Link is here.

Yesterday began with a breakfast in Raleigh hosted by the local Naval Academy Alumni Association. Retired Admiral Benny Suggs spoke about Leadership based upon his 30 years of naval service including 1,264 carrier landings and 10 years at Harley Davidson as a senior Marketing Vice President. A colorful man, as are most successful aviators, he described the attributes of leaderships as vision, passion, values and velocity (this is is different one). Working with others, through others and for the benefit of others is the underpinning of successful leadership. Segue for inside joke: the opposite of cost-cutting to achieve arbitrary financial results such as EPS in some year in the future. Inspiring way to begin a day with the reminder that what matters is what matters and not what is measured. Mine is not an entreaty for fluffy hopes for world peace but my conviction that, indeed, thoughts are things, which can lead to inspired achievements which can measured.

Speaking of Apple, their second quarter financial performance exceeded the expectations of all. The ‘market’ was so nervous that Apple would not continue to lead that it dropped Apple’s stock price nearly $70 over the past 2 weeks. My interpretation of these jitters: ‘they are good and no one is close but can they keep it up?!’ I revere this company because it knows what is about: vision, passion, values and velocity – with 0 carrier landings.

The day ended with our annual cook-out for the military veterans graduating from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Sanford School of Public Policy, about a dozen attendees. They’re off to Wal-Mart, ATT, John Deere, Google. Ages range from 28 to 32; Green Berets, Combat Engineers, Submariners, Infantry Officers, SeaBees, males and females. All with recent combat duty.

Inspiring assembly of our young. Easy to laugh; give and take comfortably. Figuring-out the transitions to civilian work because theirs has been a world of mission focus and this side of the fence is fixated on earnings-per share as a measure of collective achievement. Biggest laughs were the stories told from their job interviews: ‘have you ever held a leadership position?; please describe a difficult decision that you had to make that affected the career of another’; what management challenges would you expect if you had to lead a team of 3 to 6?; how does your GPA (grades) reflect your sense of integrity?” They wished that they could have answered about receiving mortar and rocket attacks; what armies really do when they confront enemy combatants; and what it feels like months later to know that your purpose in an organization was to put people’s lives at risk for the benefit of a perceived greater good. If only a couple of beers and a few burgers could thank them properly.

Thanks to Tessa, BPS Art Director, and Ben of Blue Pane Labs, Blue Pane’s site reflects its portfolio of web sites and mobile apps. All done in more time than it took Instagram to cash-out for $1b of Facebook investment! Oh well and we are proud of our client portfolio too.

I wonder if there will be a day when we say, ‘we used to design web sites where one searched for lots of information in one place before apps offered specific and much smaller sources of information.

Next step is delivering our first series of iPad-based apps. It is fun exploring the potential of tablets beyond their obvious use as readers or e-books.

Although her final voyage began in Norfolk, Virginia, the Big E was home-ported on the West Coast for most of her life, including a stint at the Alameda Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. So was I and so was the USS Wiltsie, DD 716, my first ship. The year was 1975 and one week the Enterprise and the Wiltsie shared the same pier. Please imagine the comparative sizes of our two warships. If you’re in a hurry, just know that the Wiltsie could have sat on the flight deck of the Enterprise with room to spare or maybe even to launch planes. The Wiltsie was 390 feet long and the Enterprise is 1,100+ feet long, a factor of 3x amongst friends. In addition to its complement of 5,000 sailors, airmen and marines, the Enterprise, powered by two nuclear reactors, required its own fire department including trucks and other related emergency vehicles. Fires on an aircraft carrier are vicious occurrences and an aircraft is a floating repository of ammunition, aircraft and aviation fuel, all in well coordinated, seemingly chaotic motion. Get the set-up?!

One afternoon, about 1600 or 4pm, I stood the quarterdeck watch with a couple of sailors. Our purpose was to screen those boarding and departing Wiltsi as a ship’s in-port routine is a normally quiet one. Most of the crew and officers were ashore with their families or just off of the ship. About 5pm, we heard the fire alarm aboard the Enterprise which is loud and long. After all, it must be heard at sea amidst the noise of aircraft launchings. A component of a fire alarm on a nuclear capable ship is for the Marine detachment to secure the ship meaning no one comes aboard and no one leaves. From the fantail (rear) of the Wiltsie, our mighty quarterdeck watch observed Marines taking their stations in full combat gear. The width of the pier that separated us might have been 30 yards. It is worth noting that the highest point of our destroyer, the radar units and radio antenna, barely reached the level of the flight deck of the Enterprise. This means that we had to look up with strained necks to see the action on their deck.

