South Jordan Musings

2011-04-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

As I age I realize that writing down our daily or weekly experiences and reactions can be so much more valuable than simply to leave a record for our children or grandchildren. There are at least three more benefits. When we record the events, encounters or conflicts in our lives, we see them again and may reflect on how to avoid or improve them in the future; when studied in middle age we can recall the names of people long forgot; and when read in our senior years, we will enjoy them like any good book examined for the first time.

Impressive Leadership

2010-07-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening, we’d just started our Lodge Meeting in Magna, Utah when the Chaplain’s cell phone went off during one of the more sober parts of the Lodge opening ceremony. The ring was an “Island” Reggae beat – a catchy little tune – and the Chaplain hurried to retrieve and turn off the offending phone.

The Chaplain sits in the east of the Lodge room, in front of and to the left of the Worshipful Master facing the rest of the Lodge. To add to the solemn nature of the opening, the Master was joined by the Grand Master of Utah who is also a member of our Lodge, and he was standing almost directly behind the Chaplain.

I’ve seen many ways that “people in charge” deal with ringing cell phones and so have you. Often their methods include a disgusted glare, deep sighs, shakes of the head, anger, and almost always, words which embarrassing the cell phone owner. There is generally a lecture for the rest of the audience and a stern order to “turn off your cell phones.” Then, the meeting truly off to a bad start, it’s leader now in a foul mood not only because of the cell phone but also because they realize that they over-reacted, it seems as if a damp blanket has been thrown over all the participants.

When the Chaplain’s phone went off, human nature took over and we all looked to the Grand Master to see what would happen next. What we then saw was an impressive piece of leadership. Instead of bringing all his Masonic power to bear on the offending brother, the Grand Master spontaneously lifted both hands into the air with his index fingers pointed up as if they were drum sticks, rocked his hips in time to the reggae beat while drumming his fingers in the air – the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

We all chuckled a bit, and then we checked our own phones while our Chaplain turned his off and shoved it back into his suit pocket. The mood was not ruined, the Chaplain was only embarrassed by his phone, and the meeting went on without further interruption. By the time we started on our first order of business just minutes later the incident was forgotten.

Our Grand Master has a light touch. He is very effective. And one of the finest leaders I’ve had an opportunity to observe.

Progress Report

2010-06-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

After setting my big goal to put some passion back into my workout, I realized that instead of running to lose weight, I needed to lose weight to run better and faster. I logged more than 110 miles in April and May - lost eight pounds in May - and took a minute off my 800 meter time and found that I could sustain my top end speed for roughly a quarter mile. I'd have to say that April was a slow start but May was very positive.

Sharp Focus

2010-03-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.” -Daniel Burnham

Since setting that stretch goal just four days ago I’ve discovered – or rediscovered, that such a purpose sharply focuses my mind. My workouts are more structured, more intense, and when I feel like slowing down, I resist it rather than giving in with some inane justification.

Eating better no longer feels like a sacrifice.

Some have asked me why I felt the need to stretch toward a World Record, and frankly, I think I realized that I needed to have something big enough stir my blood and I was guided by the inspirational quote by the Chicago Architect referenced above.

But there was also more to it than that (isn’t there always?)

In High School I was well under 2:00 for the Half. A part of that inner dialogue I wrote about the other day included struggling with how to put my age into the equation and still discover new territory. Even when I reach my goal of 2:00:0, I’ll be unable to set a personal best unless I accept some kind of fiction.

So why not an age-appropriate World Record? There is no physical reason, and maybe I need to prove to myself that if anyone else can do it, that with the right dedication and work I can do it too.

2 minutes

2010-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

While completing a pretty fast half-mile split this morning I had an epiphany. Actually, it was a recurring epiphany, realizing once again that I need a competitive goal to give meaning to my workouts. The imprecise “better quality of life” objective just isn’t enough for me.

In the last decade, I’ve covered thousands of miles in search of better health. I was doing pretty well when Plantar Fasciitis sidelined me five years ago. A diagnosis of arthritis further slowed me down. My weight and waist ballooned.

And then a little more than two years ago I was trapped in the center seat between two other large men while we were stranded on the tarmac in Albany for more than an hour. On that flight I decided I had to do something.

It no longer mattered if there was pain. My knees, ankle and shoulder hurt whether or not I work out. If there was going to be pain anyway, I was determined a smaller me would endure it.

In the following twelve months I lost more than 40 lbs. and a little more than 8 inches around my waist.

Unfortunately, I gained too much of it back again. I’m still constantly fighting to maintain healthy cholesterol and blood pressure. I get terrible migraines. I’m better than I was, but still I’m bigger than I want to be. I still sleep with a C-PAP machine. I have to maintain two wardrobes: one for the thinner me, and the other for the chubbier me.

So this morning while I was approaching 9 mph, and despite “Fall Out Boy” singing in my ear buds, I was recounting my efforts over the last year. I wondered what I needed to do to make them more effective.

I pondered a recent gift from my employer: a Health Coach who determined that I miss too many meals, don’t consume enough vegetables, and that I overeat on days I miss breakfast. My inner dialogue was once again digesting that brilliant analysis when that chronic epiphany hit me.

A flurry of thoughts followed:
“All my workouts have been more meaningful since I began to track my one mile splits on Saturdays. I’ve been steadily shaving time off those splits every week this year."

"But I wasn’t built for the mile. I've never been better than mediocre at it.”

“As much as I wanted to be a World Class 400 meter man since High School, I was never any better than just a little faster than most.”

“Through the years, my coaches have always said that I was custom built for the 800 meter run. One even urged me to make it my only race other than the relays.”

“My half-mile times were more than just competitive even if I always looked for reasons to skip it. And Coach Scoggins said I “would always be good in the Quarter, but I could be amazingly fast in The Half.”

“My quarter splits are sluggish; my mile splits peter out at the end. But my half-mile splits are always very good. I have evidence that this is my race. Maybe it is time to stop ignoring the advice and evidence.”

“What are my other options? Train for Marathons? Half-Marathons. I'm not mentally prepared to run marathons. Those guys are masochists. And nuts too.”

“But 800 meters … I was built for The Half. I wonder what the World Record is for a 55-year old man.”

“That’s it! – I’ve let my age define me for too long, it is time for me to define my age. I’m going to do what must be done to run an age appropriate World Record in the 800. After all, I was built for it.”

That was it! Upon my return home, I looked it up. The World Record for an 800 meter run outdoors by a 55-year-old man is 2:03:7 and was run by Stan Immelman on January 12, 2001.

“If he can do it,” I thought, “so can I.”

Today I began a quest to beat that time. My goal is to run 800 meters in 02:00:0 before I turn Sixty. And why not, after all, according to experts I was built for it.

If you want to watch here, I’ll report on my progress. I know if you watch me it will make me so much better than I’d be if I kept it to myself. And for that I thank you!

State's Rights!?

2010-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

I never quite “got” the appeal of States Rights.

There are several embarrassing bills making their way through the Utah Legislature that are designed to “send a message to Washington” and assert our State Rights.

Our little experiment in democracy began with State's Rights, slavery and the disenfranchisement of women, and I’m of the opinion that you couldn’t have the last two without the first.

I am not a huge fan of any government but let’s face it, the worst government isn’t practiced in DC. The most awful government is practiced in our towns, cities, counties and states. It is made by part-time power-brokers who got 113 of their constituents to vote for them and garnered 97% of the vote.

State’s Rights advocates say they want to protect me from the Feds but who is going to protect me from them? Attend a School Board meeting, or a City Council Meeting, and you’ll see they are focused on the petty, the power and the money, not you and me.

The best evidence that municipal government isn’t working is traffic jams. They didn’t plan well or design correctly. They allowed unchecked growth because it meant more tax revenue.

Our schools are a local mess, beginning at that mean little local board with seats filled by your neighbors and going right on up to the State Board of Education.

If that isn’t enough to remind you that local isn’t always better, then talk to anyone in this state about renewing your Driver’s License … (admit it, you just shuddered, didn’t you!?)

We often hear about the evils of multi-level marketing but how about the evils of multi-level government? All those layers of government spend most of their time duplicating the efforts of other government entities, asserting their rights and grabbing power from one another.

For every layer there are taxes to be paid. Or transferred. You pay taxes on every layer and then the Feds give some of “their” money to States, Counties and Municipalities to do stuff, like maintain roads, provide education, pay Medicare claims or clean up the air and water.

The Feds also pay States to enforce stuff. That stuff is often the stuff States don’t want to implement but are willing to grumble and impose if it means enough money to balance their budgets.

All that means is that the State’s Right advocates who say they’d be willing to forego Federal money to have more power locally aren’t telling the whole story. Your taxes won’t get smaller and judging by the evidence, your government services will: A) Go away, B) Get worse, or C) Cost more.

Is that the message you want to send to Washington? If so, please reelect the clowns currently in the Utah State Legislature.

Delightful Daughters

2010-02-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

On Valentine’s Day my youngest daughter gave birth to Olivia Grace, the latest of my nine grandchildren. Livy is my eighth granddaughter. While Natalie was doing that “little thing” I was completing the novel Honolulu by Alan Brennert.

Honolulu is set in Hawaii in the first half of the 20th Century and tells the story of a Korean “Picture Bride” named Regret. Brennert characterizes the position of women in that place, culture and time as little more than the servants of men and mere receptacles for men’s pleasure and the birth of more men.

When I began reading his novel, I’d wondered if Brennert would be able to successfully navigate the perspective of the protagonist. Brennert is, after all, a 21st Century American male, of European descent, who did not grow up and does not live in The Islands. (For the same reasons, I’m not really capable of knowing how accurate he was.)

Brennert’s character development is satisfying. He delves successfully into the carefully controlled lives of his female Korean characters along with the differences in opportunity and justice in Turn of the 20th Century Hawaii based upon ethnicity and wealth. Brennert’s narrative added to my appreciation of the 21st Century Islands (a place I truly love.) My next visit to The Islands will be more colorful and rich because of the narrative.

I was born one year before the fictional end of Brennert’s book. Since then I've witnessed the formation of the Civil Rights Movement, observed the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and seen most of the intent of the Equal Rights Amendment become the Status Quo.

Like many men of my generation, I cannot imagine being disappointed at the birth of a daughter or granddaughter, let alone feeling that I’d been somehow less “blessed” than my friends with many sons. (This does not mean that my son, sons-in-law and grandson are chopped liver. I enjoy their company immensely.)

Yet, while we live in a time of unprecedented opportunity for women, there are still men I know who are disappointed at the birth of a daughter, balk at working for a woman, and far too many who view women as less capable than men. Those feelings are foreign to me. Even in the Enlightened Western World, we cannot yet say that we’ve “arrived” in the Promised Land of Equality.

I adore my daughters and enjoy every moment I spend with them. They have always given me such joy. They are so bright, so full of life, so very delightful. They often feel differently about the same “facts” than I do. This has caused me to look at things very differently. My daughters have been great companions. There are few things I enjoy more than talking with them or listening to them converse with one another (especially if they don’t know I am listening.)

My daughters, and their daughters, have been a great and wonderful gift in my life and I shall truly enjoy getting to know Olivia just as I have enjoyed the company and personalities of her mother, aunts and cousins. I can already tell she is going to bless my life.

While your wallet is open ...

2010-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

The tragic events in Haiti continue to attract our attention. I hope that all of you within the "sound" of my electronic voice will not forget the homeless and needy in your own communities while you give so generously to those across the sea. Their needs have not diminished and it has been particularly cold so far this year.

Brilliant Fun

2010-02-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Rarely have I been as amused by a book as much as I am with Zachary Mason's novel, The Lost Books of the Odyssey. It is brilliant fun. And the brilliance is in the substitute illusions Mason creates. Mason takes the alternate ending to a depth rarely seen.

My all-time favorite books are authored by men with only one name: Homer and Virgil. I know and love those time-worn epic tales of the lives of ancient Greeks and Trojans and the early Romans. I'm fluent with the poems and their characters, twists, and turns. I'm also very familiar with the various translations of each, with most of the explanations by classical experts as to this twist, that character, and even the philosophical and psychological examinations of the texts.

Mason's novel just makes those ancient tales all the more pleasurable. I think you'd enjoy it. The one drawback is that too many have not read even one translation of the original from front to back and would not recognize the unusual treatment Mason gives to many of the story elements. Too many get their Illiad from the movie Troy and their Odyssey not at all.

So if you haven't read Homer's original in any translation, start there first. And then pick up a copy of Zachary Mason's book. The short chapters stand on their own and will have you musing whimsically before you drop off to sleep. And maybe the grin will carry you through until the alarm clock savagely wakes you in the morning.

Plagues

2010-01-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

It seems these days that everyone I know has cancer! And while that is not quite true, what is true is that no less than six people I know have been diagnosed since the beginning of this year. That has led me to think once again about what it will take to eradicate this modern-day plague during my lifetime.

Despite living in a nation that decided to put a man on the moon and did it, I've little hope we'll actually get this done in the 20 to 40 years I have left. Why? Well there are lots of reasons, but mainly because my generation still largely runs this nation. That Moon Shot was my Father's generation - not mine.

My generation has been such complete failures at most anything that seemed important to us in the 60s or 70s. In fact, the only things we seem to be able to do with any real success is protest and boycott. Unfortunately, Cancer and other plagues are pretty well immune to marching protesters with pithy slogans and raised fists.

I've ruminated on the other issues my useless generation was so opposed to in our youth. For the record we have not wiped out the plagues of homelessness, poverty, political or religious intolerance, racism, greed, political crime, corporate misbehavior, tyrannical management, rampant incivility, or war either.

We've managed to make our environment even more akin to an un-flushed toilet (which may well be why we can't get cancer under control) despite being life-long ecologists (for my children, the ecologists of the 70s became the environmentalists of the 90s.) We also haven't been able reduce our dependence upon foreign oil despite living through the rationing of the early seventies.

The time for moralizing by my generation is past. We haven't the conviction to match our words. We can no longer blame our parents, grandparents or the Founding Fathers. We've had plenty of time, power and money to make a real difference.

We haven't raised our children to do any differently because they have seen the gap between our ideals and our behavior. And worse, we haven't left our grandchildren any money to fix any of these problems - let alone pay off our debts. We really did become everything we hated, protested and boycotted as college students.

In the time we have left to us, do you suppose that We the Boomers could put down our rhetorical signs, lower our voices and just go quietly to work on any one of these plagues? And for once in our life, do you think could we do it without worrying about the tax write-off or whether there will be a plaque with our name on it?

Comfort from ancient words

2010-01-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

There are few things that give me as much comfort as when the Worshipful Master of a Lodge calls the assembled Masons to order with the “ancient” words that are always used to set a meeting in motion.

On the second Friday of the month a new Worshipful Master, previously elected, recently installed, and now in his chair in the East of the Lodge for the first time, intoned those words as if he’d been doing this all his life. And thus began the first business meeting of the year.

Since the publication of Dan Brown’s latest book, much has been made and said of Masons and Masonry. Curiosity in Utah certainly rose when Channel 2 News did a piece on the connections between the Utah Fraternity and the predominant religion.

An Open House across the state saw thousands (more than 3,000 in the Salt Lake Mason Temple alone) brave the cold and a blowing snow storm not only to see the place where Masons meet, but also to talk with real, live Utah Masons.

To understand better, those interested visitors politely asked questions and those questions were not at all unfamiliar to the Masons who answered the queries. “I thought Mormons were barred from joining, can they?” and “What do I need to do to join?” were heard right along with such questions as, “I think my Grandfather was a Mason, how can I find out if he was?” and “What do you do in your meetings?”

And some of those folks, including Channel 2 News Anchor Mark Kobel, wanted to know why we joined: “What is the draw?” he asked several, and “What makes you stay?”

One of the many reasons I continue to faithfully attend is it is pretty reassuring to meet with my fraternal brothers in a familiar setting and hear those ancient words used to begin our meeting, no matter who may be “sitting in the East,” or whatever else is going on in the world.

That continuity from an earlier age, and the company of such good men are such simple things. But as I get older, they bring peace and contentment to my soul.

The Age of Women

2009-10-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

For the past decade I’ve been watching a trend. As a result of my observations, I’ve begun to call this time in America, “The Age of Women.”

In general, the women I see in the workplace and community are better educated and more relevant than the men of their age and background. They are focused on doing good things. They tend to have more gravitas and be harder working than their male peers.

And while there are still plenty of men who resent and mistreat women, and would deny them a chance to prove themselves, it is a time of unprecedented opportunity for women.

If you ask me it is not only well overdue but also just in time.

My daughters and granddaughters live in a time when they can do pretty much anything they want to do with their lives. They can be, as I told my daughters from the crib, the president of just about anything.

For the record: It’s not that I love Lee or Tino any less than I love Lyssha, Nicole, Natalie and Aria, Analiese, Ali, Ame, Viktoria, Rikelle or Angel. (Or Olivia – who will be here soon!) I’ve just always wanted them to have the same prospects for life, liberty and happiness as anyone else.

I’ve used the phrase, “The Age of Women” many times in the past month or so, and the reactions to my phrase have been fascinating. Women tend to agree, but some point out the barriers still to be overcome.

A sense of reality is important, but ladies, an understanding of how many barriers have been broken down already should give you the confidence to remove the roadblocks remaining.

The responses of men seem to be related to their age, education and maturity. Believe it or not, fairly well-educated, middle-aged men are mostly in agreement and very positive.

The peers of the well-educated thirty-something women, however, express skepticism and find excuses. “There are more scholarships for women,” they whine, “more programs, more help, etc.” Non-minority men, according to one, are the only people who have to raise themselves by their bootstraps.

Sorry boys, I’m just not buying it.

As long as there has been an America, men have always had more opportunity – and still do in many places! The women I see just out prepare and out work them. In the past, their preparation, work and skill has meant little.

Finally, there seems to be a sense of justice.

So boys, stop the complaining and go work as hard as your mothers, sisters, aunts and daughters are doing, and get something worthwhile done.

And ladies, you go out there and take hold of every opportunity you want. Continue to knock down every obstacle. Persist in doing what your critics have said you could not do.

I’m hoping that your increased influence and contribution will make this world we live in just a little bit better than it has been.

My conundrum for the ages

2009-07-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

I haven’t had a lot to say of late. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and there haven’t been a lot of fully-formed views breaking through the clouds just yet. So I have kept my pondering to myself.

Perhaps the blogosphere would be better off if I continued to keep my thinking to myself, full-formed or otherwise, but I figure you can tune out anytime you want and write here only what I feel driven to record.

It is with that in mind that I share today the impetus for my introspection. If it is in some way helpful to any of you, then know I am delighted to be of help. If not, by all means, feel free to change the channel.

2008 was a tough year, what with the weddings of two beautiful daughters, the global economy, my precious son’s struggles, losing about half my net worth, offending my eldest daughter, business re-organizations, and so, so much uncertainty.

But it was nothing in comparison to 2009!

I find myself right in the midst of what you may immediately dismiss as a mid-life crisis. Well, dismiss it as you may – if you are younger, you have it yet to face. And if you have already faced it, just keep that smug smile of knowing off your face while you read.

Let me set the stage.

I’m 52. I have served my country, my God, my church, and my community. I’ve raised my children, and they are who they are, I’m proud of them and love it when we spend time together (and miss them when we don't.)

I’ve worked for four Fortune 50 companies in a variety of positions high and low. I've also been in a few smaller firms. I’ve been blue-collar and white-collar. I’ve spent time as a leader, The leader, a manager, an analyst, paralegal, a salesman, a consultant, even a gas pump jockey, a carpenter and a forklift driver. I’m even an expert at a couple of things (mostly obscure and unimpressive.)

Come to think of it, there aren't many titles I haven’t held in one company or another (CIO comes to mind, along with CFO – titles I am not only unqualified for, but – really, never wanted to wear.) I’ve been on the boards of three companies, and five non-profits. I've lived in 34 addresses and "owned" the mortgages on three (each a bit better than the last.)

In financial terms I am not what you’d call wealthy, but I’m still well spoiled (even at half my 2007 worth!)

And yet there persists a sense that I haven’t done anything! I think it is because, despite leaving some of my DNA around in four clever and good looking children and eight gorgeous grandchildren, I haven’t BUILT anything enduring.

Nothing but those pieces of my DNA will last beyond the day my remains are dropped into a grave (or more likely, burned to ash and scattered in the surf at one of the Hawaiian Islands… and if so, please, make it Kona!)

The biologists out there are right now attributing that to the drive we all have to be immortal and to leave something of ourselves in the world. Well, I have given that lots of consideration and find that simple explanation is terribly incomplete.

True, I may yearn to write a Homeric tale for the ages, or leave a building on the campus of the University of Maryland with my family name etched in granite. But honestly, none of that lasts all that much longer than my remains. Much as we may all be endowed with some of the motive of Achilles, desiring to be remembered through all the ages, my unrest is more than simply hoping I’ll be remembered.

I’d rather build something lasting and be forgotten than do something famous but inconsequential and be a household name for a millennium or two.

I’d love to build a small but worthwhile endeavor that I could hand off to one of more of my children or grandchildren with a similar vision and watch from the Eternities as they make it something a little bigger and better and pass it on to one of theirs.

That is what has occupied my mind of late. I don’t seek to save the world, stop world hunger, cure cancer, or conquer the world and be the next Caesar. (I would, however, like to help with some of those things.)

I just want to build and leave something that can be built upon by some of mine.

Now if I can just find THAT thing, I’ll be just fine. But I have to hurry, because I realistically have anywhere from one more day to thirty-five or so more years to get something done!

Give Me Hector

2009-07-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

Give me Trojan Hector over the Argive Achilles
any day, I muse, unconsciously out loud.
She chuckles and responds, You are a strange man
preferring one work of fiction above another.

Oh my daughter, on the momentous day brave Hector
met mighty Achilles on the Plains of Troy,
these ancient mortal gods stood not merely as warriors,
but as the foundation of our modern world.

