned on both of us, I experienced a feeling you can only understand if you know what it is like to have your life in the hands of an unpredictable and all-powerful NCO.
My relief was obvious when Sgt. Berger told me that my Father was “tough but fair and one of the kindest, most competent officers” in the Air Force. (As a former NCO myself, I know just how rare a breed that “competent officer” is – and a kind AND competent officer is even more scarce.)
I am personally embarrassed and angered, when I see someone berate a waiter, yell at a cashier, mistreat a busgirl, embarrass a secretary, or abuse a teller. I apologize for the bad behavior. I smile and joke with them. (I learned that from Dad too.)
If I have previously associated with the bully voluntarily, I will be far too busy to spend any social time with them thereafter. And if I have little or no choice of association, I am apt to limit the time I have to spend with them to only the necessary.
I’m apparently not alone in my feelings on this subject. I recently came across copy of an article in USA Today from 2006 that I’ve kept with the stuff I just can’t throw away.
The article says that CEO’s overwhelmingly agree with Bill Swanson’s adage about character and the treatment of waiters. **
From a purely observational point of view, I’d say that we are showing less character in public than we were a few years ago, and the trend is getting worse.
If you are interviewing for jobs, you might want to remember that CEOs and hiring managers often pay attention to all kinds of behavior. (JC Penny, a Utah Mason and Millionaire Retailer, apparently would not hire anyone who seasoned their food without tasting it first.)
If an interviewer thinks your character is lacking because you were curt or rude with their admin, it can be as deadly as un-shined shoes.
These days, as we mourn the passing of good economic times, we need more men and women with character and fewer that are characters. And if Bill Swanson is correct, the waiters will know we are getting there before the rest of us.
* Cultural note for my children: In the “olden days” we didn’t fill our auto’s gas tank. Guys in dark uniform shirts, greasy jeans and dirty Converse, poked their head into our driver-side window, usually wiping the grease from their hands with a stained shop-towel, and ask “what’ll it be?” We’d reply something like, “Filler up with high-test,” or something similar. These guys were invariably named “Bob” and I grew up thinking I my parents didn’t want me pumping gas because they didn’t name me “Bob.”
** USA Today, “CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character,” by Del Jones, 04.17.2006.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Demand Regime Change
What appeared unthinkable as little as two weeks ago now appears to be a near-term reality. Apparently, all the Congressional posturing has been the slight-of-hand precursor to a bailout of the Big Three.
Reading the Financial Times, I see that we’re apparently making $15bn available.
I’m not going to waste any time opposing this based on the ideals of capitalism or evolution. Make no mistake, this isn’t about Ford, Chrysler, or GM. Our government seems to have anointed anything as big as the AIG, or the UAW to be Too Big to Fail.
I am also not going to argue that the American People, through the instrumentality of the Federal Government, ought to take an equity stake in these troubled organizations. If you wouldn’t buy shares in these bungling operations, then why should our National Proxy?
And, I am not going to say this is too much money because it isn’t nearly enough.
Lastly, I am not going to argue that this is unfair to the automakers that have managed their ventures profitably. No one wants to hear about what is fair or just.
I am going to suggest that what our government should extract in return for the bailout is Regime Change at Ford, Chrysler, and GM.
Please join me by calling, writing or emailing your congressional representative and telling them that Rick Wagoner (GM), Robert Nardelli (Chrysler) and Alan Mulally (Ford) AND their senior management teams, need to go before they vote to approve the bailout package.
Why?
Does anyone swallow the argument that the recent fuel price crisis, and now the credit crisis have caused these otherwise well-managed businesses to suddenly become unprofitable?
Do you really think that the same CAFE standards that seem to give Nissan, Toyota and Honda a competitive advantage somehow hamstring the Big Three?
Can CEOs so out of touch with the people they sell to, or lead and manage - that they would take one of the Corporate Jets to Congress for a bailout, have the judgment to run a company Too Big to Fail?
Bottom-line: We’re throwing money down a rat-hole. It isn’t a loan. It won’t be enough. Without massive restructuring it won’t even matter in six months. It will only prop up the inevitable. And worse, it will embolden the Airline Executives who will be at the Congressional Teller Window next …
So, if we really are proffering $15bn to prop up these clumsy, incompetent, and ham-fisted outfits, we ought to at least get bold, new leadership for our money.
Maybe we could attract senior leaders from Nissan, Toyota and Honda into those jobs.
Perhaps new CEOs could put together insightful senior management teams who will take care of the little things, like production capacity to match real demand.
Maybe we’ll even ignore the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth we’ll hear while they do what needs to be done.
After all, it’s the Christmas Season – a Season of Miracles! I can dream, can’t I?
Reading the Financial Times, I see that we’re apparently making $15bn available.
I’m not going to waste any time opposing this based on the ideals of capitalism or evolution. Make no mistake, this isn’t about Ford, Chrysler, or GM. Our government seems to have anointed anything as big as the AIG, or the UAW to be Too Big to Fail.
I am also not going to argue that the American People, through the instrumentality of the Federal Government, ought to take an equity stake in these troubled organizations. If you wouldn’t buy shares in these bungling operations, then why should our National Proxy?
And, I am not going to say this is too much money because it isn’t nearly enough.
Lastly, I am not going to argue that this is unfair to the automakers that have managed their ventures profitably. No one wants to hear about what is fair or just.
I am going to suggest that what our government should extract in return for the bailout is Regime Change at Ford, Chrysler, and GM.
Please join me by calling, writing or emailing your congressional representative and telling them that Rick Wagoner (GM), Robert Nardelli (Chrysler) and Alan Mulally (Ford) AND their senior management teams, need to go before they vote to approve the bailout package.
Why?
Does anyone swallow the argument that the recent fuel price crisis, and now the credit crisis have caused these otherwise well-managed businesses to suddenly become unprofitable?
Do you really think that the same CAFE standards that seem to give Nissan, Toyota and Honda a competitive advantage somehow hamstring the Big Three?
Can CEOs so out of touch with the people they sell to, or lead and manage - that they would take one of the Corporate Jets to Congress for a bailout, have the judgment to run a company Too Big to Fail?
Bottom-line: We’re throwing money down a rat-hole. It isn’t a loan. It won’t be enough. Without massive restructuring it won’t even matter in six months. It will only prop up the inevitable. And worse, it will embolden the Airline Executives who will be at the Congressional Teller Window next …
So, if we really are proffering $15bn to prop up these clumsy, incompetent, and ham-fisted outfits, we ought to at least get bold, new leadership for our money.
Maybe we could attract senior leaders from Nissan, Toyota and Honda into those jobs.
Perhaps new CEOs could put together insightful senior management teams who will take care of the little things, like production capacity to match real demand.
Maybe we’ll even ignore the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth we’ll hear while they do what needs to be done.
After all, it’s the Christmas Season – a Season of Miracles! I can dream, can’t I?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Fullmer Brothers Boxing
I took a detour on the way home last night, turning south down a rain soaked 13th West Street, passing the ever-present orange barrels that indicate road construction. Just past the small cemetery holding the mortal remains of my dear old friend Robert, I turned right into an old firehouse that has been turned into what can only be described as a sacred place.
I’m old enough to know that sacred places come in a variety of forms – so, if you feel a little squeamish when I tell you that sacred place is Fullmer Brother Boxing you need only hold on while I explain.
For those who do not know, the Fullmer Brothers: Gene, Don, and Jay – are fairly famous icons in Utah. My youngest daughter works at a Gym named after the man who trained Gene Fullmer – a former Middle Weight Champion of the World. The brothers were all world-class boxers. And while Gene is remembered for what he achieved, it is reported that Jay was actually the best of the three before an eye injury curtailed his boxing career when it was just starting.
If you know me well, or read this blog regularly, you also know that my one and only son has caused me more than a little concern since his 13th birthday (he is now 27) and this last summer we had a particularly rough patch.
After Lee’s third trip to an emergency room this summer, I asked him why life was so miserable. We talked about dreams and hopes, and the way life dashes so many of them. We decided life just doesn’t end up being what you thought it was going to be when you were a kid. Lee mentioned always wanting to box, and I ask him why he hadn’t. He mumbled something about Mom’s disapproving, that he just couldn’t find a place, and money, before he slipped back to sleep in his hospital bed.
No sooner had I arrived home that very night than I went on-line to see what I could find. I found a worn website of Fullmer Brothers Boxing in West Jordan, Utah. I sent an email to the “Contact Us” address, asking if they were still in business, outlining Lee’s trouble with the law and alcohol, and his mental state. I asked if their “all-comers” program was for someone like Lee.
The very next day I got a reply from Chet Fullmer, Jay’s son, and the Vice President of USA Boxing. He assured me that Fullmer Brothers was bought and built for young men just like Lee. Chet said Lee should come down anytime, and invited me to come down as see them too.
It was several days before Lee called me – as is so often the case, he had disappeared “off the grid” after being discharged from the hospital and I couldn’t find him. When he called me, I excitedly shared the information I had. He drove right to my home, took the printed off email reply and drove to Fullmer Brothers. And he has been there 3 – 4 nights a week ever since.
In the Engine Bay of the old firehouse, there are rows of heavy-bags in front of an elevated ring. The north walls hold speed-bags. The south walls are covered by old posters, newspaper clippings and pictures
In a blue shirt with a white collar and French cuffs, cuff-links and a carefully knotted striped tie under a dark blue sweater vest I was waaaaay over-dressed. Everyone turned to look when I walked in the side door. I felt out of place. But when Jay learned that I was Lee’s father, he took me to the back office a handed me a Golden Gloves brochure that includes a section called, “Meet Lee.” In that article are quotes from a letter I sent to Chet about the changes in Lee’s life since he met these upbeat men who want to save all the tough young men from prison and bad life choices.
Jay took me around the place while we waited for Lee to arrive, and when he did he went straight to the speed-bag to warm up. We joined him there. He was happy to see me and show me around. In this gym he is a confident, fairly fearless young man with fast hands and the persistence to keep stepping in there.
I met Don, and he told me, “That’s a good kid. We may not have many world champs in here, but we may just keep them out of jail, and that is saying something, isn’t it?” The question was rhetorical, but I answered in the affirmative. He went on to say that they get all kinds, but they are all pretty good kids underneath it all.
And that is why this is a sacred place – it is the way Jay, and Don, and Gene, and their boys (old men in their own right) treat and teach these young men. They tell them they are good kids. They treat them like men. They expect them to be good men. And many of them become what they are expected to become.
Jay told me that often all a young man needs is that one bout that brings him a trophy, and they never return – and never return to their bad habits either. They go on to do something worthwhile with their lives.
While I stood in the corner by the speed-bag watching Lee, first warming up and then moving on to the heavy-bag, I watched the gym swell and recede with between 21 and 35 young men who worked their own routine and received some kind of instruction or tip from the ever-moving Jay or Don.
Jay and Don make the rounds, like a doctor, calling each young man by name, slapping them on the back or on a shoulder. They ask about their lives. They compliment them. They comment on technique. They advise them. They admonish them. Each young man was visibly more confident as Jay or Don moved on from them to another young man. Some were beaming.
The amazing thing – it is all free! The Fullmers bought this place, outfitted it, open it to the public, and staff it from 6 – about 8 PM Monday through Friday - all for free. They teach the young men who frequent the place the five traits that the practice: discipline, nutrition, fitness, integrity and service. They want to turn tough and straying young men into responsible and productive adults as well as competent boxers.
A little before eight, I left Lee back at the heavy bag and headed outside into the rainy night, feeling pretty good about life. I can’t tell you why for sure, but I think it was because Jay and Don just naturally lifted me too.
I’m old enough to know that sacred places come in a variety of forms – so, if you feel a little squeamish when I tell you that sacred place is Fullmer Brother Boxing you need only hold on while I explain.
For those who do not know, the Fullmer Brothers: Gene, Don, and Jay – are fairly famous icons in Utah. My youngest daughter works at a Gym named after the man who trained Gene Fullmer – a former Middle Weight Champion of the World. The brothers were all world-class boxers. And while Gene is remembered for what he achieved, it is reported that Jay was actually the best of the three before an eye injury curtailed his boxing career when it was just starting.
If you know me well, or read this blog regularly, you also know that my one and only son has caused me more than a little concern since his 13th birthday (he is now 27) and this last summer we had a particularly rough patch.
After Lee’s third trip to an emergency room this summer, I asked him why life was so miserable. We talked about dreams and hopes, and the way life dashes so many of them. We decided life just doesn’t end up being what you thought it was going to be when you were a kid. Lee mentioned always wanting to box, and I ask him why he hadn’t. He mumbled something about Mom’s disapproving, that he just couldn’t find a place, and money, before he slipped back to sleep in his hospital bed.
No sooner had I arrived home that very night than I went on-line to see what I could find. I found a worn website of Fullmer Brothers Boxing in West Jordan, Utah. I sent an email to the “Contact Us” address, asking if they were still in business, outlining Lee’s trouble with the law and alcohol, and his mental state. I asked if their “all-comers” program was for someone like Lee.
The very next day I got a reply from Chet Fullmer, Jay’s son, and the Vice President of USA Boxing. He assured me that Fullmer Brothers was bought and built for young men just like Lee. Chet said Lee should come down anytime, and invited me to come down as see them too.
It was several days before Lee called me – as is so often the case, he had disappeared “off the grid” after being discharged from the hospital and I couldn’t find him. When he called me, I excitedly shared the information I had. He drove right to my home, took the printed off email reply and drove to Fullmer Brothers. And he has been there 3 – 4 nights a week ever since.
In the Engine Bay of the old firehouse, there are rows of heavy-bags in front of an elevated ring. The north walls hold speed-bags. The south walls are covered by old posters, newspaper clippings and pictures
In a blue shirt with a white collar and French cuffs, cuff-links and a carefully knotted striped tie under a dark blue sweater vest I was waaaaay over-dressed. Everyone turned to look when I walked in the side door. I felt out of place. But when Jay learned that I was Lee’s father, he took me to the back office a handed me a Golden Gloves brochure that includes a section called, “Meet Lee.” In that article are quotes from a letter I sent to Chet about the changes in Lee’s life since he met these upbeat men who want to save all the tough young men from prison and bad life choices.
Jay took me around the place while we waited for Lee to arrive, and when he did he went straight to the speed-bag to warm up. We joined him there. He was happy to see me and show me around. In this gym he is a confident, fairly fearless young man with fast hands and the persistence to keep stepping in there.
I met Don, and he told me, “That’s a good kid. We may not have many world champs in here, but we may just keep them out of jail, and that is saying something, isn’t it?” The question was rhetorical, but I answered in the affirmative. He went on to say that they get all kinds, but they are all pretty good kids underneath it all.
And that is why this is a sacred place – it is the way Jay, and Don, and Gene, and their boys (old men in their own right) treat and teach these young men. They tell them they are good kids. They treat them like men. They expect them to be good men. And many of them become what they are expected to become.
Jay told me that often all a young man needs is that one bout that brings him a trophy, and they never return – and never return to their bad habits either. They go on to do something worthwhile with their lives.
While I stood in the corner by the speed-bag watching Lee, first warming up and then moving on to the heavy-bag, I watched the gym swell and recede with between 21 and 35 young men who worked their own routine and received some kind of instruction or tip from the ever-moving Jay or Don.
Jay and Don make the rounds, like a doctor, calling each young man by name, slapping them on the back or on a shoulder. They ask about their lives. They compliment them. They comment on technique. They advise them. They admonish them. Each young man was visibly more confident as Jay or Don moved on from them to another young man. Some were beaming.
The amazing thing – it is all free! The Fullmers bought this place, outfitted it, open it to the public, and staff it from 6 – about 8 PM Monday through Friday - all for free. They teach the young men who frequent the place the five traits that the practice: discipline, nutrition, fitness, integrity and service. They want to turn tough and straying young men into responsible and productive adults as well as competent boxers.
A little before eight, I left Lee back at the heavy bag and headed outside into the rainy night, feeling pretty good about life. I can’t tell you why for sure, but I think it was because Jay and Don just naturally lifted me too.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Monday Political Updates
Most Powerful Man in the U.S. Steps Down
Senator Robert Byrd (aged 91 on Nov 20, 2008) stepped down as Chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and will hand the gavel to 84-year old Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii (what, we couldn’t find a septuagenarian?) Byrd has been a continuous member of the Senate since 1959 – and a member of this most important Senate Committee (handing out nearly $1 Trillion a year!) for 50-years. He will remain a member of the Appropriations Committee. His current Senate Term will expire in 2012.
I’ve said many times that the Presidency is over-rated in terms of raw political power, and the real power is in the combined hands of our Legislators. If that is truly the case, then Senator Byrd has long been the most powerful man in the US. (And if you don’t believe me, just look at what his chairmanship has meant to West Virginia!)
Perhaps less well known, Senator Byrd is a Mason – a Famous Mason! He was also perhaps most responsible for starting my dear friend, Masonic brother and mentor, Robert Wolfarth, on his Masonic journey. Robert used to work on Capitol Hill and was influenced to look in to our Honorable Fraternity when he heard Byrd and other Senators and Masons speak glowingly of their ties to the Fraternity.
We haven’t had a Masonic US President since President Ford, but Senator Byrd and others (Sam Nunn, Jack Kemp, John Glenn, Charles Grassley, Mark Hatfield – to name a few) have continued the time-honored tradition of Masonic Service to our Nation.
Wasatch Lodge No. 1 Election Results
On Friday, November 7, 2008, Wasatch Lodge No 1 of Salt Lake City, Utah, held elections for the principal officers of the Lodge for the year 2009. Leon Crockett, a Salt Lake Attorney, was elected Worshipful Master of Wasatch Lodge to replace Worshipful Brother Jason Mitchell, who has served the Lodge admirably for the last year. Leon is a well-respected member of the Utah Bar, has argued several times before the Utah Supreme Court, a Shrine Clown - and a effective fundraiser for the Shrine Hospital and other laudable charities. He is also one of the kindest men I know.
For those unfamiliar with Masonic doings, a man becomes a “Worshipful Brother” rather than a “Brother” when he is elected Worshipful Master, or Master of his Lodge. This is also sometimes referred to as being “elected to the East,” because the Lodge Master sits in the East of a Lodge. Unlike other organizations, Masons do not run for office. Master Masons in good standing vote, and a simple majority is required for an “election.”
Thirty-seven of the Master Masons of Wasatch Lodge were in attendance at the Friday Elections, along with several Masonic visitors (including four Grand Lodge Officers), and several of the Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts of Wasatch Lodge.
Douglas Backes, an Engineer at ATK, was elected Senior Warden, and Branden Sylvester, Owner of SilverStar Services, was elected Junior Warden. All are what we refer to as “upright men and Masons,” (truly good and moral men!) Taken together, these three principal officers – Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, are the equivalent of the President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents of any other organization or fraternity. During Lodge meetings they sit in the East, West and South of the Lodge and govern the Lodge.
Jason Varner announced that he had no desire to be re-elected to the office of Lodge Secretary, and was replaced by newcomer Michael Anderson who has been serving as Assistant Secretary. Worshipful Brother Varner was recently appointed to an office in the Grand Lodge of Utah.
Jason was one of the first members of Wasatch Lodge I ever met, has been a stalwart and a stabilizing force in the Lodge for years, and is as dedicated a Mason as ever there was. He will be sorely missed – although Michael will do a fine job.
Like Brother Varner, Worshipful Brother Jason Allred also announced that he had no desire to be elected to another term as Treasurer and was replaced by the election of Worshipful Brother Scott Anderson.
There is little I enjoy as much as being with my Masonic Brothers, and whether it is a meeting to transact business or ritual, the Quarterly Communications (dinner and a lecture), or the Book of the Month Club “dinners” at The Other Place Restaurant, I always feel like I am warmly surrounded and truly accepted by some of the finest men in the Valley.
Senator Robert Byrd (aged 91 on Nov 20, 2008) stepped down as Chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and will hand the gavel to 84-year old Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii (what, we couldn’t find a septuagenarian?) Byrd has been a continuous member of the Senate since 1959 – and a member of this most important Senate Committee (handing out nearly $1 Trillion a year!) for 50-years. He will remain a member of the Appropriations Committee. His current Senate Term will expire in 2012.
I’ve said many times that the Presidency is over-rated in terms of raw political power, and the real power is in the combined hands of our Legislators. If that is truly the case, then Senator Byrd has long been the most powerful man in the US. (And if you don’t believe me, just look at what his chairmanship has meant to West Virginia!)
Perhaps less well known, Senator Byrd is a Mason – a Famous Mason! He was also perhaps most responsible for starting my dear friend, Masonic brother and mentor, Robert Wolfarth, on his Masonic journey. Robert used to work on Capitol Hill and was influenced to look in to our Honorable Fraternity when he heard Byrd and other Senators and Masons speak glowingly of their ties to the Fraternity.
We haven’t had a Masonic US President since President Ford, but Senator Byrd and others (Sam Nunn, Jack Kemp, John Glenn, Charles Grassley, Mark Hatfield – to name a few) have continued the time-honored tradition of Masonic Service to our Nation.
Wasatch Lodge No. 1 Election Results
On Friday, November 7, 2008, Wasatch Lodge No 1 of Salt Lake City, Utah, held elections for the principal officers of the Lodge for the year 2009. Leon Crockett, a Salt Lake Attorney, was elected Worshipful Master of Wasatch Lodge to replace Worshipful Brother Jason Mitchell, who has served the Lodge admirably for the last year. Leon is a well-respected member of the Utah Bar, has argued several times before the Utah Supreme Court, a Shrine Clown - and a effective fundraiser for the Shrine Hospital and other laudable charities. He is also one of the kindest men I know.
For those unfamiliar with Masonic doings, a man becomes a “Worshipful Brother” rather than a “Brother” when he is elected Worshipful Master, or Master of his Lodge. This is also sometimes referred to as being “elected to the East,” because the Lodge Master sits in the East of a Lodge. Unlike other organizations, Masons do not run for office. Master Masons in good standing vote, and a simple majority is required for an “election.”
Thirty-seven of the Master Masons of Wasatch Lodge were in attendance at the Friday Elections, along with several Masonic visitors (including four Grand Lodge Officers), and several of the Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts of Wasatch Lodge.
Douglas Backes, an Engineer at ATK, was elected Senior Warden, and Branden Sylvester, Owner of SilverStar Services, was elected Junior Warden. All are what we refer to as “upright men and Masons,” (truly good and moral men!) Taken together, these three principal officers – Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, are the equivalent of the President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents of any other organization or fraternity. During Lodge meetings they sit in the East, West and South of the Lodge and govern the Lodge.
Jason Varner announced that he had no desire to be re-elected to the office of Lodge Secretary, and was replaced by newcomer Michael Anderson who has been serving as Assistant Secretary. Worshipful Brother Varner was recently appointed to an office in the Grand Lodge of Utah.
Jason was one of the first members of Wasatch Lodge I ever met, has been a stalwart and a stabilizing force in the Lodge for years, and is as dedicated a Mason as ever there was. He will be sorely missed – although Michael will do a fine job.
Like Brother Varner, Worshipful Brother Jason Allred also announced that he had no desire to be elected to another term as Treasurer and was replaced by the election of Worshipful Brother Scott Anderson.
There is little I enjoy as much as being with my Masonic Brothers, and whether it is a meeting to transact business or ritual, the Quarterly Communications (dinner and a lecture), or the Book of the Month Club “dinners” at The Other Place Restaurant, I always feel like I am warmly surrounded and truly accepted by some of the finest men in the Valley.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A few moments of diversion
I was genuinely delighted to see that the so-called “Bradley Affect” did not come in to play in the recent election and it appears that the nation chose a president that embodies hope for a better future without regard to race or religion. There is a feel of authentic optimism in the nation, despite the continued fall of the Dow Jones since election night.
If you’ll allow me a few moments diversion from the contest that fills many of my free, waking and non-working moments (the quest for the College National Football Championship) I’ll share a few thoughts about a few other delights and disappointments of the recent election.
First, a few delights. I’m delighted to see the end of election commercials. This election cycle has been going on for nearly two-years and it is just too long. Sports seasons are too long when the NBA, MBL and NFL are all vying for viewers at the same time (October.) And yet, they were more than a year shorter than this election.
I’m also thrilled to see Democrats in Utah show some real signs of life. How nice to see we finally have what appears to be a living, breathing opposition party in the state. If nothing more, a vibrant opposition keeps the majority party on its toes – something that has been missing for quite some time in Utah!
Now then, just a few disappointments. Our Congress continues to contain the two men who did more to bring about our current financial crisis than any other two people anywhere else, including all the CEOs of poorly managed financial institutions. I speak, of course, of Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY) and Representative Barney Frank (D.Mass.) If you haven’t followed the careers of these two well-dressed circus clowns, you ought to pay more attention. It would be appropriate to nick-name them Senator Freddie Mac and Representative Fannie Mae.
Was there anything more disappointing than getting to know Sarah Pallin? She came in, guns blazing, and looked like a true breath of fresh air. Democrats reacted immediately by trying to shut her up, but after the Couric interview, everyone figured out that she was more damaging to her party if she talked. And she talked ad nauseum. Did anyone fit the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt,” better than her?
I’m still disappointed that Senator “Hair-Plugs” is the Vice-President Elect. What was Mr. Obama thinking? Well, maybe he’ll ask Oprah to be Secretary of the Treasury and Biden won’t remain his worst decision for long.
Lastly, I cannot believe that the people of my district sent Chris Buttars back to the Utah Senate for another term by a little more than 2,000 votes. No wonder Utah looks like the backwoods to the residents of other states.
Now that the election is over and we are waiting for the announcement of the new “Dream Team” that will tackle the economy, we can get back to answering the questions that truly matter, like:
Who does the current No. 1, Alabama, play this weekend? (The Tide are at LSU.) Good luck with that!
Will Texas Tech burn out of the Top Ten this week? Or next? (If Ok State doesn’t get them this week, Ok will the following week!)
Will Penn State fans ever stop whining? (Not even if they play in the BCS Championship game!)
And how much are they asking for BYU/UTAH tickets on eBay? ($800-$1200) Are they kidding?!?!
If you’ll allow me a few moments diversion from the contest that fills many of my free, waking and non-working moments (the quest for the College National Football Championship) I’ll share a few thoughts about a few other delights and disappointments of the recent election.
First, a few delights. I’m delighted to see the end of election commercials. This election cycle has been going on for nearly two-years and it is just too long. Sports seasons are too long when the NBA, MBL and NFL are all vying for viewers at the same time (October.) And yet, they were more than a year shorter than this election.
I’m also thrilled to see Democrats in Utah show some real signs of life. How nice to see we finally have what appears to be a living, breathing opposition party in the state. If nothing more, a vibrant opposition keeps the majority party on its toes – something that has been missing for quite some time in Utah!
Now then, just a few disappointments. Our Congress continues to contain the two men who did more to bring about our current financial crisis than any other two people anywhere else, including all the CEOs of poorly managed financial institutions. I speak, of course, of Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY) and Representative Barney Frank (D.Mass.) If you haven’t followed the careers of these two well-dressed circus clowns, you ought to pay more attention. It would be appropriate to nick-name them Senator Freddie Mac and Representative Fannie Mae.
Was there anything more disappointing than getting to know Sarah Pallin? She came in, guns blazing, and looked like a true breath of fresh air. Democrats reacted immediately by trying to shut her up, but after the Couric interview, everyone figured out that she was more damaging to her party if she talked. And she talked ad nauseum. Did anyone fit the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt,” better than her?
I’m still disappointed that Senator “Hair-Plugs” is the Vice-President Elect. What was Mr. Obama thinking? Well, maybe he’ll ask Oprah to be Secretary of the Treasury and Biden won’t remain his worst decision for long.
Lastly, I cannot believe that the people of my district sent Chris Buttars back to the Utah Senate for another term by a little more than 2,000 votes. No wonder Utah looks like the backwoods to the residents of other states.
Now that the election is over and we are waiting for the announcement of the new “Dream Team” that will tackle the economy, we can get back to answering the questions that truly matter, like:
Who does the current No. 1, Alabama, play this weekend? (The Tide are at LSU.) Good luck with that!
Will Texas Tech burn out of the Top Ten this week? Or next? (If Ok State doesn’t get them this week, Ok will the following week!)
Will Penn State fans ever stop whining? (Not even if they play in the BCS Championship game!)
And how much are they asking for BYU/UTAH tickets on eBay? ($800-$1200) Are they kidding?!?!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Financial Clarity
No doubt about it, these are tough times, the kind that “try men’s souls,” as Thomas Paine said about another time. But they are also times that clarify and illuminate.
I’ve got several bright, gorgeous daughters - all very unique. The youngest can unconsciously memorize a movie in one sitting. She has recited movie lines humorously in general conversation since she was first able to talk.
She also memorizes the lines from commercials, and when she was younger she used to tell us where to get something to solve a problem with “pitch-perfect” lines from those commercials.
As my youngest has grown up she has learned something of the Art of Spin. She's come to see the claims of commercials are questionable at best. Not long ago she asked, "Dad, why do commercials tell us the opposite of what we know from our experience about a company or product?”
Well, just as Nat as learned from experience, our experiences are clarifying banker spin for us. Bankers have told us that they will be “with you” at every stage, phase or time in life. The same bankers have told their employees that they are “the most important asset.”
