Winter Is Upon Us - What Happened to the Fall?

Yes, we are winding down 2009 and will soon be heading into the holiday season. The NFL is full swing and the NBA just started the regular season. Baseball is winding down with only one playoff series remaining, albeit an important one to this Yankees fan. How did all this happen so fast? It seems like just yesterday I was looking at Carolina's basketball schedule for January and thinking it's going to be a long year. I guess the old adage about time passing faster as you get older has a ring of truth to it for me today.

Why so melancholy you might ask? I don't know to be honest. I just can't put my finger on it. Things are great at the office. I love the job and I'm working with an amazing group of folks, all of whom are brighter and younger than me. Hmmmmm. Could that be it? No, at my age, everyone is brighter and younger!

Perhaps today's cover picture provides a hint. After all, my Ellie is now in middle-school. She is in 6th grade, but that can't be because just yesterday we put her on the bus for her first day of 1st grade. She has grown so much over the past five years and pretty soon she won't be my little girl any longer. She will be this young woman who will no longer want to hang out with Dad on the couch in the evening. Of course, that is the dilemna that every Dad eventually faces, but perhaps because I see it happening so clearly I'm letting it hit my age meter a just bit too hard. Hmmmmmmmm. No, it's not really that either, although it's clearly an influence.

So, what is it that makes the end of a year so difficult? It can't be the impending onset of the holiday season since it is my favorite time of the year. I love the idea of wearing sweaters and taking long drives to places where the leaves are changing and painting the sky with wonderful colors and amazing scenary. I love sitting outside during the cool evenings, although I must admit there are times when I think that would be so much more enjoyable if I could have a smoke while I'm there. Oh well, that's never going to happen again. Hopefully!

Okay, so I don't know exactly what's up with me and my current mood, but I do know that it isn't really bad or sad or negative. It is just this sense of passing that seems to be haunting me at the moment. It's as if I missed something or I forgot something!

Anyway, I'll figure it out eventually. Meanwhile, I'm back and thinking about how I need to post everyday from now on if I really want to have a viable blog. I also purchased a new camera and plan to take even more photo's for the blog, so all good news ahead!

Building Doors

The famous comedian Milton Berle once said; "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." Well, that is what I've been doing since my last post on April 3rd. Really? April 3rd? Amazing!

Oh well, it has been a tad busy, but I must admit that I've been having a delightful time. I had forgotten how much I enjoy being a sales leader. Are we blowing the targets out the door? Well, not completely....not yet anyway. But we are doing very well given the economy and the struggles we have had with finding the right balance of hunters and farmers. Plus of course, that famous quote from Zig Ziglar; "Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust" applies as well. Sometimes it is really difficult to qualify the opportunity and the firm presenting the opportunity in a way that justifies the investment and commitment required to win the client's trust and faith, not to mention the business! Relationships matter today, probably more than ever and tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are really starting to find traction with senior executives across the country. I've been with LinkedIn for as long as I can remember and have had a paid subscription since they first introduced the model, so I'm a tad amazed sometimes when folks ask me if I use it and if it adds any value. Duh!

Seriously though, anyone not connected in today's market economy is going to struggle. David Nour, a well known social networking strategist and one of the foremost thought leaders on the quantifiable value of business relationships, writes extensively about the importance of having a relationship-centric strategy in his new book, "Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts into Personal and Professional Success". But how can you have business contacts if you are not connected and getting connected happens both on-line and in person, although I have a propensity for doing it in person because I like to meet folks up-front and personal. I think shaking someones hand is still the best way in the world to get to know them. I do on-line networking and I'm reasonably good at it with nearly 350 LinkIn connections, but there is simply no substitute for meeting someone face-to-face and having that eye contact. So much is learned in so short a time!

Family has been good for most of the year. Joe is really progressing and although we struggle with his new eating habits (ever since that drug in late '08 he has struggled with his weigh and appetite), he is enjoying the summer. In fact, he is currently hanging out with his Aunt Mary in Akron, Ohio after spending just under a week with his big brother in Northern Virginia. Mom and Dad miss him and even his sister has noted a strange absence around the house. Perhaps it's that teenage boy smell that seems to follow him around like an old dog who's afraid of being left alone. Then again, maybe we don't miss him after all!

I would love to find some small opportunity for a long weekend before school starts again, but it isn't looking good at this moment. We have visitor's arriving from Europe next week on the same day that I head out to Boulder for a Board meeting. I get back on the same day as Joe arrives and then we're off again for something or the other and then school starts. Bummer! I need a break! Perhaps I can steal away for a short weekend with my brother Joe. Nothing to do by chat and drink some wine during the evening's, but I can get by with that for a couple of nights.

Anyway, hope everyone is loving the summer. I must take some pictures of the kids before they both stop being kids! Meanwhile, a view from the United Kingdom.

Made The Switch

Hey there folks. Yea, I know. I haven't been very active as of late, but then I knew this new gig was going to eat up a good deal of my time. I just didn't realize that it was going to absorb as much time as it has this past quarter. Still, it is pretty darn nice to be locked into a gig that actually has you getting up in the morning with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. On the 1st of April I made it official and joined Market Force Information as the Senior Vice President of Sales & Strategic Accounts. Patrick D. Gaul, Inc. is going to take a backseat to Market Force for the forseeable future and while the decision to make this change wasn't entirely easy, it was not as difficult as I had anticipated. As I told a mate of mine last night, it feels good and I'm really excited about this year. I sincerely believe that a good attitude is a precursor to a successful venture and this truly feels like it is going to be a successful venture.

Anyway, as I noted, I've been really remiss in posting of late and I intend to try to address that deficiency over the coming weeks/months. So much has happened and I've not written about any of it! It's so easy to let things drift away and I absolutely must get this blog back in shape.

Meanwhile, I have to get back to work. Being a SVP actually requires a rather serious investment of my time each day and I have to be careful to keep my day prioritized. Otherwise, I find myself up at late at night or early in the morning catching up with the previous day. Not good for a guy who likes to sleep 8 hours a night if he can make it happen.

GTS '09

Here we are, waiting to start the Georgia Technology Summit. Todd Bell, the CIO of Verizon Wireless is introducing the day and our keynote speaker, Tom Friedman. I'm really chuffed because I was the guy who first raised the idea of inviting Tom to join us today. I first encountered Tom in 1989 when I read "From Beirut to Jerusalem", which fascinated me because at the time I was managing sales operations in Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon.

Another reason for being truly excited today is the fact that this is the largest gathering of technologists in Atlanta since the last Prayer breakfast. Cool!

Focus

Today started out on a less than thrilling note. After getting up early with less than a full night's sleep (don't know why, but I've just not been sleeping very well for the past six weeks), I got dressed and headed off to the office thinking I'd get an early start to the week. Unfortunately, I managed to leave my laptop in my home office and only discovered that I was without it when I got to the office. So, back in the car to drive home, pick-up the laptop and head back to the office. Of course, by the time I headed back I was knee deep into rush hour and so what I had hoped would be a quick run into the office and an extra hour of productivity this morning turned out to be 50 miles in the car and an hour of driving.

So here's my question. Am I: a.) getting old? b.) simply absent minded? or c.) lacking in focus? I wonder because I'm finding that more and more these days I'm struggling to stay on top of everything that comes my way and that has never been a problem in the past. I could juggle 10 things at the office without ever completely dropping anything, although I obviously had to prioritize those ten items. Now, I just seem to lose the plot and in the process I find that I lose track of one or two items that I'm suppose to be tracking. Nothing major mind you. Usually it's the small things that get misplaced, but it is nevertheless disconcerting and I'm guessing it's the beginning of the end for the "never say no" kid! That's right. I'm now going to have to actually figure out what I have on my plate before I take on any additional chores, either at the office or at home. I've even gone so far as to start recording my top priorities for each week so I can track my progress against them. I even got someone helping me by reviewing at the end of the week my progress against the top priorities and trying to analyze what is occurring when I fail to achieve them. Good! I like the discipline of thinking through what needs to get done and then actually tracking them to ensure completion. I suppose some folks might think I'm being a tad silly taking this approach, but I'm of a mind that if you are struggling with something you should ask for new ideas and accept help if it is offered. What do you think?

I can't write anymore about the situation between Israel and Gaza. It is just too horrific to think about and every time I do get focused on it I'm not certain who I get more angry with, the Israeli's or Hamas. They are both so bull headed and so determined to win at any cost. I get the rockets constantly falling into the south of Israel as being totally unacceptable, but I also get that fact that Israel has been using economic measures to starve Hamas out of Gaza and that those measures have in fact damaged the economy in Gaza to the point that people don't have even the basic necessities. Two wrongs never made a right and I fear in this case both sides are unwilling to compromise or seek outside help. Israel isn't winning any points with the rest of the world with images of wounded children pouring into CNN and Fox News, nor is Hamas likely to seek an end given the damage Isael is creating for its brand with these tactics. It is all too sad to think about, yet it lays heavily on my mind having spent so much time in Israel over the past six years. I love their country and the Israeli people and I know for most of them this is not the way they would prefer their lives to be conducted, but I guess sometimes you have to confront the unpleasant directly, even if it isn't your preferred course of action.

Violence in Gaza

While some of us have been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the message of love and peace that he brought to this world, others are continuing to walk the road of hate and violence.

"270 Die in Ongoing Israeli Strikes on Gaza" - msnbc.com
"U.S. Blames Hamas for Attack by Israel" - The Associated Press
"Hamas Unlikely to be Toppled" - The Associated Press

And the list of headlines continue as Israel retaliates against what they have described as "almost daily rocket and mortar fire from Gaza that intensified after Hamas ended a six-month ceasefire a week ago." The truce began to fall apart in early November after Israel sent troops across the border in a raid on Gaza. Since that time there have been multiple rocket attacks on Israel fired by militants in Gaza.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is supposed to be in control of the West Bank, condemned the attacks, but is in no position to stop Hamas. In fact, once his four-year term ends next month it is clear that Hamas will pay no attention to President Abbas, not that they heeded his counsel in the past.

And Hamas promises to strike back with rockets and suicide attacks in the "cafes and streets" of Israel. The violence will beget more violence and unless the United Nations or the Arab League can somehow step in and mediate a ceasefire this latest escalation is likely to continue unabated for the near term. I leave the United States out because it is apparent from everything being said by the Bush administration in its last days that they do not have the stomach for any further intervention and clearly blame the situation entirely on Hamas. Of course, nothing is being said about the humanitarian crisis that has been taking place over the past four to six months as Israel has intentionally starved 1.5 million Palestinians through their blockades and other border controls. I do not say that this is justification for the rocket attacks, but I think it is important to remember that there are always two sides to a story. I also think it's important to point out that given the current situation, it is likely that a number of innocent children are going to be killed in the coming days and weeks.

The photo's coming out of the Associated Press in the Middle East make me want to cry. The violence has to stop and someone has to lead the effort to stop it. I don't know if President-elect Obama is prepared to engage given everything that is on his plate and I'm not even certain the U.S. should be engaging. Where is the European Union in this crisis? The United Nations? Where is the Arab League?

My Sunday morning has been sad indeed as I have scoured the news for updates on the situation. There seems to be no end in sight!

State of the Blogosphere

Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report is now available on their website (www.technorati.com) and provides some very interesting insights in the world of blogging. For instance, as of August, 2008 there were 77.7 million unique visitors to blogs in the U.S., 41.0 million to Facebook, 75.1 million to mySpace and a total internet audience of 189.9 million. There have been 1.33 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002, 7.4 million blogs posted in the last 120 days, 1.5 million blogs posted in the last 7 days and 900,000 posted in the last 24 hours, or at least those were the stats when the report was published. Bloggers turn out to be both educated and generally affluent with three out of four bloggers have graduated from college and 42% having attended graduate school. "They skew male, and more than half have a household income of over $75,000", according to the report. There are five sections to the report and worth the 20 to 30 minutes you may spend reviewing it.

On the 22nd of December, Forbes.com published the "400 Best Big Companies" report. It covers both American and foreign corporations that have a significant presence in the U.S. Each have at least $1B in revenue in the most recent fiscal year and a stock price of at least $5 per share and positive equity. Forbes selected these 400 from a list of 1,000 candidates that fell into the parameters described and used a fairly straight forward set of criteria, which you can deep-dive on the Forbes.com website. There is also a very neat pivot table that allows you to dice them just about anyway you'd like just in case you were preparing some prospect lists for 2009. Might as well chase the successful firms with a bit of cash because right now I'm not certain a lot of the companies being served are going to make through 2009. It's a tough economy and companies are scrambling to figure out what works and how to keep the customers loyal, which is exactly why I joined Market Force Information in early October.

Market Force is the leading Customer Experience Information & Insights Partner for multi-location businesses, and that really means three things for Market Force and our clients.........first, it means that we evaluate the on-site experience from both the viewpoint of the customer's perception and the operational realities that created those perceptions. Second, we solve two business problems for our clients; i.e.: the tie between the operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance; and the need to drive operational improvement to the store level. Finally, we provide business improvement and decision support tools to help our customers manager their investments in customer experience. As I said earlier, customer loyalty is going to be critical for a lot of companies in 2009 and if they cannot articulate the operational realities at the store level then they are going to be among the losers. Management has to know what is happening at the "moment of truth" when a consumer engages a shopping experience........what happens when you walk into any store? You evaluate everything (rather consciously or unconsciously) from the moment you enter the store. Did someone greet you? Were you able to get assistance in a reasonable time frame? Were the associates on the floor friendly and courteous? Were the dressing rooms neat? Were the bathrooms clean? Think about it. Every aspect of that in-store experience registers with you and determines the likelihood of you returning and spending money again. And what about referrals? When is the last time you blasted some store or experience for the reasons I just mentioned? Understanding the operational realities and how they tie to customer perceptions and ultimately financial performance is the key to being successful in 2009, and that is what we do at Market Force Information. It's a very cool company and I'm really enjoying my time there. You can investigate the firm at www.marketforceinformation.com

Lakers knocked off the Celtics last evening and as I told a friend this morning, if it couldn't be the Hawks then my next most favorite team would suffice. I know it is only a December game and there is a lot of season left, but it did my heart good to see those Boston fans crushed. Now, if only Dallas can get out of Philadelphia with a win tomorrow!

Christmas Shopping

So I head out yesterday in the early afternoon with instructions from Kate to relax and unwind. The only problem is I'm headed for the shopping malls and I'm supposed to "relax and unwind". Sure. That's relatively easy when you have all these completely insane people driving around in 2 ton vehicles thinking they own the road and carparks are the equivalent of NASCAR racetracks. Case in point: I wander over to the Joseph Banks store on Peachtree........you know, the one right across from Dick's Sporting Goods. I reckoned that that there are a number of stores that I can visit simply by parking by J. Banks. It was fairly easy to get into the lot as I approached it from the Peachtree entrance and there was no traffic. Unfortunately, that's because all the traffic was in the carpark and everyone was scrambling to find a space. So I eventually eased my way to the very back of the lot and sure enough I drove right into one of the three remaining slots. I got out of the car and started to walk back to J. Banks and was nearly run over by this mad woman who was talking into a phone with one hand, to her passenger with the other hand and therefore must have been driving with her knees (assuming she did not have three hands). How close did she really come to hitting me? Well, let's put it this way. I've had near death experiences in Vietnam and this wasn't of that scale, but it sure as hell was close.

I walked into J. Banks and immediately regretted being there. It was a zoo. They had this crazy sale that gave you two free items for each item that you purchased at full price. Really nice dress slacks for $140 or $46.66 per pair......sports coats for $500 or $166 each. It all seemed reasonable, but of course the numbers are a bit tangled, especially when you think of the other sales they have during the year and realize that you purchased two of the same sport coats last fall for roughly $150 each on sale and the same brand of dress slacks for $30 per pair, again on sale. Anyway, given it was a madhouse and since there was no way I could get any service in less than an hour, I made the decision to pass on the famous Joseph Banks sale.

Okay, off to Boarders. Same story, different store. Lots of items that we don't need on sale and very long queues at the check-out register. Off I went thinking Dick's Sporting Goods would be the way to go...........wrong again!

Anyway, I was back home in about 25 minutes and had spent not a dime in any of the stores I visited. Sorry guys. I know the retailers are having trouble, but you got to give a person a fighting chance to spend a buck before that actually happens.

So, on-line to the Apple Store for some gift certificates that could be delivered via email, to Amazon for some gifts that would be delivered to the house no later than the 23rd and a few more gift certificates that I could print on my home printer. Sixty minutes of shopping on my home computer and everything was done and I was pretty relaxed at the end. I had a Jack Daniels and Coke sitting beside me during my shopping experience and while my bank account took a fairly hefty hit, at least I wasn't a complete zombie, which is exactly what I would have been had I stayed in those stores. I don't know..........do we really need stores anymore? Could we completely do away with storefronts and sell everything on-line? Who knows? Perhaps that is where we will ultimately end up if this economy keeps tanking.

Anyway, hope your Christmas shopping experience was not horrible and you were able to find everything your little heart desires.........only 2.5 days left before Christmas. Better get out there, or on-line, whichever works best for you!

So in closing, I'm adding a special picture that I treasure. It's from the little town that we lived in while I was posted to The Netherlands. The town is called Leiden and it is quite special. Thought you would all enjoy seeing it once again.

Back in Atlanta

I landed at Hartsfield-Jackson last Friday evening at 8:15 pm after a mostly uneventful flight. In fact, the only remarkable thing about the flight was the number of "large" passengers trying to squeeze into those tiny spaces that Delta calls seats. Okay, so I'm a tad biased here. I think really over-weight passengers should be required to purchase the equivalent of 1.5 seats instead of making the rest of us suffer the overhanging flesh. I must admit that I was mostly fortunate in that I had an aisle seat and the guy in the middle seat was a reasonably sized chap. He had a thing about the seat rests though. You know the type, They sit down and immediately stake out both seat rests. I think it's a response to having been relegated to a middle seat, almost as if they need to make a statement that even though they are sitting in the middle seat, they aren't second class citizens. Of course we all know that anyone stuck in the middle seat is either an infrequent flyer with no influence, a frequent flyer who forgot to check their seat assignment, or someone who just got a bad draw on the day. It has happened to me on a number of occasions and all I can say is that while it isn't fun, it isn't the end of the world either........that is, unless you get stuck in a middle seat on the direct flight between Atlanta and Tel Aviv. Now that was a bummer!

Anyway, getting back to the weight issue. Have you noticed how many seriously overweight airline passengers there are these days? I even spied one in an exit row not long ago on a flight between Atlanta and Denver, which made me really nervous given the possibility of that person being able to respond quickly in an emergency. The airlines seem to be completely oblivious to the situation as they do absolutely nothing to help out. There was this totally overweigh lass on the flight between Denver and Atlanta on Friday evening who could not possibly fit into a normal size seat (not many of us "comfortably" fit) and despite a number of passengers suggesting that something be done the flight attendants carried on and acted as if it were unimportant/of no interest to them. The lady stuck in the middle seat finally resolved the issue by finding an empty middle seat several rows back and was able to avoid being crushed for the 2 plus hour flight to Atlanta.

Of course this rant could lead to another litnany of grievances with the airline industry, but I'll spare you for the moment. Suffice it to say that flying in this country just continues to become more and more complex/unpleasant/difficult, plus down right aggravating!

Update: December '08

I had a brief conversation with my sister Mary over the Thanksgiving holiday and she reminded me that I had not posted anything on my blog since Joe was in the hospital. Sorry folks! As always, my intentions are honorable, but my travel/work schedule has absorbed much of my time over the past two months.

First, an update on Joe. The very good news is that the new medication has kicked in and things have really improved for both Joe and our family. He seems to be a much happier child these days and more balanced in his attitude towards school and life in general, although for a 12 year old school is pretty much all there is in life since that is the primary source for friends given our neighborhood. He is still heavily committed to Karate and recently acquired his first stripe on his Purple Belt, which means he only has about 130 to 150 more classes before he tests for his Blue Belt. If he stays committed to the process then he is on schedule to have a Black Belt just before his 18th birthday. He is also playing basketball again this season with the St. James team and thankfully Greg Maxey is still coaching these kids. Joe has been with him since he was eight years old and just loves to participate, which Coach Maxey makes certain that he and all the kids on the team get to do every game and practice. Joe may not be the most talented offensive player on the team, but he does play tenacious defense and opposing teams hate his swarming style; i.e.: I think because of the Karate he has quick hands and is able to get his hands on the ball often, which creates problems for players who handle the ball carelessly. And finally, there is Scouts, which is also a source of enjoyment for him. He actually went on his first camping trip this past fall without Dad and seemed to have a great time on his own. That was a big deal for him as he has experience anxiety in the past when he ventured out on his own. So the net/net is while we continue to struggle with lots of different things related to Joe (schoolwork and homework being the two most pressing at the moment), he seems to have gotten past the weekend in the hospital and we feel that we are making forward progress. The picture shows Joe at the most recent Shotgun Merit Badge weekend. He only fired about 10 rounds this season, but he hit two clay pigeons and was pretty proud of himself. I'm confident that next year he will be even more eager to test for the badge.

As for me, I'm enjoying a week in Boulder. We had about 4 to 6 inches of snow yesterday and as I looked out of my hotel window this morning I could not help by think how beautiful everything looked. Although it was still dark, the mountains seem to shine with the whiteness of the freshly fallen snow and everything seemed so peaceful. It was truly a breathtaking view!

I love the new company (Market Force Information) and being back in mainstream sales. I just recently agreed to assume responsibility for all new business sales in 2009 including upselling the existing base. This means that I have ownership for retention, program expansion and new business growth across the entire firm next year (actually, that responsibility officially fell on my shoulders yesterday). I haven't deserted Patrick D. Gaul, Inc. as yet, but if all goes well in April I'll have to make the decision to go full time with Market Force and put my firm on hold or complete my current engagement and move on to other opportunities. A difficult, but nice dilemma to have on my plate in the current economic environment.

So there it is.........Joe is progressing on most fronts. I'm pretty darn happy with just about everything related to my new role and Kate and Ellie seem to be getting along a tad better after having a Mother/Daughter weekend in Orlando with Applause for Kids. More on that later.............