Still strange, quite peculiar! she announces with finality.
But why not Achilles, the famed and mighty victor?
Hector, the obvious lesser of the two in single combat
was felled by mighty Achilles and then debased.

Mystically protected from death by his immortal Mother,
from all but the missile launched ingloriously
by a cowardly, fortunate and unwitting foe, I argue.
Twice armored Achilles was simply better shielded.

As they traded powerful blows, Hector held fast despite
divining his death and dividing his strength.
Bringing supreme might to bear against the rising fear,
he conquered self, though before Achilles he fell.

Mighty Achilles, arrogant, narcissistic son of gods,
arrayed in a near perfect Olympian shield to
remedy any breach of helmet, breastplate or greaves,
faced Hector, and he clad only in his Ilium bronze.

Blind to the bolt that pierced his well-known tendon,
Achilles never bred any courage of mortal fear.
So superior on the field of battle, still Achilles lacked
the virtue of the vanquished Ilium commander.

Keep the beauty of Achilles, the armor fashioned by gods
from favor and the ambition for everlasting legend.
Give me the valiant essence of Hector for any endeavor
requiring a soul most daring, dutiful, and true.

Mickey

2009-06-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

One of the best things I ever did was join Wasatch Lodge No. 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a Mason, I’ve had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best men in the state. One of those men is the current “President” of our Lodge - that is, the senior officer, called the Worshipful Master (it’s old English - it means something more like “Honorable Master” of the Lodge.)

On Tuesday, we initiated three candidates at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple. During one of the breaks in the Initiation Ceremony, I visited with our Worshipful Master. While we spoke, I noticed and admiring his beautiful (and very expensive) Mickey Mouse Watch. I’m such a sucker for a well-built watch, a fine pen or a leather bound book. And I am a huge fan of Mickey.

Mickey is a symbol of one of the most innovative men who ever walked this earth. It is a symbol of the kind of experience every customer ought to have every time. Mickey also reminds me of one of my favorite vacation destinations.

Our Master, Leon, is a well-respected local attorney, having argued several cases before the Utah Supreme Court. While I admired his “everyday” Mickey Watch, and proudly showed him my Limited Edition Citizen Eco-drive, he told me he had an Eco-drive with a Gold Mickey in the Twelve position.

Leon then told me that years ago, he’d represented the prestigious president of a large local corporation before the Utah Tax Commission. In his office and just before the hearing, the president handed Leon a very nice, conservative watch and told him to change his watch because his Mickey Mouse watch looked, well, Mickey Mouse.

Now Leon is a bit of a maverick. He knows who he is and he just doesn’t compromise. It is one of the many endearing qualities that most people like about him. He is authentic. You get it straight from him, but he is also exceptionally kind, so tough things are delivered straight and compassionately.

An angry Leon told the Overblown Ego that he had two choices, head over to the hearing with his pretty watch in hand, and represent himself; or they - and Mickey - could go on over together. The president pushed him - was this his “lucky piece?” “If you have to think it is my lucky piece,” Leon replies,” then it is.”

So Leon wins big! Later he gets one of those nice “thank you” notes that also included a termination of his services to the corporation. Leon is a good and ethical attorney. He shared the story but not no more detail than I just did. I don’t know who the man was, the particulars of the case, dates, or the name of the corporation. But the story was instructive.

Any man that would hire an attorney to handle a sensitive and potentially expensive matter based on his expertise and reputation and offend him trying to change his image isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He was powerful and obviously understands power. And he understands and wields a good bit of influence. But he’s not real bright despite his power, influence, and career success. Why?

Well, if you are worried about the image and potential success of an attorney, you don’t retain him.

If you do hire him, you don’t offend him just before you need him to be at his absolute best for you.

And, if a genuine courtroom brawler beats the opposition “big” then you don’t fire him because he wouldn’t take Mickey off his wrist because you insisted. You keep him around for the next issue.

Lastly, if he couldn’t understand Mickey is a symbol of innovation, excellence, and great experiences, he probably doesn’t understand enough to treat employees well - especially those who deal with his customers. And he isn’t creative enough to solve unusual problems or cases he didn’t study in B-school.

Mickey says something about an attorney, a product manager, film-maker, or customer service representative. That well-dressed, powerful, and influential stuffed shirt didn’t get it. Do you?

Technical Fouls

2009-06-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

The three topics guaranteed to build animosity are Religion, Sports and Politics. While I write often about politics, public policy and community affairs, I just won’t write about religion here (though I do so in my own personal notebooks.)

Sports are a different matter. I’m a die-hard USC fan despite not being good enough to earn a scholarship to go there (either for my running or my grades.) I used to support the Rams, until the Devil (her first name was Georgia) took them to St. Louis. And despite a short malaise after Shaq left LA, there just hasn’t been anyone but the Lakers ever since Wilt, Happy Hairston, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor were stars.

And yes, I AM enjoying the NBA Finals.

But, I am not enjoying them as much as you might think. Why? The Referees, that’s why. As I get older, more experienced, more socially aware, I recognize in them all the traits of petty tyrants.

It is not so much that they don’t call everything on the other team and leave my perfect Lakers alone. It is that they are ruining the game with their inconsistency and unwillingness to reverse even the worst of calls. The League’s efforts to police them are ineffective and impotent.

The quickest way to help them mend their ways is a form of instant replay that becomes an avenue of appeal to their most egregious acts. What I want to say today, however, has nothing to do with Instant Replay.

I’d like to make what will be a largely unheard appeal that the league take away one of the last vestiges of the plantation. Please get rid of those awful and inhuman technical fouls given for arguing a call or for passionate outbursts on the court.

We all agree that the best players bring passion to the game. We also all agree that there are bad calls and there needs to be some way to appeal them.

The inconsistent application of “Tees” for arguing, celebration or taunting always makes it a joke when they are called.

In the Eastern Finals I saw a home team player repeatedly pound his chest after a game changing play without a call, while in another game a visiting team player was “Teed” up for a fist pump over a similar play. Different refs! Different players! Different towns! All wrong.

Some players can argue a foul without a Tee while others simply look disgusted and draw one. And God help you if you are perceived as a “Bad Boy.” You’re getting one every time you open your mouth.

Fans love the passion. And we live with the injustice of silly calls because the game still adds something to our life. But “Teeing” up a player because he had the audacity to question a call you just made is like allowing me to fine everyone – including customers - who disagree with my opinion or decision because I have some authority at work.

We think it is tyranny in a home, business or government, but somehow it is okay in a courtroom or on a basketball court. It is inhuman because it asks players to become robots. And it just reminds us of our basic training sergeant or the plantation overlords who wouldn’t allow any questioning of their authority or expressions of emotion.

And just in case you think that I think or am calling for an allowance of fighting or hurting referees, fans, players or coaches – I AM NOT. But the power to change a game needs to have some checks and balances and in the NBA, there are none.

Power is corrosive. And if it is unchecked, power always turns into tyranny. Just look at any NBA game between any two teams and you will see what I am talking about.

So, Commissioner, let’s get rid of this silly left-over from pre-Civil War times and allow some passion and humanity on the court. Believe me, you'll have a better "product."

With apologies - more on service

2009-06-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

At one of my favorite book sellers, I recently heard an employee on the floor saying, “I’m sorry,” over and over again to the same customer. No action was taken to remedy the wrong. The employee was just very sorry.

Suddenly it hit me, I’ve been in several retail outlets recently and heard that phrase from tellers, cashiers, floor personnel, sales people and managers over and over.

I’ve looked on-line to see if I missed some new tip or trick from an overpaid Customer Service Guru, but it appears that it is happening quite spontaneously.

If you have to apologize multiple times to most or every customer, something is very wrong with your retail operation.

What most retailers call Service is nothing more than common courtesy – being a human being. Service has to do with quality in all its forms, and courtesy is only the tail end of that process.

If you don’t do your job right, or the systems make you hard to do business with, or policies are written to stop the crooks and just anger your honest customers all the courtesy in the world won’t save that customer from a good competitor.

It dates me to tell you, but I remember “Love Story” by Erich Segal (the book and the movie!) I thought it was sappy and stupid to think that “Love means not ever having to say you’re sorry.” Just show me one perfect person or relationship! But it is plain to the mature Lon that this is an ideal, perhaps impossible for a human to attain, but certainly worth the effort.

Maybe it is too much to say that Service Excellence means you never need apologize to your customer, but it ought to at least be harder to say it. “I’m sorry” ought to accompany some action to fix the problem or some extra to ease the sting.

If you need to apologize to a customer, by all means do so, quickly, sincerely, and then make it right or add something extra. But if you have to apologize too often, or to too many customers, something else is wrong and should be fixed, quickly, and permanently.

Otherwise, “I’m sorry” means absolutely nothing.

La Caille and the Secret of Life

2009-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

La Caille is “contemporary French cuisine in a 17th century chateau on an idyllic 22 acre estate complete with vineyard, fountains, peacocks and swans,” [1] nestled in a beautiful and peaceful setting at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is one of those places you go for very special occasions or celebrations.

During a recent meeting the owner, Steve Runolfson described himself as a “gentleman farmer who works at night in the kitchen.” I can assure you he is much more. For starters, he is one of the few people who understand how to consistently deliver “Old World Service.”

The purpose of the meeting with Steve was planning for the upcoming Celebration of Learning with the five of us who compose the Finance Committee of the Scottish Rite Learning Centers. Steve taught us how to make this gala event a huge success.

During the meeting, we were very surprised at just how willing Steve was to add extra value to every part of the planning and execution - every touch-point- and not just the event. He was offering so much more than just a beautiful environment, great food and drink. He showed over and over that he is a generous and community-minded man.

Close to the end of the meeting, Bob Shupe, probably the most generous man I know expressed to Steve our surprise and gratitude. It was here that Steve shared with us a very memorable thought. While he held up his right hand, holding his thumb and forefinger roughly an inch apart, Steve told us, “I’ve learned the secret of life. It is to give just this much more than you take.”

I later shared this thought with my son, and he replied, “Karma.” I corrected him. That is not Karma. In popular usage, Karma has come to mean what you give comes back to you, or “what comes around goes around.” Karma is really “the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation.” [2]

Steve was not talking about Karma. He was not talking about future incarnations of life. Steve was talking about this life and specifically, he was talking about the secret of a happy and fulfilled life.

This reminded me of a similar thought expressed by Emanuel Swedenborg, the 17th Century Swedish Christian Mystic. Swedenborg taught, “Real joy, which comes from loving to do good things without wanting to be repaid, is the reward that lasts forever.”

Steve’s thinking is very different from the usual negotiation where the parties vie for supremacy, trying to wring every ounce of value for the minimum return, and leave nothing on the table for the other party. It is the complete antithesis of Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is Good,” mantra.

Steve’s a man who has been wildly successful at his business for more than four decades, and he puts a lot more value than he has to on the table! I believe this philosophy has brought Steve his long-term success. And I suspect he has more than his share of joy.

[1] LaCaille.com
[2] Wordnet, Princeton.edu

"It's the Experience, Idiot!"

2009-06-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

In March, the brilliant and talented CEO of Granite Federal Union appeared before the Board of Directors and asked us to find a new CEO. In February, it was discovered that the “cold” he’d had since last summer was in reality an aggressive form of cancer in stage four. His doctors told him he had roughly nine painful months of life left.

While he dealt with first radiation and then chemotherapy, we began a rather longish search for a replacement. Tuesday, we came to the end of our search. But this blog post is not a tribute to the outgoing CEO or crowing about what a good find we have with the incoming CEO.

This post is about something that was reinforced (or re-discovered) while we looked for a new CEO. That something is the myth of the credit union “service advantage.”

We (you and me) hear it all the time. Credit Unions are better than banks not because the customer is a member of a Co-Op, or because the fees are much lower, but because they are community-based, and the service is “down-home” and makes you feel special.

Banks are big, bad, and treat you like an idiot.

Unfortunately, none of that is particularly true anymore. And even more unfortunately, because it is generally believed, no one pays any attention to it.

That lack of focus is the problem.

I remember well my first brush with Credit Unions. I was 16. I was finally making enough money from my paper route and mowing lawns that I needed a place to save it. Growing up, I almost always lived on an Air Force base, and since Dad was assigned to a Fighter Wing, and fighters tend to be very noisy jets, we always lived away from “civilization.”

That meant that the only stores, banks, theaters, sports and recreation close were on base and quite limited. There were two viable banking choices for me: Bank of America and Keesler Federal Credit Union.

My Mom took me into Bank of America. There we sat for waaaaay to long while the new accounts lady and one of the managers dealt with a “pain-in-the-ass” Lt. Colonel (never met one that wasn’t!) Finally, my Mom decided we’d waited long enough, and we went next door to Keesler.

The folks at Keesler didn’t really note my longish hair; my lack of an officer’s uniform and rank, or even that I was with my Mother. They just took care of me as if I were actually important to them.

I’d like to say that I never went back to a bank because the credit union experience was so good, but that isn’t true. After moving to Utah, there was no Keesler FCU. There was, however, a bank that appeared to be “The Bank” for Mormons – after all, the Statue of Brigham Young in downtown Salt Lake had his left hand out as if to say, “This is the Place.” I fell for that and opened an account there. After less than a year of poor experiences, I left for another and more, poor experiences.

Eventually, I found Granite CU. And it was such a difference from my banking experiences. They didn’t yet have checks – they were called Share Drafts in those days, but they did it all quite well for me. I’ve been a fan of the CU Movement since then too, having learned my lesson.

But over the years, Credit Unions have really become banks. They are getting bigger and they’ve lost track of what made them great. But it is not just “big” that has caused that loss of focus. Our lost direction has come because we have heard the hype for so long, decided it must be true, and we no longer think we need to do anything to support the propaganda.

There is so much more to good service than being able to greet 20 customers by name. In fact, if you think good service is in the teller line, at the new accounts desk, or in the manager’s office, you haven’t a clue. What happens there is simply common courtesy.

Good or Great Service is about the Total Experience. It is about Quality. Total Quality. Courtesy is simply the tip of the iceberg. It is the continuation of the total quality of the organization. Or not.

If the “back-office” people, processes and systems that support the transactions and services aren’t of a pretty high quality, then smiling, calling me by name, and asking about my kids won’t help. In fact, if those people, systems and process produce poor quality, it is going to be next to impossible to keep that genuine smile on the teller’s face for very long!

Credit Union management, volunteers and employees need to get out a bit, shop the competition, set up an account somewhere else, and compare the total experience. The gaps will be apparent. Only then, can we come together to bring that mythic service back to the CU experience.

If not … well, we’re just smaller, “down-home-friendly," Bad Banks!

Better is Good Enough!

2009-06-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

My friend and colleague, Christa, is a tireless contributor and a creative product manager. Like me, everyday she faces dozens who tell her why "it" cannot be done. Like me, she also gets the impossible done every day.

The "Resistance to the Different and New" can drag all of us down from time to time. I'm no exception, and neither is Christa or any of my other colleagues in Product Development and Management.

Since we are often quite alone and completely outnumbered in our fight against product "me too-ism," poor customer experience and process mediocrity, all of us work to keep the spirits of our fellow "Product Transformation Artists" up. The other day, it just happened to be my turn to assist. Christa (who is also a prolific and talented writer!) posted one of my comments from our email exchange on her blog along with her own insightful thoughts about incremental improvement.

Her blog post is worth reading (and not just because I am quoted.) Frankly, I read what she has to say quite often, and you ought to too.

A link to her blog post is right here: http://tinyurl.com/o6ogac

Tricks and Gimmicks

2009-05-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I do when I walk in the house is check the Caller ID and then listen to any phone messages. There are always two or three out-of-state numbers on the Caller ID. They are most always solicitation calls and an unwelcome sight, because I’ve registered and re-registered with The National Do-Not Call Registry.

Of late, most of these are “Debt Assistance” calls. It seems that the economic crisis has multipled the number of people in this growing and (I assume) lucrative field. Perhaps the majority of these calls come from businesses too new or too small to be aware of the ramifications of calls to registered homes.

When they leave a message, most of them are people and not automated messaging (another indicator this is a new business model.) They all have a hook. The other night, the polite, attractive, female voice said she was calling back because “we have spoken before.” Now, I checked, and we most certainly have not.

On the same evening I took a check-style letter (i.e. perforated on three sides) out of the mailbox. It had all kinds of official-looking warnings about the Federal Codes I would be violating if I tampered with the envelope. I predicted, correctly, that it was an extended warranty offer and not a check. All that other stuff was “marketing” to get me to at least open it before I tore it in small pieces and deposited it in the recycle bin.

What both of these tactics have in common is that they are tricks or gimmicks to get your attention.

I appreciate good advertising (so tell me, why are beer commercials always the best?), openly and sarcastically mock bad ads (and yes, Burger King does need to fire their agency!), and admire clever marketing tactics and a well-turned phrase.

But no one likes to be tricked.

So even if these folks had great offers I couldn’t tell you because I won’t do business if the person selling me feels "slimy.” And when they use a trick to get my attention they just come off like that weasel that slams the basketball off your shins while going out of bounds. It’s legal (even if it is true that it is assault anywhere except a basketball court) but it is just a trick and not a skill.

I never mind being beat by a better basketball player, having my attention turned by a clever merchandising piece, or seeing my objections overcome by a skillful and persuasive sales person. I do mind when I lose a game on a gimmick, or waste my time with a marketing trick.

And so do you.

If you have a proposition with true value, don’t hide it under a gimmick unless you just want idiots to buy from you. And if that is okay with you, then don’t contact me. I don’t want to be included in that demographic.

And neither do you.

May Our Remembrance Become Our Renewal – Part 5

2009-05-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

[1] AASR, 6th Degree Ritual

May Our Remembrance Become Our Renewal – Part 4

2009-05-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Remarks made at the annual Celebration of Remembrance & Renewal of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Utah, James Lowe Chapter Rose Croix in the Valley of Salt Lake on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

There are four practices that will allow us to turn remembrance into renewal more often. Third: In every life there is some virtue, that is: something wise, strong, or beautiful; and we have to find it, and let it inspire us.

It is easy to learn from the lives of the great or famous, but there is something notable in every life. We often miss remarkable lessons in the life of lowly, or those with whom we have differences.

As Robertson Davies has wisely noted, “Few people can see genius in someone who has offended them.”

We can even learn from people who lived long ago and we do not know.

Few people I know love to spend time wandering in Cemeteries as much as I do. I’m not drawn by any maudlin or morbid motive. I go to ponder and draw strength.

You can’t always learn a lot from a headstone – just a few particulars - but you can often learn a great deal from a series of headstones or memorials.

On one trip into Central Utah, I opened a flimsy wooden gate and entered a dilapidated cemetery that is the only hint that the town of Manassah even existed. The water-table is too high to support much other than wetlands, and the untended graves were sinking out of sight nearly 20-years ago when I visited.

There among the pioneer graves was a row that included the final resting places of a Scandinavian immigrant and his wife, marked only by small, humble rock headstones roughly 8x10 inches.

Next to this woman, one after another, were the graves of eight children born to the couple. Each had died shortly after birth!

I paused and ached as I felt the pain and suffering that both parents must have experienced after each birth, short life and early death. But had this been all, it would not have inspired me as it did.

In other parts of this neglected Cemetery, I easily recognized four other children of this afflicted couple. Three had married and had children of their own. One more had died as a young man fighting in the Utah Indian War.

Their strength and perseverance inspired me to weather my own personal trial, to be more stoic in the face of my own buffetings. I resolved right there not to suffer so pathetically and to exercise greater strength and persistence.

When we look at the lives of others, it is the good that inspires us. The sun rises again each morning, heralding a new day of promise and opportunity, but few find new growth in the bright sunshine unless they feel the warmth of enlightenment.

There are four practices that will allow us to turn remembrance into renewal more often. Tomorrow, the Fourth of these practices: The beneficiaries of any rebirth must be the living, especially those living most closely around us.

May Our Remembrance Become Our Renewal – Part 3

2009-05-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

May Our Remembrance Become Our Renewal – Part 2

2009-05-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Remarks made at the annual Celebration of Remembrance & Renewal of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Utah, James Lowe Chapter Rose Croix in the Valley of Salt Lake on Thursday, April 23, 2009

There are four practices that will allow us to turn remembrance into renewal more often. First: We must faithfully and accurately record the memory.

Recently, the Frenchman Joseph Brocard passed away at the age of 88. Joseph was the last surviving member of the French Resistance network Agir, and is best remembered for locating and identifying the “Doodlebug” launch sites in northern France.

As noted in his Obituary in the Financial Times: In December 1941, while seeking out the French Resistance, Joseph Brocard was sent to meet “… Michel Hollard, a French veteran of the first world war who had … contacted an officer of the British Special Intelligence Service and … set up the Agir (Resistance) network.”[1]

Thereafter, “Brocard traveled around France, often by bicycle, under the cover of looking for wood for Hollard’s company … On the SIS’s instructions, to ensure secrecy, Agir agents were not to contact their families…use phones, radios or even the mail…Hollard collected their reports by hand …”

“When they first located the top-secret sites in Northern France (Brocard and other Agir Agents) did not know that these were for launching the V1, which could fly 100 miles… (And) carry a ton of explosives. With Agir’s maps, the RAF was able to destroy most of the V1 sites as part of Operation Crossbow …”[2]

“Brocard was arrested by the Nazis in July 1943 after being caught mapping a German airfield. He was tortured for five days before leaping from the fourth-floor window of a Gestapo-occupied villa near Paris, breaking his spine in two places.”

“…He found his way to Paris and to Hollard, who had his comrade’s torso placed in plaster. To get him proper treatment, Hollard smuggled his friend across the Swiss border on foot, sometimes crawling, sometimes with Brocard on his back.”[3]

Brocard returned to Paris to head the Agir network until the end of WWII. He was highly decorated, “… yet, according to his son, Michel, wartime politics and jealousies between former (resistance fighters)…brought him up against bureaucratic obstacles for the rest of his life. Wherever he applied for jobs in state or local agencies…he was always rejected.”