Spin is a world of words. Ad campaigns are devised to attract customers. Speeches about “most important assets” are designed to placate and motivate employees. All of those ads or speeches are words. Actions, on the other hand, suggest true motives, and the actions of bankers have been illuminating.
Governments have responded to the death gasps of banks, providing needed liquidity in order to save them from extinction with amazing largess in order to keep the economy moving. Yet, even as liquidity is ensured, banks have virtually stopped the flow of credit in our economy because they are no longer “with” their customers.
Credit may not fuel our economy but it does keep things moving. Without continued lending, businesses and consumers will continue to hold on to the little money they have left - and the wheels of our economy will continue to slow.
As the stock price has fallen, that “most important asset” is the one you find in increasing numbers packing the contents of a cubicle into a cardboard box.
While the lending economy was booming, a handful of bank managers managed to take millions in profits out of the banks in salaries, bonuses and options. Those funds are not available to restore bank capital or liquidity today.
From those actions we can see clearly now just what is important to a bank:
* Number One Stakeholder: Shareholders (not customers!)
* Number One Asset: The Stock Price (not employees!)
* Number One Beneficiary: Senior Management (not even the shareholder!)
Now I know, individual players in a capitalist system are supposed to be driven by self-interest. Their self-interested actions are supposed to mesh with the self-interest of others. This is all supposed to be mutually satisfying and allow the economy to be self-perpetuating. And if a capitalist system is out of whack, the standard business cycle is supposed to restore balance.
What is clear today is that what is in the self-interest of banks and bankers is not meeting the self-interested needs of any of their customers. They aren't even doing what governments want them to do. Their self-interest is so muscular they will wreck an economy and the lives of millions to survive.
So why do so many Americans continue to think we ought to put our money in the hands of bankers? It is quite clear you are no better than second on their list – and even that is debatable. And you are not helpless in the face of a robust monopoly.
There is another option: Credit Unions.
A credit union is a cooperative, member-owned, locally and democratically governed financial institution. Credit unions are set up to give their members cheaper or better services and to return any profits to the members. The elected directors are unpaid volunteers and they are there to represent the members - both as owners and customers.
But the strength of the credit union movement is not what they are or have or even do, but in what they do not have: a stock price! Because there is no stock price, Credit Unions can manage for the long-term. As a result, very few credit Unions have been caught up in the conflagration that has wreaked havoc on the balance sheets of the nation’s banks.
Most credit unions are still loyally lending to their loyal members. Oh, and their officers have to get rich the old fashioned way - saving and investing some of their modest pay packages just like the members of their credit union.
The difference between banks and credit unions may never have been more apparent. Will the recent evidence make any difference to you? It should.
I’ve got several bright, gorgeous daughters - all very unique. The youngest can unconsciously memorize a movie in one sitting. She has recited movie lines humorously in general conversation since she was first able to talk.
She also memorizes the lines from commercials, and when she was younger she used to tell us where to get something to solve a problem with “pitch-perfect” lines from those commercials.
As my youngest has grown up she has learned something of the Art of Spin. She's come to see the claims of commercials are questionable at best. Not long ago she asked, "Dad, why do commercials tell us the opposite of what we know from our experience about a company or product?”
Well, just as Nat as learned from experience, our experiences are clarifying banker spin for us. Bankers have told us that they will be “with you” at every stage, phase or time in life. The same bankers have told their employees that they are “the most important asset.”
Spin is a world of words. Ad campaigns are devised to attract customers. Speeches about “most important assets” are designed to placate and motivate employees. All of those ads or speeches are words. Actions, on the other hand, suggest true motives, and the actions of bankers have been illuminating.
Governments have responded to the death gasps of banks, providing needed liquidity in order to save them from extinction with amazing largess in order to keep the economy moving. Yet, even as liquidity is ensured, banks have virtually stopped the flow of credit in our economy because they are no longer “with” their customers.
Credit may not fuel our economy but it does keep things moving. Without continued lending, businesses and consumers will continue to hold on to the little money they have left - and the wheels of our economy will continue to slow.
As the stock price has fallen, that “most important asset” is the one you find in increasing numbers packing the contents of a cubicle into a cardboard box.
While the lending economy was booming, a handful of bank managers managed to take millions in profits out of the banks in salaries, bonuses and options. Those funds are not available to restore bank capital or liquidity today.
From those actions we can see clearly now just what is important to a bank:
* Number One Stakeholder: Shareholders (not customers!)
* Number One Asset: The Stock Price (not employees!)
* Number One Beneficiary: Senior Management (not even the shareholder!)
Now I know, individual players in a capitalist system are supposed to be driven by self-interest. Their self-interested actions are supposed to mesh with the self-interest of others. This is all supposed to be mutually satisfying and allow the economy to be self-perpetuating. And if a capitalist system is out of whack, the standard business cycle is supposed to restore balance.
What is clear today is that what is in the self-interest of banks and bankers is not meeting the self-interested needs of any of their customers. They aren't even doing what governments want them to do. Their self-interest is so muscular they will wreck an economy and the lives of millions to survive.
So why do so many Americans continue to think we ought to put our money in the hands of bankers? It is quite clear you are no better than second on their list – and even that is debatable. And you are not helpless in the face of a robust monopoly.
There is another option: Credit Unions.
A credit union is a cooperative, member-owned, locally and democratically governed financial institution. Credit unions are set up to give their members cheaper or better services and to return any profits to the members. The elected directors are unpaid volunteers and they are there to represent the members - both as owners and customers.
But the strength of the credit union movement is not what they are or have or even do, but in what they do not have: a stock price! Because there is no stock price, Credit Unions can manage for the long-term. As a result, very few credit Unions have been caught up in the conflagration that has wreaked havoc on the balance sheets of the nation’s banks.
Most credit unions are still loyally lending to their loyal members. Oh, and their officers have to get rich the old fashioned way - saving and investing some of their modest pay packages just like the members of their credit union.
The difference between banks and credit unions may never have been more apparent. Will the recent evidence make any difference to you? It should.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Are We Any Smarter?
What have we learned in the early days of the most recent economic melt-down?
Well, for starters, the old adage about draining swamps and alligators fits to some degree – but stops short of telling us what people do when they are up to their noses in swamp water and those alligators are snapping.
Confidence
Henry (Paulson, Secretary of the US Treasury) completely forgot that he was trying to restore confidence and liquidity. In the heat of the moment he decided instead to buy ownership in banks. We now know that doesn’t improve confidence, and as for liquidity…
Liquidity
We have learned that when you restore banker’s liquidity and ask them to lend to consumers they buy other banks.
Herds
Herds form, we have learned, in times of crisis. We’ve seen consumers bunch together as a “non-spending” Consumer Herd, bankers cluster as a “non-lending” Financial Herd, various governments mass as the “new owners of banks” Savior Herd, and businesses clumping up as the “cutting back and laying off” Business Herd.
What we do not know is what might happen if just one of those herds behaved differently in this crisis than they do in every crisis. If, for example, the Consumer Herd decided to forgo self-preservation and start spending, do you think some of the other herds in the equation would simply snap up and hoard the cash?
I do. The problem with an emotional self-serving model is that it is so … well, emotionally self-serving!
Capitalism
Just before they had to jump in and save their own banks, several European leaders pronounced the death of capitalism with real glee. They are not alone. It is no longer anathema in the U.S. to say that capitalism is a flawed system.
While our own leaders have done little if anything to restore confidence in our economic system, it was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who gave an insightful analysis in a speech in Toulon, saying, “The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism. It is a crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.”
Exactly.
The Gordon Gekko, “Greed is Good,” or Ivan Boesky, “Greed is Right,” philosophy rose to its pinnacle in the 1980s.
Self-interest is a human trait. Better to deal with it that pretend it doesn't exist or can be wiped out. Greed, of course, is self-interest taken to the extreme, and is why free-markets do not remain free without regulation and regulators to police them.
Perhaps the “virtue” of unadulterated greed has been exposed for what it is, and perhaps we will no longer worship at its altar.
So, was it just plain old Greed?
No. But we all love a conspiracy. There is nothing like a conspiracy built on greed to bring out the theorist in all of us. But conspiracies are for simpletons who like uncomplicated answers to truly complex problems.
If you have to have a simple, one-line answer to the problem, the better answer is that we are where we are today because of mismanagement by the very people who should have known better.
There was no one element of the financial markets – including Congress, the Fed, and Treasury, that did not mismanage either the boom or the resulting bust to some degree or another. There is plenty of blame to go around. But no one is going to admit to their own culpability while they can point out the other players or take the easy one word answer.
Regulators
Speaking of Regulation and Regulators, we have learned that when Regulators disengage, and the markets run amok, said Regulators will rapidly and aggressively re-engage, take the regulatory balance from one extreme to the other, and kill any possibility of a quick-turn around.
So what does it mean for the near future?
It is easy to be doom and gloom at a time like this but we have not seen the worst of the downturn even if the banking crisis is over. Most non-food retailers make their year's much needed profit in that five-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the U.S.
Here’s the rub. The Consumer Herd is scared to spend and the Holiday Retail Season is largely driven by consumer spending. This Holiday Retail Season could very well be the worst in more than 20-years.
Don’t bet on a bottom to this thing until sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2009.
And for those who remember the last real downturn in the economy...
Does it scare you at all that Paul Volker seems to be Mr. Obama’s number one financial advisor? Four years from now, Mr. Obama may look more like Former-President Jimmy Carter than any of us care to imagine.
Hillary may have dodged a bullet! Just like this year, the best contest in 2012 may well be the Dem Presidential Primary.
Well, for starters, the old adage about draining swamps and alligators fits to some degree – but stops short of telling us what people do when they are up to their noses in swamp water and those alligators are snapping.
Confidence
Henry (Paulson, Secretary of the US Treasury) completely forgot that he was trying to restore confidence and liquidity. In the heat of the moment he decided instead to buy ownership in banks. We now know that doesn’t improve confidence, and as for liquidity…
Liquidity
We have learned that when you restore banker’s liquidity and ask them to lend to consumers they buy other banks.
Herds
Herds form, we have learned, in times of crisis. We’ve seen consumers bunch together as a “non-spending” Consumer Herd, bankers cluster as a “non-lending” Financial Herd, various governments mass as the “new owners of banks” Savior Herd, and businesses clumping up as the “cutting back and laying off” Business Herd.
What we do not know is what might happen if just one of those herds behaved differently in this crisis than they do in every crisis. If, for example, the Consumer Herd decided to forgo self-preservation and start spending, do you think some of the other herds in the equation would simply snap up and hoard the cash?
I do. The problem with an emotional self-serving model is that it is so … well, emotionally self-serving!
Capitalism
Just before they had to jump in and save their own banks, several European leaders pronounced the death of capitalism with real glee. They are not alone. It is no longer anathema in the U.S. to say that capitalism is a flawed system.
While our own leaders have done little if anything to restore confidence in our economic system, it was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who gave an insightful analysis in a speech in Toulon, saying, “The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism. It is a crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.”
Exactly.
The Gordon Gekko, “Greed is Good,” or Ivan Boesky, “Greed is Right,” philosophy rose to its pinnacle in the 1980s.
Self-interest is a human trait. Better to deal with it that pretend it doesn't exist or can be wiped out. Greed, of course, is self-interest taken to the extreme, and is why free-markets do not remain free without regulation and regulators to police them.
Perhaps the “virtue” of unadulterated greed has been exposed for what it is, and perhaps we will no longer worship at its altar.
So, was it just plain old Greed?
No. But we all love a conspiracy. There is nothing like a conspiracy built on greed to bring out the theorist in all of us. But conspiracies are for simpletons who like uncomplicated answers to truly complex problems.
If you have to have a simple, one-line answer to the problem, the better answer is that we are where we are today because of mismanagement by the very people who should have known better.
There was no one element of the financial markets – including Congress, the Fed, and Treasury, that did not mismanage either the boom or the resulting bust to some degree or another. There is plenty of blame to go around. But no one is going to admit to their own culpability while they can point out the other players or take the easy one word answer.
Regulators
Speaking of Regulation and Regulators, we have learned that when Regulators disengage, and the markets run amok, said Regulators will rapidly and aggressively re-engage, take the regulatory balance from one extreme to the other, and kill any possibility of a quick-turn around.
So what does it mean for the near future?
It is easy to be doom and gloom at a time like this but we have not seen the worst of the downturn even if the banking crisis is over. Most non-food retailers make their year's much needed profit in that five-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the U.S.
Here’s the rub. The Consumer Herd is scared to spend and the Holiday Retail Season is largely driven by consumer spending. This Holiday Retail Season could very well be the worst in more than 20-years.
Don’t bet on a bottom to this thing until sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2009.
And for those who remember the last real downturn in the economy...
Does it scare you at all that Paul Volker seems to be Mr. Obama’s number one financial advisor? Four years from now, Mr. Obama may look more like Former-President Jimmy Carter than any of us care to imagine.
Hillary may have dodged a bullet! Just like this year, the best contest in 2012 may well be the Dem Presidential Primary.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Of Mice & Wizards
A good Biography illustrates the whole life of its subject. By that, I mean not only that you see cradle to crave, but also that it depicts the affects of time and events in their life. It portrays their inconsistencies and foibles along with their strengths and triumphs. And what’s more, there are life lessons to learn in the depictions of the individual’s actions and reactions in the events and moments of their life.
One such biographical story with business life lessons is told in Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney, The Triumph of the American Imagination. The story highlights the beginnings of The Mickey Mouse Club.
Gabler tell us that, “the biggest boost to Mickey Mouse, aside from sound itself, occurred not through Walt’s promotions, which were scattershot, but through those of Harry Woodin, the young manager of the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, a Los Angeles suburb.
On his own initiative late that summer (1929) Woodin had organized a Mickey Mouse Club, filling his theater on Saturday afternoons with children who took a Mickey Mouse pledge, performed in an impromptu Mickey Mouse band, and then watched Mickey Mouse cartoons.
Woodin had invited Walt to one of the matinees and Walt said, ‘he got quite a kick to see about one thousand kids cheering for MICKEY MOUSE.’ But Woodin himself, not unlike Walt Disney, had larger aspirations. He convinced Walt that what he was doing locally he could also do nationally.” (page 139)
It doesn’t take a lot to grow or kill a product, service or artistic creation. Often seemingly imperceptible shifts in momentum or emotion cause explosive growth or immediate death. These shifts are the result of thousands of small decisions like this one Walt made in Ocean Park.
Had Walt been a product of this time though, instead of seeing the boost such an initiative would lend to his promotions, he’d might have seen the need to protect his rights and the rights of all creators rather than bringing Woodin into his fold and leveraging his local organization and events.
