Where Were You?

 The headline on my digital news feed this morning read, "Where were you on that fateful day?" I immediately thought of Alan Jackson's song, written days after 9/11/01, with the lyrics "Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?"

Who among us doesn't remember where we were at on the morning of September 11, 2001, when the twin towers in New York went down and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. was in flames? As Jackson's lyrics say, "Were you in the yard with your wife and children or on some stage in L.A.? Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke risin' against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger in fear for your neighbor? Or did you just sit down and cry?"

The memories of that day for me - and I'm sure for most - are still as vivid as they were a short time after the tragedy of 9/11.

I was working at Sprint on that Tuesday and, like most mornings, was in the office early attending to what I needed to accomplish before the meetings and various demands of that day began. A colleague on my team - another consistent early-to-work person - came in and said "Turn on your TV--I heard that a plane flew into a building in New York." I immediately thought that a small plane must have somehow veered off course and crashed.

I turned on my TV and she and I looked on at a scene of smoke billowing out of the north tower of the World Trade Center. I remember that my immediate reaction was "What the...!?" It was hard to determine what had happened and the news commentary we listened to was equally unsure. 

We stood in my office, watching, and soon others joined as word spread that something was amiss in New York. My office was filled with co-workers--all eyes focused on that TV and the story that was unfolding. All eyes watched as a second plane flew into the south tower and the commentary, both on TV and in my office, shifted to one of shock and terror.

The world forever changed on that day. Now, 20 years later, we once again reflect on that fateful day--of lives lost, of stories of courage, of the forever impact on all of us.

Much has and will be written, said and reported on today, tomorrow and this weekend as the reliving of 9/11 is played out across all media. My suggestion to you is that this be a time to sit, reflect and never forget the lives lost and the forever impact of that act of terrorism. 

"The World's Greatest Metronome"

 The death on Tuesday of Charlie Watts, drummer for The Rolling Stones, has made me reflect on his life and the steady leadership that he provided to the "world's greatest rock-and-roll band." 

Watts joined the Stones in 1963 and never missed a concert during that timespan of numerous tours, albums and appearances. News of his death caused a variety of tributes from fellow entertainers. The Who's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, said Watts was the "perfect gentleman, as sharp in his manner of dress as he was on the drums." And Joan Baez commented that he was "a prince among thieves" and " a gentleman through and through."

It was Questlove's (The Roots) tribute, though, that I found most interesting. 

"He's always been a solid foundational drummer. He was the anti-drummer. He wasn't performative to let you know how hard he was f----ing working. He gave you the basic foundation." 

Quest continued, "Watts became a legend not because of who he was associated with but because he's providing the foundation. Only real drummers know the value of Charlie Watts and the fact that he was the world's greatest metronome. Trust me, his 'less is more' technique is probably some of the most genius playing that you'll ever hear."

There is certainly a lesson in leadership in the way that Watts provided the foundation for a band that has been together for 58 years and which includes two enormous personalities (onstage and off) in Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. One can easily make the case that the Stones would not have been "the Stones" without the talent - and quiet leadership - of Charlie Watts. Watts' place in The Rolling Stones is a lesson for all of us in how we perform, team...and lead.

Road Closed to Thru Traffic

 A week ago, a digital road sign appeared in my neighborhood saying “Street closed, August 12.” 

The notice caused a momentary, mental "hmmm" as I carried on with my mission of wherever I was going in my car. I gave the sign nary a thought after that one flicker of acknowledgment.

The date of August 12 came and I was once again in my car traveling the usual route when I came across a larger, more permanent sign in the road that said "ROAD CLOSED TO THRU TRAFFIC." My muscle memory told me to carry on because this is my normal route, right? I quickly came across another sign, across the entire road, that emphasized "ROAD CLOSED TO THRU TRAFFIC."

I grudgingly turned the car around and found an alternate route to my destination. While longer and less direct, I still arrived at where I needed to go.

Isn't this a metaphor for life these days? Isn't this a metaphor for what businesses and brands and organizations are dealing with as the pandemic hit, seemingly waned, and now is back in its continued disruption of our usual, chosen paths? How many saw an initial sign but carried on believing the challenge to be short-lived? Or, perhaps not believing that it was a challenge at all?

The longer, altered route may be less satisfying during the journey but the end result is often more rewarding given the challenge that's been overcome. While the longer way may not synch up with our desire for instant gratification or our muscle memory, it does satisfy the need to problem solve and to achieve the desired result.

Don't let the longer way get in your way.

It's Election Night

If 2020 couldn't get any more surreal, consider this:

- Today is Election Day and by all reports, the turnout of in-person voting coupled with mail-in, early voting and absentee voting will set a modern-day record. All in an environment where we're COVID-19 restricted and coping with social distancing, staying at home and quarantining.

- The presidential candidates are an incumbent that has called into question any ballots not counted today and a former Vice President whose home state is considered the key to this race.

- State races in places like Montana and Kansas are commanding national attention.

- Texas might actually flip into blue state territory.

- Retail establishments and businesses are proactively boarding up windows in major cities in preparation for the possibility of civil unrest.

- And, media outlets of all types are acknowledging their planned caution in prematurely calling state-by-state winners in the presidential race. 

I've heard more than one colleague today say "this is my Super Bowl." While I understand the sentiment, this actually feels more like the Super Bowl and the former military draft lottery day all rolled into one. This Election Day has the visibility and interest of the Super Bowl with the anxiety created by whether your number would be called for military duty...and a four-year commitment. (Yeah, I know--one has to be of my vintage to remember draft lottery days. But, hopefully, you get the idea.)

What are your plans for the evening? I'm on cocktail number one and a fat Cohiba cigar in anticipation for a very long night and morning of channel surfing with my primary outlet being CBS. 

If tuning in isn't in your plans, may I suggest curling up with a good political book of campaigns past or perhaps a movie about our democratic process?

- The Making of the President 1968, Theodore White

- The Boys on the Bus, Timothy Crouse (1972 campaign)

- Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972 (Hunter Thompson)

- The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

- The Best Man (Henry Fonda; screenplay by Gore Vidal)

- The Candidate (Robert Redford)

- Shampoo (a cop-out given that the movie is set on the day of the '68 election; stars Warren Beatty)

- All the President's Men (Redford, Dustin Hoffman and the late, great Jason Robards)

- The American President (Michael Douglas)

- Primary Colors (John Travolta)

- The Campaign (Will Ferrell)

However this election ends, my hope is that we applaud the democratic process and use this as a turning point toward a more united democracy. 

Gale Sayers

Gale Sayers. The Kansas Comet. Gallopin' Gale. Magic (as his late teammate, Brian Piccolo, described him.) I Am Third. Brian's Song.

Given Sayers' death today, the tributes are justifiably rolling in via news coverage and social media posts. It's been a bit hard to process because, yet again, one of my heroes has past.

Sayers was the most exciting running back that I've ever seen play. I was a kid who attended Kansas games with my parents and watched 48 leave tacklers in his wake given his fluid and elusive running style. It was amazing that a guy wearing high top leather football cleats could be that slippery.

He then went to the Chicago Bears where I remember watching the six touchdown game against San Francisco. And, I remember my heartbreak at his knee injuries, which cut his career short way too early.

I Am Third, Sayers' book, was the first book that I remember reading by a black author. The book was about being third behind God and family. I still have it in my library.

And, Brian's Song. I'm sure I cried at some movie growing up but this movie was the one that caused grown men everywhere to do it. The story, of Sayers' friendship with Piccolo, who is dying of cancer, is as meaningful today as it was in 1971.

I had the good fortune of meeting Sayers at a University of Kansas event many years ago. It was very brief but I remember the grace and elegance of the man. As I look back at the YouTube clips of him at Kansas and Chicago, that grace and elegance is displayed on the field as well.

2020 has claimed another victim. RIP Gale Sayers.

10 Albums: Kind of Blue

The final installment in my "10 Albums" is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. It is, without question, the greatest jazz album of all time and one of the greatest albums, of any kind, ever.

I rekindled my love affair with vinyl records about four years ago and it was in that shift that I realized I'd never truly investigated jazz. I was in a record store, collecting my first few vinyls, and happened to be in an outlet that has a huge jazz section. I knew Davis, of course, and had heard about Kind of Blue. It was there, I bought it, and the rest is why this album is the last record in my list of 10 albums.

Kind of Blue is, truly, a religious experience. There is a haunting element to the sounds that come from the  sextet of Davis, the amazing John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. (This assemblage of talent is akin to some weird, time-altered combination of Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.)

From the opening bass line of "So What," the album pulls you in and takes you to a place of rapt attention. This isn't an album that I listen to as background--it absorbs you and commands you to listen. And, every time I listen, I feel something new.

Kind of Blue is Davis' greatest work and his most acclaimed achievement. It is a must have on anyone's "10 Albums." 

Thanks for indulging me on this journey with my "10 Albums." Kind of Blue--one of the best albums, ever, in any genre.

"We've lost the traditions"

 I settled in yesterday to watch a very different College Game Day on ESPN given the all-too-known issues that you're aware of as relates to live sports, social distancing, on-air personalities and the constantly altered landscape of sports programming.

The Game Day crew cut away during the program to Chapel Hill, NC and interviewed Mack Brown, head football coach of the North Carolina Tarheels, before his squad took the field to play Syracuse. Brown talked of the challenge of leading and coaching his team in these odd times and made the prescient comment, "we've lost the traditions" associated with college football.  

Brown's comment was spot on. In 2012-13, I was part of a team that helped launch the College Football Playoff. This cross-functional group (Premier Sports Management, marketing representatives from various college conferences, and ESPN) was tasked with naming, positioning, branding and launching the playoff, which had been announced in April 2012 and was set to begin in 2014.

I led the effort to implement focus group research to interview college football fans (avid and moderate) to ensure that we had directional insights from that important audience. I attended the research in Kansas City, Dallas and Atlanta and watched groups of 10-12 people arrive adorned in their team's colors and all-too-ready to talk football and why they loved the game. In the Dallas session, a middle-age man wearing an Oklahoma sweatshirt sat next to a female recent Texas graduate who was wearing the burnt orange of the Longhorns. What enmity they shared as rivals was overshadowed by the passion they felt for college football.

To a person, each fan talked of the importance of the traditions of the sport--the cheerleaders, mascots, marching bands, tailgating, campus environments and other school-specific rituals, whether touching Howard's Rock at Clemson or planting the spear at Doak Walker Stadium at Florida State.

Football is back. But, let's be real--college football as a game is back. College football as a sport, pastime and passion point for thousands across the U.S. is not. Our traditions--the things that make us love college football--are, at least for this year, lost as we deal with the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Traditions are why I love college sports. And, the loss of those traditions is just one more reminder that life is very, very sad right now. 

I miss the sport of college football.