Brocard, “eventually discovered that this was due to a file on him in France’s internal intelligence service which referred to his work for the British SIS and described him as “an agent of a foreign power.””[4]

Brocard’s work changed the course of the Allied invasion of Europe and eventually freed France of Nazi domination.

Despite that, the official testimony of Brocard’s sacrifice, that is, how it was officially recorded, was documented in such a way that Brocard’s patriotism and sacrifice was diminished in the report.

As you can see, it matters how we record the memory. We must strive to do so faithfully and accurately.

There are four practices that will allow us to turn remembrance into renewal more often. Tomorrow, the Second of these practices: : All of us are less than perfect, and we must forgive and forget to set aside the imperfections that block our view of truth.

[1] Obituary, Joseph Brocard, Financial Times, April 16, 2009.
[2]Obituary, Joseph Brocard, Financial Times, April 16, 2009.
[3] Obituary, Joseph Brocard, Financial Times, April 16, 2009.
[4] Obituary, Joseph Brocard, Financial Times, April 16, 2009.

May Our Remembrance Become Our Renewal – Part 1

2009-05-27T13:12:00.001-07:00

I recently gave the Keynote Address at the annual Celebration of Remembrance & Renewal of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Utah, James Lowe Chapter of Rose Croix in the Valley of Salt Lake on Thursday, April 23, 2009. It is too long for one blog post, so I've broken it up into five parts and will share those parts here over the next five days. Today, Part 1:

In my front yard, the trees bear beautiful white blossoms, green shoots poke up in the flower beds and the grass slowly becomes a lush green hue.

We are in the midst of the Annual Renewal of Life we call Spring.

Man, often as dormant in winter as a hibernating bear, moves back outside and starts to shed his winter weight. While he tends to his yard, gathers with friends and family, and enjoys the activities of the summer he turns his face toward the Sun. All of this is a part of the vast and endless Cycle of Life. Light, warmth, and renewal presuppose a time of darkness, cold and death.

The setting of the Sun and the cold dark of the night precede the bright rising of the Sun and the promise of a new day.

In the middle of this Rebirth, we have assembled, as noted elsewhere in Ritual, “… to honor the memory of those brethren whom death hath taken from us; to contemplate our own approaching dissolution; and, by the remembrance of immortality, to raise our souls above the considerations of this transitory existence.”[1]

Soong Mei-ling, better remembered as Madam Chiang Kai-Shek, taught that, “We live in the present, we dream of the future, and we learn eternal truths from the past.”

Eternal truths, gleaned from those past, have the power to lift our spirits. As I participated in the Spring Reunion, I once again found inspiration in the Degrees, and my batteries were recharged.

As we learn more about the human brain, we have discovered that human memory is not like making a documentary film. Each experience is deeply affected by our point-of-view when it is recorded. They are influenced again each time we take a memory out of storage, view it or share it.

Over time, our memories quite naturally change. Add to this the psychological need of man to rationalize his behavior, and you can easily see why, “The older I get the better I was!”

Some experiences don’t even get into memory. Jack Nicklaus notoriously refused to recall bad putts. You may feel his oft repeated claim, “I never three putt,” when he most assuredly did, was more boast than truth.

Nicklaus was, in fact, simply modeling a behavior he wanted to perfect. He had learned to block any facts that did not fit with his ideal. It made the difference between him and an average Putter.

When I line up a much needed putt, I find thousands of missed putts haunting me. All too often I melt down. That is one reason I am not chasing Tiger every weekend for a million dollar purse. My driving and my chipping are two other reasons!

How we think not only affects outcomes in our daily life but also influences our memory. When we ignore facts, and there are lots of reasons why we do, there is a gap between our memory and reality.

Unlike the Cycle of the Seasons where Winter turns to Spring when it is time, remembrance does not always, or automatically, turns into renewal.

A profound experience, exceptional example, or powerful memory may trigger a life-altering change, but even then we must act upon it. And if our mind and heart are not receptive then the remembering is just reminiscing.

There are four practices that will allow us to turn remembrance into renewal more often. Tomorrow, the First of these practices: We must faithfully and accurately record the memory.

[1] Ritual, Lodge of Sorrow

Memorial Day Tribute

2009-05-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Many years ago my oldest daughter, Lyssha, married a nice young man who subsequently joined the Air Force. Last year, my Nicole married a fine man who was on his way to Basic Military Training just weeks after they married. And late last year, we lost our baby, Natalie, when she married a good man who’d courted her while he completed his aircraft maintenance training with the Navy.

It seems that quite unwittingly, I created the Non-Commissioned branch of the Tibbitts Family – my Father, Uncle and Brother all being retired Air Force Majors and aircrew. I chose to enter as an E-1, and while I still technically out-rank all my sons-in-law, I suspect it won’t be for long.

I’m very proud of all of these men for a number of reasons. First, they are fine young men, honorable and capable. Second, they love my daughters and do their best to look after them. And lastly, they are all patriots.

Jacob, the eldest, just left for his second tour in Afghanistan and his three daughters miss him dreadfully. He is a great father, but also very good at what he does, and what he does is support Army Rangers, embedded with them to call in close air support. He’s also been in Iraq twice, and spent a year without his family, on the border between North and South Korea.

Dan is a member of the Utah Air Guard. He was actually headed for an Army Enlistment when his future Father-in-Law (ah, yes that’s me) let him know that we are an Air Force Family. He agreed to speak with a family friend who happens to be both a Lt. Colonel in the Utah Air Guard and the head of Personnel.

Danny finished all his schools last year and does his duty while finishing his degree. He may well be called upon to rotate to Afghanistan later this year. He manages emergency situations – especially those related to chemical, nuclear, or biological warfare, and has special training in road side bombs events.

Nate is a radar and cockpit tech assigned to the Navy Growler (a very special version of the F-18) in Washington. When he asked for my daughters hand (as they all did --- and not at my insistence!) I noted that we could probably relax the Air Force Family rule to allow him because of his association with jet aircraft. It’s only fair; we share a specialty (my entire career was as an aircraft maintenance mechanic, technician, instructor and manager for the F4 and F16.)

There is a good chance that Nate will have to make a very long voyage at sea with a Carrier Group without my Natalie, or that he will leave the country for an assignment in Asia (and take her with him) next year.

As proud as I am of them, I also want to pay tribute to their wives and in Jake’s case, children. In addition to being a Vet, I am also a military brat – to be quite precise, I was an Officers Brat. I noted at Dan and Nicole’s wedding luncheon in my remarks that when Dan put on the uniform he was part of the fourth generation of our family to do so.

I know from my experiences that those who are left behind also serve but are rarely acknowledged. It appears to me that the Armed Services are doing a bit better with support and recognition of this fact, but it is still far from what is needed. Of course, one thing an Air Force Brat learns early is that it takes the government to really screw up something simple. And the complicated … well, they have a two-word phrase for what that looks like but it’s completely inappropriate for me to share it with you.

I’m proud of the sacrifices my Mother, sisters, brothers, daughters and grandchildren make. They also do, or have done, things that require courage and fortitude. They are often lonely. They worry and fret. And they aren’t the same until they are reunited, whether it is a normal day at the base, a training assignment or a conflict that takes their service member from them.

I’m grateful for the commitment of those who serve today, among them my three sons-in-law. I’m so thankful for the sacrifices of their parents, spouses, and children. I’m grateful for all those who have served. And I appreciate the opportunity I had to put on the uniform of my beloved nation for a decade.

I hope you will take some time to think about those who have served this great nation, those who now serve, and the families who support and love them this weekend. And I hope you will be filled with gratitude and appreciation.

Authentic Candidates

2009-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

In early February, I was working about the house on a Saturday when I received a call from the CEO of our Credit Union. This is a man of superior ability and great integrity, and unfortunately, he called to let me know that the “cold” he’d had since last summer had been diagnosed as cancer.

Since that time, I have watched his health deteriorate quite rapidly. I’ve also see what Ralph J. Bunche would call his “bigness,” that is, the full flowering of his personality in a time of personal crisis. At his insistence, the board of directors has been busy searching for, and interviewing candidates to be the new CEO.

Hiring is a basic business process. It begins with getting the word out and ends with a qualified, new employee. In between those two innocuous sounding steps is lots of reading, vetting, researching, interviewing, fact-checking, formulating, and “discussing.”

Finding an authentic candidate with the right fit is hard, time-consuming work for a selection committee. There are many well-qualified, good people looking for employment these days. When you advertise for a position like CEO of a Credit Union with $250 million plus in assets, you get a pool full of well-educated, highly-qualified people.

While I’m no novice at hiring, having done much during my career, hiring a CEO has been the most interesting experience I’ve had for a number of years. I’ve gained an appreciation for things I haven’t thought much about for awhile.

For example: The genuine article is quite impressive! The authentic candidate is the man or woman who has not been completely taken over by interview coaches and current hiring wisdom.

It takes a lot of courage to be authentic. You have to risk taking the wrong stand and being rejected.

Finding a “real” candidate with the right fit is made more difficult by our current formulaic process. It is tough for a candidate to be themselves. All the prevailing wisdom is pushing a specific formula for interviewing that often obscures the individual.

Frankly, if I hear another candidate say, “That’s a good question …” I think I’ll scream.

But lest you think it is only the candidate that perpetuates the formula, rest assured that silly interviewer questions like, “Please tell us one of your strengths and one of your weaknesses,” are a huge part of the problem. (“Ah, gee, let me see, my biggest weakness is that I am a workaholic!”)

Leading questions that get the candidate talking about their experience and experiences – and keep the candidate talking for most of the interview, give you the best opportunity to get to know them. All the facts can be checked. The important part is seeing who they are, and for that they have to talk, and talk, and talk some more.

You might be surprised what you learn when you give the candidate the opportunity to talk for roughly an hour about themselves and only interrupt for clarification. Authentic candidates eschew the formula, answer the questions and let the chips fall where they may.

Over the last eight weeks I’ve seen several candidates who “play the game” very well. Interestingly, not a one of them is progressing into our final interviews. Neither are any that have actively obscured facts we had at our fingertips. And neither are those who were qualified and genuine and just won’t fit with our direction or culture.

Our final candidates are all women or men with the confidence, integrity and courage to answer us directly and be themselves. They didn’t cover up, but they did explain when needed. And they will fit into our culture and appear to be capable of leading in an appropriate direction.

And when the final decision is made, perhaps I can get a good night’s sleep.

If they can't fix potholes ...

2009-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

One of my little quirks: I never take the same route to work two days in a row. At this time of the year in the Salt Lake Valley, that idiosyncrasy has some interesting results.

Like the other day when … It came seemingly out of nowhere! And I wasn’t even speeding. But when I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I reacted with both brakes and a tug on the wheel that would have made Andretti proud. Of course, all I did was perfectly position my passenger-side front wheel to drop neatly into the center of that yawning hole that somehow opened up in the asphalt since I last drove 2700 West.

As the wheel slammed into the back of the pothole, my car shuttered and I swore, and just at that moment this thought also hit me: " These people, these government managers who can’t seem to purchase the right materials to withstand our winters, these administrators who can’t get those holes repaired before they cost the taxpayer the additional tax of auto repairs – these bureaucrats who nightly bring you the traffic jam, and the ridiculous on-ramps from hell – they want to run our financial institutions too. "

And fix our healthcare.

Madoff to Prison?

2009-03-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Bernie Madoff admitted his guilt in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday. He will probably be in prison for the rest of his life, and unless his wife and heirs are absolutely stupid, we’ve little hope that most of his ill-gotten gains will be recovered. And what’s more, he is going to cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars while he dies in prison.

You know, the problem with thinking humans are highly-evolved beings is that all around us there is an abundance of evidence that we are simply less-hairy apes with a large vocabulary. As long as we are driven to use simple and archaic methods to punish wrong-doers, our behavior will continue to resemble that of Jane Goodall’s friends in the mist.

We’ve relied on the primacy of property for far too long in this country. It is time we make prison a place for those vicious, violent people who commit violent crimes against people, and use the courts to ensure that crimes against property are made right – undone if you will.

Prison overcrowding is an epidemic in our country. For that you can blame not simply some slide from morality, but mostly law makers who continue to decide that every infringement upon the property of another deserves prison time.

Better than sending Bernie to prison, why not order that he repay every dime and suspend his right to declare bankruptcy? Attach a permanent ankle-bracelet and confine him to a small geographic area. Let him figure out where his next meal is coming from, and how he is going to pay for his healthcare.

Then assign one competent $40k a year paralegal to follow the trail of every asset and account he, his wife, children, or close friends ever used and repatriate the lost and stolen cash. Repay all his investors proportionally from each month’s proceeds.

But the problem is that those Bernie defrauded will feel somehow ripped off because he isn’t rotting in prison. They will say the crime against them is as worthy of prison time as any violent crime. But let one of those who lost their life savings stand face-to-face with a woman who has been brutally beaten and raped and tell her losing their life- savings is the same thing as the vicious crime she endured. It isn’t.

And have you ever seen a guy after he gets out of prison? Far from rotting, they have a lean, buff look about them. And unlike those retirees, Bernie isn’t going to have to worry about where his next meal comes from …

I’m reminded that when Moses gave the law, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” it was a revolutionary move, bringing sanity to a harsh and forbidding time and people. It was a move to make right the wrongs inflicted on one and their property by another, rather than simply punishing the offenders (usually by death.) And it was light-years ahead of where we have sunk.

It is well past time for a reformation.

Rocky Mountain No. 205

2009-03-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

On March 6, 1859 the Grand Lodge of Missouri granted a charter to Rocky Mountain Lodge No. 205. Rocky Mountain Lodge was the first organized Lodge of Masons in the Utah Territory, and Utah Masons celebrate its Sesquicentennial Anniversary today. (1)

Rocky Mountain Lodge was organized by the officers of Johnston’s Army. That army, commanded by Col. A.S. Johnston, was sent to Utah in August 1857 by President James Buchanan. They were charged with putting down the Mormon “rebellion” and to install and protect Federal appointees.

The members of Rocky Mountain No. 205 were the first Masons to be granted a charter, but they were not the first Masons to enter the valley. When the first wagon of Mormon Pioneers arrived on July 24, 1847, many of the men in the company were Masons. Many others soon followed.

The occupying soldiers and the beleaguered pioneers did not mix well. Both went out of their way to antagonize one another. The soldiers were convinced that the pioneers were godless secessionists. The Pioneers were equally sure the soldiers were moral degenerates.

The misunderstandings hardened and the enmity between the good people of these two organizations I love escalated until a rule banning Mormons from membership in Utah Masonic Lodges was passed in 1925. (2)

For men of the LDS Faith, the beginning of Masonry in Utah is 1984. That is when many of the men I now call brother voted to rescind that rule. It is fitting that the LDS Church President in 1984 was Spencer W. Kimball, grandson of Heber C. Kimball. Brother Heber was one of the early Mormon Masons, and a stalwart defender of Masonry all his life.

Tonight I will sit in my home Lodge in the Salt Lake Masonic Temple with my good brothers and I will ponder the evolution of Masonry in Utah.

I will consider those men who organized Rocky Mountain Lodge No. 205 and began a rich and storied tradition. I will reflect on the good that came from that beginning. I will also contemplate the good that could have come if the majority of the Utah population had not been denied membership for six decades.

Then, I will think fondly of those men who voted to allow those of my faith the benefits of membership in the Fraternity. I will also look around me at dear friends that I may never have known if it were not for my own membership. And I will be filled with gratitude, for I’ve been richly blessed by all these men and events.

(1) There is a link on this blog if you want to read more of the history of the rise of Masonry in Utah.
(2) Each Grand Lodge is sovereign and makes its own laws and regulations, and only the Grand Lodge of Utah had such a prohibition.

New effort to cure cancer will take more than money

2009-03-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

In his recent address to Congress, President Obama announced that “we will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American, including me, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time."

The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that a little more than 565,000 Americans were killed by cancer in 2008. In 2005 that number was roughly 559,000 Americans. (1)

As a candidate, President Obama promised a doubling of funding for cancer research in order to provide for a cure, but "... last year, the NIH received approximately $5.57 billion for cancer research, so raising that to $6 billion represents a roughly 8 percent boost … [and] in order to double cancer research funding, Obama is going to need to get up to about $11 billion.” (2)

Senator Arlen Specter has long been a proponent of increased spending for cancer research. He recently said that cancer could be cured “… if the government spent $335 billion for the research.”(3) If Senator Specter's numbers are grounded in any kind of reality, and adjusting for inflation, that means that by the time I am nearly ninety we'd have something - if cancer doesn't get me first.

But I don't believe for a minute that doubling our spending will eliminate cancer in "our time." Not every problem can be solved by applying hope as a balm and cash as a cure. Some problems require structural change to make spending effective. Any "new effort" ought to be more than simply new spending levels.

We’ve been spending significant amounts on cancer research (~ $4.8 billion a year for the past five years) and over the last three the rate climbed by roughly 6,000 people. And yes, I know the population has been increasing, but the overall rate per 100,000 persons seems to have leveled off. (4)

My biggest fear is that we have institutionalized our search for a cure, and pumping more money into multiple bureaucratic foundations and agencies will no more yield a cure than quitting my job and going pro will result in my winning The Masters this year ... even if Tiger doesn’t play!

Google the number of foundations dedicated to eliminating cancer and you will see the money is too diluted to do the kind of good it could. It seems every millionaire and celebrity who has had a brush with, or lost a loved one to cancer has some kind of foundation or fundraiser, creating a tremendous waste of funds with a multiplication of administrative efforts.

To facilitate a "new effort," why don’t we pull the brightest researchers out of all those diverse foundations and build a National Cancer Task Force? Let’s give the Task Force the money and the mandate – and a time limit! Let's add the private contributions of the foundations to government spending. Let's limit the bureaucracy. Let's fast-track approval for research and approval. Let's look long and hard at the government oversight and reform it.

Of course, this would mean that we’d have to dismantle all the organizations currently seeking a cure and send most the administrators and fundraisers off to find work with other non-profit foundations. But then the hope for a cure would have merit and the money would be focused and could be effective.

And maybe, just maybe, that cure wouldn’t cost $335 billion. ____________________________________________
(1) Source: Cancer Statistics, 2008 (American Cancer Society) - Linked on this blog.
(2) Robert Farley, More money but a long way from doubling, PolitiFact.com
(3) Gardiner Harris, Specter, a Fulcrum of the Stimulus Bill, Pulls Off a Coup for Health Money, NY Times, 02.13.2009
(4) Source: Cancer Statistics, 2008 (ACS) - Note: From 193.9 in 1950 to 183.8 in 2005, an improvement of roughly 5% in 55 years!

Two-thirds

2009-03-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

While our Founding Fathers did a pretty good job building a system of government that could place appropriate checks and balances upon those in power, they neither completely understood the past nor saw perfectly into the future. They did not always provide the correct remedy for every eventuality.

I'm quite convinced those Builders of this Nation looked back, not to Rome's Republic, but to Plato's when they built these United States. And I am equally convinced that they got more than a few things wrong. Most thoughtful people have their own list of the mistakes they made.

My list of errors includes the required majorities for the passage of legislation. I am mindful of much that has been written on the "tyranny of the minority." I have also heard more adages about the "evils of compromise," than one ought to have to hear in a life-time.

Regardless, I am seriously undeterred in my belief that requiring a so-called "super-majority" (2/3rds) for each and every bill introduced in a legislature would produce fewer but better laws. And we ought to correct this mistake to provide a better future for our grandchildren.

Other Alternatives?

2009-03-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

While I deem capitalism to be the best of all known economic systems, these times cause me daily to think, “Surely there must be an economic system better for all humanity than capitalism.”

Many activities are best left to Darwinian market forces, but while it is important to reward capital and encourage innovation, some activities just don’t work well in a system that also rewards unabashed self-interest. We need a serious, reasoned and civil, public dialogue about which activities ought to generate profit and which should not.

The only problem is that such a dialogue is absolutely impossible. If anyone recommends that a particular activity – say health care – be removed from the competitive marketplace a cacophony rises with shouts of “Socialism!” and “Communism!” or arguments for government takeover.

The problem with the profit motive is that there are some activities which ought not to be accessible only to those with means leaving only scraps to fall on the masses. The problem, with government takeover is that a function shouldn’t have to be subject to the bureaucracy, fraud, waste, abuse, inefficiency and sheer stupidity of government management.

We don’t need the same old tired arguments with only two polarizing alternatives and shrill voices raised in anger and indignation.

There is at least one other way.

Let’s take Financial Services for an example. Strangely missing in the discussions we had about the record profits of some banks in prior years and those we are having now about bailout recipients (strangely, the self-same institutions) we haven't talked much about cooperative credit unions. They provide fine services to members for smaller fees generally at better rates. They are a viable model that is not profit driven but rather cooperative, and yet not socialism and/or communism.

Using this example, recognizing that the health care model has obviously failed, and that there are other social services and activities that just don’t belong to the victors or the bureaucrats, we ought to be able to talk about third, fourth or fifth ways … and not Fifth Columns or Red Scares, to the benefit of all America.

I’m either a pessimist or a realist however, for I very much doubt it.

Nova Nation?

2009-02-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday morning, while I was laboring to start a six mile run, two of the three “hanging” TV screens in the gym were showing the same college basketball game. Two sports announcers, seated before the stands, were analyzing what we were about to see, and an obnoxious fan kept flashing a large, rectangle sign he held in his outstretched hands between them.

I found myself darn nearly laughing out loud when I read the words neatly printed on that rectangle poster. “Nova Nation,” it proudly proclaimed. Seeing this started a chain of imperceptibly related thoughts in my mind that made me completely forget my struggle on the treadmill.