Within a very few minutes, the lime or fluorescent green fire trucks of the Big E came charging down its flight deck. These vehicles looked small on that large ship. We didn’t see smoke or fire and wondered if theirs was a fire drill or an actual alarm. We felt like spectators with front row seats. I instructed the Petty Officer of the Watch to log the alarm on the Enterprise and to be observant of related activity on the pier. What else could we do?!

An important element of in-port security is the duty section’s, those who remain aboard overnight, capability to prevent fires and flooding. The duty section Engineering Duty Officer is responsible of mustering, training and keeping honest his fire team. Although every ship tries its best to develop proper in-port fire-fighting teams, there is only so much that one can expect of a complement of mess cooks, sonar men, boatswain mates and boiler technicians. Prevention is, indeed, the preferred course of action.

Which is why I was surprised that pleasant afternoon in Alameda as we peered at the scrambling fire trucks on the flight deck of our enormous sister ship to hear to my unobserved right side, “request permission to go ashore, sir.” I turned to see our full-time Damage Control Assistant and present Engineering Duty Office, Ensign Bill Dunn, rigged in his fire-fighting gear as were 4 or 5 other crew members of our Wiltsie. I remember that one held a extinguisher suitable for smothering oil and gas fires; another was outfitted in an OBA, an apparatus for breathing in smoke-filled environments.

I presume that I would have said something like, “where are you going, Dunn?” To which, I am certain of his reply: “to render assistance to the Enterprise, Sir, as is required of the ship’s in-port security manual.”

The Petty Officer of the Watch and I gazed up at the Enterprise, noting the particularly the well-armed Marines on their quarterdeck and at intervals across the side of the ship facing us- we could still hear the fire trucks – and I suggested that we first call the Enterprise before rushing our team over without invitation. “Aye, Sir,” was his reply. He informed me that his team would stand-down near their equipment locker awaiting further instructions.

We waited several minutes, allowing the Enterprise to return to order, and then dismissed Ensign Dunn’s team from stand-by. I speculate even these many years later what would have been the reception aboard CVN-65 of the five firefighters from the USS Wiltsie. Had it not been for those sincere-looking Marines, I was tempted to find out.

Two Navy friends recommended Act of Valor. Couldn’t believe it as the trailer for the film looked so typical of ‘the best parts of a bad movie.’ They persuaded me that the film was made with SEAL cooperation with the hopes that the film would contribute to their increased recruiting requirements. Actual SEALs performed all of the terrific stunts and some of the weak acting. Happily, they did well at what they are paid to do. I wonder if we can really respond so effectively, and expensively, to dilute the malicious intent of so many cheaply armed bandits and thugs?! And can the SEALs truly carry enough ammunition for such firefights?! Anyway, watch the Behind the Scenes clip at the site.

Our audience of forty left the theatre in a quiet mood even though the film’s action scenes were exhilarating.

I admire the well-conceived obituaries in The Economist if only for the broad and interesting range of its selection. Lyn Lusi’s obit saddened me because of her achievements in face of daunting circumstances in a dangerous place (Republic of Congo). Courage may be manifested in many ways.

Photo courtesy of The Economist 31 March 2012

Tecumseh figurehead; US Naval Academy.

This poem of Tecumseh was central to the plot of Act of Valor. I walked or marched passed this figurehead thousands of times over a four year period, never investigating the purpose and meaning of its presence.

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Just prior to this trip to what has become one of my three or four favorite cities, I met with eight IT executives to discuss the adoption of mobile apps within their enterprises. Even though nearly each of the roundtable participants used some type of Apple device, either iPad or iPhone, few could imagine the widespread value of apps within their businesses.

All but one CIO declared that Android devices would not be allowed within their networks due to their vulnerability if not this operating system’s predisposition to malware of many sorts.

Apps to busy, over-extended, frequently diminished CIO are access points to back-end systems. They are rightly concerned about security and inaccurate about the nature and value of apps. Apps are about simplicity and should offer access to specific information immediately. Apps are not mini web sites nor just another access point for connecting to complex data bases. I think that our day-long discussion made progress on these points, yet I am not sure that the average enterprise will be able to move fast enough to keep within sight of where the market and the consumers of those one billion downloads from iTunes are going. Sort of like guarding Messi.