I can see a busload of Intellectual Property lawyers descending upon the Fox Dome theater and it’s hapless manager, delivering court injunctions and summons before Woodin could sing, “M*I*C*K*E*Y*M*O*U*S*E!”
You think I exaggerate? Well then think back just a month ago. On September 8, the Judge announced that JK Rowling had prevailed in her Copyright lawsuit against what has been described as one of her “most ardent fans.”
Steven Vander Ark is the creator of one of the most popular Potter/Rowling Fan Websites. He apparently went too far when he decided to publish the content of the website as a Lexicon of Potter Series characters.
The result of the suit was to divide Potter Series fans into pro-Rowling and pro-Vander Ark camps. When it was reported that Vander Ark broke down and cried on the stand, press reports showed sympathy for his position.
Rowling released a statement on September 8, saying that she "took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favorably. I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work."
Walt thought differently. He found a plethora of avenues to promote his own original work and let others worry about promoting and protecting their own.
Almost 80-years later, Mickey Mouse is an icon that yet another generation of young kids can recognize from a silhouette of a cartoon head with those trademarked ears. And it is estimated that more than 10 million people a year visit Disneyland and Disney World.
I don’t know if time will be as kind to Rowling’s original work. The Potter craze seems to be wearing a little thinner and it seems that she is in the thirteenth of her fifteen “Warhol” minutes.
Oh, there are plenty of fans left, but they seem a bit less ardent. For many, the passion is reserved for the love story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. I very much doubt that Stephanie Meyer will be sharing either her market share or the royalties with Rowling in gratitude for her selfless protection of Author’s Rights.
Maybe, just maybe, Potter has octogenarian legs like Mickey. But honestly, you don’t keep those legs when you divide your fan base and represent authors at the expense of your most ardent fans.
I’m betting the only way Harry Potter still has any relevance in the marketplace of 2088 will be if Disney’s brilliant Imagineering staff turns Rowling’s original work into a Disney ride.
One such biographical story with business life lessons is told in Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney, The Triumph of the American Imagination. The story highlights the beginnings of The Mickey Mouse Club.
Gabler tell us that, “the biggest boost to Mickey Mouse, aside from sound itself, occurred not through Walt’s promotions, which were scattershot, but through those of Harry Woodin, the young manager of the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, a Los Angeles suburb.
On his own initiative late that summer (1929) Woodin had organized a Mickey Mouse Club, filling his theater on Saturday afternoons with children who took a Mickey Mouse pledge, performed in an impromptu Mickey Mouse band, and then watched Mickey Mouse cartoons.
Woodin had invited Walt to one of the matinees and Walt said, ‘he got quite a kick to see about one thousand kids cheering for MICKEY MOUSE.’ But Woodin himself, not unlike Walt Disney, had larger aspirations. He convinced Walt that what he was doing locally he could also do nationally.” (page 139)
It doesn’t take a lot to grow or kill a product, service or artistic creation. Often seemingly imperceptible shifts in momentum or emotion cause explosive growth or immediate death. These shifts are the result of thousands of small decisions like this one Walt made in Ocean Park.
Had Walt been a product of this time though, instead of seeing the boost such an initiative would lend to his promotions, he’d might have seen the need to protect his rights and the rights of all creators rather than bringing Woodin into his fold and leveraging his local organization and events.
I can see a busload of Intellectual Property lawyers descending upon the Fox Dome theater and it’s hapless manager, delivering court injunctions and summons before Woodin could sing, “M*I*C*K*E*Y*M*O*U*S*E!”
You think I exaggerate? Well then think back just a month ago. On September 8, the Judge announced that JK Rowling had prevailed in her Copyright lawsuit against what has been described as one of her “most ardent fans.”
Steven Vander Ark is the creator of one of the most popular Potter/Rowling Fan Websites. He apparently went too far when he decided to publish the content of the website as a Lexicon of Potter Series characters.
The result of the suit was to divide Potter Series fans into pro-Rowling and pro-Vander Ark camps. When it was reported that Vander Ark broke down and cried on the stand, press reports showed sympathy for his position.
Rowling released a statement on September 8, saying that she "took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favorably. I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work."
Walt thought differently. He found a plethora of avenues to promote his own original work and let others worry about promoting and protecting their own.
Almost 80-years later, Mickey Mouse is an icon that yet another generation of young kids can recognize from a silhouette of a cartoon head with those trademarked ears. And it is estimated that more than 10 million people a year visit Disneyland and Disney World.
I don’t know if time will be as kind to Rowling’s original work. The Potter craze seems to be wearing a little thinner and it seems that she is in the thirteenth of her fifteen “Warhol” minutes.
Oh, there are plenty of fans left, but they seem a bit less ardent. For many, the passion is reserved for the love story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. I very much doubt that Stephanie Meyer will be sharing either her market share or the royalties with Rowling in gratitude for her selfless protection of Author’s Rights.
Maybe, just maybe, Potter has octogenarian legs like Mickey. But honestly, you don’t keep those legs when you divide your fan base and represent authors at the expense of your most ardent fans.
I’m betting the only way Harry Potter still has any relevance in the marketplace of 2088 will be if Disney’s brilliant Imagineering staff turns Rowling’s original work into a Disney ride.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The New Normal
“Governments may hold ordinary shares,
but they will never be ordinary shareholders.”
- Financial Times Editorial, October 15, 2008
- Financial Times Editorial, October 15, 2008
An October 15 Editorial in the Financial Times outlines the problems associated with governments taking ownership shares in banks. You can read it for yourself on the Financial Times Editorial link to the left of this blog.
This morning the Swiss joined the party as they purchased a 9% share in UBS. The two good signs were that Credit Suisse declined such a purchase, and members of the Swiss Parliament on both sides of the aisle had the good sense to disapprove.
We’ve all lived with government regulation, but there is a huge difference between government regulation of it's citizens and privately held businesses, and government ownership.
When the fear of economic ruin and the loathing of bankers has receded we will see signs that government ownership in our banks is stifling growth, service and innovation. Oh, and competition. But it may be too late by then.
Mr. Paulson has not announced an exit strategy.
If you think this goes away quickly or quietly, tell me then, when do you think the TSA will vacate the Airports? Exactly! What you remember as normal pre-911 will never return. The TSA is the new normal in Airports.
A prolonged financial crisis will entrench the new normal (normal= our government owning portions of banks.)
The Paulsen take-over plan (you call it what you want to me it tastes like a hostile take-over plan!) includes a total of $250 billion for buying shares in thousands of banks over the next couple of months. So far, Paulsen has only spent $125 Billion.
The bottom line is that our current administration has used every crisis to take over more and more of this Nation’s institutions and services. They have been aided and abetted by a Congress walking in lock-step with them – despite all the tough talk and occasional rogue votes.
Talk about regime change!
I’m just not sure that Paulsen understands the difference between running the Treasury Department and Alcoa (where he was Chairman when he was tapped for the job.) The job was to restore liquidity and confidence, Henry, not the vertical integration of Treasury.
I’m betting the airlines are next.
This morning the Swiss joined the party as they purchased a 9% share in UBS. The two good signs were that Credit Suisse declined such a purchase, and members of the Swiss Parliament on both sides of the aisle had the good sense to disapprove.
We’ve all lived with government regulation, but there is a huge difference between government regulation of it's citizens and privately held businesses, and government ownership.
When the fear of economic ruin and the loathing of bankers has receded we will see signs that government ownership in our banks is stifling growth, service and innovation. Oh, and competition. But it may be too late by then.
Mr. Paulson has not announced an exit strategy.
If you think this goes away quickly or quietly, tell me then, when do you think the TSA will vacate the Airports? Exactly! What you remember as normal pre-911 will never return. The TSA is the new normal in Airports.
A prolonged financial crisis will entrench the new normal (normal= our government owning portions of banks.)
The Paulsen take-over plan (you call it what you want to me it tastes like a hostile take-over plan!) includes a total of $250 billion for buying shares in thousands of banks over the next couple of months. So far, Paulsen has only spent $125 Billion.
The bottom line is that our current administration has used every crisis to take over more and more of this Nation’s institutions and services. They have been aided and abetted by a Congress walking in lock-step with them – despite all the tough talk and occasional rogue votes.
Talk about regime change!
I’m just not sure that Paulsen understands the difference between running the Treasury Department and Alcoa (where he was Chairman when he was tapped for the job.) The job was to restore liquidity and confidence, Henry, not the vertical integration of Treasury.
I’m betting the airlines are next.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
There is an Alternative
“The People’s Bank of Scotland (formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland) will soon be 57 percent owned by the British state. A 40 percent ownership stake in Lloyds-TSB-HBOS following their merger is also anticipated. The British state already owned Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. The Dutch state owns the Dutch rump of ABN-AMRO and Fortis Nederland. The US government owns 79.9 percent of AIG. Nine major financial US institutions have agreed to participate in both the US Treasury’s ‘voluntary’ capital purchase program … These partial, majority or complete nationalisations were necessary to stop the complete collapse of the financial sectors in the countries concerned … But the state ownership and control phase should be as short as possible. The state is a dreadful owner and manager of banks and other financial institutions. It can just about manage a central bank - a much simpler job than managing a commercial bank, and one where there is a natural monopoly that makes comparisons of performance difficult. Even so, the job is often not done particularly well … Anything else the state touches that involves the production, distribution and sale of private … goods, becomes dreck very soon.”
- Willem Buiter, Professor,
London School of Economics and Political Science,
writing in his Maverecom Blog on Ft. com, October 14, 2008
The announcement that the US Government would take a stake in potentially thousands of banks and spend close to $250 Billion did nothing today to stem the losses on the Stock Market – with the Dow closing down 733 points and the S&P off by 9%.
Perhaps traders were thinking about the creation of the TSA and the US Government take-over of Airport Security. That has been an unqualified success born of a crisis – now hasn’t it!
History has proven time and time again that free-markets do not stay free unless policed – in fact, everyone is for free-markets right up until they no longer personally profit from them. The failure we are now living is as much a failure of appropriate regulation of those markets by the same people who have moved from providing liquidity to taking an ownership stake.
As Professor Buiter has pointed out, the government doesn't DO market services very well. In fact, unless it has something to do with transfering wealth from individuals and businesses to the state or armed conflict they just don't do it well. (And there is no proof they do either of those things very efficiently.)
Maybe it is time to think of a truly radical approach to banking in general. While I do not believe that the capitalist free-market should be demolished, nor do I believe that it is finished, but I do believe there is a better model already in place for the management of money and that is the cooperative, not-for-profit, not-for-charity, but for-service model of the Credit Union.
While it is quite true that poor management of a credit union can result in failure, it is also true that for the most part, failure has not been wide-spread in the Mid to Large-sized Credit Union.
Since a Credit Union is cooperatively owned by its members, Credit Unions may return their profits to their members in some combination of more personal services, lower fees or dividends.
The mid to large-sized Credit Union tends to be quite well capitalized and maintains decent liquidity. And compensation of senior staff is quite sensible, with reasonable gaps between the salaries and bonuses of front-line employees and CEOs.
Management of the modern Credit Union is as well educated and as capable as the modern bank manager. What’s more, Credit Union staff and management tend to know their customer – the member – quite well and deal with the person rather than simply the credit score or application. And as for security, all the services insured at a bank are also insured at a credit union.
Here is the best part. We don’t need to have the US Government decide that banks are illegal or should be abolished in order to make such a revolutionary shift. You don’t need to join the international press or the various governments that are kicking the banking dog while it is down.
All you have to do is join a credit union. It is a viable alternative. I think you will like what it means to be a member.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Despicable
“de*spi*ca*ble –
deserving to be despised:
so worthless or obnoxious
as to rouse moral indignation.”
- MW 11th Collegiate Dictionary
deserving to be despised:
so worthless or obnoxious
as to rouse moral indignation.”
- MW 11th Collegiate Dictionary
Last week Tim McCarver said the behavior of Manny Ramirez in his closing days as a Boston Red Sox was “despicable.”
While Manny can be obnoxious, he was never worthless, either as a man or a ballplayer, and I have a tough time “despising” any man or woman who plays a child’s game for millions of dollars simply because they do not perform up to the standards of those who report on or watch the game.
In the final analysis, it is a game – simple entertainment! And while lots of people get rich on those games (let me count the ways …) it is only a diversion from real life, not real life itself.
While I have said in this space that the race for the White House is not as important as the race to the Superbowl (and I stand by that opinion – it just doesn’t matter who is in there anymore) the daily lives and business of American’s everywhere are more important than any team sport.
Despicable does describe our Congress. Each crisis is played like it is a game so that the “Team” can win a few more seats and extend or regain their power over that huge tax base we call America.
And you know what I mean – you’ve each felt like a powerless pawn for the last two weeks while your favorite representative has played the game and added more pork.
While Manny can be obnoxious, he was never worthless, either as a man or a ballplayer, and I have a tough time “despising” any man or woman who plays a child’s game for millions of dollars simply because they do not perform up to the standards of those who report on or watch the game.
In the final analysis, it is a game – simple entertainment! And while lots of people get rich on those games (let me count the ways …) it is only a diversion from real life, not real life itself.
While I have said in this space that the race for the White House is not as important as the race to the Superbowl (and I stand by that opinion – it just doesn’t matter who is in there anymore) the daily lives and business of American’s everywhere are more important than any team sport.
Despicable does describe our Congress. Each crisis is played like it is a game so that the “Team” can win a few more seats and extend or regain their power over that huge tax base we call America.
And you know what I mean – you’ve each felt like a powerless pawn for the last two weeks while your favorite representative has played the game and added more pork.
While we may find the war of words thrown around by millionaire ballplayers and well-compensated sports columnists entertaining, the games in the Congress are rooted in the lives of all Americans. They need to stop. But they won’t.
American’s are too disconnected from the process. And the proof of that is the record low approval ratings and the fact that we continue to send them back. If we were connected, we'd rise up together and throw the bums out - Each and Every One of Them!
We should replace them with someone else and Party shouldn’t matter. We need to let the Ruling Class know there is no Ruling Class in America, and they better not play games with our lives or livelihood any more. It is time those who vote are more loyal to these United States than to any ideology or party.
We should replace them with someone else and Party shouldn’t matter. We need to let the Ruling Class know there is no Ruling Class in America, and they better not play games with our lives or livelihood any more. It is time those who vote are more loyal to these United States than to any ideology or party.
And we’ll probably need to throw them out again in a couple of years from now. It is not that they are not bright people and just can't figure it out. It is simply that they get to Washington, they see all that wealth and power and they get overwhelmed by it.
So we should continue to throw them out – in mass, until those who run for office get the picture – don’t get to comfortable, you are there to serve, keep your hands out of the till, do what is best for the country, and don't put down roots. After a term or two, go home and as a private citizen, you live with the laws you made.
So we should continue to throw them out – in mass, until those who run for office get the picture – don’t get to comfortable, you are there to serve, keep your hands out of the till, do what is best for the country, and don't put down roots. After a term or two, go home and as a private citizen, you live with the laws you made.
It is time for real change in Washington. Join me in a few weeks, won’t you? If they are an incumbent, vote them out, regardless of party for the good of the Nation.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Fiction
During my visit to Lackland AFB to witness the graduation of my son-in-law from Air Force Basic Training, I observed a thought-provoking scene.
It was the hot, humid Friday afternoon following the Graduation. We walked with Dan across the famous “Gateway” bridge to the training side of the base.
We turned left on to a road used for the movement of trainees in formation. The road has been sealed off by three large, cement planters on either end and is no longer used by vehicles. The painted lines have worn away over the years, and it is a street only in the sense that it was once.
There are no sidewalks paralleling the thoroughfare, just a raised curbing of asphalt roughly twelve feet from the edge of the grass. We walked inside that curbed area.
Out in front of us was another fresh, young Airman with a shiny, new ribbon indicating he was an Honor Graduate. He walked with what appear to be his parents and a sweetheart. Behind us were small groups of Trainees, and other Graduates and their families.
A Training Flight appeared to the left, and marched into the curbed area under the direction of grim-faced Military Training Instructor (MTI) yelling commands that kept them in step. They stopped at a “cross-street” in front of us, sent out “road-guards” to stop “traffic” and began crossing the intersection.
While the flight passed across the intersection we all began move so we would not impede the flight. We naturally looked left, and since there was no traffic, began to move over and into the “street.”
The MTI signaled that we should move onto the grass at the right, and we quickly imitated the Trainees who lined up at attention on the grass to allow the flight to pass. But the unfortunate Honor Graduate and his family had moved too far to the left to respond to the sudden and angry flailing of the MTI.
After the flight passed, the MTI stopped and at full volume began to dress-down the hapless Honor Graduate. My first thought was that the Air Force may have learned a lot about the need for positive PR but that knowledge has not filtered down to the MTI Corps.
Next, I realized that particular MTI did not understand the psychology of the process he was involved in or he would have handled it very differently.
I chuckled as the explosive MTI reminded me that no one can make a mountain range out of an ant hill like an MTI, a Mother or an English Teacher.
The MTI instructed the Honor Grad that he should have obeyed “the law of the jungle and move[d] over for the larger animal.” Then he informed the embarrassed lad that he would recommend he be recycled a week of training for his blatant “safety violation.”
It then dawned on me that the “safety violation” was nothing more than a fiction. With no rational expectation of any vehicle traffic there was, in fact, no danger other than the angry outburst of an MTI.
The fiction had been created to teach Trainees road safety and control them when they marched. The fiction served its purpose for exactly 6 ½ weeks per trainee. The fiction then became an impediment to good sense.
The human brain has the remarkable ability to build a world of its own. We often build fictitious stories or images to feign control, to escape, or to maintain our self-respect.
So since then I have asked myself:
* What fictions have I developed to allow me false control, to escape, or to maintain my self-respect in the face of poor habits?
* What fictions are causing me to yield and line up at attention while someone, or something, passes me by?
* What fictions keep me from seeing reality as clearly as I saw the fiction of a dangerous street for the large troop walk it truly was?
I’ve always thought I matured more in my six weeks at Lackland than I did on an LDS mission or in college, and once more my visit there left me with new personal growth.
It was the hot, humid Friday afternoon following the Graduation. We walked with Dan across the famous “Gateway” bridge to the training side of the base.
We turned left on to a road used for the movement of trainees in formation. The road has been sealed off by three large, cement planters on either end and is no longer used by vehicles. The painted lines have worn away over the years, and it is a street only in the sense that it was once.
There are no sidewalks paralleling the thoroughfare, just a raised curbing of asphalt roughly twelve feet from the edge of the grass. We walked inside that curbed area.
Out in front of us was another fresh, young Airman with a shiny, new ribbon indicating he was an Honor Graduate. He walked with what appear to be his parents and a sweetheart. Behind us were small groups of Trainees, and other Graduates and their families.
A Training Flight appeared to the left, and marched into the curbed area under the direction of grim-faced Military Training Instructor (MTI) yelling commands that kept them in step. They stopped at a “cross-street” in front of us, sent out “road-guards” to stop “traffic” and began crossing the intersection.
While the flight passed across the intersection we all began move so we would not impede the flight. We naturally looked left, and since there was no traffic, began to move over and into the “street.”
The MTI signaled that we should move onto the grass at the right, and we quickly imitated the Trainees who lined up at attention on the grass to allow the flight to pass. But the unfortunate Honor Graduate and his family had moved too far to the left to respond to the sudden and angry flailing of the MTI.
After the flight passed, the MTI stopped and at full volume began to dress-down the hapless Honor Graduate. My first thought was that the Air Force may have learned a lot about the need for positive PR but that knowledge has not filtered down to the MTI Corps.
Next, I realized that particular MTI did not understand the psychology of the process he was involved in or he would have handled it very differently.
I chuckled as the explosive MTI reminded me that no one can make a mountain range out of an ant hill like an MTI, a Mother or an English Teacher.
The MTI instructed the Honor Grad that he should have obeyed “the law of the jungle and move[d] over for the larger animal.” Then he informed the embarrassed lad that he would recommend he be recycled a week of training for his blatant “safety violation.”
It then dawned on me that the “safety violation” was nothing more than a fiction. With no rational expectation of any vehicle traffic there was, in fact, no danger other than the angry outburst of an MTI.
The fiction had been created to teach Trainees road safety and control them when they marched. The fiction served its purpose for exactly 6 ½ weeks per trainee. The fiction then became an impediment to good sense.
The human brain has the remarkable ability to build a world of its own. We often build fictitious stories or images to feign control, to escape, or to maintain our self-respect.
So since then I have asked myself:
* What fictions have I developed to allow me false control, to escape, or to maintain my self-respect in the face of poor habits?
* What fictions are causing me to yield and line up at attention while someone, or something, passes me by?
* What fictions keep me from seeing reality as clearly as I saw the fiction of a dangerous street for the large troop walk it truly was?
I’ve always thought I matured more in my six weeks at Lackland than I did on an LDS mission or in college, and once more my visit there left me with new personal growth.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Applause
“If you are a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration.” - Former U.S. Senator & Vice President Al Gore
(Speaking while on a Celebrity Panel in New York 09.24.2008
Reported in the Wall Street Journal, Editorial Page A24, 09.29.2008)
Reported in the Wall Street Journal, Editorial Page A24, 09.29.2008)
Al Gore lost the election of his life and did not get to spend the last eight years becoming the most unpopular man in the world. Instead, he retreated, gained a bunch of weight, and grew a squirrel on his face. Then after some time, he reappeared, lost that sad little beard and some weight, took up a Celebrity Cause and made a boring movie out of a speech.
For that he was awarded an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace Prize.
Aren’t people silly? Applaud them and they begin to believe all the hype. The FDA should add “Applause” to their list of Controlled Substances.
Al is another one of those “Silver-Spoon” kids who are currently running our nation into the ground. Jim Hightower’s humorous comment that George Bush was “born on third base [and he] thought he had hit a triple,” applies just as appropriately to Al.
So, what exactly has Al done to move from third-base to home plate since his crushing defeat? Well, it’s been huge! He’s jumped on a popular bandwagon. He learned how to use PowerPoint. He bought some impressive new suits. And he has talked. And talked. And talked. And, talked some more.
Some people listen to him. And why not? After all, he is Harvard educated, he has an “old money” name, he can afford handsome suits; and more importantly, he knows PowerPoint!
The point today, however, is not to comment on the state of the environment, or baseball, or PowerPoint. My point is not even related to extraordinary suits.
My point is that Al has allowed an overblown ego, brought on by fickle applause, to make public a thought he should have kept to himself. And with that silly thought expressed out loud he gave every extreme nut a license for eco-terrorism in the name of “civil disobedience.”
Talk about shouting “Fire” in a crowded theater. As loath as I am to think up new and profitable work for attorneys, Al also gave every victim of eco-terrorism a new deep pocket to sue.
The deep pocket? Why, Al, of course.
I’d imagine that right now a truly creative corporate counsel is trying to figure out how to sue Al for damages due to increased security costs based on those remarks.
Aren’t people “on” applause silly? Because of applause, Al doesn’t see the extreme and more dangerous audience when he utters whatever occurs to him. He just drones on …
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Salute
For four days last week I enjoyed a sort of “homecoming” at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. My son-in-law, Dan, graduated from Air Force Basic Military Training, and it was a rare honor and privilege to witness the events of his graduation.
The last time I stood on the Parade Grounds at Lackland was a bit more than twenty-seven years ago when I marched in a similar Graduation Parade. Since then there are minor differences in the uniform, big differences in the gender composition of the graduates, and even bigger differences in the welcome accorded the Graduating Airmen’s family members.
In 1981, at the end of my first full day of training, Staff Sergeant Berger, my Military Training Instructor (MTI), ordered us to write our parents and/or spouse and instruct them not to come to our graduation.
Those family members who attended were allowed to sit a few uncovered wooden bleachers, were not given much direction or cooperation, and were barely allowed to see anything but the Parade Grounds.
In today’s Air Force, the very same Reception Center where Dan checked in on Training Day One, is used as a Reception and briefing Center for the Airmen's Graduation Guests. Paperwork is sent to the family prior to arrival.
We enjoyed watching the “Flight Run” - an event where each of the Flights run by you in formation and step, loudly belting out their Flight Song.
The Airmen’s Coin Ceremony is a new wrinkle. It has become a favorite of the Airmen, is the true mark of Graduation, and is a solemn and meaningful experience.
At the Parade Grounds, we sat on decently kept bleachers under a canopy. There were speakers to ensure you didn't miss anything. And there was one addition to the Graduation Parade, barely noticed by most, but with deep meaning for me. I’m not sure I can find the words to describe what it meant to me, but I will try.
The Air Force has learned a bit more about public relations these days and they had public affairs types on hand to give explanations of the event, its history, meaning and the order of events. Buried in their instruction regarding our expected behavior for the passing of the American Flag during the “Pass-in-Review,” was the unexpected and much appreciated change.
“Military members on active duty and in uniform,” droned the Public Affairs Officer Type, “are expected to stand and render a hand salute.” He continued, “Military, Retired military and Prior Service members not in uniform should stand, and those who wish may render a hand salute or place their right hands over their left breast.”
I barely heard the the rest of the instructions.
You see, I did not retire from the service like my Father, Brother, Uncle, or Great Uncles. There is nothing to indicate I spent a decade of my life in the service of my country.
I understand. I don’t expect any different. That is just how it is.
Being able to render a salute to the Flag of this Country I love last Friday morning was the first real indication since I left the inactive Reserve in 1991 that I gave anything to my country at all.
In that brief moment as I reverently lifted my right hand to the corner of my eye, and as my eyes clouded, I was honored, humbled, and overwhelmed all at once.
I felt like a Veteran for the first time in my life.
Like my sons-in-law, Daniel and Jacob (Air Force E3 and E5), and my future son-in-law, Nathan (Navy E3), I love this Nation of Ours. I love its valiant Servicemen and women, and its courageous history and rich tradition.
And I especially love its sometimes selfish and greedy, often forgetful and ungrateful, and always fickle citizens, who built this great Nation under God. I was proud to serve them. And I’m damn proud of my sons-in-law who serve us today.
The last time I stood on the Parade Grounds at Lackland was a bit more than twenty-seven years ago when I marched in a similar Graduation Parade. Since then there are minor differences in the uniform, big differences in the gender composition of the graduates, and even bigger differences in the welcome accorded the Graduating Airmen’s family members.
In 1981, at the end of my first full day of training, Staff Sergeant Berger, my Military Training Instructor (MTI), ordered us to write our parents and/or spouse and instruct them not to come to our graduation.
Those family members who attended were allowed to sit a few uncovered wooden bleachers, were not given much direction or cooperation, and were barely allowed to see anything but the Parade Grounds.
In today’s Air Force, the very same Reception Center where Dan checked in on Training Day One, is used as a Reception and briefing Center for the Airmen's Graduation Guests. Paperwork is sent to the family prior to arrival.
We enjoyed watching the “Flight Run” - an event where each of the Flights run by you in formation and step, loudly belting out their Flight Song.
The Airmen’s Coin Ceremony is a new wrinkle. It has become a favorite of the Airmen, is the true mark of Graduation, and is a solemn and meaningful experience.
At the Parade Grounds, we sat on decently kept bleachers under a canopy. There were speakers to ensure you didn't miss anything. And there was one addition to the Graduation Parade, barely noticed by most, but with deep meaning for me. I’m not sure I can find the words to describe what it meant to me, but I will try.
The Air Force has learned a bit more about public relations these days and they had public affairs types on hand to give explanations of the event, its history, meaning and the order of events. Buried in their instruction regarding our expected behavior for the passing of the American Flag during the “Pass-in-Review,” was the unexpected and much appreciated change.
“Military members on active duty and in uniform,” droned the Public Affairs Officer Type, “are expected to stand and render a hand salute.” He continued, “Military, Retired military and Prior Service members not in uniform should stand, and those who wish may render a hand salute or place their right hands over their left breast.”
I barely heard the the rest of the instructions.
You see, I did not retire from the service like my Father, Brother, Uncle, or Great Uncles. There is nothing to indicate I spent a decade of my life in the service of my country.
I understand. I don’t expect any different. That is just how it is.
Being able to render a salute to the Flag of this Country I love last Friday morning was the first real indication since I left the inactive Reserve in 1991 that I gave anything to my country at all.
In that brief moment as I reverently lifted my right hand to the corner of my eye, and as my eyes clouded, I was honored, humbled, and overwhelmed all at once.
I felt like a Veteran for the first time in my life.
Like my sons-in-law, Daniel and Jacob (Air Force E3 and E5), and my future son-in-law, Nathan (Navy E3), I love this Nation of Ours. I love its valiant Servicemen and women, and its courageous history and rich tradition.
And I especially love its sometimes selfish and greedy, often forgetful and ungrateful, and always fickle citizens, who built this great Nation under God. I was proud to serve them. And I’m damn proud of my sons-in-law who serve us today.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Notes on a Friday
The Real Campaign Begins
How exhilarating! The Real Campaign, so long awaited, has finally begun and it is off to an electrifying start. Early in January we will crown the victor. And make no mistake; this campaign has all the hallmarks of a classic political battle: The Media is revved up, the trash-talk is flying, the outcome is anyone’s guess, and everyone is guessing!
Oh, I’m sorry – you thought I was talking about the race for the White House. No! The Real Campaign is the race for a College Football National Champion. USC is off to a good start, and they meet Ohio State this week in an early contest with lots of hype and misdirection. But before Trojan fans claim the crown in mid-September the very tough SEC will have a lot to say.
And before you think I am trivializing that other campaign, answer this: Other than Supreme Court nominees – what exactly does the president impact? Foreign policy? Tell Columbia. They think congress killed their free trade deal. The Budget? You kidding? Legislation? Get real.
Time to grow up America! The Legislative Branch is more accountable for what really impacts us than who-ever is President. Even the Supreme Court has more real power to permanently affect your daily life. WE all elect a president in order to pack that court with OUR judicial activists.
So - Skip the debates. It is a waste of your time. You already know what kind of judicial appointments both tickets are going to nominate. Check in on your favorite candidates in the Real Campaign instead.
Just don’t forget to vote for your emotional favorite in that other race November 4th. And know that after you get all worked up on Wednesday, November 5th there will be a game Thursday night to quell your worst fears.
More on the State of Airline Passenger Services
I heard those groans. Relax! The rant is moderated and very short today.
If you don’t read Tyler Brûlé’s Fast Lane column in the Financial Times Weekend Edition you are missing something special. I don’t know any one else in the world like Tyler and that is the point. His viewpoint is unique but relevant. He is a pleasure to read.
Tyler is the editor-in-chief of Monocle Magazine. Depending on when you read his column, you may think he is a Fashion Guy, but that doesn’t give him enough credit. The two-part piece he did about how to fix Britain was dead-on. This last Saturday, he covered his recent customer experience with British Airways.
I was reminded of the "anonymous" airline experience at the end of the hit movie, Meet the Parents. And while that scene may have been over the top, I’m quite sure I met that Gate Representative in Detroit two years ago!
A link to Tyler’s comments is attached here for your convenience:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e218e37a-7ad9-11dd-adbe-000077b07658.html
How exhilarating! The Real Campaign, so long awaited, has finally begun and it is off to an electrifying start. Early in January we will crown the victor. And make no mistake; this campaign has all the hallmarks of a classic political battle: The Media is revved up, the trash-talk is flying, the outcome is anyone’s guess, and everyone is guessing!
Oh, I’m sorry – you thought I was talking about the race for the White House. No! The Real Campaign is the race for a College Football National Champion. USC is off to a good start, and they meet Ohio State this week in an early contest with lots of hype and misdirection. But before Trojan fans claim the crown in mid-September the very tough SEC will have a lot to say.
And before you think I am trivializing that other campaign, answer this: Other than Supreme Court nominees – what exactly does the president impact? Foreign policy? Tell Columbia. They think congress killed their free trade deal. The Budget? You kidding? Legislation? Get real.
Time to grow up America! The Legislative Branch is more accountable for what really impacts us than who-ever is President. Even the Supreme Court has more real power to permanently affect your daily life. WE all elect a president in order to pack that court with OUR judicial activists.
So - Skip the debates. It is a waste of your time. You already know what kind of judicial appointments both tickets are going to nominate. Check in on your favorite candidates in the Real Campaign instead.
Just don’t forget to vote for your emotional favorite in that other race November 4th. And know that after you get all worked up on Wednesday, November 5th there will be a game Thursday night to quell your worst fears.
More on the State of Airline Passenger Services
I heard those groans. Relax! The rant is moderated and very short today.
If you don’t read Tyler Brûlé’s Fast Lane column in the Financial Times Weekend Edition you are missing something special. I don’t know any one else in the world like Tyler and that is the point. His viewpoint is unique but relevant. He is a pleasure to read.
Tyler is the editor-in-chief of Monocle Magazine. Depending on when you read his column, you may think he is a Fashion Guy, but that doesn’t give him enough credit. The two-part piece he did about how to fix Britain was dead-on. This last Saturday, he covered his recent customer experience with British Airways.
I was reminded of the "anonymous" airline experience at the end of the hit movie, Meet the Parents. And while that scene may have been over the top, I’m quite sure I met that Gate Representative in Detroit two years ago!
A link to Tyler’s comments is attached here for your convenience:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e218e37a-7ad9-11dd-adbe-000077b07658.html
Friday, September 5, 2008
And Speaking of Change ...
Candidates for the U.S. Presidency persistently assure us that they will make the best choices for America. To some degree we logically review their record to see if it matches their campaign promises.
The BIG Decision for any Presidential Candidate – the most clear indication of how involved the party or advisors will be, and the quality of their future decisions, is their choice of a running mate.
That is why many of us were surprised that Change chose an entrenched Washington insider. His choice was a Senator deeply-rooted in Washington Politics for more than thirty-years. We were equally shocked when Maverick chose a strong, conservative woman with no experience inside the Beltway.
Yes, yes, I know, Change had to address the perceived fears of the electorate that he is inexperienced. And Maverick had to do something to off-set the perception that he is Bush III.
For the record, the evidence says that we don’t generally make our purchase or voting choices logically.
I’m not sure we care if Change is inexperienced. We just don’t want him to be Jimmy Carter – so naïve about how Washington works that they eat him alive and we get four years of impassioned stagnation in the face of daunting national issues.
I am also quite sure that we don’t want four more years of the tone-deaf, slow-to-respond, single-focus Presidency we have experienced for the last eight years.
But right now it appears that Change and the Entrenched Insider have ceded the Change Position to Maverick and the New Face of Feminism.
It also appears that the deciding factor in this election may well be undecided women voters, and that there are more women voters in this category than ever before.
Maverick looks like he made a careful, creative and astute judgment while Change looks like he allowed the Party Apparatus to foist a “good-ole boy” on him.
What really matters is not what we think but how we - and especially the undecided voters, feel about the differences in the two tickets. Hopefully we can sort out our emotions and have a conclusive answer early in November.
The BIG Decision for any Presidential Candidate – the most clear indication of how involved the party or advisors will be, and the quality of their future decisions, is their choice of a running mate.
That is why many of us were surprised that Change chose an entrenched Washington insider. His choice was a Senator deeply-rooted in Washington Politics for more than thirty-years. We were equally shocked when Maverick chose a strong, conservative woman with no experience inside the Beltway.
Yes, yes, I know, Change had to address the perceived fears of the electorate that he is inexperienced. And Maverick had to do something to off-set the perception that he is Bush III.
For the record, the evidence says that we don’t generally make our purchase or voting choices logically.
I’m not sure we care if Change is inexperienced. We just don’t want him to be Jimmy Carter – so naïve about how Washington works that they eat him alive and we get four years of impassioned stagnation in the face of daunting national issues.
I am also quite sure that we don’t want four more years of the tone-deaf, slow-to-respond, single-focus Presidency we have experienced for the last eight years.
But right now it appears that Change and the Entrenched Insider have ceded the Change Position to Maverick and the New Face of Feminism.
It also appears that the deciding factor in this election may well be undecided women voters, and that there are more women voters in this category than ever before.
Maverick looks like he made a careful, creative and astute judgment while Change looks like he allowed the Party Apparatus to foist a “good-ole boy” on him.
What really matters is not what we think but how we - and especially the undecided voters, feel about the differences in the two tickets. Hopefully we can sort out our emotions and have a conclusive answer early in November.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A Summer of Change
You know, it has been a fascinating summer. It all started with the High School Graduation of my youngest daughter, Natalie.
By the time July arrived, summer was in full swing as Nicole was married. Losing Nicole wasn't easy. She is a bright, beautiful, and poised young woman. I've loved her since I first saw her and gave her that first bath and bottle.
But Dan is a wonderful young man with a great future ahead and I’m proud of him. He treats Nicole well, is serious and driven, but is still fun loving and affable, and is so obviously a gentleman. It is easy to see why Nicole adores him.
I suppose no wedding comes without some family drama and since Nicole and Dan spared us any, it was left to my oldest daughter to provide that for us. I wish she could figure out that she’s important and loved.
My son managed to provide the rest of the summer drama with several trips to the hospital. He has recently found his way to Gene Fullmer’s gym in South Jordan and has been boxing his way to sobriety.
After all of that, we bid farewell to Dan as he headed for Basic Training at Lackland AFB. Just before they were married, he joined the Utah Air Guard. After he completes Basic, he will be off to Fort Leonard Wood to learn to be a Readiness Specialist.
Life is full of irony. Growing up – an Air Force Officer’s Brat, I wanted to be a full-time Air Force Officer. As a young married man with two children, I enrolled at the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Utah when I started school there.
I was already an enlisted member of the Air Force serving in the Reserve – working first as a mechanic, then Technician, and finally Maintenance Manager and Instructor on the F4 and later F16 at Hill AFB.
My brother, currently a retired Air Force Pilot flying for Southwest Airlines, was already a student at the “U” and a member of the ROTC program. He went on to become the Cadet Commandant of the Wing, and to be offered membership in the Order of Daedalus. He was also the recipient of the President’s Cup.
Shortly after I enrolled at the “U” – my life went through traumatic changes and I made decisions regarding an Air Force career that would allow me to remain involved in the lives of my children. I also wanted to spare my children the miserable experiences that come from being a part of the airman that the Air Force does not want – his family!
As I grew older and we added the last two daughters, I came to enjoy and appreciate the value of a “home town” and roots. Career opportunities that would upset those roots for my children were avoided and refused. We even built a second home in the same neighborhood to maintain those roots!
But life is full of incongruities. My eldest daughter married a young man who wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. They had not been married long when Jake enlisted in the Air Force and has been serving ever since. He has had several tours of duty in Iraq and spent a year in both Afghanistan and South Korea. He has one of those high-testosterone jobs where he works with the Rangers and calls in air support.
Dan was the second to affiliate with the military.
Then Natalie started college. When your youngest starts college, you can't seriously tell people that you are prematurely gray!
But my summer of change was far from over. Natalie had been corresponding (mostly by cell phone – kids don’t write anymore – they phone or text!) with a young man she met at the Fitness Center she works at as a Life Guard. Roughly a year ago, he entered the Navy and has been in Pensacola ever since.
Well Nate came home on leave on his way to his new assignment in Washington, and low and behold, now there is a diamond on her youthful finger!
Nate is a cockpit and radar guy working on the new Navy Growler. It may be Navy, but it is still aircraft - I think I can live with that! I like Nate, he is bright, mature and charming, and has his future figured out. He is also funny and good-natured. Natalie seems settled and the way she misses him, it is obvious she is in this for keeps.
Like Jake and Dan – Nate comes from fine people with good roots. But - the fascinating summer is going to carry over into an action-packed fall and a life-altering winter.
I can’t help but wonder though - if I had been a career military man, would my daughters have married root-bound farmers?
By the time July arrived, summer was in full swing as Nicole was married. Losing Nicole wasn't easy. She is a bright, beautiful, and poised young woman. I've loved her since I first saw her and gave her that first bath and bottle.
But Dan is a wonderful young man with a great future ahead and I’m proud of him. He treats Nicole well, is serious and driven, but is still fun loving and affable, and is so obviously a gentleman. It is easy to see why Nicole adores him.
I suppose no wedding comes without some family drama and since Nicole and Dan spared us any, it was left to my oldest daughter to provide that for us. I wish she could figure out that she’s important and loved.
My son managed to provide the rest of the summer drama with several trips to the hospital. He has recently found his way to Gene Fullmer’s gym in South Jordan and has been boxing his way to sobriety.
After all of that, we bid farewell to Dan as he headed for Basic Training at Lackland AFB. Just before they were married, he joined the Utah Air Guard. After he completes Basic, he will be off to Fort Leonard Wood to learn to be a Readiness Specialist.
Life is full of irony. Growing up – an Air Force Officer’s Brat, I wanted to be a full-time Air Force Officer. As a young married man with two children, I enrolled at the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Utah when I started school there.
I was already an enlisted member of the Air Force serving in the Reserve – working first as a mechanic, then Technician, and finally Maintenance Manager and Instructor on the F4 and later F16 at Hill AFB.
My brother, currently a retired Air Force Pilot flying for Southwest Airlines, was already a student at the “U” and a member of the ROTC program. He went on to become the Cadet Commandant of the Wing, and to be offered membership in the Order of Daedalus. He was also the recipient of the President’s Cup.
Shortly after I enrolled at the “U” – my life went through traumatic changes and I made decisions regarding an Air Force career that would allow me to remain involved in the lives of my children. I also wanted to spare my children the miserable experiences that come from being a part of the airman that the Air Force does not want – his family!
As I grew older and we added the last two daughters, I came to enjoy and appreciate the value of a “home town” and roots. Career opportunities that would upset those roots for my children were avoided and refused. We even built a second home in the same neighborhood to maintain those roots!
But life is full of incongruities. My eldest daughter married a young man who wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. They had not been married long when Jake enlisted in the Air Force and has been serving ever since. He has had several tours of duty in Iraq and spent a year in both Afghanistan and South Korea. He has one of those high-testosterone jobs where he works with the Rangers and calls in air support.
Dan was the second to affiliate with the military.
Then Natalie started college. When your youngest starts college, you can't seriously tell people that you are prematurely gray!
But my summer of change was far from over. Natalie had been corresponding (mostly by cell phone – kids don’t write anymore – they phone or text!) with a young man she met at the Fitness Center she works at as a Life Guard. Roughly a year ago, he entered the Navy and has been in Pensacola ever since.
Well Nate came home on leave on his way to his new assignment in Washington, and low and behold, now there is a diamond on her youthful finger!
Nate is a cockpit and radar guy working on the new Navy Growler. It may be Navy, but it is still aircraft - I think I can live with that! I like Nate, he is bright, mature and charming, and has his future figured out. He is also funny and good-natured. Natalie seems settled and the way she misses him, it is obvious she is in this for keeps.
Like Jake and Dan – Nate comes from fine people with good roots. But - the fascinating summer is going to carry over into an action-packed fall and a life-altering winter.
I can’t help but wonder though - if I had been a career military man, would my daughters have married root-bound farmers?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Washington's Warning
On September 17, 1796, President George Washington gave his farewell address to the people of the United States upon completion of his second term as President of the United States.
That address included a warning about political factionalism which he saw developing and he urged Americans to unite for the good of the nation. Two political parties, the Federalists and Republicans, had developed in the early 1790s and factionalism, though in its infancy, was growing.
After this address, George Washington went home to his beloved Mount Vernon and died a little more than three-years later in December 1799.
Washington had seen the development of factionalism in his own cabinet, with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson playing a significant role in both the rise of divisions and the beginnings of the two political parties.
I’ve had some experiences recently that have led me to develop a theory about why the divisive nature of political factions would have worried President Washington and further, why his warnings fell on the deaf ears of the next two presidents of the United States.
Adams and Jefferson had been united in the creation of this hallowed Nation, but allowed ego and differences of opinions to sever them from one another when the new nation was still fledgling – struggling to even exist against huge odds. It appears to me that they were more concerned about the ascendancy of their own political ideas over unity. When their political ideas diverged, they fought one another tooth and nail.
Washington, in his farewell address urged, “The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those, which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.” (Washington’s Farewell Address, September 17, 1796, paragraphs 10-11.)
Washington prized unity and what he called the “concentrat[ion] of your affections.” Adams and Jefferson prized the “rightness” and ascendancy of their own opinions over unity.
What was the motive which drove Washington to prize this unity of Americans? I can never prove what I am about to say, but my recent experience leads me to postulate that it was Washington’s Masonic experience that drove his concern.
Since the day he stood in the Northeast corner of his brand new lodge as an Entered Apprentice, and at every meeting thereafter he had been taught and reminded that “harmony [is] the strength of all institutions ...”
Neither Adams nor Jefferson had this Masonic experience. I believe this was the key and critical difference in the focus, mindset and activities of these three patriots.
It has been this tenet of Masonry which has been most needful and powerful in my life. It is the one thing which has caused me to curb my tongue, withhold my judgment, control my “wit” and get a hold of my ego – well, at least more often than before! Despite my idealistic and Utopian leanings, this was truly a foreign thing to me.
Life in this world, as it is “red of tooth and claw” (Tennyson, Canto LVI, In Memoriam A.H.H.) does not lead one to soften words or hold the tongue. It does not reward kindness or harmony. It does not encourage us to set aside our prejudices or to tolerate differences. And often even the supposed best of human institutions, those predicated upon religious practices, do not lead men and women to unite with all humanity.
On the other hand, my Masonic profession does lead me to do those things that will build and maintain unity, harmony, and peace. As I have ruminated on the life and particularly this final address of this great man and first American, it has occurred to me that the Masonic precepts and tenets would have had a similar impact in the life of this great man.
How grateful I am that this tenet has affected me so deeply. It has made a tremendous difference in my life, even as imperfectly as I practice it. I wish to forever curb my ego and be perfect in this one thing. I wish too that I could effectively teach it to my now grown children who have seen my pre-Masonic example. They may well think that was a correct pattern.
Time has proved Washington to be correct in his assessments contained in his final address. As a Nation and a People we have done poorly at taking his advice. I am convinced that the unity of this nation is its salvation and we must get around to the business of unity soon or we may well lose what makes us great.
That address included a warning about political factionalism which he saw developing and he urged Americans to unite for the good of the nation. Two political parties, the Federalists and Republicans, had developed in the early 1790s and factionalism, though in its infancy, was growing.
After this address, George Washington went home to his beloved Mount Vernon and died a little more than three-years later in December 1799.
Washington had seen the development of factionalism in his own cabinet, with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson playing a significant role in both the rise of divisions and the beginnings of the two political parties.
I’ve had some experiences recently that have led me to develop a theory about why the divisive nature of political factions would have worried President Washington and further, why his warnings fell on the deaf ears of the next two presidents of the United States.
Adams and Jefferson had been united in the creation of this hallowed Nation, but allowed ego and differences of opinions to sever them from one another when the new nation was still fledgling – struggling to even exist against huge odds. It appears to me that they were more concerned about the ascendancy of their own political ideas over unity. When their political ideas diverged, they fought one another tooth and nail.
Washington, in his farewell address urged, “The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those, which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.” (Washington’s Farewell Address, September 17, 1796, paragraphs 10-11.)
Washington prized unity and what he called the “concentrat[ion] of your affections.” Adams and Jefferson prized the “rightness” and ascendancy of their own opinions over unity.
What was the motive which drove Washington to prize this unity of Americans? I can never prove what I am about to say, but my recent experience leads me to postulate that it was Washington’s Masonic experience that drove his concern.
Since the day he stood in the Northeast corner of his brand new lodge as an Entered Apprentice, and at every meeting thereafter he had been taught and reminded that “harmony [is] the strength of all institutions ...”
Neither Adams nor Jefferson had this Masonic experience. I believe this was the key and critical difference in the focus, mindset and activities of these three patriots.
It has been this tenet of Masonry which has been most needful and powerful in my life. It is the one thing which has caused me to curb my tongue, withhold my judgment, control my “wit” and get a hold of my ego – well, at least more often than before! Despite my idealistic and Utopian leanings, this was truly a foreign thing to me.
Life in this world, as it is “red of tooth and claw” (Tennyson, Canto LVI, In Memoriam A.H.H.) does not lead one to soften words or hold the tongue. It does not reward kindness or harmony. It does not encourage us to set aside our prejudices or to tolerate differences. And often even the supposed best of human institutions, those predicated upon religious practices, do not lead men and women to unite with all humanity.
On the other hand, my Masonic profession does lead me to do those things that will build and maintain unity, harmony, and peace. As I have ruminated on the life and particularly this final address of this great man and first American, it has occurred to me that the Masonic precepts and tenets would have had a similar impact in the life of this great man.
How grateful I am that this tenet has affected me so deeply. It has made a tremendous difference in my life, even as imperfectly as I practice it. I wish to forever curb my ego and be perfect in this one thing. I wish too that I could effectively teach it to my now grown children who have seen my pre-Masonic example. They may well think that was a correct pattern.
Time has proved Washington to be correct in his assessments contained in his final address. As a Nation and a People we have done poorly at taking his advice. I am convinced that the unity of this nation is its salvation and we must get around to the business of unity soon or we may well lose what makes us great.
Friday, August 22, 2008
An Open Letter to Herb Kelleher
Dear Herb,
I swear I was ready to stop ranting about airlines, air travel and customer experience, and go back to writing about the more mundane issues in my life. If you have read any of my previous posts, you know I was a boy who saw the magic of flight as a child and 911 killed all that for me.
I don’t want to become some kind of “air travel critic.” But Herb, Wednesday evening, I read an interview with you (the retired Chairman of Southwest Airlines) by Matthew Malone for Portfolio Magazine, and I find I cannot let some of your comments go by without an answer from a passenger.
You may wonder what qualifies me to write about commercial flying. I’m certainly not an industry insider or expert. I am not even, like my brother – a retired Air Force pilot now flying for Southwest Airlines.
I do have some aircraft credentials. I grew up an Air Force Brat, living on base with pilots and navigators all around (including at home.) I absorbed a lot of it. I can still see the silhouette of an aircraft in the sky and tell you what it is – just like my Dad, Uncle, brothers and sisters – but that is no indication I have any airline business sense.
I’d like to think that my experience as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist, Mechanic, Technician, Manager and Instructor for the U.S. Air Force and Reserve means I am not completely unfamiliar with aircraft and runways. My business and customer experience credentials (earned since then) are impeccable, but not airline related.
But to the more relevant point: I am a passenger! I have been an air traveler since my birth, logging many thousands of hours in the web seats of C-130s and the commercial (but not much more comfortable) seats. I’ve flown in pretty much every variety of commercial aircraft in the airline inventories for domestic and international flights over the last half decade.
Why one year I flew so often I was averaging more than two flights a week …
And that is the crux of the matter! I am not an insider or expert despite my Air Force experience. I am a very experienced passenger. And you and your experts don’t pay enough attention to the passenger and the passenger experience. And do you know how I know that? I know because if you did pay more attention it would be a better experience.
In my last post I described the current Senior Management of Airlines as moribund.
I may have been too kind.
Herb, please understand that I have been a big fan of yours. In the Portfolio interview, you were pretty much the maverick we have come to love and expect.
You managed to raise my ire when you said:
“If you stop to think about it, we’re really a little slice of salami in a governmental sandwich. The F.A.A. tells us what we can do with the airplane, right? You can’t push back from the gate, can’t taxi, can’t take off without the F.A.A. telling you. Our passengers on the ground are processed by the Transportation Security Administration. And guess who owns the airports. Government bodies.
That’s why we have so little control over our destiny. Don’t misunderstand me – all those things are needed. But it would be interesting if you said that all department stores are now going to have X-ray machines. You’re going to have to take your shoes off, your coat off, before you get into Macy’s. That might cut back patronage just a little bit.” (In for a Landing, by Matthew Malone, Portfolio Magazine, August 2008, page 93.)
You think this is unprecedented? You speak with marked impotence in the face of so much government intervention. Do you think shareholders pay you and others like you millions of dollars to whine and simply react (poorly) to the forces around you?
With this post, I am calling you and the rest of the Senior Airline executives out. You’ve abdicated your responsibility for the EXPERIENCE at YOUR GATE and on YOUR AIRCRAFT, and you use the government and 911 as the excuse!
Unfortunately for you, I know these conditions are not without precedent. I was 20-years old when I had the experience of going through not only a metal detector to enter Marks and Spencer (M&S) in Belfast, but also experienced numerous “pat down” searches – from the rough to the almost pleasant …
In 1977, the Provisional IRA and opposing paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland were blowing up or assassinating soldiers, the police and civilians up at a pretty good clip. This was real in-your-face terrorism. Everyone in Northern Ireland in the 70s knew what terrorism was because it touched them personally, and not just in terms of increased security.
All the shops and shopping were located in Town Centre, and were the targets of a variety of bombs – the most popular being the 500, 1000 or 2000 pound timed, gelignite, bomb in the boot (or trunk) of a car or truck parked in front of a business.
The town centre of most Northern Ireland towns and cities were barricaded off from outside traffic (think cement filled 55-gallon drums and steel pipe.) To enter and shop you had to pass through a security-checkpoint equipped with metal detectors supplemented by fairly intrusive (and sometimes quite rough) frisk searches performed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and/or the British Army. There were tables to search the bags you carried. What you could carry in changed almost daily.
Those businesses that felt especially vulnerable (those of English origin like M&S) added their own metal detectors and security, police or army personnel to repeat the process for added assurance.
And Herb, people still shopped. They didn’t slow a bit. Most people in Great Britain in 1977 had to shop for their “messages” daily. And more importantly the service didn’t become grim and foreboding because of the presence of the police, army, guns, fencing, barbed wire, and metal detectors. It actually became more like “white noise” (always present but rarely noticed.)
And lest you think that the military intrusion was limited to entry and airlines are somehow especially picked on, I could tell you several hours of stories about the sudden appearance of armed and shouting soldiers or police – waving weapons, clearing a shop, detaining, questioning and searching patrons, and making arrests on the spot while you shopped.
Despite these conditions, the experience in the store remained the responsibility of store management and personnel even if the experience to get into the store was less than ideal.
The clerks, rattled as they may have been from time to time, did not use the presence of armored vehicles on the streets and extraordinary security measures as an excuse to mistreat their customers.
I’d not probably have been so disgusted by your surprising comments had I not recently read an interesting blog by Seth Godin titled, “Bait and Switch.” Seth “feel(s) bad for the airline industry” because “they are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification.” Seth then goes on to describe a recent experience he had with Air Canada. He then he made this very important point:
“But the purpose of this rant isn't to hassle Air Canada. The purpose is to learn a key lesson from Disney: When there is both pain and pleasure associated with your service, work extremely hard to separate them by time and geography.
Disney charges a fortune for the theme park, but they do it a well before you get there, or at a booth far, far away from the rides. By the time you get to the rides, you're over it. The pain isn't associated with the fun part.” (Seth Godin’s Blog – July 24, 2008, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/07/bait-and-switch.html)
Seth is right on point (as usual.) Compare the experience of a Southwest Flight with Disney’s “Soaring over California.” It is now $94 for a one-day park hopper. Not cheap Herb. The lines at Soaring never abate. Not wonderful Herb. And yet, when you are inside it is pure magic and you can hardly wait to return to the lines and do it all over again. That is not how anyone I know feels about flying commercially. Even on your airline (and I think you do it better than most!)
There is no doubt that the government has done a stellar job messing up the commercial flying experience. The market forces acting upon the airlines have not been favorable for many years. But accountability for the experience at the Gate and inside the plane sits squarely in the lap of the airline management.
Airline CEOs have used the cost and regulation morass to excuse their lack of focus on the passenger and the passenger experience. And Herb, while you created a wonderful business model to attack cost and price concerns – no one has truly addressed the passenger experience model.
Inside that painted aluminum tube it is all pretty much the same, one carrier or another – other than logos and uniforms, and it has killed the magic of flight.
Like so many others I speak with, I fly ONLY when I have to fly and I hope to have one of those rare, acceptable experiences.
It is pretty sad when a set of customers hope for an acceptable experience and rarely get it. You ought to face up to that, accept accountability for what happens at Your Gates and in Your Aircraft, and then fix it. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve a few thoughts in my last post.
Make the regulators more like white noise. Stop pretending you are not in the "Experience Industry." Dazzle us! Frankly, it won’t take much – the bar is pretty low right now.
We know you can’t fix the economy. It looks like the TSA is here to stay. The F.A.A. will continue to be, well, the F.A.A. We may grumble, but we don’t hold you responsible for those things. We know they are outside your control. What we do hold you accountable for is the part of the experience in your control. And we hold you responsible for your visible reactions to the regulations.
When we walk down your fly-ways, let the magic begin! It is not like we are getting on a City Bus. It is, after all, flight …
Sincerely,
Lon Tibbitts
Experienced Passenger
I swear I was ready to stop ranting about airlines, air travel and customer experience, and go back to writing about the more mundane issues in my life. If you have read any of my previous posts, you know I was a boy who saw the magic of flight as a child and 911 killed all that for me.
I don’t want to become some kind of “air travel critic.” But Herb, Wednesday evening, I read an interview with you (the retired Chairman of Southwest Airlines) by Matthew Malone for Portfolio Magazine, and I find I cannot let some of your comments go by without an answer from a passenger.
You may wonder what qualifies me to write about commercial flying. I’m certainly not an industry insider or expert. I am not even, like my brother – a retired Air Force pilot now flying for Southwest Airlines.
I do have some aircraft credentials. I grew up an Air Force Brat, living on base with pilots and navigators all around (including at home.) I absorbed a lot of it. I can still see the silhouette of an aircraft in the sky and tell you what it is – just like my Dad, Uncle, brothers and sisters – but that is no indication I have any airline business sense.
I’d like to think that my experience as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist, Mechanic, Technician, Manager and Instructor for the U.S. Air Force and Reserve means I am not completely unfamiliar with aircraft and runways. My business and customer experience credentials (earned since then) are impeccable, but not airline related.
But to the more relevant point: I am a passenger! I have been an air traveler since my birth, logging many thousands of hours in the web seats of C-130s and the commercial (but not much more comfortable) seats. I’ve flown in pretty much every variety of commercial aircraft in the airline inventories for domestic and international flights over the last half decade.
Why one year I flew so often I was averaging more than two flights a week …
And that is the crux of the matter! I am not an insider or expert despite my Air Force experience. I am a very experienced passenger. And you and your experts don’t pay enough attention to the passenger and the passenger experience. And do you know how I know that? I know because if you did pay more attention it would be a better experience.
