The Management Mythbuster

Ten years on - I wrote this on 9/15/01 - the day I turned 40

September 7th, 2001 - New York City

   I hate being in New York on a Friday afternoon.  The traffic is horrendous. By three in the afternoon the streets are gridlocked as people head home early; the masses throng the subway stations, limo’s heading for the airport make their way across Manhattan at a snails pace and the affluent seek to escape to their mansions in the Hamptons.  The ride to La Guardia is a lottery, taking anywhere from one to three hours and almost always screwing up my journey home after a long week on the road.  To cap it all I am sitting in a draughty booth in the monolithic and soul less Jacob Javitz Convention Center waiting to give a speech at a computer conference.  Judging by the sparse crowd in the exhibition hall most of the delegates have already made tracks for home or the nearest bar. 

   Well I was right. An hour later I face an attentive audience of four people gathered to hear my pearls of wisdom—why did I ever agree to do this speech? It remains a mystery to me; never agree to be the final speaker at any event, particularly on a Friday afternoon.  Still, as they say, the show must go on and I try to do the best job I can over the next ninety minutes.  At the end all four people clap enthusiastically and stay behind to talk further—they probably felt sorry for me. I quickly make my excuses with stories of planes to catch and jump in a taxi to the airport.  Ninety minutes later the taxi pulls up in front of the terminal at LaGuardia and I am in good time for my flight—which is about the first piece of good luck I have had this week. We take off only fifty minutes late, which counts as an on-time departure for New York on a Friday evening.  Our route takes us initially to the east before the plane makes a 180 degree turn to the south and west and we head west over the southern end of Manhattan passing almost over the top of the twin towers of the World Trade Center below. 

    The benefits of frequent flyer elite status manifest themselves in my first class seat and the couple of gin and tonics I sip on the ride back to Cleveland.  We land around 7.30pm and I make it home just after eight. I’m still in a pretty foul mood at the wasted day as I walk through the door.  Donna senses my grumpiness but thoughtfully provides another cocktail and suggests we sit on the patio, as it is a beautiful late summer evening.  I acquiesce. No sooner have I sat down and taken my first slurp when four people jump out from behind the wall in front of me.  Stunned surprise washes over me as my best friend (and best man) from England, his wife and two children emerge grinning, to join us on the patio.  The reason for their surprise appearance is that next Saturday the 15^th I turn 40. I think they are here to celebrate or though it could be gloat at my aged state. My mood brightens considerably and many more drinks are consumed for which a price is paid the next morning.

September 10^th, 2001—California

    After a relaxing weekend, Monday dawns and I head off the airport and board the morning flight to San Francisco; an afternoon meeting beckons and then a short flight to Los Angeles followed by another meeting Tuesday morning and a return to Cleveland that afternoon—leaving plenty of time to celebrate my four score years in style.  All goes smoothly and I make to the Torrance Marriott just south of LAX for dinner on Monday night. Sleep comes easily. 

 September 11th, 2001 - Los Angeles

     The next morning dawns bright and clear and my 6am alarm call shatters my slumber; as is my habit I pick up the television remote and switch on what I think is CNN.  In my semi-conscious state I only half notice the pictures showing smoke emerging from a skyscraper.  I reach for the remote certain that I have tuned into the wrong channel and am watching a rerun of the Towering Inferno.  At that moment my mobile rings. It’s Donna and she’s shouting at me: “Have you seen what’s happening in New York?” I mumble an incoherent response and she goes on: “a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.”  I slowly begin to comprehend and put down the remote as my eyes start to focus on the pictures on the screen.  At that moment I hear the reporter shout that another plane has just hit the South Tower.  It’s 9.02am on the east coast and it’s September 11^th 2001. 

    For the next hour I stare transfixed at the events unravelling just a few blocks from where I was just four days earlier.  At 9.58am the South Tower collapses; this can’t be real—but tragically it is.  Just a minute later I head downstairs for a breakfast meeting at which little business is discussed. Our conversation consists of a series of incredulous comments and speculation as to what is happening—terrorism is near the top of our list.  After breakfast I return to my room to hear that the North Tower has just collapsed.  What the hell is happening? 