Casa Calvet was an industrial design of Gaudi and functioned as a textile factory including the management offices pictured here.

I may be getting older and the Academy Awards are certainly aging in its quest for a thrilling narrative that appeals to everyone, everywhere simultaneously. Is its loss of allure due to the multiplication of entertainment sources, like every mobile phone, or maybe because we no longer need to identify with the actors as the stars because its second nature to us or the young of us that movies are technical achievements more than acting achievements. Why did the Oscars include a Cirque du Soleil interlude?! In case you thought you are a performer…… Kind of like having an NBA dunk contest at the half-time of a college basketball game. “Oh, are those the guys at the next level?!”

I replayed Meryl Streep’s acceptance speech as Best Actress – yet again shining in an imperfect movie but not as wonderful nor as imperfect as the Devil Wears Prada – 3 or 4 times yesterday. Maybe prepared. I doubt if rehearsed. I was attracted to the keen concentration of her audience as she spoke. She was no inside joke. Acting can be an art and a gift to the audience. It doesn’t matter who you are wearing or what demographic needs to be boosted.

I enjoyed Jean DuJardin’s acceptance remarks if only for his exuberance. A befitting agent 117. This clip is from the bravura scene of the film and includes the adorable Berenice Bejo. Avec plaisir.

The impetus for this post is the vintage 2003 iPod 20 GB -wow! way back 8 years ago- that I bought for Tessa’s birthday back then that we uncovered in the back of the wires and screens section of the office closet. Slighter larger than an iPhone, it held 20 gigabytes of music. Not bad, even by today’s standards. It cost $400; white; with the bygone Click Wheel; Firewire adapter for battery recharging; and a mechanical attachment, the size of a Shuffle, for remote operation such as running or walking. It has more in common with a Walkman (remember?!) than an iPhone. Speaking of iPhones, my British friend’s eleven year old daughter removed the phone icon from her iPhone. She only accepts texts and Facebook updates! Have we reached the moment where we can say, “remember when mobile phones used to make phone calls?”

This is short walk down memory lane. Could you guess what was the music promoted in the enclosed flyer for then just launched in April iTunes Store? ABBA, Jewel, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss, The Flaming Lips, Count Basie, Elton John’s Greatest Hits, Sting and Steve’s favorite…coldplay.

Stock hit $68 in early 2004 and Mr. Paul La Monica of of CNN Money recommended ‘you cash-in if you can.’

In Dr. King’s speech from 23 August 1963, which I listen to annually and only once per year, I noted three phrases: “Deeply Rooted in the American Dream”;”Let Us Not Wallow in the Valley of Despair”; and “Content of Their Character”. On the whole, have we made progress or enough progress or simply fooled and confused ourselves when we survey what we have done for and to ourselves over these past 49 years?! We don’t have segregated schools any longer; we merely, at least in my sons’s schools, separate the achieving and usually white students from their underperforming and usually African-American classmates by an organization of courses where effective segregation is classified as AP classes (Advanced Placement).

Our fears for the prevailing and tenuous economic climate are compounded by the unsettling political forecast in the year of another Presidential election, although it’s felt like this season never ends. As usual, we’re left to dress ourselves making the most of what we have and that which we have to do. Surveying this broad matter, I feel that although our various levels of government are certainly not the ‘enemy’ as often portrayed in these campaign cycles and usually by people who make their careers of working for these same entities of government, there is not much more that these entities should try to do as we have traveled far, far down the path of damage done through good intentions.

I served in the Durham jury pool this past week. This was my second time being called by Durham County and the fifth time for jury service including bank robbery and murder trials. Twice have I felt that serving on a jury ranked among the more memorable experiences of my adult life. In Maine, where one serves for two weeks in every five years, I was the foreman of a civil case where Sears was sued for failure to re-insure a young engineer and former military pilot from the consequences of his fault in a traffic accident where a medical doctor lost use of a leg. Clearly, the young man neglected to renew his insurance policy from All State, then a division of Sears. His fault was obvious but only to me and a sound engineer from the local television station who joined the other ten jurors in our deliberations. Our jury’s determination of guilty, meaning Sears should pay for the consequences of the engineer’s misfortune, was decided less upon the evidence and circumstances of the courtroom proceedings and more on the individual juror’s sense of how he or she would wish to be judged should the roles be reversed with the plaintiff. As one senior citizen and one single parent described their conclusions, “Sears can afford it” and “you just can’t trust computers, anyway.” When released from this civic duty, I evaluated and increased every single insurance policy that I possessed.

The bank robbery trial was a stupendous case of circumstantial evidence. Having ushered three cruelly frightend women into the vault of a soon to be closed and, therefore, empty branch bank, the disguised criminal sped from the parking lot in full view of the breakfast audience at the fast food restaurant across the street. Except for the exploded and smoking dye packet in the bag of stolen cash, they could have readily identified him. Instead, many could attest only to the model of the car, the certainty of a sole occupant and the color of the smoke which shielded certain determination of the driver. We had to rely on the evidence offered by the counter clerk at a convenience store and a manager at a grocery store where the wife and the girlfriend of the robber each attempted to convert red-stained one hundred dollar bills into other forms of cash. One would make small purchases, gum, and the other would buy ten thousand dollar money orders. The initial attempts at local laundering did not get them caught. It was the third trip to buy a bag of chips with a $100 bill and the second visit to the food store to cash the $10,000 money order purchased yesterday that caused management to note the behavior and to contact the police. The law got its man after all and it’s a generous process for reliably doing so.

I arrived at 8:30 am at the Durham Country Court House, in-line for the security scanner with sixty-four other selected voters and tax-payers curious about the jury process. I accepted and even hoped that I might be called to serve; I joined the others in superficially wishing that I would not. Our pool comprised mostly African-Americans, mainly women, several with Duke University affiliations and nearly all it turned-out with an opinion about domestic abuse. Before selecting a jury of twelve plus an alternate acceptable to both the prosecuting and defense attorneys, we learned a lot about each other and our admitted biases, experiences and resultant firm opinions. The case centered on an accusation of domestic abuse with two atypical circumstances: the first was that the accused was a woman and the second was that the accuser was a man with a prison record.

I realized that in a case of murder or a civil suit with a multi-million dollar claim that the average citizen has nearly no related experience, so selecting an impartial jury for such trial is an uncomplicated process. Assault is, however, an incident where many of us have either first or second-hand experience so are suspect in the opinions of attorneys hoping to benefit their clients. Thirty of our sixty-five were dismissed from contention. Profiles of the dismissed ranged from unemployed (young African American); admitted prejudice (against convicts by older white male); two young, employed African-American women without exposure to assault (who might not side with the accused?); a couple of men who just did not want to be on a jury and stated that they could not be fair; and others whom one attorney or the other did not wish to seat as is their procedural prerogative. Passing their discernment were women and men who had been personally assaulted; women and men whose siblings had been recently assaulted; a woman whose organization cares for victims of homicidal assault; and a woman whose daughter and child are currently under court supervision as the victims of assault.

In the end, this jury of thirteen comprised ten whites and three African Americans. Several of us considered if this was actually a jury of one’s peers given that the case was between two African-Americans. After nearly twelve hours together over two days, the judge released us and we quickly queued for the elevator to resume our usual lives. Justice was served, I’m sure, and I have no idea nor interest in the outcome of the case.

Even though we did not speak with one another in the course of waiting and wondering and sharing glances as yet another potential juror was dismissed which increased our own odds for being called, we accomplished something together. We demonstrated that amidst the imperfect process of justice in our broadly stratified community, both intellectually and economically, that a random selection of loosely qualified citizens could defer to common purpose in an unrehearsed effort to make a difference or at least a contribution to the strengthening of the ties that bind us.

I wanted to take the pool of these peers to lunch or coffee so as not to let the moment pass unacknowledged. I was emboldened by the stoic acceptance of their duty. Call it the commitment to the American dream. Without comment, we respected the selection process which resulted in a jury predominated by better educated whites sitting in judgment of lesser educated African-Americans. Call it not wallowing in preconceived prejudice. We perpetuated a remarkable and unpretentious outcome – a new jury is called nearly every day of the working week – without fanfare or hardly even a goodbye exchanged with one another. Call it content of collective character.

In the line for the 5th floor elevator, I felt as though I was the only one to see the shooting star in the sky. “Did you see that?!”, I wanted to ask those around me. “Isn’t amazing what just happened?!”, I wanted to tell somebody. But they had things to do and lives to lead and just wanted to get outside to enjoy the nice weather.