I find it hard to imagine “Fan Nations” even though I am proudly a part of “Red Sox Nation.” I can’t recall when I first saw the word “nation” tacked on behind a sports team, but I’m pretty sure it was connected to the Florida Gators – as in “Gator Nation.”

But what started the chain of thought that led to my smile and then chuckle was the word, “Nova” on the fan banner. In this case it signified the fans of Villanova’s fine basketball team.

Nova is the name of a great science show, but I best recall the Nova as a short, "squatty" auto, designed by Chevrolet, that never did look too good unless it was a jacked-up, two-door with over-wide tires on "boss" mag rims. It helped if it was painted a light color and had stripes down the sides to make it appear longer.

I remember all too well when General Motors (GM) decided to export the Chevy Nova across the border to Mexico. It became an immediate joke. You see in Spanish, Nova translated roughly to “No Go.” The story of GMs failure was told over and over by consultants and business reformers. It was an example of American ineptness in foreign markets juxtaposed against the clever success the Japanese were having in the US.

If you were thinking about entering a foreign market in the 1980s and 90s, then you were urged to be smarter than the boys and girls at GM who didn’t even take the time to check something as simple as name translation.

So, I broke into a smile, then a chuckle, and just sailed on for a satisfying and almost effortless six and a half miles. You see, the chain of thought ended when it then dawned on me that these days we really are a “Nova Nation.” And how fitting that once again, GM plays such a prominent part!

Centers

2009-02-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

I count myself politically and intellectually among a segment of the Democratic Party known as “Blue Dog” Democrats. Blue Dogs tend to be fiscally conservative, socially liberal, and often work to build a bridge between the right and left wings of “politics as usual.”

Years ago I found the harsh voices on either side of the divide exhausting. Feeling like a politically “battered” Rodney King, I wanted to shout, “Can’t we all just get along and get something worthwhile done?!" I’ve no time for the hatred and entrenched positions. Such rancor may sell ad space, but it is so detrimental to anything productive.

With this in mind, I’d direct you to the writings of Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal yesterday (Centrist Bloc Finds a Voice Amid Senate Stimulus Debate, Gerald F. Seib, WSJ 02.05.2009). Seib reports on a group in the Senate who have met by that proverbial water fountain, and worked to cut $100-$300 Billion from the Stimulus Package the House passed with such partisan acrimony.

According to Seib, Senator Susan Collins (Maine) is largely responsible for bringing and holding together a “hardy band of senators from both parties” and their proposal is likely to be voted on today (Friday, February 06, 2009).

After pledging allegiance to the United States of America we often run off in our various directions trying to prove that the patriotism of our group is greater than all others. We’d be better off placing our allegiance to America above that of party or state and working to re-build our once great nation.

We need the Center in the Senate not only to live but to grow. We need the birth of a new Center in the House. More than that, we need an overwhelming Center to cut across the partisanship that divides our nation and to pull us together as Americans.

I hope the newly formed Center in the Senate will hold. More than that, I hope it will spread.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Change!

2009-02-02T15:02:00.001-08:00

Some of you have noticed – and commented – that I have not had much to say of late. I’ve said to at least one of you that there may be many people who wish it were so!

But it is true: I haven’t written a lot recently, not even in those little notebooks I always carry with me. I’ve been trying to come to grips with the rapid change that occurred over the last year. I’ve tracked back from the events of 2008 and determined that Halloween 2007 was the pivotal day and Lyssha’s home was the pivotal space (Lyssha is my oldest daughter.) Life was beginning to change in drastic ways and I had no idea!

On October 31, 2007, Natalie turned down a date with Nathan Terry because she was going to a Halloween Party at Lyssha’s and Nicole met Danny Saldivar at that same party.

In the weeks that followed, Nathan went off to Navy Basic Training in Illinois, and then to Florida to learn to repair aircraft radar. While he was in Florida, Nathan and Natalie began to correspond (whatever that means in this day of instant messages, cell phones, texting, and email.)

While that relationship simmered on the back burner, Nicole and Dan moved rapidly from interest, to interested, and then just as quickly to seriously interested. By the time Nicole and Dan were married in mid-July, Natalie and Nate were utilizing Verizon to its fullest – hour after hour, each and every day.

While Dan was attending Air Force Basic Training in Lackland, Texas, Nate “dropped by” on his way to his new duty station to “drop off” a ring. While Natalie planned a wedding that was as beautiful as it was different from Nicole’s, Dan went on to Missouri to learn Nuclear, Biological and Chemical emergency management.

After Nat and Nate tied the knot in a pre-Christmas ceremony that included both new sons-in-law in uniform, there was one last Christmas in South Jordan before everyone headed off in different directions.

Driving the rental truck from South Jordan to Whidbey Island, while Idaho, Oregon and Washington endured “30-year” storms (you know, those storms that newscasters start a broadcast saying, “This is the worst storm in thirty-something years!”) was nothing short of terrifying.

Moving Natalie into her new home was satisfying but leaving her at the airport to return home was wretched. Walking past the empty rooms at the house was miserable, but having Nicole close at hand is comforting, and getting Dan back home from training in Missouri was heart-warming.

Just that quickly they are grown up and gone. I always thought we’d have more time and I always thought that time would take longer to pass. I hope they will be happy. I miss them each and every day. I hope their new spouses will be kind, loving and good (like they appear to be.) I enjoy every text, phone call and visit.

Let me say for the record, they were lovable children and fascinating teens, but make no mistake; they leave home just as they are becoming truly interesting adults. Other than a few days when they were teens, I grew to love them more each and every day. I was blessed to watch them grow up. I was blessed to live with them for so long. I was blessed to see them become adults.

Now that they are grown and gone, I can also see how much I grew up with them – how they changed me into someone worthwhile. And so today, I love them for their patience with this transformed child they still call “Daddy.” They may never know just how they changed my life - and that it will never be the same.

January Resolutions

2009-01-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

Based on the January displays in Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores, the majority of New Year’s Resolutions are related to diet and exercise.

That is probably why January Gym-Guy suddenly appears at the gym I have been frequenting for the last five years or so. It happens every year. He used to frustrate me, but now I am merely amused by him. January Gym-Guy comes because either he or his Significant Other has decided it is time to do something about his form or health and he made a New Year’s Resolution.

January Gym Guy has a very distinctive look. He is the guy in all new and color-coordinated gym togs. He tucks in the clean, unstained shirt. His athletic shorts often still have the creases from the package. The shoes are brightly colored. The socks: new and white rather than gray and slumping on the ankle.

You can spot January Gym Guy among the Regular Gym Rats because our worn shorts long ago stopped being the color we bought, and our shirts lurch about - untucked - as we run, but the sweat-stained neck has been stretched beyond the point of return. Color combinations? Forget it! Favorite workout shirts and shorts are chosen for their comfort during a work-out. Logos are mere shades of their former self. Shoes have been used and abused.

January Gym-Guy hasn’t been to a gym for awhile (often since Gym Class!) He either makes the mistake of going out too fast or lifting too much on the first day, or being so cautious that his work out is more a Fam-Trip* than exercise.

Day one for January Gym Guy can be entertaining to watch as he gets on a tread-mill or stationary-bike, starting too fast, slowing way down, pushing the speed back up – all with no rhyme or reason. Some just hop around with little effort for a few minutes on a machine, then cleans it up and heads off to another machine to repeat the process.

And if day one is humorous, day two is downright comical. Pain evident in each movement, he “warms up” for most of the workout, and then begins warming down after a couple of minutes of “top” speed or “full” weight.

For several weeks, January Gym Guy and his meticulously styled Significant Other (the only women in make-up, their hair made-up rather than pulled back into a tidy and efficient pony-tail) make it difficult to find a parking place and get your favorite machine.

But, judging by what I have now seen for four-years in my usual gym, the good news for Regular Gym Rats is that a New Year’s Resolution begins on January 2 and ends on or about January 21, though we do rarely see one of the January Gym Guys becoming a Regular Gym Rat.

So, based upon my limited observations, if the assumption that many New Year’s Resolutions are related to diet and exercise is correct, and the appearance and disappearance of January Gym Guy in my favorite gym is fairly universal, then most New Years Resolutions last until roughly January 21 each year.

It’s not much a stretch to say that January Resolutions are not too effective as a method of behavioral change. Now, if I can just figure out if the problem here is the month of January or the nature of Resolutions, I’ll have a better idea how to modify my behavior!

* A “Fam-Trip” or “Familiarization Trip” is slang in the Travel Industry for those ultra-cheap trips Travel Providers give to Travel Agents so they will steer their clients to them.

The Importance of Small and Simple Things

2008-12-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Well said Carly!

2008-12-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

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!

Of Waiters & Character

2008-12-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Demand Regime Change

2008-12-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

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?

Fullmer Brothers Boxing

2008-11-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

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.

Monday Political Updates

2008-11-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

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.

A few moments of diversion

2008-11-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

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?!?!

Financial Clarity

2008-10-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Are We Any Smarter?

2008-10-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

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.

Of Mice & Wizards

2008-10-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

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.

The New Normal

2008-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

“Governments may hold ordinary shares,

but they will never be ordinary shareholders.”
- 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.

There is an Alternative

2008-10-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

“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.

Despicable

2008-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

“de*spi*ca*ble –
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 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.

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.

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.

Fiction

2008-10-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

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.

Applause

2008-09-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

“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)

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 …

The Salute

2008-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Notes on a Friday

2008-09-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

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

And Speaking of Change ...

2008-09-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

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.

A Summer of Change

2008-09-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

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?

Washington's Warning

2008-08-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

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.

An Open Letter to Herb Kelleher

2008-08-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

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

Some positive thoughts about flying

2008-08-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

“The airlines are going back to their old playbooks.”
(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.

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?

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.

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.

Memorable Breezes

2008-08-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Somewhere around ten-thirty last night I stepped into my South Jordan yard, heard crickets chirping and felt the warm August breeze on my face and I was transported back over four decades into my childhood, and onto my Grandmother’s back porch on Wilson Avenue in Salt Lake City.

While I grew up with an Air Force base for a hometown, Salt Lake was my parent’s hometown. Whenever we were stationed in the United States we spent a portion of August in Salt Lake. We stayed with my paternal Grandparents, and the children played and slept on the beds in the enclosed back porch.

To fully understand why crickets and the heated August breeze in South Jordan would trigger such memories, you have to know that Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington and California (not to mention our homes in Europe) all sound and feel different than Salt Lake does. The sound of those crickets and that humid breeze are the most memorable parts of that sensation.

Heraclitus is quoted as saying “You cannot step twice in the same river,” and by that means that the movement of the elements that generate that river make it essentially different when you next step in it, even if it is minutes later and in the very same spot.

But his implication goes deeper and the multi-layered meanings became more evident to me last night.

When my Grandmother died the family sold her home and it has been very unsatisfying to drive by because the yard, the detached garage and the home have since changed so much that it just does not resemble the vacation home of my youth. Even if I stopped and asked the current owners to tour their home and yard, I can no longer physically visit the place of my memories.

So that place, those sounds and sensations on exist only in the long-stored memories of my mind.

For just a few seconds last night I stood in my South Jordan yard but all I saw was my Grandmother’s back yard. I heard the crickets of those August days, and felt the warmed night breeze of some forty odd years ago. The memory brought a tear as I thought of a time, place and people long gone.

And then my own yard returned, the weight of the trash bag in my hand reminded me of current duties and my sweet pause was over.

I hate to fly ... for real!

2008-08-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

This week, I’m sandwiched between a trip to the LA area last week and one to Vermont next week. And after the flight in and out of Long Beach, I’m less than thrilled about the upcoming opportunity to spend the equivalent of two entire days in airports and on airplanes.

It wasn’t always like this.

I cannot remember details from the first time I flew. I was way too young to remember back that far. I know I was a toddler. I remember that I was excited enough about it that I just about drove my poor Mother to drink. She arranged to have me sedated before I flew the next time! I was a toddler for the first four or five flights of my life. And I loved it. That happens when you are a military brat.

Flying was still very exciting for me for the next four decades. There was joy in each flight, even if, as the government was de-regulating the airlines they were more fully regulating the lives of those who flew places on those airlines.

And then came September 11th and the government’s “failure” to keep us all safe from creative killers bent on destruction. This led to unprecedented meddling. And frankly, all the joy was sucked out of the experience.

I used to envy my brother with the better than perfect eyes who got that waiver for his bad knees and spent 20-years flying for the Air Force prior to retiring to fly 737s for Southwest.

I can no longer imagine why my brother wants to be a pilot. These days I see him as a glorified bus-driver with a terrible work schedule.

I’m especially appalled when my brother tells the story from the day after that idiot tried to light his shoes on fire. My brother had a bottle of favorite (and very expensive) cologne he carried in his pilot carry-on. Now remember, he flies the plane. He is also rated to carry a firearm. But he had to give up the cologne because that was the rule de jour. Clever.

As any military brat knows – better even than their uniformed parent, it may take a committee or a corporation to really screw things up, but if you want something fouled up beyond all recognition, it takes a government agency.

A corporation, at least, starts with a profit motive and some idea for meeting a need. A corporation usually understands both the “invisible hand” of the market and human behavior to some degree. They begin with the hope that their product or service will be desirable to some of the people some of the time.

A government agency starts with a mandate of force. The government agency begins with authorization to either make something happen, or stop something from happening. They set off with platitudes and jingoistic slogans and build intrusive processes that would make Rube Goldberg jealous.

And they suck the life and all the awe and delight out of the product or service.

I was once a boy who dreamed of flying fighters and keeping the Free World free from tyranny and oppression.

I am now unable to stomach the miserable experience we calling air travel.

I’d rather drive a snarled Southern California Freeway under construction during rush hour!

I fear that “We the People” will never regain any control of this mode of transportation and inject any life, let alone enjoyment, back into it. Any pleasure I felt for soaring above the clouds in an aluminum tube with wings and motors attached died shortly after September 11!

Like so many of the rising generation, I do enjoy the simulated experience. Today's youth like the video game experience. To me there is nothing like Disney's simulated rendition. But then, even with the long lines on hot days, it isn't as unpleasant as the oppressive experience at the real airport.

Do you know the worst part? You can’t prove that we are any safer today than we were before we created the TSA.

It is one thing to make the conscious decision to give up rights or freedoms to secure the well being of citizens. I may think it is silly and misguided, but at least it is a weighing of priorities and giving more weight to one element than another.

It is another thing to give up the freedoms only to find that the elusive security sought is a pipe-dream.

Expert opinion or just more advertising?

2008-07-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Experts are supposed to have some special knowledge. Often this is scientific or medical knowledge. Sometimes it is mathematical or statistical. And more often than not it comes as a result of a Ph.D – a rigorous exercise that exposes the Ph.D to most if not all of the current body of knowledge around a subject.

We turn to experts when we need unequivocal expert statements to make crucial decisions in our lives and avoid death, disease, illness and unhappiness. We crave statements that say, “Wear Sun block to avoid skin cancer,” so we can affect a behavior that allows us and our loved ones to avoid pain and suffering.

Over time it appears that experts go from waffling about “correlation” and “causality” and start to make those kinds of statements. But those kinds of sweeping expert opinions are fraught with trouble. Please let me illustrate.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with an acquaintance who is also an expert in skin health. We spoke on the day after the results of a study which indicated that sun block has little if any effect on melanoma (skin cancer) were reported in the popular press. In an article for The Columbus Dispatch, Ann Fernholm closes by noting that, “Several scientists actually warn that wearing sunscreen can give users a false sense of security, leading consumers to stay out in the sun longer.”

Now how about that! Yet another possible unintended consequence - the stuff you slather on (yeech!) to keep exposure to the sun from giving you skin cancer may just give you a false sense of security, and encourage you to stay out in the sun longer.

(Just for the record: I am not encouraging your to change your behavior based on my non-expert opinion. You figure it out on your own and live with the consequences of your behavior, just like me.)

You should read all of Ann’s interesting article in The Columbus Dispatch on this study. It can be found here: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/07/11/Sunscreen_study.ART_ART_07-11-08_A3_QFANOEH.html?sid=101

Unfortunately, my expert acquaintance was unaware of the new study results. When challenged, my acquaintance dismissed the findings, saying that this was “settled science,” and the study "has to be flawed."

I’m not sure I know what “settled science" is – but there sure are a lot of experts touting it these days. The very process of scientific discovery and exploration, what we call The Scientific Method, can prove correlation, but this is a far cry from causality and could be random coincidence.

We may be able to prove correlation using a testable hypothesis, or even many decades of testable hypotheses, but it is a long way down the road to say that you have “settled science,” with absolutely no possibility that randomness is involved to some degree.

As I ruminated on this short conversation (I ruminate too much) I realized that we generally don’t trust experts because they may not be up on the latest material, or they will ignore what disagrees with their expertise; or just as often, we know that they are compensated to hold a particular opinion and they would have to change employment, risk financial distress, or rework their whole ideology in order to say differently.

Whatever the reason, we get a sense that expert statements cannot be trusted. I reflected that my acquaintance's expert opinion on sun block is no better than advertising. Either way, I am making a decision based on the looks or sound of the argument rather than the facts of the argument.

But let’s not forget that we humans are fickle beings. We may not like or trust those who hold and spout unsupported or outdated opinions; but we don’t like the experts who keep saying things like, “That depends,” or “perhaps,” or even, “we are not sure, but …” or “On the other hand …” either. They appear to waffle, it takes forever to hear them out, and their answers don’t give us much assurance.

It may be we that we just have an aversion to expertise and when the question is truly important we should only trust what we find out on our own. What a concept.

A few thoughts on Faith and Masonry

2008-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

A history fraught with misunderstanding by members of my faith and the Masonic Fraternity in Utah often leads those of my faith to ask me why I would want to be a Mason.

With that in mind, I'd like to discuss the Masonic membership of the first five Presidents and indeed, so many of the 19th Century male members of my church.

It is not my intent to share anything that would be offensive to either those of my cherished faith or those of my beloved Fraternity, nor will I divulge anything I have vowed to hold sacred. I will, however, speak honestly, openly and directly about my own studied opinions. I write my own thoughts in my own words, borrowing a phrase here or there from Masonic or LDS tradition.

There is among some members of my church a myth that Masonry was descended from the building of King Solomon’s temple, and that the 19th Century Fraternity possessed a fragment of truth, and perhaps even an “apostate” form of priesthood and temple worship.

This tradition posits that Joseph Smith needed only to enter The Fraternity in order to learn those forms of this so-called apostate education in order to repair them by revelation and produce a true form of "eternal" Masonry.

As we reason together, let us ignore the 16th and early 17th Century origins of the Symbolic Craft. Even scholarly Masons have a difficult time separating myth from truth when exploring the origins of Symbolic Masonry. I can easily see why the uninitiated would be confused.

The myths and moral lessons of Masonry may well use symbols from the building of Solomon’s Temple, but in my opinion the key to refuting the argument that Joseph needed to enter to see, repair - even "steal" the ritual form is that there are few true similarities between the two rites. What is most similar is the interactive form of learning shared by the two ritual forms.

Further, if the Prophet Joseph only needed to learn the lessons of some “apostate priesthood” from his Masonic experience, then the initiation of more than 2,500 LDS men into Masonic lodges in and around Nauvoo was surely a waste of time. Indeed, if this form of society was truly apostate, then it was also quite dangerous to their very souls.

If this form of education is dangerous to the souls of men, I am sure there were other forms of interactive learning available that Joseph Smith could have used to understand and produce such a learning experience.

This contention that Joseph entered simply to develop is a flawed argument. Now I realize that in matters of faith, logic is not always welcomed by some, but I tend to believe that the two are not mutually exclusive.

After years of research, especially my focus on the writings of those who knew Joseph, I have come to believe that after the Kirtland period of the early LDS church, Joseph Smith was drawn by Masonic brotherhood. He had been betrayed by some of those closest to him.

Joseph recognized, I believe, that not all the good men of the earth were or will be found within the confines of the LDS faith, and conversely, not all of the evil men of the world are on the outside of this or any other church.

There is a more logical argument for the initiation of many of the men of the fledgling church in Nauvoo. This is the hypothesis that LDS men joined to learn something of the brotherhood, charity and search for truth inherent in the ritual of the Masonic Society in order to inculcate those virtues – especially brotherhood, into their priesthood quorums (see note below.)

This argument is quite reasonable. It may or may not be the case. What is not rational is the belief that once these early leaders learned those lessons there was nothing more for future generations to learn by direct membership in the Masonic Fraternity.

It is important to know that only the escalation of differences created by simple misunderstandings like those still held by some today that kept my church and Masonry separate in Utah (and only Utah) for far too many decades.

It is my contention that there is still much for worthy men of the various creeds and classes to glean from Masonic ritual and experience. Further, it is my contention that there is nothing in Masonry which conflicts with any of the tenets of my own faith, and that it works hand in hand with my own faith to make me a better man.

I also argue that if the Masonic form was not apostate and therefore dangerous to the souls of most of the 19th Century leaders of my church and so many of the male population of Nauvoo, since it is largely unchanged since then in practice, ritual and symbolism, it is still not dangerous for LDS men.

Masonry may not be for every man, but I am hard pressed to say that any man who enters through it’s doors for however short a period is not improved in some way.

Having been an active member of the various priesthood quorums of the LDS Church for more than forty years, I can say with some authority that there is still much we need to learn of brotherhood and toleration, and I say this not in a spirit of criticism but by way of simple comparison.

Many times, I have said that I was drawn to Masonry by its philosophy, but I was surprised – even Shocked! by the brotherhood I experienced. I now find myself wanting to be a Mason fully-rounded in the three-fold tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. I no longer want to be a one-dimensional Mason. I also want to practice more of the brotherly love I have experienced.