    I regroup with my colleagues and we debate as to whether our meeting will actually happen.  Having no means of contacting the client we head over to the offices.  The meeting does take place after a fashion; however no one is really paying much attention.  After about half an hour we all jump as a loud bang is heard from outside; given our proximity to LAX we decide to call it a day.   I make my way back to the airport still thinking about catching my flight back to Cleveland.  The radio quickly disabuses me of this notion as it reports that the FAA has grounded all planes and reports that another plane has crashed into the Pentagon possibly en route to a different target—The White House, and another one has apparently crashed in Pennsylvania.  Donna calls again and pleads with me not to go near the airport as it maybe a target – again more in disbelief than anything else I head in the opposite direction and try and call some colleagues who I know are in meetings somewhere in Manhattan; however the circuits are all busy.

   The rest of the day unfolds like a Tom Clancy novel. Later in the afternoon I check into the LAX Marriott rationalising that with no planes still in the air I should be pretty safe.  The area around LAX is like a ghost town. Very few cars are on the roads and of course no planes are moving at the airport. In the early evening I drive down to one of my favourite Irish bars in Hermosa Beach. Hermosa Beach is a classic California beach town, pretty girls, sun, sand and the usual accoutrements of California life. As I sat nursing the first of quite a few beers, President Bush is addressing the nation. Unlike most Presidential broadcasts the bar went completely quiet as everyone listened intently. As the President finished a subdued round of applause broke out and whispered murmerings of American resolve filled the bar as the magnitude of what had happened began to set in. Estimates of the death toll range as high as ten thousand and as a mixture of news, rumour and ill-informed speculation poured out of New York, heart rending stories of people calling their loved ones on their mobile phones from the airplanes or the Twin Towers began to emerge. I couldn’t help but be moved by the stories, in fact there were misty eyes all around the bar. Most chilling was the apparent calmness with which so many of these people seemed to be facing the certainty of their imminent death.  It was not an easy night’s sleep.

September 12^th-14^th 2001—Los Angeles/Las Vegas

    The next two days were spent glued to the television screen as further information emerged.  Perhaps the only good news was that the death toll estimates were falling as the missing people were being steadily accounted for.  Scenes of what was now being called Ground Zero looked unreal as smoke and charred, twisted metal littered lower Manhattan. There was little to do but sit and wait for the planes to start flying again. Selfishly I began to bemoan the fact that my 40^th birthday would more than likely be spent alone in a hotel room. By the morning of September 13^th there were rumours that some flights might start flying again the next day though it was unlikely that any would leave from Los Angeles. I spent a few hours online researching options and formulated a game plan. I booked seats on two flights out of Las Vegas and then another two out of Denver.  I would keep driving east until a plane left or I made it back until Ohio.  Thankfully I had not returned my rental car so I packed up and headed east across the Mojave Desert.  It was about ninety degrees but the air-conditioned made it bearable as I listened to more heart-rending stories as I drove. On entering Las Vegas, I found a ghost town—there was even a tumbleweed blowing down the Strip.  Very few cars were on the road. Most of the people who had been stranded in town were either at the airport or had started driving.  I checked into the nearly empty Mandalay Bay Hotel not far from the airport. Walking through the casino that evening I could have picked my own table to play at never mind my own chair. I have never seen Vegas so quiet, even the few people who were around were understandably subdued.

    One of my possible flights was a 6am nonstop flight to Cleveland on September 14^th, so I made sure to be at the airport by 4am.  I made someone’s day when I returned my rental car.  I drove into the lot and there was not a car in sight. Outside the office was a line of over forty people all waiting patiently for the means to start the journey home.  My car was gassed up and gone before I boarded the shuttle bus. The concourse was teeming with people trying to get home. There was not much activity at the check-in counters so I suspected flights were not going to be leaving anytime soon but on looking at the departure board, one flight, mine had the two words “On Time” next to it amid a sea of cancellations. I went to the counter and the agent informed me that if the FAA released the plane in time they expected the flight to leave on time.  I tried not to get too excited as I happily passed through security.  At the gate boarding was already starting and I claimed my seat, hoping but not really expecting to leave.  The pilot came on the PA system and advised us of a twenty-minute hold; surely not an air traffic delay, there were no planes in the sky after all.  Remarkably we pushed back from the gate, taxied to the end of the runway and took off for Cleveland, one of the very first planes to return to the skies after 9/11.  I made it home with just a few hours to spare before the start of my birthday. 