In my last post I described the current Senior Management of Airlines as moribund.
I may have been too kind.
Herb, please understand that I have been a big fan of yours. In the Portfolio interview, you were pretty much the maverick we have come to love and expect.
You managed to raise my ire when you said:
“If you stop to think about it, we’re really a little slice of salami in a governmental sandwich. The F.A.A. tells us what we can do with the airplane, right? You can’t push back from the gate, can’t taxi, can’t take off without the F.A.A. telling you. Our passengers on the ground are processed by the Transportation Security Administration. And guess who owns the airports. Government bodies.
That’s why we have so little control over our destiny. Don’t misunderstand me – all those things are needed. But it would be interesting if you said that all department stores are now going to have X-ray machines. You’re going to have to take your shoes off, your coat off, before you get into Macy’s. That might cut back patronage just a little bit.” (In for a Landing, by Matthew Malone, Portfolio Magazine, August 2008, page 93.)
You think this is unprecedented? You speak with marked impotence in the face of so much government intervention. Do you think shareholders pay you and others like you millions of dollars to whine and simply react (poorly) to the forces around you?
With this post, I am calling you and the rest of the Senior Airline executives out. You’ve abdicated your responsibility for the EXPERIENCE at YOUR GATE and on YOUR AIRCRAFT, and you use the government and 911 as the excuse!
Unfortunately for you, I know these conditions are not without precedent. I was 20-years old when I had the experience of going through not only a metal detector to enter Marks and Spencer (M&S) in Belfast, but also experienced numerous “pat down” searches – from the rough to the almost pleasant …
In 1977, the Provisional IRA and opposing paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland were blowing up or assassinating soldiers, the police and civilians up at a pretty good clip. This was real in-your-face terrorism. Everyone in Northern Ireland in the 70s knew what terrorism was because it touched them personally, and not just in terms of increased security.
All the shops and shopping were located in Town Centre, and were the targets of a variety of bombs – the most popular being the 500, 1000 or 2000 pound timed, gelignite, bomb in the boot (or trunk) of a car or truck parked in front of a business.
The town centre of most Northern Ireland towns and cities were barricaded off from outside traffic (think cement filled 55-gallon drums and steel pipe.) To enter and shop you had to pass through a security-checkpoint equipped with metal detectors supplemented by fairly intrusive (and sometimes quite rough) frisk searches performed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and/or the British Army. There were tables to search the bags you carried. What you could carry in changed almost daily.
Those businesses that felt especially vulnerable (those of English origin like M&S) added their own metal detectors and security, police or army personnel to repeat the process for added assurance.
And Herb, people still shopped. They didn’t slow a bit. Most people in Great Britain in 1977 had to shop for their “messages” daily. And more importantly the service didn’t become grim and foreboding because of the presence of the police, army, guns, fencing, barbed wire, and metal detectors. It actually became more like “white noise” (always present but rarely noticed.)
And lest you think that the military intrusion was limited to entry and airlines are somehow especially picked on, I could tell you several hours of stories about the sudden appearance of armed and shouting soldiers or police – waving weapons, clearing a shop, detaining, questioning and searching patrons, and making arrests on the spot while you shopped.
Despite these conditions, the experience in the store remained the responsibility of store management and personnel even if the experience to get into the store was less than ideal.
The clerks, rattled as they may have been from time to time, did not use the presence of armored vehicles on the streets and extraordinary security measures as an excuse to mistreat their customers.
I’d not probably have been so disgusted by your surprising comments had I not recently read an interesting blog by Seth Godin titled, “Bait and Switch.” Seth “feel(s) bad for the airline industry” because “they are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification.” Seth then goes on to describe a recent experience he had with Air Canada. He then he made this very important point:
“But the purpose of this rant isn't to hassle Air Canada. The purpose is to learn a key lesson from Disney: When there is both pain and pleasure associated with your service, work extremely hard to separate them by time and geography.
Disney charges a fortune for the theme park, but they do it a well before you get there, or at a booth far, far away from the rides. By the time you get to the rides, you're over it. The pain isn't associated with the fun part.” (Seth Godin’s Blog – July 24, 2008, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/07/bait-and-switch.html)
Seth is right on point (as usual.) Compare the experience of a Southwest Flight with Disney’s “Soaring over California.” It is now $94 for a one-day park hopper. Not cheap Herb. The lines at Soaring never abate. Not wonderful Herb. And yet, when you are inside it is pure magic and you can hardly wait to return to the lines and do it all over again. That is not how anyone I know feels about flying commercially. Even on your airline (and I think you do it better than most!)
There is no doubt that the government has done a stellar job messing up the commercial flying experience. The market forces acting upon the airlines have not been favorable for many years. But accountability for the experience at the Gate and inside the plane sits squarely in the lap of the airline management.
Airline CEOs have used the cost and regulation morass to excuse their lack of focus on the passenger and the passenger experience. And Herb, while you created a wonderful business model to attack cost and price concerns – no one has truly addressed the passenger experience model.
Inside that painted aluminum tube it is all pretty much the same, one carrier or another – other than logos and uniforms, and it has killed the magic of flight.
Like so many others I speak with, I fly ONLY when I have to fly and I hope to have one of those rare, acceptable experiences.
It is pretty sad when a set of customers hope for an acceptable experience and rarely get it. You ought to face up to that, accept accountability for what happens at Your Gates and in Your Aircraft, and then fix it. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve a few thoughts in my last post.
Make the regulators more like white noise. Stop pretending you are not in the "Experience Industry." Dazzle us! Frankly, it won’t take much – the bar is pretty low right now.
We know you can’t fix the economy. It looks like the TSA is here to stay. The F.A.A. will continue to be, well, the F.A.A. We may grumble, but we don’t hold you responsible for those things. We know they are outside your control. What we do hold you accountable for is the part of the experience in your control. And we hold you responsible for your visible reactions to the regulations.
When we walk down your fly-ways, let the magic begin! It is not like we are getting on a City Bus. It is, after all, flight …
Sincerely,
Lon Tibbitts
Experienced Passenger
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Some positive thoughts about flying
“The airlines are going back to their old playbooks.”
(The Middle Seat: Airlines Revive Minimum Stays On Cheap Fares,
(The Middle Seat: Airlines Revive Minimum Stays On Cheap Fares,
By Scott McCartney, Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008.)
Whenever I take pen (or keyboard) in hand to complain about things like flying, I realize that I risk sounding like some crabby, hard-to-please, Old guy. I’d like to think that nothing could be farther from the truth! (but my daughters would probably say I am really all those things!)
As I boarded the first of four flights to and from my destination of Manchester, Vermont on business last week, I was determined to try to re-connect with the joy of flying in pre-September 11 days.
I chose a “carrier” (as airlines now call themselves – pretty romantic name, huh!?) that I had a pretty good history with and avoided the three that have come to mean poor customer service in my mind (JetBlue, Northwest, Continental.)
In the current economic environment - and especially the need to control travel expense, I did not feel comfortable asking my employer to pay for a direct flight from Salt Lake to Albany. I have discovered that changing carriers pretty much ensures lost luggage, so I chose to fly both legs of two one-lay-over trips on the same airline.
I flew Southwest. It met all my requirements. And the price was not on the dreaded “out-of-policy” list for my employer. I noted right away that Southwest has instituted a new boarding procedure since the last time I flew with them – giving you both a boarding letter and now, a number too.
The addition of a number meant that you did not have to park in the A, B or C line from the moment you arrived at the gate and could remain in a seat, reading, eating or just people-watching until much closer to the actual board time. It has an added benefit for Southwest – their boarding gates no longer resemble a Greyhound Bus Station.
Southwest is the only airline which continues to turn a profit since JetBlue managed to find their way into the Red Zone last quarter. This is largely because they had the foresight to purchase fuel futures at a favorable price several years ago. This advantage won’t last forever, and based on what I experienced they are soon headed for the Red Zone with everyone else.
Southwest has a different, and much touted business model which includes many cost suppressing elements. And they are often held up as an employee and customer friendly organization.
If I am generous, they batted .500! Two of the four flight legs were miserable, one was acceptable and the other was truly good.
Why?
No one makes affordable seats for real people. They are too small for all but children and the anorexic. They just aren’t wide enough. After years of complaining, travelers less than 6’4” get the legroom they need (and everyone talks about legroom as if it were the Holy Grail) but how many jokes have you heard about the cart in the aisle taking off a shoulder as it zips on by? (I need detachable shoulders - even if I lose weight, these shoulders aren't getting any narrower!)
As an aside, I did have one very rare experience. I try to be cognizant of the approach of people coming up the aisle. I shift my shoulder just as they get close (without turning around - my one real talent!) I always miss at least one and get nailed. After being nailed by a very pleasant flight attendant (unusual these days) the flight attendant apologized. For me, that is a first. It was so rare as to be noticeable. It made that flight particularly good. In fact, she is probably why I said Southwest batted .500.
On the Baltimore to Albany leg, while I was hermetically sealed in that painted aluminum tube with wings and some motors bolted on, more intimate with the middle seat-mate than I ever wanted to be, I realized that for all the talk there is no truly revolutionary airline business model out there.
Do you know how you will recognize a revolutionary business model? The entrepreneur who crafts it will do revolutionary, customer-centric things.
First, they will buy commercial aircraft with no overhead bins and put everything you need to know or use (other than that silly little bathroom) in front of you on the television/computer screen on the back of the seat.
They will ban carry on luggage.
They will fill the plane from the back to the front.
They will know your preferences and group like passengers in like areas.
They will fix the lost luggage thing and give you your checked baggage as you deplane.
They will ensure you have the room you need to sit comfortably for 1 to 7 hours.
Do you know how you will recognize a revolutionary business model? The entrepreneur who crafts it will do revolutionary, customer-centric things.
First, they will buy commercial aircraft with no overhead bins and put everything you need to know or use (other than that silly little bathroom) in front of you on the television/computer screen on the back of the seat.
They will ban carry on luggage.
They will fill the plane from the back to the front.
They will know your preferences and group like passengers in like areas.
They will fix the lost luggage thing and give you your checked baggage as you deplane.
They will ensure you have the room you need to sit comfortably for 1 to 7 hours.
They will interrupt you only when they have to – leaving out the “on the left side of the aircraft you will see the Grand Canyon” or the “we’re twelfth in line for take off. Sorry – we’ll get there as soon as we can,” pilot-speak.
Frankly, if there is no in-flight emergency and we are going to be on-time, and I am comfortably reading my book, watching a show, or listening to music, why do I care what the current stacking number of my particular aircraft is? Did I insist on checking our aircraft registration number? Do I care what is on the tail? Do you think I care we are 12th?
Frankly, if there is no in-flight emergency and we are going to be on-time, and I am comfortably reading my book, watching a show, or listening to music, why do I care what the current stacking number of my particular aircraft is? Did I insist on checking our aircraft registration number? Do I care what is on the tail? Do you think I care we are 12th?
In the revolutionary business model - they will shut up and leave me comfortably alone, unless I need something and then they will be right there. (Not impossible - there are retail models that meet this demand.)
That revolutionary business model will know that I want lunch and charge me for it prior to the flight. They will allow me to change my mind, though, when I arrive in Baltimore late, and in my rush to the gate I can’t grab lunch and now in my starved condition I’m developing the beginnings of a headache.
That revolutionary business model will know that I want lunch and charge me for it prior to the flight. They will allow me to change my mind, though, when I arrive in Baltimore late, and in my rush to the gate I can’t grab lunch and now in my starved condition I’m developing the beginnings of a headache.
Shoot, they will know in advance that I like Sun Chips and a cold coke with minimal ice and won’t even have to ask me.
And since there are no more overhead bins, perhaps they will figure out how to get stuff to me without a cart in an aisle or an overworked flight attendant who has to act like – well, a steward or stewardess (since that whole “serve the customer” thing has now become a “herd the customer” thing.)
They will figure out how to let the guy in front of me sleep in a reclined position without cutting into my space – or jamming my knees when he suddenly flops the seat back. (This, of course, will keep me from tapping on the seat incessantly in order to annoy the reclined clod whose seat back is in my face.)
And why haven’t they done this already? Ah, come on, you know this answer. It is because those who determine how I will fly do not fly like I fly. They are out of touch.
In order to keep that revolutionary business model fresh, customer-centric and comfortable – they are going to need to fly their own flights just like an average Joe whose is trying to keep his, or his employer’s costs down. They won’t forget the customer focus groups. But they will also be a customer focus group of one. And when all their employees are customer focus groups of one, they will group them up and talk about what is happening to the customer experience.
And they will reward those customers who care enough to complain by listening to them, making changes and perhaps giving them an incentive to come back and see if you fixed it.
So there you have it. My positive thoughts about the future of air travel. Don’t hold your breath though, because those multi-million dollar CEOs are only worried about cutting costs and raising fares – they are going back to their old playbooks! There isn’t a creative thinker among the lot.
Those moribund CEOs and their equally short-sighted staffs continue to misunderstand that it isn’t just the discounters who are killing them. They are going back to their old playbooks and they are killing them.
Shoot, I told you three airlines I won’t ever fly again if I have a choice. It had nothing to do with fares. And low fares aren’t getting me back. It had everything to do with experience. Fix the experience. And fix it from inside that painted aluminum tube.
They will figure out how to let the guy in front of me sleep in a reclined position without cutting into my space – or jamming my knees when he suddenly flops the seat back. (This, of course, will keep me from tapping on the seat incessantly in order to annoy the reclined clod whose seat back is in my face.)
And why haven’t they done this already? Ah, come on, you know this answer. It is because those who determine how I will fly do not fly like I fly. They are out of touch.
In order to keep that revolutionary business model fresh, customer-centric and comfortable – they are going to need to fly their own flights just like an average Joe whose is trying to keep his, or his employer’s costs down. They won’t forget the customer focus groups. But they will also be a customer focus group of one. And when all their employees are customer focus groups of one, they will group them up and talk about what is happening to the customer experience.
And they will reward those customers who care enough to complain by listening to them, making changes and perhaps giving them an incentive to come back and see if you fixed it.
So there you have it. My positive thoughts about the future of air travel. Don’t hold your breath though, because those multi-million dollar CEOs are only worried about cutting costs and raising fares – they are going back to their old playbooks! There isn’t a creative thinker among the lot.
Those moribund CEOs and their equally short-sighted staffs continue to misunderstand that it isn’t just the discounters who are killing them. They are going back to their old playbooks and they are killing them.
Shoot, I told you three airlines I won’t ever fly again if I have a choice. It had nothing to do with fares. And low fares aren’t getting me back. It had everything to do with experience. Fix the experience. And fix it from inside that painted aluminum tube.
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