Churches of all denominations may be concerned about the amount of time that a Mason may spend at Masonry. As with anything enjoyable, it can be difficult to maintain a proper balance between family and associations, church and community, work and play. But this is no reason to discourage involvement with an organization that does so much good both for the individual man and the society at large.

What should be stressed is that there is a time and a place for both and balance in life is crucial to true happiness. There may be seasons of life where one is more involved in one more than the other quite naturally.

Still, the opportunity to sit in Lodge with good, like-minded men of the various creeds and classes of our community is more than simply an opportunity most never get outside the forced society of work or neighborhood where we tend to stratify into cliques. It is a privilege and it builds a sense of brotherhood and community that is unlike anything else I have experienced.

In Masonry there is a ritual experience espousing values of the highest moral caliber, with relevant ethical lessons of days long passed, and a brotherhood probably like nothing you have ever experienced, and it will not harm your individual faith, but it will deepen and increase it.

Recently a well-read, and deep-thinking member of my faith, at the end of an abbreviated tour of the Salt Lake Masonic Temple said, “It seems that our church would want to encourage men to be united to Masonry like they encourage boys to be Boy Scouts. Both work to bring about moral and decent men.”

And with that insightful thought from my new friend, Vincent, I'll end since I couldn’t have said it any better.

Note: For those of you who may not be familiar with an LDS Priesthood Quorum: a quorum is usually a geographic grouping of men with the same priesthood office. For example, a local Elder’s Quorum is made up of adult men who have been ordained to the office of Elder and live in a specific locale. It is led by a President who serves with two counselors and a secretary – all generally members of the Quorum.

The Wedding

2008-07-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we witnessed and celebrated Nicole’s wedding. It was a beautiful day. Oh sure, it was rushed and we had some mishaps, and even a couple of the extended family got their noses out of joint to some degree or another as with any wedding day in any other family. But it was a beautiful day.

I was overwhelmed by the love and generosity of so many of our friends, neighbors and family members. Their support means everything and support us they did.

We are delighted to welcome Dan to our family. We could easily see that Dan’s family has welcomed Nicole with the same open arms.

Nicole and Dan were married by M. Richard Walker, President of the Salt Lake LDS Temple. It is traditional for the Officiator performing the ceremony to say a few words of counsel and advice to the young couple prior to pronouncing the words they came to hear (“… you may kiss as husband and wife …”) and President Walker did not disappoint.

Nicole was counseled to receive Dan as her husband while Dan was similarly encouraged to receive Nicole as his wife. “Receive” was defined as taking them as the “worthy but imperfect human beings they are today.” They were told that in the world the method of improving one another is to point out the faults of one another to one another so they can improve upon them. President Walker instructed them that this method does not often lead to that desired improved state.

He counseled them instead to practice what many would call positive reinforcement – he termed it “… simply the gospel of Jesus Christ.” President Walker gave us a wonderful example. I paraphrase him poorly here, but I think you’ll get the point.

President Walker told Dan that one day soon, Nicole would have one of the worst days of her life and as she prepared dinner for that evening, the day would continue badly when the fine dinner she planned would be burned. Because of time and money constraints she would have to serve it.
What Nicole would be unaware of, in this illustration, is that Dan was similarly having a very bad day himself and could hardly wait to get home to his bride and a well cooked dinner. Imagine his surprise!

It is at this point that President Walker’s advice gets very practical. He told Dan not to make a joke of any kind, but especially not one even remotely related to Nicole, his mother and cooking. He told Dan to choke it down and when done, to simply thank Nicole for dinner.

He noted that Dan should not make the easy mistake of saying something like, “Thanks that was just great,” because Nicole would know he was insincere. Simple thanks was all that was needed and would be best.

And then President Walker noted that on another day when the fare was truly wonderful, Dan should heap all the praise he can on that meal. Nicole would adore him all the more because of his unconditional love with his simple and sincere thanks on the day when the dinner was less than either of them wished it to be and his praise on the day when it was deserved.

This has caused me to think much since then about what I believe is an axiom of human effort. I learned as a young LDS missionary in Western Scotland that people respond to how they are treated. As a leader of missionaries I lived by the motto, “Treat them like zits and they will act like zits.” While this may sound silly today, and I would probably trade the word zits for something else, this is still the way I feel about leadership in general.

When I discovered years ago that I was not always the positive, building leader that I wished to be, I decided then and there that I would not ever ignore the tough things, or even procrastinate, but that I would always prepare for them in the days, weeks and months ahead of such uncomfortable conversations by laying a groundwork of positive and thankful comments. I set out that day to say “thank you” for every effort and to say it all the time. I am not insincere. I thank people for what they have actually done.

There are some who do not understand this and think I overdo it. I assure you I do not. I’ve lived the other way. The fear-based style of leadership, or the picky, never satisfied style of some, quite frankly wears people down pretty quickly. Forget that ingratiating subordinate that says he has “learned so much from you.” His opinion won’t last any longer than your boss/subordinate relationship. And the rest of your staff is ready to leave when they have a remotely better opportunity.

The axiom of human effort? It is this: If someone makes some effort for you – especially one that is voluntary and you choose to find the errors or flaws, well, they probably will not make that kind of effort ever again. The only time they will is if they were doing it for something other than you. They freely gave. I think you owe them sincere thanks.

And if they ask how they can improve you owe them the truth – carefully and considerately delivered. But even then, you need to tell them more of the good than the bad. They say seven good things for every one bad (whoever “they” are.)

But I digress (as usual.) I’d tell you about the wedding reception, but most of you were there. It was very nice from my point of view even after an hour of bringing stuff into The Atrium at the Western Garden Center, standing there for two straight hours shaking hands, laughing and hugging my dearest friends, neighbors and family, and then spending the last hour loading stuff into cars.

So, it was a beautiful day. The happy couple are off honeymooning now. They look good together. They are so happy. How they will face the coming months of separation when Dan leaves in just a few weeks to attend Basic Training and Tech School for the Utah Air National Guard will be interesting to watch. I’m sure it will be painful. But the reunion will be exquisite.

Ah, not Greg!

2008-07-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had the opposite of Greg today.

I HAD to go to “my” Post Office to pick up an envelope that was sent registered mail. Since I have been coming in to the office early all week, and knowing what kind of line develops at that place during a standard lunch hour, I set off after my 9:00 to 10:00 AM meeting ended and arrived at roughly 10:20 AM.

There is always a line. And the two counter staffers moved with absolutely no urgency and more than a little officiousness. Well, now that was an understatement. Apparently neither one of them got the memo that we now have choice in most of our Post Office transactions.

“Choice?” you ask. Why, yes, Choice (with a capital “C.”) And not just for packages. You see, I can get stamps just about anywhere these days. And I hear that at Costco, I can get them for a discount off the face value. We can even go, as I do, to another Post Office where Greg has turned service into a conversational art form.

But there are other choices that the Postal Service (USPS) may not understand are competitors. There is email. Who wants to pay that ever escalating charge for a stamp when you can use free email? Then, there are products like “Bill-Payer” which allow us to make electronic payments without ever licking another envelope. Oh, and couriers.

UPS and FedEx are so well entrenched in the package industry that I cannot imagine why you would want to use USPS – unless the extra couple of bucks is going to break you. And I read that USPS now uses UPS to transport those packages for them – and that they recently switched from FedEx planes – or is it the other way around? (Who cares? It isn’t USPS. It is someone else. They apparently can’t fly economically.)

The line was better than usual for the South Jordan Post Office -12 minutes at 10:20 AM. The wait while they found my letter was 7 minutes. And I am sure, by the speed the person was moving, that she didn’t actually take a break or have a smoke while looking, for at that rate, a cigarette would have taken closer to 20-minutes!

There were people spread out all over the place completing the things they had not completed properly prior to getting to the front of the line (obviously not intuitive!) And I especially loved the sign that tells you that “In accordance with Credit Card Company Policies, we will not accept a credit or debit card for payment that is not properly signed.”

That sign used to say, “In accordance with Federal Law …” Apparently they figured out there is no such law. I can hardly wait for them to determine there is no Credit Card Company policy against signing your credit card “See ID,” or “Check ID.” Most signatures are unreadable anyway, and if one guy I know can sign his with an “X” then why not a “Check ID.” And if the signatures don’t match, they are supposed to ask for ID, not refuse the transaction. Hmmmm.

The only thing I don’t know about the sign is whether it is on the wall at the West Valley Post Office where Greg works. Want to know why? Because with roughly the same number of people in and out of the Post Office, and the same number of people waiting on them, I wasn’t there long enough to note the time on my watch or to spend much time looking for signs.

Not only were they pleasant – but Greg and his co-workers got it done. Fast! Faster than Wendy’s. Well okay, Faster than Wendy’s before Dave died. But, you know what I mean; it was that kind of Fast!

And the officious thing sitting at the counter next to the person waiting on me commanded customers in a voice that was clearly something out of the officer corps of the US Navy. I wonder if it is the uniforms. Ah, memo to Counter Staff – this is not the military and you are not officers. Sorry.

I’m thinking that the South Jordan Post Office needs to take their people over to the West Valley Post Office for a dose of Greg. Who knows, maybe even they can figure this thing out.

Greg

2008-07-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve been frequenting the Post Office at 3490 South and 4400 West in West Valley City pretty much exclusively for the last few years. It isn’t close to any place I live, work or generally go. I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago when I was in the area for something else and had to mail a package.

Now, I go out of my way to do my business even though I have a good friend who is the Post Master – or whatever they call them these days, of the Post Office right on my way home. There is also another Post Office that services my home and where I HAVE to go to pick up packages or sign for mail. I don’t like it, but I HAVE to go there for some business. I prefer that West Valley Post Office that is way out of the way!

The reason is a guy named Greg. Greg is one of the Post Office employees that sits behind the counter and waits on people who walk through the door all day long, day in and day out. He loves his job. You can tell. And he seems to like his customers. You enjoy the experience. I’ll let others go if I think I can get to his window. And he does a very conversational job of cross-selling.

He is infectious. Over the last couple of years I have seen the general quality of all the counter staff at this Post Office become more like Greg. I think that a company that wanted to improve their customer service ought to send their people over to that West Valley Post Office and watch Greg all day long. Not only would they have lots to talk about, but they would probably also be infected.

Do you know who Greg reminds me of? Ian. Ian (sorry, it was thirty-years ago and I can’t recall his last name – it is remarkable I can remember his first!) was on the wait staff at the British tailor I went to see in Mildenhall, England to buy two tailored 100% wool suits with two pants and a waist-coat (vest for all you Yanks out there) prior to leaving to serve a two-year mission in Scotland and Ireland for my church in 1976.

Ian was not enthusiastic. He was not bubbly. Ian was genuine. Ian was attentive. Ian was kind and sensitive. Ian took wonderful care of me all through the buying process. And Ian conversationally “cross sold” me into a couple of beautiful ties to go with my two suits, dozen white shirts, and socks. He did this even though I already owned a “back of the closet door” full of ties to go with my suits. I remember Ian thirty years later. If I didn’t live in Utah, I’d go back there and buy some more suits from Ian. Frankly, I’ve been looking for an Ian here in Utah and he just isn’t here.

Sometimes I wonder if I ought to go be Ian at some place in Utah. I wonder if what I know about assisting people in making such an important decision about their image (which I learned from Ian) is something that I really owe to Utah men. But that is wistful thinking for another day …

Greg – now Greg ought to work for a tailor! I would imagine that he makes a decent living. If I was in the kind of business that needed someone like that right now, I’d go find out what it would take to get Greg to come work for me. I’d find a way to get that for him. And I would watch as his infectious spirit permeated the rest of my staff.

Go see Greg if you get a chance. And then tell me what you think. You can get stamps anywhere. You can’t see that kind of service at very many places. Especially not at a Post Office!

Sleight of Hand

2008-07-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

In an article yesterday in USA Today titled, “Credit card fees eat up gas station profits,” it was noted that , “As gas prices have jumped, station owners' profit margins have shrunk because they now must pay higher fees to credit card companies to process payments.” (For the full article and on-line comments, see http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/2008-07-07-gas-prices-credit-card-fees_N.htm )

What most citizens (I hate that somewhere in the last decade someone tagged me a consumer) do not understand is that the article was one more shot in an on-going war – the war merchant associations are waging against card issuers and transaction processors. This article allowed the merchant associations to once again stake their claim of unfair price gouging.

Whew, talk about sleight of hand.

In the interest of full-disclosure, let me here declare that I work for one of those card transaction issuers and processors, and while I do not speak for them, I am biased. But lest you get the idea that my bias is purely because I work for a card transaction company, think again.

You see, several years ago I was a victim of the huge TJ MAXX (TJX) data release – the nice way to say that TJX was so irresponsible with my personal credit card data that it was stolen and my Credit Union replaced my debit card. And they have yet to send me even a note saying, “Sorry Lon,” let alone anything for my inconvenience. Oh, and lest you think the only inconvenience of a data release is when they steal your money, you haven’t had the pleasure yet, have you?

For your information, I stopped going there. I voted with my re-issued debit card.

But that was also the beginning of my self-education on the issue of merchant data security, interchange fees – or the rate the processors charge the merchant to turn your transaction into your payment, fraud, and charge-backs. In case you want to know, there is plenty out there on it and if you want to look at the complete picture, you shouldn’t just look at interchange fees in isolation.

I’m not a conspiracy nut – but I am a seasoned marketing guy with more than two decades of experience (and most of it is not in financial services) and I know that you position your product, service, campaign or brand by deciding which part of the story you tell. Merchants tell you, and more importantly, tell your elected representatives what they want you and your legislators to know, and withhold the rest of the story because it does not play that well.

Permit me to add a few plot twists that merchant associations leave out.

Merchant data security or the lack thereof is a huge issue they’d like to gloss over. They wish you would not pay any attention to how much data they have on their servers, how much they actually use, how long they keep it, why they keep it after they have been paid, or how well they secure it.

Merchants don’t want you to know the number one fraud issue they face never was bad checks, credit card charge-backs or even shoplifting. It was always employee theft. And they continue to face the issue, but employees are now getting into your data too.

Merchants don’t want you to know that their lapses cost the card transaction processors real money. Oh, by the way, this might be one of the reasons that the interchange fee is a part of the equation.

Merchants don’t want you to use a personal check. You may not see it the same way, but debit and credit cards took the place of the personal check in the mind of merchants years ago. Personal checks used to cost merchants time and money.

The fact that a clerk no longer has to look your card number up on a “hot sheet” booklet made of newsprint and issued weekly, means they no longer know what kind of infrastructure and employment is necessary to provide that “real time” authorization – the immediate verification of the sale.

Merchants do not want to talk about the fact that they added debit or credit payment options because you demanded them. We citizens value payment choice – that is the choice to use debit, prepaid, credit, check or cash for the transaction at hand. We do this for our convenience. We expect if there is any inconvenience in the transaction the merchant will be the inconvenienced party since they are serving us.

We expect them to like our money in whatever form we bring it to them. We don’t like limits on our options, and when they limit us and one of their competitors will not, we are more likely to take our business elsewhere.

Merchants don’t want you to understand that there are costs to processing your payment. They want you to think it is magic. They want you to think it is mysteriously and immediately done when you swipe your card.

They don’t want you to think about the telephone services and connections, the rooms full of servers, the people who have to support such processes and servers, the fraud that must be absorbed, the people who must answer your call, the fact that few of their 19-year old, minimum wage cashiers will check to see that you are who your card says you are, the claims against them when they misapply a charge and then refuse to reverse it, and the damage their “data releases” cost the card issuer and processor.

Merchants want you to think all of that is free.

Merchants think they can get the legislature to regulate the credit card companies because you are outraged and demand it. They know you want payment choice, and they want to give it to you, but they don’t want the costs. They want the magic. They want immediate. They want armies of people to support it and take their personal check and merchant credit headaches away, but not their people, and apparently, not their costs.

So merchants and merchant associations tell you this nice little bedtime nightmare and hope you will write your congressman.

I’ve got a better idea.

Lets all decide together that life-sustaining goods like groceries and gasoline shouldn’t be sold for a profit. Let’s demand that our congressmen regulate merchants of these items. Let’s get a three-judge panel determine the price of every life-sustaining commodity.

I’m sure lame-duck Representative Chris Cannon can get behind this like he did the Interchange Legislation that he recently co-sponsored and which actually might have been the reason for his primary election loss (ah, Chris, you forgot all those card issuers and transaction processors that are a part of your constituency … and they even wrote to you!)

There is only one real problem with my great idea. Merchants who cannot make a profit cannot stay in business, and then where are we? Why, right in 1970s USSR. Three-judge panels to determine prices fit there, not here.

If three-judge panels are not right for food and gas, why are they right for interchange fees?

Now if I were a conspiracy theorist, then there would be a preplanned and very personally profitable ending to this call for regulation for the merchant conspirators. But there isn’t.

You think the credit crunch is bad now? Without payment options it is worse. More like 1820 mercantile - cash or merchant credit only. No ATM.

Think water, no paddle.

Lasting Remedies

2008-07-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.” (John Foster Dulles, 1888-1959)

I read this enduring comment by former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles last night while my family continues to wrestle with the consequences of the advanced alcoholism and anti-social behavior of one of our beloved family members. The tough problems are not just the same ones we have seen but are repeating fast and furiously.

In fact, the problems are recurring more often - and with greater intensity than in previous years. And as they occur again, and again, some members of the extended family continue apply the same remedies used in past years - remedies which have quite obviously not worked.

Some, like me for example, count the cost and argue that these “cures” are actually leading to an increase in the unwelcome behavior.

One by one, members of the extended family are coming to realize that providing a safety net to this well-loved, even well-liked, but exasperating family member is counter-productive. The frustration level with those who continue to provide “help,” that is, making resources available to misuse, is growing at a rate commensurate with the destructive behavior.

Decades ago, when I was appointed a minor leader in my local church congregation a wise old bishop told me that most people change only when they are in pain and then they only enough to stop the pain. I thought this overly pessimistic at the time; however, after almost two decades of such service, including as a bishop, I’ve come to know this to be quite true.

During my service to the members of my local congregation, I also learned that money rarely cures poor habits or behavioral choices. It tends to spread the problem over a longer period of time, and only puts off the needed change until all the resources, or the patience of those with the resources, are exhausted.

Until the pain is acute enough to force a change there will be no real change.

But what about the kids? Do you prop up a family unit with a parent, or parents who make poor decisions over and over again just so the children won’t suffer in any way? And if so, how exactly do you do that? The most painful suffering has little to do with where or how they live, or whether the bills are paid. It is related to how little abuse they are subjected to, and much parental attention and love they receive.

If the authorities don’t see a reason to remove the children from the home, what makes you think you should have the right to force your life-style choices on another family unit? If you don’t agree with the life-style choices of a family unit, you have few real choices available to you.

You can withhold your resources. That may make continued pursuit of the destructive life-style impossible. But don't forget, when the pain level rises so does the volume.

You could shut off contact – withhold your love, I suppose, but that would make any influence for good you might have with them impotent.

Of course, you can always lecture and preach at them. But that may ensure that they will stop visiting you, and again, any influence you might have on the situation is nil.

There may be times when they need honest answers, but those times usually correspond to a moment of pain when they reach out and not when you think they need to hear it. Those are golden moments. You should not pass those up no matter how hopeless the situation appears or becomes.

It all comes back to choices and liberty, true solutions and pain levels. Because one member of an extended family chooses to behave in a destructive manner does not mean that all members of the family lost the right to choose how they will spend their time or money.

Running to the rescue may be the most destructive thing we can do over the long haul.

Choosing not to apply band-aids when hospitalization is needed will cause the pain to increase to unacceptable levels. They call this “tough-love” and everyone can talk about it right up until the moment they have to apply it. At that point, I have noticed, the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth hold hands with guilt and uncertainty and combine to break down the most fortified defenses.

And God help those whose defenses are cemented, for they are in for a long, lonely ride until most of the rest of the family come to recognize the inadequate nature of their own assistance.

What is not inadequate even if it seems simple? It seems to me that the big things are holding their hand when the pain is intense, reminding them we love, accept and believe in them, and being completely honest with them when they want to know what they need to do. And allow, as my Grandmother Tibbitts used to say, the chickens to come home to roost. Let them feel, see and taste the consequences of their decisions. They are, after all, their decisions. They chose.

Secretary Dulles died when I was three-years old, and he may have been talking about national or global problems when he made this timeless and quoted comment, but if the solutions we are using aren’t making the tough problems we face different from year to year, we are simply recycling the same problem into a different time and space. We aren’t using real solutions. All we are doing is assuaging our own guilt and making ourselves feel falsely hopeful for a time.

We ought to change.

Our brilliant Legislature

2008-07-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today I add more to my comments of June 12, 2008 under the headline: “Crime and Punishment.”

On June 28, 2008, the Deseret News ran an article by Ben Winslow under the headline: “Pay to Stay at the Purgatory Jail,” that gave us this “good” news: “The Washington County Sheriff's Office is implementing a "pay to stay" program at the Purgatory Jail effective July 15. The jail's new chief said it is designed to offset increasing inmate housing costs, as well as an experiment in reducing recidivism among criminals. “

Obviously there are three possible and inspired ideas under-pinning such a decision:

1) There is a misperception among our legislators that our inmates have $50/hour jobs waiting for them.

Why, with those jobs they will be able to pay off a 30-day incarceration in less than 30-hours. Now that sounds reasonable! Especially if we don’t consider the fines that our judges hit them with prior to sending them to jail or prison and without any regard for their ability to pay. But, wait, with that lucrative job waiting for them, and say a $1,000 fine to pay off – they are only adding another, what, 30-35 hours? They should have it all cleaned up in less than two weeks!

2) Perhaps our legislators believe that our criminals have somehow cached the illegal and ill-gotten gains of their pre-jail life and this is a brilliant new means to get it back.

3) Or maybe, our legislators understand all too well that our criminal element will be forced to return to their illegal behavior and this is a new method of taxing that behavior.

Again, quoting Winslow’s article:
"The $45 flat rate will cover all housing costs. Inmates will start being charged from the moment they're moved from booking to housing and end when they're released. [Washington County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jake] Schultz said discounts will be offered at the Purgatory Jail for inmates who are discipline free (10 percent off), go through education programs (another 10 percent discount), and pay it in full when they're released (up to 50 percent off).

"If they got released and they want to pay in full, they took self-help and had been discipline free, they could potentially have a 70 percent cut," he said. "We're really hoping to promote the rehabilitation process."

Now that makes me feel better since those education programs are working so well already. I assume they are talking about the formal education programs and not the informal prisoner run programs that give young apprentices a journeyman education in fraud, drug chemistry, or financing criminal activities.

Again, from Winslow’s article regarding other jails looking at “pay for stay” fees:
"The Legislature passed this as a signal, as an indication of where they want us to go," said Box Elder County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Kevin Potter.

The Box Elder County Jail is expected to start charging its inmates as soon as they can settle on a price. (Update: They decided on a $45/day charge.)

"That's probably our biggest debate right now," said Potter …

And in what I think is one of the understatements of the year, Winslow notes: “One problem that jails worry about is actually collecting the money. Often, inmates are too poor to make bail and paying a hefty fine after being in jail from arrest to court and through sentencing could be outrageous.”

Lon's second rule of unintended consequences says, "The owners of a system that delivers unintended results or consequences will continue to add new and creative means to deliver those unintended results."

We, therefore, shouldn’t be too hard on the Purgatory Jail “chief” for believing this is an "experiment in reducing recidivism among criminals." How could he know the current system is circular, and is netting unintended results, delivering the same people to his jail over and over again? Oh, wait, he would only need to look at the paperwork or in the cells to see that something is truly wrong. D’oh!

To the legislature, I say, as our favorite stooge would say, “Another fine mess you’ve gotten us in!” Truly stellar! Let’s be sure and re-elect them all. I’m sure they are the smartest people in the state and we couldn’t do any better.

Service or Subservience?

2008-06-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last year, the Brand I work for began a project to “re-stack” the cubicles, offices and conference rooms at my office space. This is a very polite way to say they were re-sizing to make it possible for more people to inhabit the building.

The first section to be re-sized was the north end of my floor – where I work. The commencement of that re-model project temporarily moved me and my colleagues into the very close proximity of our customer service phone shop for almost half a year. Every day, we heard one side of the calls customer service representatives took from those customers with a problem of some kind.

I don’t want to give the impression that there are huge numbers of complaints. We do a pretty good job with our products and services. I know, I sound like a sports team “homer” but so what? I am a big fan of my brand, my colleagues and our products. Those products and services are great and they work. And when surveyed, a large proportion of our customers love us, or like us a lot (what we call, “top-two-box.)

But with financial products or services, excellence depends not only on what we do, but also on the execution of merchants and third-party vendors, the avoidance of crooks who perpetrate fraud, and even merchant product quality.

Our harried customer service representatives field calls about a variety of customer concerns, and it is very different to spend the bulk of your day dealing with the complaining portion of the consuming public than it is to listen in to an hour of customer calls on a weekly basis in order to make product feature decisions (which people of my profession routinely do.)

Being a captive audience to one side of those conversations gave me and my colleagues a new insight into patterns in the calls.

One example: for a period of time a very hard-working immigrant from an African nation, who spoke English with what sounded like an Eastern –European accent, sat just north of my office. It is one thing to read in the financial press that Americans are opposed to the off-shoring of customer service, and quite another to notice that every other caller, obnoxiously asked this conscientious young man where he lived. I could tell by the young man’s reaction that the caller did not for a minute believe him when he replied, “Salt Lake City, why do you ask?”

This frustrated young man from time to time became very combative, and all of us who heard him felt deeply sorry that he had to endure the abuse that was heaped on him day after day. His immigration story was heart-wrenching and heroic. His work ethic was first-rate. His grasp of English was better by far than say, my grasp of Spanish when I’m visiting Mexico. Honestly, I think this kid is smarter than me.

Another example: while at lunch with a former colleague I overheard another patron verbally abusing a waitress over something related to the food. Not her fault really – she handles the service, but remember, the kitchen doesn’t face the public, they face only management and waiters and waitresses. As the waitress apologetically walked away to fix the problem, and after already causing her more trouble than the bulk of us, the patron commented about the size – or rather lack of size of her future tip.

It is my general observation that most people are bullies to the weak and helpless who don’t seem to matter. If you aren’t weak or helpless, you are probably a bully from time to time too. And there are few people with less power than a customer service representative.

If there seems to be no love in most customer service, perhaps it is less about training on the part of the company, or desire on the part of the employee, and more about the last ten customers who verbally abused them. If there is one thing I have learned well it is that in order to change the dynamics of a relationship, you need only change one side of the equation.

If you want better service, you need to be more like my Dad. He is polite and patient with everyone, most especially the weak and helpless. When he knows it, he uses their name. He thanks them. He is genuine and respectful. He uses the words “please” and “thank you.” He compliments them. He is consistent. Listening to him, you would think he was dealing with the president of the company. And it has been my life-long observation that he gets better service than most people I know, especially where he is well known.

Another observation: Companies are rewarding customers for obnoxious behavior. The unhappy customer that doesn’t push and abuse, demand and cajole, will get no compensational perk.

The jerk, on the other hand – well now, company polices and partially empowered employees and managers will credit their account, send them movie tickets or some other such thing, and thank them profusely for their abuse, bow and scrape. We’ve set up our front-line employees and we’ve ensured that the abuse will continue to escalate.

There are ways to overcome these issues, but the current policies of most customer service organizations, policies devised by re-engineering project managers and approved by senior managers, lead to unintended consequences and escalation remains hidden to those “strategists.”

Those re-engineering project managers are people who jump from one operation to another, think they understand all the pertinent data in minutes, but miss the nuances. They are really good with process maps, project plans and “managing upward.” We’ve left the devising of our most important relationships to people with a cursory understanding of the dynamics or consequences of these key relationships.

These re-engineering project managers think they are more clever than the experts. The experts are those people who do this each and every day. And on that rare occasion when the re-engineering project manager does ask and listen to the experts, they routinely ignore what they say.

Next time you decide some pierced, tattooed, baggy-panted, and very bored or unhappy looking minimum wage service jockey needs a bit of straightening out, take a moment to think about who actually determined the policies, designed the product, or determined the process for that service. Chances are that guy has an MBA, owns the house next door and makes a lot more than minimum wage.

Oh, and he can’t figure out why he can’t find good help these days.

The Root of Civility

2008-06-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Former Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo has said that, "Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom." Now that, is a brilliant expression!

At least one writer (Salman Rushdie) has expressed the belief that "without freedom to offend," freedom of expression "ceases to exist."

Despite the brilliance of Rushdie, I respectfully disagree with him. And in a time when communication appears to have become so much more careless, offensive, and frankly just plain rude, we need, as a society to figure out how to protect this basic and fundamental right without destroying the slender and fragile threads of civility that hold our society together.

Earlier this week and in another forum, I wrote: "Don't you wish there were a way to indicate non-verbal ques in our emails? How often I would have loved to have had a symbol that indicated my tongue in my cheek, but feel it is somehow not quite manly to use those silly little "emoticoms" with their insipid - more leering than smiley faces!

I'm convinced that the biggest problem with the electronic forms of communication and discussion is that the non-verbal and face-to-face components have been removed but we still expect that they are present. Since our brains are designed to make rapid value judgments, we still make the assumptions we would if we were in a face-to-face discussion but without what communication experts say is as much as 90% of the needed 'data.'

It is a huge problem getting bigger as more and more interpersonal communication is short and written - and getting shorter and more written (texting is showing this trend to be fairly permanent and even more short-handed!)

Seth Godin, a tremendously brilliant marketing writer and consultant, believes that anonymity is killing the civility of our society. I think that it's corollary, "faceless-ness," is a huge component of this destruction. The bottom line though, is that communication is risky even with, or perhaps especially with, the people we love most."

These twin facets, anonymity and faceless-ness, indicate that the real problem with rude or offensive communication or expression is not the inherent freedom, but instead the inherent lack of respect for those with whom we are communicating. If we do not know our audience then we do not even understand those things which might offend. If we cannot see that audience, we often have no idea how real - and bright, they may be.

Ah, you may say, "Lon, you idiot, if your premise is right and we know our audience and we know that something we will say will offend them, then curtailing that communication is to limit our freedom of expression. Rushdie was right!" I did not say we should curtail our expression. But respect for those with whom we communication requires us to work at it.

The root of civility is not conformity or a lack of freedom.

The root of civility is respect.

If we have a tough message to deliver, or a variant point of view, and we need to convince a person we love and respect that this point of view is worth embracing - or at least understanding, we work very hard at crafting the right message, and delivering it persuasively. This is not limiting our freedom of expression - it is merely taking care in its delivery.

One of the mistakes I think that some "constitutionalists" make is believing that expression is an "offensive" word printed boldly and openly on an outer garment. Those of us who don't have to wrestle with theoretic constitutional positions know what the judges cannot admit to in public: those who do such want to shock and offend. They weren't looking so much for expression as for shock value. They want attention - even negative attention.

Expression is the verbalization of one's point of view, thoughts, or values. And you can offend without having a point of view, thought or value.

But if we follow Rushdie to the end of his expression, then perfect freedom is a world in which everyone says whatever comes to their mind at any time no matter who may be shocked, offended or even harmed.

Yelling "FIRE" when there is none, in a crowded theater is the usual example. When, in the rush to get out of the theater, one or more are injured or killed, the expression or thought has just led to damage.

I suspect you have witnessed a political debate where the carefully practiced civility of the candidates breaks down pretty quickly. At the root of that breakdown is contempt for the ideas and opinions of the other candidate or candidates, and the belief that everyone with any intelligence agrees with them. That is a simple lack of respect, my friends.

The opinions of another candidate or citizen may not be worth the effort, but the right to hold them is the same for one candidate - or citizen as for the other.

How well I remember my father, a career military officer, saying he may not agree with my opinion, but would fight to the death for my right to hold it. I don't think we hear those kinds of expressions any more. They seem too quaint. And that is just too bad, because "lay down their life" is exactly what too many have done so that we can have the freedom of expression.

So I am trying to add the element of respect to my freedom of expression. When I write an email, a paper (or even this blog), or when I speak with anyone else I'm picturing and respecting the self-same rights and intelligence of my audience. (You all are quite bright and beautiful, aren't you!)

When I get an email, or read a post, or hear someone speak and something expressed is obnoxious and offends me, I'm trying to remember that they obviously forgot, or didn't know, that a brilliant, cultured, well-read, hard-working and handsome fellow like me was going to read or hear their remarks. I'm going to try to be self-satisfied enough to ignore the offense.

Why? Well, I'd like to see civility restored in my community, and since I am the only member of my community I can possibly change, I'm just working on me. If you'd like to join me in my little quest, you are free to do so.

Full of Gratitude

2008-06-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. There were several reasons, but let me just name a few.

My son, in his late twenties, who recently tried to end it all for the second time in as many weeks appears to have finally hit rock bottom and last night agreed not to resist the efforts of professionals, family and friends to help him detox and try to turn things around.

As his Mother and I watched him prepare for transport to an in-patient facility, we felt true hope for the first time in 14-years. Yes, he may break our hearts once again by choosing not to make the effort. It may take many more years for him to become the productive, happy, responsible and law-abiding citizen we want him to be. But today, I am grateful for all the love, support, prayers and expressions of support we have received through this ordeal.

I’m especially grateful to my friend and Brother, Kim – an expert in this kind of thing, who took my calls, counseled with me, and got me through it all. Once again, my friend, I owe you.

I’m not sure we always give those who simply get up in the morning, go to work, act responsibly, obey the law, help their neighbors, take care of their kids, and make a small but significant and positive contribution to our society the credit they deserve. When you see up close and personal the pain, suffering and toll those who don’t do those seemingly simple things cause, you begin to see how truly special those civil people are. Today, I am grateful for all my neighbors in this community who do all those "small" things.

I was also so grateful this morning to wake and discover that Congressman Chris Cannon will be coming home soon. It is not so much because I don’t like Congressman Cannon and his politics (I don’t), or even because I think Jason Chaffetz represents my view-point any better (he doesn’t.) It is really more because I believe that Cincinnatus needs to return home to the farm after his job is done in order to make Washington DC operate better. (If you don't know who Cincinatius is, find and read the story of this man's life. It is worth the effort.)

And those who cannot do the job in one or two terms ought to step aside voluntarily while those who think they are the only ones – or one of the few who can do the job, well, they need to get a reality check.

I am generally against term limits because I think the voters ought to always have the final say, but our current system has shown that the voter is a poor regulator of incumbent longevity, and perhaps my theoretical approach has been proven false by the very practical results.

It is ironic that the Utah Senator (Hatch) who unseated his incumbent opponent more than two decades ago largely because the incumbent had been in DC too long to be in touch with his constituents has now outlasted that former incumbent. It is also paradoxical that he was seen in political ads for Cannon arrogantly instructing us all that we just don’t understand how Washington works, and that you have to be a long-term incumbent in order to get things done.

If all our representatives came home after one or two terms, the system would have to change because one of its legs had been kicked out from under it.

Of course, it is all our fault – Really! We have the kind of government we deserve. When we have less people “show up for a primary election than would show up for a poorly attended BYU Football game”(Doug Wright, The Doug Wright Show, KSL, June, 25, 2008) we have no one to blame but ourselves.

On the other hand, if you are not a member of the dominant ruling party (like me), there was nothing to vote for or against in the primary. So my gratitude is for all those who decided to bring him home, and also for all those who thought he ought to stay one more term but were unable or unwilling to get to the polls and vote. I think this time the apathetic (or perhaps just pathetic) party-line non-voters did us a great service.

Thank you all.

The Feast of Saint John

2008-06-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Evening, approximately fifty Utah Masons gathered in the Banquet Hall of the Salt Lake Masonic Temple to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, one of two days venerated by Masons (the other being also named the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist – December 27th.) The celebration included food, toasts, and an exceptional special guest speaker.

You may wonder why Masons, who welcome to their doors honorable men of various classes and creeds, celebrate these two feast days. Phillip G. Elam, past Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Missouri has written that, "No satisfactory explanation has yet been advanced to explain why operative Masons adopted these two particular Christian saints, when, for example, St. Thomas, the patron of architecture and building, was already in wide use … It was a common custom in the Middle Ages for craftsmen to place themselves under the protection of some saint of the church. All the London trades appear to have ranged themselves under the banner of some saint and if possible they chose one who bore fancied relation to their trades … Eleven or more medieval trade guilds chose John the Baptist as their Patron Saint. Even after exhaustive research by some of the best Masonic scholars, no one can say with any certainty why Freemasons adopted the two Saints John, or why they continue to celebrate feast days when they once held a far different significance. However, the appropriateness of the two Johns is obvious in our system of Great Moral Teachings, if we consider the spiritual suggestion of their lives.” (http://www.geocities.com/athens/oracle/1190/stjohnb.html)

My Mother Lodge, Wasatch No. 1, hosted the Feast. The food was provided for us by our able stewards and was the more than edible fare from Johnny Carino's Italian Kitchen. The Feast, “Table Lodge,” or “Festive Board” is a fairly formal event (black tie was optional) and there were a fair number of tuxedo’s. Not one member of the Utah Masonic Family in attendance was clothed in less than a dark suit and tie. The Feast came under the direction of Jason Mitchell, the Worshipful Master of Wasatch Lodge No 1.

For those of you who know little of Masons, the Worshipful Master is in effect the President of the Lodge, and is elected in Wasatch for a term of one-year by the Master Masons of the Lodge. He is assisted in his duties by a senior and junior Warden, the equivalent of 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents. There are also other officers including the Secretary, Treasurer, Deacons, Stewards, Trustees, the Chaplain, the Marshall and the Tyler. The term “Worshipful” does not make our Lodge Master a deity, as some have supposed, but is reminiscent of English Guilds and has a meaning more in keeping with the word “Honorable.”

Our Secretary, Jason Varner, opened the Feast and set us to work on the food after a prayer (which I was honored to offer.) After toasts, under the direction of John Liley, Jason then introduced our special guest and speaker, Robert G. Davis of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Before I tell you a little about Brother Davis and his remarks, let me explain that Masonic toasting is a traditional experience with as much decorum and convention as anything else we do.

Toasting is done with “Cannons” (or heavy tumblers very often adorned with Masonic symbols) and the cannons may be "charged" with beer, wine, water, or as in my case, a soft-drink (Coca-Cola being my own personal vice.) We were “upstanding” for a series of toasts prior to the speaker and again after Bob Davis completed his remarks. At the final toast the Worshipful Master led us in a formal toast called the “Tyler’s Toast” – which I can only best describe to you as a form of toast and prayer all rolled into one.

Robert G. Davis is an interested, well-traveled, and well-educated man, who has been a Mason for the majority of his adult life, has attained most if not all of the Masonic Honors available, and has studied and written extensively on the concept of manhood. He delivered a paper he has written on this subject which will be published later this year in a prestigious Masonic Research publication (Proceedings of Quartor Coronati Lodge No 2076.) His remarks were well received and he reminded us of a number of important Masonic concepts, first among them that Masonry is about the transformation of men from “guys” into true men of honor and virtue, and that this transformation in one, few or many ultimately raises the status of our much maligned gender.

Bob Davis is one of those authors I read with relish – no, no, no! … that phrase does not put it into proper perspective. His viewpoint is one I have pondered and shared since I first read his paper, “Understanding Manhood in America: The Elusive Quest for the Ideal in Masculinity,” originally published in 2002 (in the Scottish Rite publication, Heredom.) From the moment I heard that our Master had invited Bob to speak to us I looked forward to this night like a kid on Christmas Eve. I tried to take notes of his remarks, but found that I could capture little of his words in my “little black book” as each sentence of his paper was filled with though-provoking theories. After a while, I sat the book down and just tried to absorb his words and notions.

Bob noted that men need models, that we need close emotional relationships with other men, that we need to be mentored into true manhood and that we have an internal need to mentor other men. He said that “our conversations with other men allow us to make meaningful comparisons” when we face the exigent circumstances of life. He reminded us that women cannot teach us what it is to be a man and that only men can model true manhood for other men. And he observed, “being a guy is embedded in our genes, if you’ll pardon the pun,” right before indicating that it is this “guy” in us that we need to keep in check in order to achieve true manhood.

There was much more, "Masonically speaking," to his comments, but most of you won’t care about my notes on the need for “symbolic interaction” and “the sacred space of the lodge,” but be assured that these are honorable notions and not simply gathering to perform ritual or simply “be guys.”

Bob’s comments reminded me of an excerpt that I read last week. Arthur Laffer speaking last month to graduates of Mercer University said: “Pursuing your dream of prospering will benefit everyone … When I graduated from Yale University, we had a serious commencement speaker not like the one you are stuck with today. The commencement speaker was President John F. Kennedy. And the point I am making today is the same point he made all those years ago. He said, ‘No American is ever made better by pulling a fellow American down, and all of us are made better off whenever any one of us is made better off.’ He concluded by using the analogy that ‘a rising tide raises all boats.’ Never forget or be ashamed of the fact that pursuing your own self interest furthers everyone’s interest. Without you, the poor would be poorer.” (WSJ, “Notable and Quotable,” 19 June 2008)

Bob similarly noted that when one guy becomes a man, a true man of honor and virtue, he confers and raises the status of all men, and I’ll note here that there was never a time in history when the status of men needed to be raised any more than now. But it is not a matter of spin. Men need to become the best men they can become and that alone will reflect appropriate status and honor upon our gender.

It was a wonderful evening. It was my own first “Festive Board.” I’d not participated in formal toasting since my “Dining Out” days in the Air Force, and that is a ritual men seem to enjoy in both forums. It is always a pleasure to gather with my Fraternal Brothers, men I would run across the Sahara to assist, and who are similarly there for me. They are good men, men of honor and virtue. And they are good friends. I’ve never in my life experienced the kind of brotherhood that I find in Masonry.

Every interaction with my brothers, from our exemplary Utah Grand Master, my mentors and Lodge officers, to our most recently “obligated” Entered Apprentice, is a pleasure I cherish. I need the influence of my beloved women to soften and lift my life, but I also need the example and conversation of upright men, including my own respectable and principled Father, and the symbolic interaction Bob spoke about to make me the man I can become.

Note: You may read more of Bob’s papers at http//robertgdavis.blogspot.com (or by following the link in the left hand corner of this blog. His paper, “Manhood in America,” is available at: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/manhood_america.html)

Electronic Books

2008-06-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Y'all know of my deep love of books. Today, I wish to address a few thoughts on new reading technology I am watching closely.

Seth Godin has written a wonderful blog about the new Kindle available though Amazon (who appear to be running for their life these days just like Borders.) Frankly, I could have stopped with “Seth Godin has written a wonderful blog” as his blog is worth the effort each and every day. (By-the-way, his thoughts Wednesday about "Little Miss Matched" were exceptional.) You can read this blog here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/06/random-thoughts.html

Seth’s comments on the Kindle are, as always, very constructive. He hit home for me with a number of his insights because I read books from my Palm and have done for several years and they ring true. In fact, as I find my phone beginning to do almost all the things my Palm used to do, I still keep my out-dated Palm for the library of books I have amassed.

But I’ve been a bit ambivalent on the replacement of books with electronic equivalents because I like the feel of a book in my hand – especially the fine leather classics I love so much. I've done it, but I am not ready to give up my library. It is convenient. I can take my Palm out of my pocket or briefcase anywhere when I'm stuck (or completely bored) and read something worthwhile.

The screen of my Palm, back-lit as it is, allows me to read much smaller print than I can read on a paper page without excellent lighting and/or my reading glasses. However, the size also means that it is not all that comfortable or convenient to hold. It's plastic not leather. And when we talk about lighting, please note that I cannot read my Palm screen outdoors very well, and this precludes my reading on the beach, even though I have waterproof protection for my Palm that would allow me to dive with it.

You also miss all the cool graphics on the cover when you read from a Palm. And let's face it, so many people purchase a book because of it's cover graphics. As reasoned as I would like to think I am when I shop, I do it too. I read the inside cover, page through and read here and there to determine I will enjoy not only the story line or topic but also the factual content and the writing style of the author. But most often when I am in a bookstore, I have found two books I'd like and should only purchase one, (or three and should only buy two) it is often the cover that pushes me over the edge. (How very humanly emotional of me! But then, that is why I think cover art is there - to make us pick it up and "break ties.")

My first explorations into the Kindle led me to believe that they are headed in the right direction. Let me tell you why.

Several weeks ago, I had dinner with my boss and a colleague from New York at Spencer’s in the Salt Lake Hilton. The steaks were excellent. WOW! were they expensive though! I’d forgotten since I last visited there several years ago that you need to have a credit rating in excess of 700 to eat there. Since my Ad days at the City Weekly, I’ve heard people say that Spencer’s was over-rated. I disagree. It just isn’t a good value. When you can get a steak at Ruby River of similar quality and flavor for $10 - $15 less, well, the better value is to be had there. My boss was paying so I am not really complaining, but when I pay we will go elsewhere.

I tell you this only as an aside. The real point is that while we were dining, my colleague mentioned that she had recently moved from Houston to New York and had to throw or give away tons of stuff - including most of her library, in order to fit in their new housing. In Manhattan, 800 square feet is pretty expensive and you’ve got to have more than just a low six-figure income to purchase much more. A few of my New York colleagues pay as much each month to house a car as I pay for my 4,000 square foot Rambler in South Jordan, Utah sitting on slightly more than a third of an acre.

I remember thinking, at that moment, if I ever moved to New York I would need something like a Kindle because my books are over-flowing my current space. No, over-flowing isn't right - they are bursting my downstairs office at the very seams! Seth sums up why I continue to wait to make the whole-hearted switch to electronic reading. The Kindle is fairly new technology. It is priced poorly right now. It is not yet customer or author friendly. As Seth put it, "My bet is that this is just round one. Round five could be/should be powerful indeed."

Someone will figure it all out, and soon the books loaded on them will be priced more for readers and authors. We'll be able to see the cool cover art when we buy the books. (You can already read the dust cover summary and book excerpts on-line, but you just can't see the art - it's effectiveness as a "tie-breaker" is killed by those little thumbnails.)

When they have all that handled and there are several competitors, I’ll be looking to move from fine leather in my hand to plastic? No, why not fine leather around my electronic reader? And you product geniuses, don’t forget I love to read at the beach as well as in the bed or office. Ensure it feels good in my hand, is well-priced, and I can read at home without a light and on the beach without glare and you have a customer.

But until then, The Illiad just reads better in leather.

That Minimum Wage Job

2008-06-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

I cannot thank my daughter's minimum wage employer enough. You see, there is no better argument for her complete focus on a college degree than to remind her of her own tales of what I call the “managerial type” inherent in places that hire young students.

Recently, a dear friend and former colleague gave me a copy of the book, You Want Fries with That: A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage by Prioleau Alexander. This is a hilarious look at minimum wage jobs in America, but you won’t be very far into it when you realize that this highlights what is going very wrong with customer service in America. Here’s a hint: It isn’t simply the work ethic of the coming generation, folks.

Because I am interested in good management everywhere, I’ve been cataloging my own mental lists of things good business governance and management ought to do and the opposites of good management. There are patterns in both Prioleau’s descriptions of minimum wage positions and my daughter's descriptions of her job. As I have tried to tell my son and daughters over the years, there are lots of things wrong with the hamster wheel that is upwardly mobile corporate life, but those things are nothing in comparison with life at the bottom in fast food, retail, phone shops, mall kiosk and far too many “sole-prop” businesses.

It should be noted that many branch or department managers, supervisors, directors, lead persons, foremen, team leaders, and shift supervisors are nothing more than minimum wage jockeys who managed to survive and moved up the chain. They are not well-trained, and generally parrot the words and actions of their former supervisor. It is also important to remember that all you have to do to start a hierarchy is to put a group of humans together. (Or monkeys – this works with all social animals.)

So kids, if the job is minimum wage and you find the training to be more about how to fill out your time card, or what happens when you don’t clock out than about the actual job, you may want to skip it.

On the other hand, if the training is so detailed that you know where you will be standing at, oh, say 11:03 AM on Saturday morning and it will be every Saturday morning, that may be a sign that initiative or thinking isn’t really required either.

If the words, "We didn't hire you to think," ever pass through the lips of your boss, you can be sure of one thing. He or she doesn't think much either.

If you just said, “What training?” that's not a good sign this is a career position.

If you have to find your own coverage for time off, that would be a very good indicator that the manager has decided to: a) cut staff to minimum acceptable levels for financial reasons, b) give up on all that silly interpersonal stuff, and c) become a babysitter.

If there is no “formal procedure” for updating the schedule with “buddy coverage” (i.e. a half sheet of paper that has been copied from a copy of a copy and no longer “sits” square on the paper) and to change shifts you scratch out your name and write in Becky’s name on the calendar with a red pen, you might as well quit now as wait for the fifteenth time Becky didn’t show up for your shift and you got in trouble because “You are responsible for getting reliable coverage for your shift!”

And if you continually cover for people who won’t cover for you, well, you don’t deserve a high school diploma so drop out now.

If motivational or corrective techniques include yelling, screaming, threatening, and doing it in front of other employees or customers; and does not include “Would you please ...,” “Thank You,” “What do you think the problem is?” or “ I think you did that very well,” find a better sort of minimum wage job if you can.

If the customer is always right, and your manager is never around to deal with them when company policies conflict with this “maxim,” then transfer yourself to a stockperson’s position and talk to the shelves all night.

If the usual customer is always angry, skip the job.

If you fill out an application at the customer service desk and turn it in to the employee behind said counter, and she looks at you like you are “nuts” or “new meat,” skip the experience.

If she cringes when the boss yells at her to bring you into the back room for a “look-see,” walk away now.

If other employees tell you that “Day-Vee” is the clear favorite within ten minutes of meeting them, you probably need to check out today. Davey’s lips won’t be displaced by anything but promotion and then you’ll have to work for him.

If “more hours” depends more on whether you are in “good graces” than it does on the amount of work to be done, run, don’t walk, to the exit.

If you start at minimum wage and raises come when the minimum wage rises, there is a good chance that no one is actually there long enough to get one.

If “because I said so, “ and “you know what rolls downhill” are the reasons for doing something you wouldn’t do at home, this isn’t a place for civilized people.

If your boss spends more time at sexual harassment training than any other form of training, you don’t want to be the next lawsuit the organization experiences.

And lastly, if you and all your co-workers love your boss but aren't that thrilled about the job, and it isn't because he or she is cute and datable, quit now! If your boss is doing the kinds of things that make you love them, they will either a) be promoted, b) quit for better pastures, or c) be fired for not getting better results. Then you will get the boss we've been talking about.

All in all though, if you have any questions whether college is for you, take one of these jobs. They will be a reminder to you each and every day that a) there are things worse than the Army National Guard, b) a college or technical school degree is not that big a sacrifice, and c) prison isn’t the only place where you can meet truly sadistic people.

And if you are stuck in one of these things until you get that college degree and need something to get you through, well then consider this fact. The idiot you call boss is only marginally higher than you on the food chain, rents an apartment and drives a rust bucket and – wait for it - makes no more than $10/hour. With an MBA, you can someday downsize them.

There, doesn’t that feel better.

Crime and Punishment

2008-06-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

It is far past time for me to speak out about an issue we need to address as a society and nation. It’s been my observation that social issues have pendulums that swing from left to right, from liberal to conservative, or from lenient to unyielding depending upon your point of view.

There are, however, social pendulums which, despite physical laws otherwise, never seem to cross over the desired balance of mid-point and remain ever swinging in the more unyielding direction. These social pendulums, which never seem to balance, have to do with crime and punishment.

Early yesterday morning, my troubled and hopeless son tried to take his own life with the anti-depressants that were recently prescribed to keep just such a thing from taking place. The attempt came at the end of one of the most hopeful periods of his adult life. Step by step he was cleaning things up and had more to look forward to than ever before.

From an early age, after involvement with a crummy crowd, he began a lifestyle that brought him in direct and frequent confrontation with the law. The skirmishes were pretty one-sided, and before he was twenty he owed in excess of forty thousand dollars in fines and restitution.

The High School diploma he barely earned in two serious years of class work (mostly because Grandpa took two years out of his life to tutor, mentor and monitor him) qualified him for jobs ranging from $5.50/hour to $8.00/hour. Even without any additional interest, minimal living expenses, and no family or auto, he was facing more than a decade to repay all his fines.

Now let me note that while some may think that the fines were in lieu of prison time, such is not the case. He’d done the allotted time. Upon release, he faced the second of the two punishments for his crime.

Those crushing fines with little opportunity for repayment got suddenly bigger when he was released from parole and the state then added interest to the debts. Suddenly, a young man who could not qualify for a loan that big found himself buried in debt.

He is not alone. There are far too many in that position. And most of them won’t even try, as he has, to be a productive member of society. They will just join with others who have the same problems, drop out of civilized society, and stay ahead of the law until they finally get caught and return to prison.

Well, if you’ve suspended your judgment long enough to read this far, here is the problem: A system that provides unintended consequences! In our zeal as a community to deter crime with stiff punishments, steep fines and hefty restitution, we’ve unwittingly developed a system of justice that makes it impossible for released criminals to join our civilized society and become reformed and productive citizens.

Forget, for just a moment, the fact that our jails and prisons are institutions of advanced criminal learning and have nothing to do with either reformation or deterrence. Forget that our aggressive prosecutors (often looking for a political career) pile on charges so that one offense can equal a dozen charges. Forget that those prosecutors in our system have no motivation to seek the truth. And forget too that public defenders are often overworked, underpaid, and also often not the top of their law class at a less than stellar name law school.

Forget that we turn a blind eye to the violence perpetrated by the inmates on one another because after all, we don’t really care what one criminal does to another as long as they aren’t doing it to us.

Lets just look at what happens to us when our young men (mostly black and Hispanic, but of European descent too) come out of those earthly versions of Dante’s Inferno. And lets pretend one of them comes out with real, sincere intent to rejoin civilized society and become a productive part of it.

They have girlfriends. They have family. They get jobs – but not the one’s which disallow felons. They have debts. They live in what they can afford – mostly pigsties. They work hard – harder than almost anyone in American except our immigrants, because that is the kind of job a felon gets (well, unless he has a celebrity clause or wrote a book and can go on the speaking circuit.)

They make very little. They never dent the debts. They sink into desperation. Some drink to escape. Some get angry. Some do drugs. And when the desperation is overwhelming, and they realize that the deck is stacked against them, they return to crime. And they feel absolutely justified.

And the charges begin to rack up. And the fines increase. If they aren’t violent, or a white-collar criminal, or a child molester, then they aren’t going back inside. A lot of times, it is just DUIs. And until you’ve killed someone or had many multiples of those, you just add fines.

So the debt increases. And social workers utter words of hope that both the released felon and the social worker know to be untrue. The young man started it by being anti-social but now an unforgiving system and society finished it by ensuring that he never re-enters society.

And politicians and talk-show hosts continue to talk about crime and how we need to get tougher on criminals – especially the habitual criminals, when we built the system that creates habitual criminals out of wild young men.

I am not arguing for leniency. I am not arguing for punishments that are hardly more than a slap on the wrist. I am not arguing for the release of any felon before he “pays his debt to society” (now there is a phrase I grew up with that you never hear any more.)

At the root of all this is the feeling that those of us in civilized society are somehow superior to those we characterize as Darwinian animals in the prisons. (Another phrase I grew up with that I never hear anymore is, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”)

What I am arguing for is an end to it all when the time has been completed, for reasonable fines that are not impossible to repay, and that we impose fines or impose jail time, but not both. I am arguing that it is time to clean up prisons and provide the same level of protection for all citizens, incarcerated or at liberty. I am asking for the opportunity for those to go astray to come back and be a part of polite society if they so choose.

I am calling for a reformation of the whole system.

What we are doing isn't working. And the experts seem smart, well-educated and well-intentioned, but they aren't getting the results we need (and the proof, after all, of how smart they really are is in the pudding!")

I am asking that we at least try to reclaim some of those lost 2 billion who sit today in prison in this country, and millions more who are currently out, but may soon be re-incarcerated because they have no hope.

In short, I am asking that you consider that there is another side to the “crime and punishment pendulum” - that pendulum marked justice on one side and mercy on the other, and do something to balance that pendulum so that our entire society can benefit.

After all is said, do you think prison is free or that inmates pay for it? What is the worth to our society of a reformed and productive human being? It is much more than the price of that prison bed, my friend. It is life itself.

The 64th Anniversary of D-Day

2008-06-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

64-years ago, June 6, 1944, Allied Forces began the operation that came to be known as D-Day. A little more than 2 ½ years after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor plunged the US into that great European struggle, many of what some have called “the greatest generation” paid the ultimate price for freedom and liberty.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking – no that is not right, he was praying out loud on a radio broadcast to the nation, said, “Almighty God. Our sons, pride of our nations, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor. A struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity. They will be sore tried by night and by day without rest until the victory is won. Some will never return. Embrace these Father and receive them, the heroic servants, into Thy Kingdom."

This morning on the radio, I heard a D-Day survivor describing what it was like see the front of those “Higgins Boats” drop, to push out into the sea through the bodies of those dead and dying, then to reach the beach and simultaneously work to avoid tumbling over the dead in the sand while trying to take the beach from those who fought like lions to keep it.

I’ve been on those beaches. As a mere child living just outside of Paris my parents took me to see those places. They didn’t think the enormity and sacredness of it got through to me, but it did. I will never forget my horror at learning that the Nazi soldiers would shoot down a paratrooper while he helplessly hung there, the cords of his parachute dangling him in front of deadly guns like a duck sitting on a pond during hunting season.

I’ve also visited Pearl Harbor twice, and with my own daughters met and talked with a survivor of that small holocaust. The horror of that event never ceases to move me to tears. On these days of anniversary, the sacrifice that so few made for the rest of us causes me to stop, to ponder the terrible loss, and to feel a gratitude for men and women I mostly never met.

My own military service during peacetime is no comparison for what these men and women did. My own service is no match for the sacrifices my own Father and Uncle made during Vietnam. Neither is it the equivalent of the service of my own brother Brandt in countless “skirmishes,” over twenty years, or of my son-in-law Jake, who has served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

But I’ve never bought that whole “greatest generation” thing. I grew up on military bases – they were MY home town! I’ve met real heroes from every war or conflict of my lifetime. They were not all of that one generation. And none of those who fought at Anzio also fought at Valley Forge or Gettysburg. How can we forget those sacrifices?

I tend to believe that if those of the current generation were faced with a similar need they would step into the sea and fight their way onto the beach just like the soldiers of that generation.

But I don’t need to view any generation as “greatest” or “best” or “finest-kind” to feel deep gratitude for those who made places like Omaha, Normandy, Ford Island, Guadalcanal or Anzio sacred places.

Today I say, as I often do, to all who have worn any of the uniforms of the US Armed Forces in wartime; thank you for your service and sacrifice.

And I add, to all of those who wore those uniforms at any time, who trained and prepared, and even expected to be called upon; thank you for your preparation and your readiness.

Without all of you, there would be no freedom and liberty in this nation.

Last High School Graduation

2008-06-04T10:16:00.001-07:00

Okay, so my baby graduated from High School yesterday and I am officially old. And after driving nearly an hour (in awful traffic) to get Natalie to the UVU Special Events Center an hour early, sitting through almost three hours of Graduation, and driving back home in that same traffic - I am also officially tired.

I don't know why High School Graduations must include so many speeches by people that we wouldn't normally listen to, but they do. At the Bingham High Graduation, the Senior Class President did a very nice job welcoming all, introducing some of highlights of their experience, and keeping things moving. And the Valedictorian did a decent job too.

The Jordan District Superintendent obviously knew what he was doing too, as his remarks were very short, relevant and well received. Why Principals and School Board members think any of us want to hear their rambling about - well, whatever, is beyond me. If ever I have to speak at one of these affairs, I will be short, pithy, and funny and then sit down.

And the music - why? I recall, out there in Victorville, California at my fairly small graduation on the football field that we had the school Jazz Band playing. Today it seems we must have several numbers by elements of the choir, and the band or orchestra must also play not only a prelude but also at least one number. At the Bingham Graduation, this was a lengthy, fairly obscure and unusual symphonic piece that will not engender appreciation from those who are not classicists, and was not all that well played to boot.

Is it possible that all the vocal and instrumental arts groups do not have enough opportunities for performance? Hardly. And when it takes a full hour to get all the grads their diploma covers - why would we ever add more?

It was worth it all for my Natalie. And my Natalie has a sensibly outgoing personality. She spotted us in the audience (a major accomplishment) and ensured that she turned toward us often so we could take pictures of her throughout the event. We were reminded of the other High School Graduations we have attended, Lyssha at Olympus, Lee at Alta, and Nicole at West Jordan. It was a bit nostalgic.

But I can't imagine why I would want to attend another one of these as long as I live. I think this is why we keep photos but do not ask for DVDs of the entire affair. We can relive the high points of the experience with pictures, and skip the rest. (For the record, not a single flash went off while the principal, superintendent or school board member were speaking. It seems no one wanted to remember that part of the program. )

Thankfully, there are many years before I will have to think about attending these for grandchildren.

Daughters and Granddaughters

2008-06-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

One of my six granddaughters spent Friday night and a large part of Saturday with us. Ali is five, very bright, and if there are no words coming from her mouth she is asleep. It is that simple. She is very creative. And has more energy that that Energizer Bunny thing!

We went to Apollo Burger for lunch on Saturday. Because Apollo was one of the Greek pantheon of gods, for years it has been an inside joke with my friend and former colleague, Todd, to refer to the place as "Greek-God" Burger, as in, "I'll meet you noonish at Greek-God Burger on Thursday."

So, as I held Ali's hand on the way into the Greek Fast Food Restaurant, Ali asked, "Popie, What is this place?" and I answered without thinking, "Greek-God Burger." Her incredulous look led me to realize that I had made a mistake, and I quickly told her it was Apollo Burger.

Imagine the look on Nicole's face later in the day when Ali told her that we had lunch at "the restaurant where Jesus cooks."

And speaking of Nicole, she had the first of what I am sure will be several wedding showers on Saturday evening. This one was given by Dan's Grandmother. Nicole was taken back by the generosity of the many friends of Dan's family that Nicole has never even met. As always, Nicole was gracious and I'm sure they all loved her. (How could they not?)

Sunday, my youngest daughter, Natalie, rounded out my very feminine weekend when she graduated from the 4-year LDS Seminary program. (Thankfully there was some balance when I had lunch with my son Friday, and then attended Lodge later that night and enjoyed the camaraderie of my fraternal brothers!)

There are Seminary buildings adjacent to the Middle and High Schools in Utah and parts of Idaho. These students either attend early in the morning before school starts, or during the day in a "release time" arrangement where they give up an elective to take the religion class. These classes are more than Sunday School, but less than a full-blown religion class and teach LDS youth how to apply the theology of their faith to their everyday life.

Both Natalie and Nicole are graduates of Seminary. Both were deeply impressed and influenced by their experiences. Both have an inner spiritual strength I don't think I possessed when I was their age. And both are committed to living a good, moral, and productive life. I continue to be very impressed with and by them.

I realized Sunday that we are learning things about our Natalie that we didn't know because we never attended school with her. We always knew she was bright, social, sensitive and very funny. What we are seeing now is that she is extremely thoughtful, artistic and empathetic. It is interesting what you don't see until they are all grown up!

All in all, it was a very satisfying weekend of daughters and granddaughters! Hawkeye Pierce would have said it, "Finestkind!"

It was never the economy - stupid!

2008-05-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

This morning during my drive to the office (in Salt Lake City) I spoke at length with one of our Client Managers in New Jersey about the introduction and testing of a new product at one of his retail clients. It was a very hopeful, upbeat conversation - not gloom and doom as you might expect from a Product Manager and a Client Manager in the current economy.

Frank (the Client Manager) and I spoke of opportunities and possibilities, and of course, as all responsible product managers and client managers must, we spoke briefly of the possible downside and the risks.

My product is not recession proof, but honestly, does that really matter? We aren't really having a recession and since these things are more related to emotion than reason, we might not if Mr. Greenspan would go away and stop chattering. (Honestly, the man has used more new words in two months than he did the whole time he was at the Fed. Time for this old boy to go quietly away!)

Then we talked about what really matters. Since we last had a business reason to talk, Frank's wife brought twin boys into the world and their home. There hasn't been a lot of sleep around there, but that is changing and the spring like weather has finally arrived in New Jersey. He noted that being able to get the boys out into the fresh air for walks was helping them sleep.

Then I spoke of two of my beautiful daughters, one graduating from High School and going on to prepare to accomplish her dreams in college in the Fall, and the other marrying a fine young man in July. We parted on a very hopeful note.

And as I hung up (figuratively - I actually pushed the little blue flashing button on what one of my friends calls the new "man earring,") I thought, "It was never about the economy, Mr. Carville. It was always about hope - stupid!"

And it always is, whether it is religion, economies, work, vacations, or digging out earthquake rubble - we hope! And even this morning, with what my sister calls our "schizophrenic Utah weather" (it was a beautiful 70+ yesterday - looks like rain today) I find myself hopefully thinking of Spring, graduations and weddings, new product placement and economic recovery.

I even dare to hope that they will figure out the big things in Washington; things like immigration, and health care, and sustainable fuels. Well, maybe that is more a dream than a hope ...

Brothers

2008-05-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I had lunch with two men I much appreciate and admire. I met them both because of my fairly recent involvement with the Free and Accepted Masons of Utah. For the record, I am a member of Wasatch Lodge No 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah, having been raised a Master Mason in 2007. I am also a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, having received the 32 degree in mid-November 2007.

Lunch last week was an opportunity to introduce my friend Patrick, who is a recently initiated Entered Apprentice, to my friend John, who has a Masonic pedigree as long as my arm. Though John is younger than me, his Masonic experience and his willingness to answer the stupid questions of new guys has led me to refer to him as my "big brother," and while I have been very willing to answer Patrick's questions, I felt that he could benefit from some of John's insights. Lunch was very satisfying.

I spent the weekend reflecting on the nature of the young men coming in to Masonry these days. Freemasonry is experiencing something of a Renaissance these days. After WWII, returning vets came into the Fraternity in droves. There were more men involved in Masonry in the post WWII period than at any other time in US History.

Then along came my pretty useless generation with their rebellion against anything their parents held dear, and Masonic membership began to shrink as Masons died. In recent years, just as it appeared that Masonry would go the way of the Dodo, the interest of men in things fraternal has been rekindled to some degree. And along with some members of my generation (later in life), the rising generation has embraced the Fraternity too.

At our last Scottish Rite Business Meeting, a lecturer noted that we had men in the room from the age of 21 to 94. And so we did. And all of the younger Masons in the room were well known to me, being from my home Lodge of Wasatch. And Patrick, who is a little older and different than most of them, being in his late twenties and married, is very much like these new and young Masons. They are bright, and well-educated, and serious about life, and desirous of making a difference.

Many of these young Masons possess three or four college degrees. Many who were raised in 2007 went off, or are going off to Law School or Medical School. Some have political ambitions. Some are already in their professions and have great responsibility for young men. All of them are thinking men. And their conversation is intelligent and interesting.

As I watch these young men; Patrick, Kim Jr., Rob, Andrew, Jeff, Brian, and those of other Lodges too, I am struck by two things. The first is my own regret that I didn't become a member earlier in my life - mostly because I needed to be exposed to the culture of service to society. The second of these is that our Fraternity is in good hands in the near future, for these young men are the kind of men who came home from WWII: patriotic, thinking men who built things - and make things better.

I'm fortunate, humbled and honored to call them my brothers.

Nanny State - "Click it or Ticket"

2008-05-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

I apprehensively take keyboard in hand to ask if the use of highly-trained peace officers to ensure seat belt use is the best option. I'm apprehensive because I know that one of my regular readers is a Deputy Sheriff Sergeant and another is the wife of a Deputy Sheriff officer in Salt Lake County.

So hear me out before you reply in all caps ...

This isn't about cops. It is about legislators and their values, and their need to impose those values on all the people they rule, er, I mean serve. (Freudian slip, I'm sure.) And more importantly, their lack of real break-through thinking.

To set the record straight, I wear my seat belt religiously. It is a well ingrained habit. You see, I grew up in the "Nanny State" with the highest level of sophistication and development ever. No, it was not Communist Russia, or Communist China, or even Socialist Europe - it was a US Military Base. I literally cut my teeth on socialized medicine.

And there were laws, rules and regulations stacked on rules and regulations. The most restrictive speed limits, and don't think of sitting on a motorcycle without a helmet, long pants and closed toe shoes. And seat belts will be worn, and often at the front gate as you entered this world apart, after dark, the "two-striper" on the gate would stop you and shine a light into the car to ascertain that each passenger was in a fastened belt prior to driving down that 25 mile an hour thoroughfare that was the equivalent of Main Street USA.

I know that millions of dollars are spent on injuries that could have been avoided "if only they would have used the seat belts that were standard equipment on the vehicle." And I'm always a bit uncomfortable at where the line between personal freedom ends and the protection of others begins.

So why am I concerned. Well, because I know for a fact that our biggest highway problems have more to do with drowsy and/or drunk drivers, and while the officers do a pretty good job arresting them, the courts do a very poor job prosecuting and punishing them - and they get back out there way too easily.

Our legislature, which can't get the drinking - driving thing right, decided to protect the rest of us with seat belts. And to further burden our overworked peace officers because they are the Nanny State - and that is what they do.

I'm betting there is a market-driven solution that would have been more effective - oh, and cost effective. (I can think of two all by myself and I only occasionally have an intelligent thought.) But a market-driven solution would require some imagination, and frankly, Nanny States have zero imagination. They invented the box out of which none of us can seem to think.

Speaking of Reason ... Intelligent Design?

2008-05-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

While working yesterday with a reporting analyst on the design of a query for a huge sub-set of data I need, my colleague told me about an experience with her teen-aged son. She recently attended a substance abuse class with him and the instructor taught them a little about that amazing human cortex I wrote about in my last entry. While this instructor noted that the reasoning function of the cortex is last to fully develop, he mentioned that independence is fully developed prior to the final development of reason.

Now this may seems to be a “duh” piece of information. Of course independence precedes reason. Reason is last! Still, it was an "AHA" moment for my analyst colleague - and for me too.

Our 17, 18 and 19-year old "children" can't wait to be out on their own. The desire for independence is fully functional by about 17-years, and their reason does not really catch up until they are, on average, roughly 19-years. Suddenly, while my colleague spoke, I had a deeper insight into what Bill Cosby calls the “brain-damaged kids.”

I know my youngest daughter, who graduates from High School in a little more than a week, thinks that I just can’t let go – but it is so much more than that. We’re not rich people. In fact, we make just enough to be comfortable and to disqualify our children for any financial aid at institutions of higher learning. We do have enough to help, but Dartmouth is just not in our reach. And neither are 4-years at an out of town university or college if we have to pay the room and board.

That means that my young student (with her almost developed reasoning center) would have to work harder and longer to cover the costs of life while she attends college. And there are some really fine local colleges and universities that would allow us, with our limited resources, to give her time to focus on her education while we fund tuition, books, and lab fees, and room and board (at home.) She can work part-time for the car payment, the gas, insurance, and the little extras (Can you say, “Jimmy Choo boots?”)

And it also means that even if my youngest reads this, she may miss the absolute logic of such a position – because independence is fully formed but her reason is still cooking. Now who says the Design was Intelligent?

Gorillas in (the Mists of) Texas

2008-05-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I say something intelligent. I know this only because someone intelligent says the same thing or something quite like it, after I do, in a respected forum.

In this case, a little more than a week ago I said the FLDS men in Texas (and Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada) were behaving just like a Band of Gorillas and not like evolved, reasoning, and civilized people. I went on (as I always do) to say that the FLDS Prophet was quite convincing in the role of dominant silverback and the other mature and favored males were obviously playing the role of lesser but still significant silverbacks.

And in the Wall Street Journal yesterday (May 21, 2008), Lionel Tiger, the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers and the author of Men in Groups, The Decline of Males, Women in the Kibbutz, and The Imperial Animal (among other titles) said the same thing only better. I recommend the article to you. You can find it here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121132858677808907.html (Subscription required)

I was a young man when I came to believe that people are basically animals with a twist, and that twist is our amazing cortex. The cortex is what really separates us from the rest of the animal world, and along with such wonderful gifts as language and speech, we are also endowed with reason. And it is really this dual nature of man – both reasoning and an animal, which cause us to see such large discrepancies in human behavior.

While living in Great Britain, I learned that the word devolution is defined as “the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at national, regional, or local level.” (Wikipedia - Devolution) I always thought that it was too bad this word had already been defined, however, because it would be a natural for what I think happens when evolved humans return to their natural roots.

As a reasoning being, we can think outside our nature. As animals, we can return to that nature – if I had my way, I’d call this devolution - any time we give up on reason. And the FLDS compound is simply a community of humans acting like a Band of Gorillas. They have their alpha-males (the silverbacks.) And like a Band of Gorillas, the young men who are competitors for the marriageable women of the community are reported to be found guilty of some infraction and banished from the community (in Utah, these young men are referred to as “Lost Boys”), thus leaving these women available for marriage and childbearing with the silverbacks.

There is one thing, upon which Professor Tiger and I do not agree, however. He calls this FLDS community and others like it “deranged cults.” I think we ought to start calling them what they really are, that is a Band of Gorillas. They left reason behind and hide behind religion as they act the part of gorillas.

There is nothing new here. Just what I like to call "devolution."

Swine? Swine Not?

2008-05-20T09:11:00.001-07:00

Can I just say that I am not enjoying Jimmy Buffet's latest written offering? I keep reading, perhaps for the same reason I cannot turn my eyes away from a car wreck, hoping it will improve.

I've said many times, "Maybe I am not his targeted age group," but each time conclude that I'm not sure what age group would fit. This is an expansion of a manuscript someone else wrote (the illustrator) and maybe he just isn't connected enough to it to do it justice.

I'm not a big fan of the non-cartoon attribution of human intellect to animals, but that isn't it. It isn't compelling. Or weighty. It trivializes the pains and struggles of the human characters.

I wouldn't have picked it up and purchased it if it hadn't been for the Buffet name on the cover, and I expect not only to be entertained but also to feel something for the characters he develops. And that may be it - the characters are just there. They just don't seem to develop.

I doubt this will be my final word on the subject. I'm going to grit my teeth and complete it. Maybe it will all come together in the last half of the book and I will eat my words, perhaps even kill this post and write a glowing review that begins with, "It took a while to set up, but Swine Not? A Novel Pigs Tale is well worth the read!"

I wouldn't put any money on that though.

On What Constitutes "Good Men"

2008-05-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

I’ve had the good fortune of having the same best friend since the middle of high school. This is despite now living in different states, having different religious backgrounds and practices, very different professions, and even falling out of touch for several years. Russ has been my closest male friend since 1972 and we regularly “correspond.” We also stay up on family events and try to see one another at least annually.

Most of the rest of my close male friends come (and go) with a particular professional experience, community organization, church congregation, or neighborhood. They are more like very close acquaintances. We work together, are neighborly, and may even golf together, but once our reason for meeting disappears, we are friendly when we see one another, but aren’t really “there” for one another – except at a funeral or wedding reception.

In recent years, I joined a fraternal organization and discovered many more close acquaintances and a couple of other men that I will probably remain close with wherever they may go or whatever they may do. The friendship seems to be mutually reciprocal. It has been very satisfying, for I have discovered as I have matured, that men need the company of good men in order to become better men.

I’ve known for a long time that boys need good men to model their behavior, and I suppose at some level I knew that young men who enter the military or go off to college can be led from traditional values by the wrong crowd. But it is also true that long after you have become the man you are, the company of good men can make a difference in your personal growth.

Russ continues to influence my life for good, as does Todd. And so do Robert and Kim (the new friends.) They do so not only because they would deem it important to be a close friend to a character like me, but also because they are “good men.”

After my experience at the Highland High Jr. Air Force ROTC Awards Assembly last week, I spent the whole weekend working in the yard, sitting in church, or visiting with my children and grandchildren and reflecting on what makes a “good man.”

We hear someone described as a “good man” at funerals, in recommendations for positions or honors, and sometimes just wistfully in a discussion. Sometimes it is a defense made by another for the actions of that man when he has been a complete dolt and we’re trying to say that the action was out of character, as in, “Yes, I know he was a complete dolt, but you know, deep down, he’s a good man.”

So what constitutes a “good man?” Hardworking? I’ve known lots of hardworking men who I didn’t think were good men. A donkey is hardworking, and we wouldn’t for a moment think of calling it a good man. Religious? There are very religious men who are unpleasant and uncaring. They save all their goodness for an unseen God and treat His creations like unworthy sinners. Dependable? Well, now we are just describing a paper diaper. Brilliant? Hardly. Handsome? Now that is just silly.

What is it then? First, I am quite sure what constitutes a good man is as variable as there are people describing them. Second, understanding this variable nature of the definition, there must be some characteristics which are recognized by a majority of people, because we see a lot of people nodding their heads in agreement when some men are so described.

I remember people saying of my own Grandfather, he’d give you “the shirt off his back.” I think that this trait, generosity, is a trait most would agree is a characteristic of a good man.

General classes of men that we consider good include firemen. They are willing to set themselves aside and run into a burning building for others – and for very little money. This selflessness would have to be a characteristic of good men. Boy Scout leaders are often said to be good men. So giving time, energy and even money to the development of youth would qualify as a characteristic of a good man.

Men who give of themselves to their employers and customers, their families, their neighbors, their friends, and their community can be good men, although I’m not sure how good they are if they only give of themselves to those they like. It isn’t the giving. It is connected to how freely they give what they have in time, talents, and resources. If they feel like they have to give, and give grumbling all the way then we probably wouldn’t think of them as good men. We might not even think they really gave.

If a man gives when he sees a need; quickly, voluntarily, cheerfully, unselfishly, without recrimination, then he is probably a good man. And frankly, my closest friends are constantly giving of themselves quickly, voluntarily, cheerfully, and unselfishly. They really are good men. And associating with them makes me better.

Highland High Jr ROTC

2008-05-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Last evening I had the privilege of presenting awards for patriotism, devotion and performance of duty and potential from the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to two very fine High School students who are members of the Air Force Jr. ROTC at Highland High.

It was inspiring to sit there and listen to Major Andy Clark, USAF Retired - their instructor and mentor and as good an officer as I ever met - talk about these fine young men and women. The Honor Guard was as good as any I have seen, and their Pass and Review was polished and well-practiced.

But it was the young men and women that were most inspiring. They wore their uniforms with pride. They spoke with confidence. They were obviously fond of one another. They appeared to sincerely cheer for the accomplishments of their peers. They were unabashedly patriotic.

Some will go into the military as enlisted members and perhaps have an opportunity to go to college as a result. Others will go to college and go on to the military as officers. Many will do other things, but it was obvious that all of them were enriched by the experience.

And they have such promise - such potential. I hope that in all their vicissitudes of life, the challenges of every day living, they will hang on to the dreams they have today and that they will continue to place duty to something bigger, something which will outlast them, in the fore front of their lives. I hope that they will go on to do great things with their promise and potential.

My own generation was one of great promise and potential and they continue to be a huge disappointment. It seems we only know how to protest and talk. We faced the first fuel shortages of the 70s and were determined to develop sustainable fuel alternatives. We protested the large impersonal government that stepped on the little guy and were going to reform government so that every one's rights were protected and enjoyed. We protested what we saw as the rapacious nature of business and were going to balance business with the needs of people.

Well, it turns out that my generation brought you no new sustainable fuel alternatives. We have enlarged government and eroded individual freedoms! (Flown lately?) We have recently been involved in the biggest business scandals - prompting more government oversight of business than this country has ever seen. Our promise has largely been nothing but protest and talk.

So as I see these young people of promise at Highland High, I hope they will not be selfishly seduced like my generation. I hope that they will remember all they have learned in the Air Force Jr ROTC, and place Duty, Honor and Country right along with God, Family and Community and do something worthwhile with their lives.

We don't need any more overnight dot.com or real estate millionaires. And we don't need any more protesting. We need these young men and women of promise to do what we did not: shut up, prepare well, forget yourself, and make some idealistic dreams come true!

State of Mind

2008-05-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Not always, but often, my work is extremely interesting and I cannot wait to get into the office in the morning and even when I am elsewhere, my mind turns over the challenges, questions and information related to my current initiatives. This has been my state of mind since our most recent reorganization in my division at American Express. The work is interesting, the challenge is inspiring, the people I work for and with are smart, direct, and high-quality.

The stuff I am doing is interesting. My boss has enabled me and my peers to own our product and make decisions. For only the second time in roughly four years, I am doing the job (Product Manager) I signed on to do. I'm proud to be doing the work I am doing for a company like American Express. I work with ethical managers. From the inside I can see a company full of people who want to do the right thing. Our systems, infrastructure and traditions don't stop us from doing what is right for shareholders, customers, employees, and our communities. I don't have to fight with my conscience on any issue. It is such a pleasure.

This is not a commercial though. I just wanted to note that while the economy is a mess, the state of politics in the 2008 Presidential Election is a clear disappointment (to think that here we are in 2008 and the Primary has been all about race and religion makes me physically ill), and I am clearly on the outside of all the special and sometimes stressful moments my wife and daughters are having preparing for a wedding, I am enjoying the challenge of my job immensely. And I am proud to work for a firm that allows me to do it right.

Does that mean that I am here for life? Hardly. How can one even make that kind of commitment any more? It is a very competitive environment. The "kids" coming into the organization - any organization - these days are so very bright and well-educated and those of us classified as "mature" have got to run long and hard to keep up with them. I believe there is a mix of the new technology knowlege, energy and fresh eyes of youth and the seasoning, experience and understanding of mature people that every company needs if it is to survive.

Right now, I just hope that when the time comes to do something different I can find the kind of organization I work for right now. And that the challenge will be just as satisfying. Unless, of course, I make the "transfer" I thought about last year while in Maui and become "Snorkel Boat Dude Guy."

If you've been to the islands, you know this guy. He's at the boat around 5 AM, cleaning it and preparing it for 30 - 40 tourists who will be snorkeling in some of the most beautiful places in the world. He doesn't own the boat. That would be too much pressure. He works for a wage. He loads passengers, gets them coffee, "issues" them snorkel gear, teaches them how to use it, gives a speech about safety, sets the anchor, off-loads passengers into the water, watches to ensure they are safe, reloads them, gets them lunch, and tells them funny stories. After they return, he disembarks the passengers, cleans the boat and is off for a nap around 1 PM. After the nap, he checks the computer for the best waves on the island and heads out for a little evening surf.

So, much as I love what I am doing, I think I'd still trade the very satisfying challenge for the "monotony" of Snorkel Boat Dude Guy in Maui if I get half a chance to slow down that much! Truth be told, though, I'd probably end up letting ambition get in the way and buy the boat ...

Our first Opera - hooray for supertitles!

2008-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful evening out with my youngest daughter last night. I really enjoy these one-on- one social opportunities with my children, perhaps now even more than when they were younger. We both agreed, our first Opera was worth the effort!

Don Giovanni is the Mozart Opera about the hedonistic life and predictable end of an 18th Century Spanish womanizer (Don Juan) who actually sings the words, "to be faithful to one woman is to cause all others to suffer," or some facsimile of that phrase.

The Utah Opera will open Don Giovanni at the Capitol Theater this Saturday (May 10.)

The performance which Nat and I saw last night was the first dress rehearsal, and we both agreed that it would be unfair to critique the performance itself because; 1) it was the first rehearsal with the Symphony in attendance, 2) at a dress rehearsal the performers are not expected to be completely in sync, and 3) most importantly, we are new to Opera.

As we drove home last night, we spoke of the experience itself. We decided that supertitles are very cool. While we both noticed that you can begin to get a feel for the story and words without them, they added the detail to allow it to be more than pretty sets, beautiful music, and great costumes.

Nat is sure she knows Don Giovanni. She believes she met him at work. Don Giovanni infuriated her, a good sign that Christopher Schaldenbrand did a nice job portraying him. But she also thought that Elvira was quite a whiner and needed to get over it.

I loved the music - after all I have always been a fan of Mozart, and it was beautifully performed under the direction of Robert Tweten. We both thought the sets were very well done. And we didn't see any very large women in viking hats and decided that we ought to try this again.

All told, we spent about 3-hours in our seats, and parts of our bodies numbed and ached by the time we stood at the intermission and again at the end of the performance. At one time the Capitol Theater was state of the art in theaters, but we now find modern cinema theaters more comfortable and less restrictive. Now, if you moved the Opera to the Larry Miller Theaters at Jordan Commons or The District ... well, perhaps a new generation of Opera lovers would find the way to embrace it.

During Intermission, Nat noted that the chandelier is attached to what appears to be half of a large golf ball. We decided that when you look at the ceiling from the balcony you could be seeing what an ant might see looking up from the grass of a Tee box at a golf ball on a tee (Nat and I both golf.) We also commented on the curtain graphics, the aforementioned discomfort of the seats, the way one patron was wearing his headset and how one performer went down during the first act. (We wondered if they would shorten her dress - which obviously tripped her up.)

But none of this dimmed the performance for us. We decided that Mozart was brilliant, Opera is a unique and worthwhile experience, and supertitles are not at all annoying, nor did they cause us to miss the action while reading them (which we had feared might be the case.)

Salt Lake City is a small market and we felt pretty lucky to have the very professional Utah Opera company performing so close to our home. Seats at the Capitol Theater don't bring near the discomfort that Airport security, airline seats and taxi drivers do.

Opera and Rental Cars

2008-05-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter and I will be taking the rental car and heading off to the dress rehearsal for Don Giovanni (the Mozart Opera) tonight at the Capitol Theater. She is sore from her unexpected collision with the airbag Monday night, but is generally doing quite well.

My youngest is my usual "date" to cultural events - as she seems to have those of my genes that possess an appreciation for all things symphonic and theatrical. (The one exception to this seems to be the coming of the play Wicked, which all of my daughters want to attend and which will probably set me back a fortune just taking them all to dinner and the show in just a few months. Can I afford that and a wedding this summer?)

Of course, part of the fun will be the looks that we always get when people wonder if I am out with my "niece" (wink, wink.) My youngest is gorgeous, bright and very poised. I'm am, of course, aging, paunchy, and what little hair I have is silver. We get a chuckle from the ocassional side-ways glance.

We sure enjoy ourselves, and in the telling afterward, most of our relatives eyes glaze over or they politely put their hands to their mouths to stifle a yawn. Well, here is the deal - we'll critique the Opera (our first) on the ride home in the rented Chevy Aveo and then I'll post our comments tomorrow and you can decide whether to read, yawn, or skip it.