September 15^th, 2001—Bath, Ohio

    Turning forty is one of those birthdays, like your 21^st, that is vested with some extra significance.  Due to world events, mine was tinged with relief that I had made it this far, and sadness for those who just last weekend were enjoying life to the full.  I feel guilty admitting it but I had a great day surrounded by family and friends.  My feelings on passing this milestone can perhaps best be summed up by a quote from Winston Churchill when describing the victory at El Alamein: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Ten years on - my 50th approaches - I just wish those 2,997 could have enjoyed another 10 years...

Double Standards?

Excellent editorial in yesterday's Wall Street Journal contrasting the ethics scandals of Rangel and Waters to that of former HP CEO, Mark Hurd.  It simply confirms that politicians, the very people we elect to uphold the constitution and develop legislation that is theoretically in our best interests, are often held to lower ethical and moral standards than many of the people they seek to regulate.  If you mess with shareholders or investors you can get serious jail time (Ebbers, Skilling, Scrushy, Kozlowski, Madoff).  Of course, you may get out early or get your appeal heard in the Supreme Court but second acts are difficult.

Abuse the trust of the public or engage in serial questionable behavior in the political arena and you may get your hand slapped, some token jail time or at worst your own talk show (see Eliot Spitzer)!

On a more serious note, the lack of judgment shown by so many politicians and business leaders in their personal lives raises troubling questions about their professional judgment yet rarely are the two linked in any meaningful way. In both politics and business long term success breeds a culture of entitlement - the jets, the limo's, the security, the dinners, the fawning associates, the large expense accounts.  By the time you achieve real power (CEO, committee chair) all semblance of reality has been lost. 

What is surprising is that the incidence of bad behavior seems the same for middle-aged politicians and business leaders as it is for twenty-something athletes who at least have the excuse of being young and stupid. 

So what's the fix? Accountability helps but ultimately the real test is a person's character - after all most of us transgress thinking we won't get caught!

Economic schizophrenia? Or am I just paranoid?

Are you confused yet?  The stock market seems to be saying that things are getting better - do you feel it?  I know unemployment is supposed to be a lagging indicator but the numbers are still bleak.  There will be some growth from stimulus spending (by the way when is the real spending going to start? Only $150bn of the $787bn has been spent so far) never mind most of the jobs are not sustainable anyway, the consumer is not spending - after all 10 percent don't have jobs, cars are not moving off the lots without clash for clunkers and corporate profits have only grown through cost cuts - not much top line growth, and there are lots of "For Sale" signs here in Ohio and not many "Sold" signs.

Maybe Wall Street bankers will single-handedly jump start a consumer spending revival with their record bonuses? And then this morning the ultimate mixed signal, on page A3 of the Wall Street Journal is a story headlined "Hunger Threatens More Households." On the same page are four adverts, one for Tiffany offering a diamond pendant for $10,825, one for fractional jet ownership - I guess its cheaper than buying the whole jet, one for Versace, and one for a Jaguar you can lease for just $599 a month!

Go figure...

Bud Light - pure marketing genius

The scene; a conference room in St. Louis

Big Cheese: "Well team, the football season is almost here, the perfect reason to drink gallons of Bud Light.  How do we capture that thirst? I don't want to wait for the Superbowl this year - after all the season is over by then."

Red Hot Marketing Whiz: "I think the NFL is the wrong wagon to hitch the Clydesdale to, we should go after the college game.  After all a lot of NFL games are played in frigid weather in godawful places like Buffalo, Cleveland and Green Bay - who wants acold beer when its -20 outside?. We should make Bud Light cans in the colors of top college teams.  After all who wouldn't want to sup a cold one while tailgating before a Texas, USC or Florida State game, never mind the millions who will happily chug a team brew sheaved in the college colors in front of the big screen with their frat brothers."

Big Cheese: "Sounds like a great idea but aren't most college students under 21?"

The Whiz (after loud guffaws): "Sure but we will make sure the promotion is targeted at the over 21's - no ads on Nick or Disney, just ESPN."

Big Cheese: "OK I like it. Do you think we can get in by the new bosses in Belgium?"

The Whiz: "Sure, the drinking age there is like, 12, isn't it?"

Big Cheese: "OK -  go for it."

And so another stroke of pure marketing genius is born...

Healthcare - answering the wrong questions - a personal perspective

It does not matter which side of the health care debate you are on, truth has long been subjugated by politics and posturing.  It seems that the latest scare tactics for those opposed to any change is to darkly warn that the U.S. will become like the U.K. That intellectual giant, Sarah Palin, went so far as describe the U.K. National Health Service as "evil" evoking Darth Vadar like images of anyone over 55 being left to rot rather than waste valuable resources. I cannot compete in the supposed facts being thrown about but what I can offer is some personal experience having lived for 30 years under the evil system and that past 18 years in the land of the free but chronically under-insured.

- Both my parents lived (and died) under the British system and I cannot fault the system for the care they received.  Yes the waiting lists were long for knee and hip replacements (much shorter now) but the quality of care was perfectly acceptable and the medical staff the equal (from my dumb consumer perspective) to that found in the U.S.

-Basic medical care through the General Practitioner channel was much more effective in the U.K. Doctors will still visit homes and access was easy.  In the U.S. everything seems to require a referral to a specialist. Notwithstanding I have generally received great health care in the U.S. and it used to offer value for money - not anymore.

- The U.S. system seems test and drug happy - no one feels like they have received effective treatment unless at least one MRI is ordered and two prescriptions written.  Tests are much less frequent in the U.K. Of course this is not always a good thing but the again you don't get a $3,000 MRI bill confirming what the cheap X-ray already showed.

- From a personal perspective I pay around four times more in the U.S. for family health care than the equivalent tax burden would be in the U.K.  When I moved to the U.S. in 1991 it was around twice as much but the lower U.S. tax rates more than made up for the difference.  However, my total tax burden in the U.S. is now close to what it would be in the U.K. (even with the Bush tax cuts) so the extra U.S. cost is a reduction in income and hence spending power.  No doubt this is going to get worse as I pay for my share of Chevrolet, AIG, and a few thousand Las Vegas condos further hampering any consumer-led economic recovery.

- The one fact that seems tough to avoid is that the U.S. spends almost double the amount of GDP (17%) on health care than the U.K. but fails to cover 47 million people.

To my simple mind there are only two things I care about:

1. The U.S. needs to offer universal health care to its people in the same way everyone has the right to education and national defense.

2. Current health care costs are so far out of whack that radical redesign of the process is needed.  How can the U.S. spend more of GDP and cover less of its people than any other developed nation in the world?  An effective system should cover everyone at a total cost of around 10-11% of GDP (40 percent less than today).  This is the challenge American ingenuity and entrepreneurship should be tackling. Unfortunately it seems that our politicians are the ones tasked with doing it and they do not exhibit these character traits in abundance.   So put the right people on the job and give them a share of the benefits. 

Forget raising taxes - pay for healthcare by cutting out waste

Today I went and had my stitches removed after last week's knee operation.  The nurse performing this delicate procedure assembled his tools -  a nice clean pair of metal scissors fresh from a sealed packet and an equally nice pair of metal tweezers also clean from the packet.  Two snips and the stitches were out.  He then proceeded to toss the scissors and tweezers in the waste. 

"Why are you throwing them away?" I asked. 

"Oh we have switched over to disposable instruments as sterilization now costs too much."

So here we have a perfectly good pair of scissors (used for only two clips!) and tweezers made of metal tossed in the rubbish.  What's wrong with this picture? Health care costs are being controlled (not cut I hasten to add) by switching from reusable instruments to disposable ones. No doubt this will help fund the vaunted cost controls that will pay for universal care.

How can anyone support a tax increase to pay for universal coverage until every scrap of waste is eliminated from the system. But of course raising taxes is much easier than improving efficiency.

Not allowed in Vegas, but Phuket's O.K.

Great story juxtaposition in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.  On one page there was a long article on how some government departments have black-listed cities such as Las Vegas, Reno, and Orlando as sites for meetings and conferences. (Dare to enjoy oneself) The fear is that this may give the appearance that someone may actually have some fun while attending such events. Apparently, Chicago, Denver and Portland are better bets.  Not only is this stupid (aren't people in Vegas and Orlando allowed to have jobs anymore?) it is also hypocritical - you can have lots of inappropriate expense account fun in Chicago, Denver and Portland.  If they were really serious the list of acceptable places would include Akron, Gary, and Buffalo.

On the very nexty page of the Journal was a piece on Clinton's Asian tour. (Hillary in Phuket) She is now in Thailand attending an Asean summit in Phuket -- which is the utlimate boondoggle playground in the region!  Some one will need to audit her expenses very carefully.

Balkan balls-up

Winston Churchill once said that, "The Balkans produce more history than anyone can consume." Even forty-four years after his death it remains true. While in Croatia, one of about seven countries that emerged when Yugoslavia imploded I was amused by the inter-regional bickering that still goes on. Here are just some of the news items I saw  during my sojourn in the Balkans:

- Croatia and Slovenia agree to stop arguing over their border if both agree not to prejudge any settlement
- Croatia and Montenegro meet to discuss combating organized crime (sounds like the Obama/Calderon talks doesn't it?)
- Serbia and Croatia to meet to discuss dropping mutual lawsuits regarding genocide
- Slovenia fires its foreign minister
- Macedonia seeks to improve relations with Greece (US and Cuba?)
- Maldives bribed to recognize Kosovo
- Croatia wants to help Serbia in European integration
- Montenegrin government gives massive construction contract to Croatian consortium.

And we wonder while the assassination of a dodgy Austrian Archduke caused WWI?

A massive step back for women?

Yesterday I experienced the mayhem that is Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Actually is wasn;t that bad just very busy. I barely had time to pick up a Sunday Times during my two hour layover en route from Chicago to Moscow during my hike from T3 to T5. 

It was good to read a proper paper for a change, the 12 page Akron Beacon Journal with two pages of news doesn't really qualify.  The Sunday Times is a good inch think and carries more content and less ads than its American brethren.  One article caught my attention.  Apparently, former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair is the world's highest paid speaker having recently earned $600,000 for two half hour speeches.  Blair has surpassed former champion, Bill Clinton, who scaled back last year as Hil' ran for the presidency.  During the article the very British named, Sylvia Tidy-Harris, was quoted as being surprised that Tony could out earn Bill commenting that,  “I can understood Bill Clinton’s appeal – every man wants to pat him on the back and every woman wants to be the next Monica Lewinsky,” she said. “But Tony Blair . . . he just doesn’t have that charisma.”

What got me was the slam on the fairer sex.  Do they really want to be in Monica's role.  From my recollection she was more the giver than the receiver in the relationship and without being too crude - does every woman really want to be on her knees in front of the pudgy former President?  I think Ms. Tidy-Harris needs to rethink her soundbites!

What did he say?

I've said a lot of stupid things in my time and no doubt will add to my oeuvre in the years to come.  The good news is I am not alone. Many people who are supposedly smarter than me and certainly richer than me have successfully managed to insert their foot in their mouth to great effect. 

A few years ago Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Walt Disney described the first few weeks after the opening of the EuroDisney theme park in 1992, thus: "We've already had a million German and a million British visitors, and to have those numbers in France without a war going on is really something."  Very eloquent don't you think. 

More recently there have been some great quotes regarding the financial crisis. Last September, Hank Greenberg, former CEO of AIG in September 2008 commented on the company: "It's a healthy company financially except for liquidity." Well that's o.k. then; I'm glad they didn't have any other problems or else it may have cost us more than the $150 billion committed to the company's bailout so far.

And then last week there were two really good ones...

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, while announcing his company's results on 4th February 2009 shocked the world with his observation: "It is now clear that we are in a global economic slowdown." As my kids would say "Well Duh!"   Where has this guy been for the last few months that only now is he beginning to realize the economy is in the crapper?

And finally our new President is not immune. As nominee after nominee went down to tax-related scandals he commented:  "it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules."  I agree Mr. President, but what about Mr. Geithner? There are already two sets of rules they just apply to different people in different ways.  This is also a great argument for flat tax don't you think?