A Return to Appleton

It’s now been over a month since my dad’s passing, in some ways it’s seems like a long time and in other ways the past month has literally blown by in a blink. My work tempo over the past few weeks has been a bit bewildering, having travelled coast to coast three times with customer meetings in New Orleans, Orlando, Minneapolis, and Atlanta thrown in the midst for good luck. What a month!

Since losing my dad, I have been drawn to make two pilgrimages of sorts, one to my mom’s grave back in Western Pennsylvania and one to my friend Bruce’s grave in Appleton Wisconsin. I don’t know if it’s an urge or desire to reconnect with my memories of those two specific individuals who meant (and mean) a lot to me, or in some way to immerse myself for a few brief moments in reflective physical environments.

Earlier this month I found my way to Appleton, renting a car in that familiar little airport, and heading out to visit familiar sights and old friends. I had a few hours open , so instead of heading straight to the cemetery, I turned south to pay a visit at a charming little cheese factory in Zitau Wisconsin. On one of my last visits before Bruce passed, he wanted to take a drive to see some old sights and to go out to his lake house to pay one last visit. With his advancing stages of ALS, Bruce was well past driving at that time so I loaded him into my car and headed west. Instead of heading straight to the lake house, he directed me to take a rural route which lead us to the Union Star Cheese Cooperative in Zitau. Here I was just a few weeks ago, now over four years since Bruce’s passing, pulling up to that same little cheese factory out in the chilly Wisconsin countryside.

While I was swimming in memories, the woman working behind the counter was diligently packing bags of freshly made cheese curds, a local favorite. With tears in my eyes, I picked up a bag of curds and added a block or two of their aged cheddar, Bruce’s favorite. Here I was having a visceral nostalgic experience and the woman behind the counter, while helpful, had things to do, bags to pack, and a large block of Colby-jack cheese on the counter that needed cutting and wrapping. I quickly paid for my cheese and headed out, back to find my way back to the cemetery in Appleton.

The leaves were turning colors brightly and the trees at the cemetery were beautiful, even on a cool drizzly afternoon. I had picked up some flowers and after cleaning up Bruce’s headstone, I rested the flowers on top and said a prayer. I didn’t want to leave so I started walking around the cemetery which sits on a bluff above the Fox River. Headstones of young children recently passed, of soldiers who fought in our civil war buried in the later 1800’s, of grandparents, and of teenagers all side by side. While I came that day to “visit” Bruce’s grave, I was struck by the expanse of human history surrounding me in that beautiful cemetery.

Later that afternoon I visited with dear old friends Steve and Nina, and the next day enjoyed a great breakfast with two other dear friends Donna and Marilyn who worked with Bruce and I at Kimberly Clark in the late 1980’s. Each conversation was precious, thinking back on times past but more importantly catching up on life today; the latest updates on kids and grandkids, challenges at work and at church, plans for the upcoming holidays and future vacations, etc.

I had come back to Appleton to take a moment of reflection as I mourn the passing of my father, and while I certainly had a number of “reflective moments”, I left Wisconsin thinking about my life and the busy road ahead. I was so anxious to get home and see Jennie, Bryson and Marie and get caught up on the latest developments with homework, board meetings, play rehearsals, chorus concerts, etc. Just like the lady at the cheese factory, there were things to do, errands to be run, happiness and sadness to experience, tears and laughter to enjoy/ endure, in other terms there was life to be lived!

My continuing “takeway” as I reflect on all those who have passed before us, (those dear to me and a multitude unknown) is that life is precious and fragile and that life is to be lived NOW, not in some future, post-graduation/post-marriage/post-children/post-debt/post-retirement fantasy but NOW, today, this week, not someday but NOW!

The "Gravity" of Blockbuster

As an addendum to my recent essay “The Gravity of Success,” this week’s headlines regarding Blockbuster warrants a quick note. It was reported this week that as of January the last of Blockbuster’s stores, along with their DVD mail service, will close. After declaring bankruptcy in 2011, the enterprise once known for offering families all across North America a “Blockbuster Night” will shutter its last remaining doors. The amazing thing about this story is not the ultimate success of on-line vs. traditional retail models (though this is a great example of that dynamic,) but the speed of this decline and my personal experience with it that began at a dinner in Dallas in May of 2002.


Now more than eleven years ago, I was in a role that oversaw the Blockbuster relationship for The Coca-Cola Company. We had a team of bright and talented sales and marketing executives working on that business and we looked upon it as a very strategic commercial and marketing relationship. I remember quite clearly being in Dallas for meetings at Blockbuster’s Headquarters in late May of 2002, working on key partnership marketing plans and it was in that bar, now more than eleven years ago, that I witnessed a live version of the concept “The Gravity of Success.”


Quite coincidentally earlier that day, in late May of 2002, Netflix had announced their plans to go public. At that time, Netflix was just a few years old, primarily a mail order DVD rental company, which had never generated a profit. The “dot-com” bubble had recently burst, and many on-line startups were failing. I remember everyone gathering at the bar and the Blockbuster team toasting and laughing about the breaking news regarding Netflix. One of their team laughed that with over 9000 stores , spanning towns large and small across North America and across numerous other countries, who would want to wait for a DVD to come by “snail mail” when you could stop by at your local store and enjoy a “Blockbuster Night.”


In hindsight we all laughed and toasted what seemed to be the folly of that day. But now, just eleven years later, Blockbuster will close the last of their 9000 stores, and Netflix is soaring and innovating to new heights. It’s amazing in hindsight to see how wrong we all were, and how influenced we were by the historic drivers of success at that moment. In 2002, those 9000+ stores seemed like a huge barrier of entry for others, and that the physical experience of stopping by at your local Blockbuster was a convenient and entertaining part of your weekly routine. For Coke, all of those stores, and all of those coolers, and all of those shoppers were pure gold, both commercially and as a marketing resource. None of us that night took a second to think about the “virtual currency” that Netflix or other on-line media sources would someday dominate. We all missed it that night; we were all caught in “The Gravity of Blockbuster.”


I share this story not only to connect to this week’s headlines, but to reinforce that we all need to learn from history, and sometimes form our own history! The memory of that night in Dallas makes me humble and attentive as I reflect on my current work world and our current levels of success. The memory makes me want to be more critical of our current business drivers, and it is pushing me to try to “look over the horizon” at the possible drivers of our current success, our “9000 stores” that may be our Achilles heel in the years ahead. Equally I am attentive to watch the competitive landscape more attentively. Eleven years ago Blockbuster wrongly dismissed Netflix as a competitive threat. Wrongly dismissed to their detriment and demise! What new innovative small businesses and brands am I being too casual and complacent about? Reflect on your own realities as you read this essay and be mindful and active about lessons you can learn from “The Gravity of Blockbuster.”

The Gravity of Success

I had the chance this weekend at a very busy industry trade event to reconnect with many friends across our business. It was a huge success for our enterprise, certainly a new “high water mark” in our journey of dynamic growth and profitable expansion. It was at a small dinner last Saturday night that I had the chance to slow down and enjoy a wonderful dinner with a number of friends, deep industry veterans, where an interesting conversation emerged around the idea of managing success.


One of my tablemates shared that he had recently been at a conference where the chess champion Gary Kasparov was the featured speaker. He shared that Kasparov talked about his early success, winning his first world grand championship at the age of 22. When asked whether that was his toughest challenge, he quickly replied no. It was after a number of consecutive World Grand Championships that Kasparov was faced by a huge challenge that he described as “the gravity of success.” It is the reality that continued success is not inevitable, but has to be “re-earned” in each successive match, practice event, or work session. What made him successful in a past match would not be the key to his success in future matches. He is quoted as saying “winning creates an illusion that everything is fine ….. that after a victory we want to celebrate, not analyze.”


These comments from a chess champion made me reflect back on my own experience, and on my situation today. I have had the chance across my career to experience many businesses and brands that at one point seemed impenetrable and were ultimately found vulnerable. Now almost ten years ago, I was at dinner with executives from Blockbuster on the day that Netflix was launched. At dinner that night in Dallas, they laughed at the idea that anyone would go through the hassle of ordering DVD’s through the mail rather than visiting one of their more than 5000 convenient Blockbuster stores. To put it simply now ten years later, Netflix is now a major factor in the on-line entertainment landscape and the last Blockbuster store near my home was converted into a Smoothie shop years ago. Blockbuster had seen many months, quarters, and years of success, but somehow the “gravity of success” was too strong to enable Blockbuster to find success today.


While there are many examples across the landscape, (i.e. Woolworth, Kodak, Howard Johnson, Web Van, Pets.com, etc.), the conversation made me reflect on my immediate reality. Our business has had a great run, driving profitable growth quarter after quarter for a number of years now. We have built capabilities and competencies as we have grown, realizing that business processes and systems are required in order to support historic growth and enable future success. