Put down the Blackberry ... and TALK

I have heard it said that technology is making the world smaller. I would agree with that - to a point. I am very thankful that I am able to stay in touch with my younger brother Aaron who lives in South Africa. Being able to chat over the Internet and share stories on Facebook helps me feel connected, almost like he is right next door.

Speaking of which, my neighbor Dave and I also chat often on the internet and share our lives on Facebook... In fact I have actually seen my brother Aaron as often as I have Dave over the last few years - about twice a year! So while technology may make South Africa as close as next door, it is at the same time making next door seem as far away as South Africa.

Technology in the workplace has a similar effect, denying opportunities to develop personal relationships. My mentor realized this, giving me simple rules for communicating:

• Don't send an email if a phone call will do
• Don't call if you can visit in person
• Only use instant messaging to see if someone is available to have a quick meeting or go to lunch

One meeting I attended served as an excellent example of why these rules are important. It was a global video conference spanning six sites and over fifty participants representing a number of different groups. About ten minutes into the meeting a very controversial non-conventional approach was brought up. The meeting became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, or as the case was, hear a Blackberry vibrate.

It wasn't more than a minute or so before I heard Blackberries going off around the table and from every other site - my own Blackberry included. It seemed like each group was rapidly texting their members to determine what position they should take. This continued for several minutes, until a managing director in London said "Pardon me. Can I please have everyone's attention. We are all together to determine the best course of action going forward. So would everyone please put their Blackberries down and talk."

Fish Head Soup

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I had the opportunity to travel globally for internal company business. People who have not traveled internationally for business may envision glamorous accommodations to exotic locales. Better meals, free drinks and more comfortable seats in business class are nice, however 20+ hours in an airplane to the other side of the world is still not the most pleasant day of my life.

Going on a romantic vacation to Bora Bora would make coach seats enjoyable, as I looked forward to days spent with my wife in a tropical paradise. I cannot say the same about traveling on business to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, or any of a half dozen other locations. Instead of looking forward to days spent relaxing while enjoying the tourist sights of an exotic locale, I have hotel and conference rooms ahead of me.

After a few trips, the differences between Singapore and London begin to fade as the conference and hotel rooms of one locale blur with those of the other. The one differentiating fact is the local cuisine.

I look forward to bonding with my foreign co-workers over lunch or dinner at their choice of local restaurant. While I cannot say I have been a fan of every local delicacy (bangers and mash comes to mind), I have found some that are very enjoyable.

I do find it interesting how rapidly American cuisine has spread and the relative status attached to it. I can remember in Singapore being asked by a group going to lunch that "as a special treat for me, their guest" was going to the all you can eat pizza buffet at their new Pizza Hut. On another occasion, a senior executive in Hong Kong schedule an outing to Olive Garden. And there was no lack of invitations to Outback.

This became so prevalent that I mentioned in passing to Daniel (a peer in IT) that I really enjoyed sampling local cuisine. A few days later, Daniel asked me to join him for lunch. He took me to a small outdoor café in his kampong. The menu was in Mandarin so he said to leave it to him to order.

A few minutes later he returned with a large tray full of items. The first of which shocked and honestly revolted me slightly - fish head soup. I understand this is a local dish and serving it with a full small fish head in the bowl is considered an honor. But being an American, I do not like my food looking back at me.

Not wanting to offend, I tried the soup, eating the rice noodles and small slices of meat. I just could not bring myself to eat the actual head. The soup is very spicy but tasty. I would enjoy eating it again and can recommend it - just hold the head please.

Recipe for Singapore Fish Head Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

750g "Batang" fish head, cut into 1 ½ x 1 inch slices
250g thin rice noodles or laksa noodles (soaked, cooked in boiling water, drained)
2 slices of ginger, shredded
80g spring onion (cut into sections)
• 1 tomato cut into quarters
• 1 litre water
• 2 red chillies (seeded & chopped)
• Dash of pepper
• Dash of sesame oil
• Enough oil for deep frying

Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp cooking wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Salt to taste

Steps:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut and divide fish head into bite-sized portions
2. Heat enough oil in a deep-fryer then add the slices in
3. Deep-fry till golden brown, turning once (2 mins)
4. Remove and drain excess oil
5. Heat about 3 tbsp oil in a wok and brown the ginger slices
6. Add the fish head pieces and 1/2 chives, stir-fry everything (1 min)
7. Remove and set aside
8. Pour water into a pot and bring to a full boil, add tomato
9. Add 1/2 of the spring onions and all the ingredients for the seasoning (salt, oyster sauce, black pepper, sesame oil and cooking wine)
10. Allow the soup to simmer before removing from heat (1 min)
11. Divide cooked noodles into individual bowls, sprinkle with a few drops of sesame oil and pepper on top
12. Arrange pieces of fish head and chillies on noodles
13. Pour hot soup over bowls and serve immediately

The meaning of Hai

The Japanese word hai translates to the English word yes. 

However, it can have a number of other possible connotations.  In her article for The Japan Times, Amy Chavez points out that hai can have a number of other meanings, including being used as a polite term of acknowledgement.

 

I learned the hard way of another meaning...

 

My first trip to Japan was to train the regional engineers in a new technology and discuss with them the global implementation plan, then work with them to develop a regional plan and timeline.  I had spent months developing both the training materials and a general project plan and timeline. 

 

Before traveling to the Asia-Pacific region, I had presented the plan to the North American and Latin American regional engineers.  It seemed to be well received and during the conference we were able collectively to pull together a high-level implementation plan and timeline for these two regions.  At the end of the conference as we wrapped up, I asked "can we do this?" and received resounding "YES" from the attendees.

 

So with two regions successfully on board with the migration plan, I headed off to Tokyo where I would be meeting with 100+ regional network engineers.

I asked "can we do this?" and heard "Hai",
leading me to believe they were onboard.

The training seemed to go well.  I exchanged business cards with most engineers asking them to call if they had any questions or anything unforeseen came up.  I heard hai from many of them so I assumed they understood an would contact me should they have any issues.  We spent the first two days in presentations of the new technology and doing hands-on conversions. When asked if they got it, again the response was hai. which I interpreted as meaning they understood the technology.

 

Then we spent two days working in country teams, each team putting together a plan for their country.  I went between teams, working with them as they laid out their plans, encouraging them to prioritize the work and develop aggressive timelines.  Then we met on the last day together again as a large group and went over the timeline.  I asked "can we do this?" and heard "Hai" from many of those attending. This lead me to believe they were onboard with the project.

 

Six months later, there was no progress in the Asia-Pacific region.  A year later, as the other regions were nearing completion, the technology head of the Asia-Pacific region contacted the global head of technology engineering, questioning the need and reasons for expending the manpower on the conversion.

 

The project in Asia was a failure.

What went wrong?  Technically, nothing.  Socially, everything.

 

First, I had not scheduled to meet in advance of the conference with the region's technology director to go over the plan, the need for it, and how he could benefit most from it.  In short, since I had a global mandate, I assumed everyone would be fully onboard with the program.

 

Second, I managed to insult most of the engineers present when I first met them. 

In America, we typically exchange cards with one hand and place the received card in our pocket or deck of cards with a brief glance, to be sorted and entered into a contact database later. 

In Asia, the exchange of business cards takes on many aspects of a ritual.  The card is presented two handed with the writing towards the recipient.  The recipient takes the card and comments about something on it - title, location, company, etc.  Then the recipient will reciprocate, presenting their card.

---

It was several years before my next opportunity to work with colleagues from Japan.  On that next trip, I arranged to have breakfast with the regional manager right after arriving in Tokyo.  We exchanged cards, talked about our families, and he asked if I played golf.  When I acknowledged I did, he said to stop by his office before going into the meetings. 

I stopped by and stuck my head in.  He motioned me to close the door and sit.  First, he told me that he had rescheduled the first meeting, set for that morning (actually scheduled to start in a few minutes) until the afternoon.  He then began going through the information, including my presentations.  At the end, he asked me how I saw this benefiting the region in general and his engineers specifically.

All told, we spent over two hours together in that meeting.  At the end, he asked me to see his administrative assistant to have them extend my hotel stay and reschedule my flight.  As I did that, the admin asked me what my shoe size was and confirmed I was right handed. I asked why and over a shocked look I found out that Thursday (the day I was originally leaving) I would be playing golf with Mr. Tamuri and two others.  I was also asked to stop back by 10 minutes before the meeting, now scheduled for 1 pm.

At 12:50 I was at Mr. Tamuri's door.  He stood up and walked me to the conference center.  On the way, he asked me to wait outside the door for a moment until he called for me.  Then he proceeded to open the meeting and present the opening slides that explained what we were going to do and why.  Finally, he introduced me, informing the people attending that I had been sent at his request to aid the regional engineers in this project.  During the next three days we went over the plan and built a schedule. 

And not once was the word Hai spoken.

The engineers in Asia must have worked long hours and many weekends, because this project finished 7 weeks ahead of schedule,  and 3 weeks ahead of any other region.

So what does hai mean to me now?

Hai means I acknowledge you have spoken - nothing more.

 

Tuesdays in Manhattan

Starting in the fall of 2000, I began flying to Manhattan every Tuesday to attend meetings with my manager and with my direct reports. This became such a habit that over a decade later I can still remember the Tuesday routine:

• 4:30 am - wake up and get ready
• 5:30 am - leave the house to drive to Regan National
• 6:45 am - catch the Delta Shuttle to LaGuardia
• 8:30 am - breakfast with one of my directs
• 9:30 am - team meeting at 111 Wall
• 1:00 pm - lunch with my manager and peers
• 2:30 pm - management meeting
• 6:30 pm - flight back to Regan National
• 9:00 pm - home again

This continued week after week until the second week in September of the following year.  Monday night that week, my manger gave me a call and let me know that he was feeling under the weather and since two of my peers were also going to be out, I shouldn't come up.

This was the first Tuesday in close to a year that I was going to be able to sleep in!!  In fact, since I always went to Manhattan on Tuesday, I decided I would hold the meeting with my directs as a teleconference at 9:00am from the den in my home. 

Ah, sleep in;
       wander downstairs in my sweats, pour a cup of coffee;
       watch a little of the Today Show;
       and around 8:45 am open the phone bridge for the conference call...

Everything was going according to plan, until:

 

I closed the conference bridge and immediately dialed NormaJo, whose office was in 111 Wall.  While I was on the phone with her, I heard a very loud noise.  About 15 seconds later, the Today Show broadcast the second plane hitting.  NormaJo told me outside her window it was black, with lots of paper flying through the air.  I asked if she was alright? Did it look like anyone was hurt?  I asked her to keep the line open and gather her team. Once they were together, I asked for two volunteers to stay until the next shift came on and sent the rest home.

 

For the next hour I watched the news, first in shock, then with gathering sorrow.  By the time the second tower came down, I was in tears.  After that first call, I was unable to reach anyone outside of the DC area.  No phone calls, no Blackberry messages.  By 11:00 am I had to do something, so I pulled out the Continuity of Business plan (other companies may call it a disaster recovery plan) and decided that the best place I could be was our team's hot site in Delaware. 

 

I spent the day in Delaware, unaware of what was happening beyond what was on the news.  Around 6:30 word came out that the state governors were considering closing the state borders as far south as Maryland, so if I wanted to get home I should go.  That was the longest drive.  Not because of the time it took, but because I was alone with my thoughts and fears for those I worked with in New York and their families.

 

The two volunteers that stayed behind at 111 Wall did not know at the time what they were volunteering for.  Lower Manhattan was closed, nobody was allowed in for days.  Those two dedicated employees lived with a small contingent of IT co-workers and a couple of cafeteria workers until Downtown was reopened.  I found out afterwards that at one point we had to request special permission to allow a fuel truck past the barricades  to replenish the tanks for the generators to keep the building power on.

 

I never did hear details of the days spent there.  When asked, anyone who was there would just say "We got by" or "It was OK I guess".  Those who stayed became my personal heroes from the day that changed America.

 

 



Stranger in a Strange Land

In my role as global head of Information Assurance, I had the opportunity to travel around the world.  On my first international trip, my mentor mentioned how he tried to schedule an extra day whenever possible to enjoy the sights.  I made a habit of this.  When traveling to a country where English was a first or second language, I had no trouble getting around.  In other countries, I would make a point of asking a local co-worker to show me the city. This worked out well on most occasions - until my Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In Brazil, the primary language is Brazilian Portuguese with a few people speaking Spanish as a second language.  I speak American English with muy poco espanol (very little Spanish).  So Saturday my host had arranged for someone to act as tour guide for the city.  Needless to say, the person assigned did not show up.  So I decided to take my chances and explore the city on my own.

My first stop was the subway.  The map was probably fully comprehensible to local residents and probably to most Portuguese-speaking people.  To me, it was utterly incomprehensible.  There is no clear identification of any tourist attractions or points of interest.  Even entering the station, it was difficult to comprehend how to use the ticket machines. They were automated, and presented an option of Portuguese or Spanish.  The symbols and icons were just different enough from US counterparts as to be confusing.  After studying the machine for a number of minutes (and hearing comments from those in line behind me that I could not comprehend)  I decided to return to the streets.  There I wandered about, sightseeing as best I could.

I enjoyed the open air markets and was lucky enough to find one vendor who spoke English.  I still have a large piece of Emerald ore carved into an Indian head.

My experiences did not end there.  Walking up and down the street I passed a number of wonderful smelling restaurants and bakeries.  However, a bit of knowledge about local cuisine indicated that I would not know what I was getting and might find it less than palatable.  It is sad to say that I ended up dining at McDonalds on an extra value meal that I was able to order in Spanish by the numbers from the picture (ah numero dos grande por favor).

While the signage probably would aid most Brazilians in finding their way, I can honestly say that none of it provided decipherable clues that I could use.  It was an interesting lesson.  I would hope that as the world continues to shrink, more standardization takes place on icons and other forms of signage and devices. Likewise, creation of multi-lingual kiosks that can walk someone through the process of purchasing would be greatly advantageous.

After this trip, I have found that I have greater compassion for foreign travelers I meet in America, as that Saturday in Sao Paulo I gained a deep understanding of what it means to be a stranger in a strange land.
 

Nothing personal - it's just business

I apologize in advance to any unrelenting capitalists out there as I step up on my soapbox. 

The phrase “nothing personal, it’s just business” rankles me, especially in light of a corporation’s sole raison d’etre – to increase shareholder value.  By definition, a corporation’s sole responsibility is to its shareholders.

If I look at John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian ethical theory, I find that the Greatest-Happiness Principle is the central tenant.  Mill argues that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.

Applying this Utilitarianism ethical framework, a corporation will experience the greatest happiness when it has maximized the value of its shareholders investment in the corporation.  This can be construed from the fact that the achievement of goals is desirable, and having one's desires fulfilled brings about a state of happiness.  As previously noted, the only goal a for-profit corporation has is the increase in shareholder value. This then becomes the primary ethical responsibility of a corporation.

Mill goes on to discuss common sense morality, such as:
     •   Keep your promises
     •   Don’t cheat
     •   Don’t steal
     •   Obey the law
According to Mill, these rules tend to promote happiness, so they should be internalized as good rules to follow.  However, these rules are subordinate to the Greatest-Happiness Principle, meaning that if breaking one of these rules would result in much more happiness than following it, then it is my ethical responsibility to break it.

Applying this back to the corporate ethical framework, a corporation should do everything it can to maximize its profitability, thus increasing shareholder value.  Now extending this, the directors and officers of a corporation have a moral responsibility to make decisions that increase its profitability.  Thus the phrase “nothing personal, it’s just business” becomes morally correct regardless of the impact.

"It is the ethical responsibility of officers of a corporation to not recall products, even knowing that some individuals  may become sick or die"

This means that outsourcing and offshoring that increase profitability are an ethical responsibility of a corporation’s officers, regardless of the negative impact to people, communities, or even countries.  Likewise, officers have a moral duty to approve the violation of state and federal regulations, where the total negative financial impact (fines, bad public relations, possible loss of sales) is significantly less than the additional profit to be made. Extending to its logical conclusion, corporate officers are ethically required to make decision that have a good probability of maiming or killing people, if the corporate impact from lawsuits and other foreseeable negatives is sufficiently lower than the cost of remediation.

Let me provide a hypothetical example:

A food manufacturer detects salmonella in one of its products.  This product already caries cooking instructions specifying the food be heated to at least 165 degrees throughout (a temperature that kills the salmonella bacteria).  Further, it determines that legal fees, judgments and negative press will be under $100,000,000.  Recall of all possibly tainted products will cost upwards of $1,000,000,000.  In this case, it is the ethical responsibility of any officer of the corporation to not recall the product, even knowing that some individuals who have not followed the directions may become sick or die.

It might be argued that corporations, as a whole, are “soulless”, being without conscience or compassion.  However, the same argument could not be easily made of a corporation’s officers, directors, and shareholders.  It therefore becomes the responsibility of these individuals to ensure the moral imperatives of the corporation do not override an individual’s personal ethics.  A director or officer can and should resign when their personal morality comes into conflict with their corporate responsibility.  Likewise, a shareholder should sell their stock when personal and corporate morals conflict.

In 1886 the US Supreme Court in Clara Country v Southern Pacific Railroad (118 U.S. 394) established that corporations have the same rights and protections as a natural person.  Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite stated before arguments commenced that “the court does not wish to hear argument on the question of whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of opinion that it does.”  While this did not establish precedent, as it was not included in the official opinion, it none the less prepared the way for the rise of global corporate rule, the results of which we are experiencing today.

Combined, the United States has elevated a soulless artificial construct to the status of a natural person whose sole purpose and moral responsibility is to maximize its profits. We, as employees, officers, directors, shareholders and consumers of these corporations, implicitly support this position through our choice of actions each day.  We choose to buy a company’s product, to own its stock, to enforce its edicts, to make decisions that affect its direction.  These are our personal choices not forced upon us under threat of violence.

So please do not insult my intelligence by saying

“nothing personal, it’s just business”.

 

About business meetings...

I wanted to share a Saturday Night Live sketch about business. Take a look and see if you have not been in this meeting (at least until the last 5 seconds…) at some point in your life. I know I have – on more than one occasion.

One of the more memorable ones was a meeting I attended with a client last November. They are a small (<300 employee) custom automotive parts manufacture that had suffered an exceptionally bad year.  The CEO convened the meeting at 3pm and let all of us know that he had ordered dinner to be catered (and it was *not* pizza or sandwiches) so none of us were going anywhere until the problem had been addressed and a workable plan agreed upon.

My relationship to the company was one of consulting on Information Technology, specifically on aligning technology initiatives with the business goals.   I was actually surprised to be included, as the last three projects I had been engaged to consult on I had recommended against, as they would not generate a positive return.  This included the CEO's desired project to create a highly interactive web site (at a high cost) for a customer base that relied on sales engineers visiting their racing shops to design and/or recommend parts.  All three projects had proceeded, with a collective cost that was a sizeable portion of the company's sales.

Now the company was looking at going on a crash diet as there were insufficient funds.  Numerous suggestions were made, but by 1am it had become obvious that a large portion of the workforce would need to be let go within the week.

After the meeting, the CEO pulled me aside and asked if I would have additional bandwidth to take over managing their IT projects and could I bring on resources to aid in day to day operations as they were letting their whole IT department (5 people, including the manager) go.

I hired four of the five for a small decrease in wages, and then billed at my normal hourly rate.  It is now 5 months later and the company is currently undergoing a reorganizational bankruptcy.  At least from the IT perspective, the costs are close to doubled over what they were.  On a positive note, I was able to defer or cancel the contracts for the three projects...

Oh, and I felt very much like Water Guy...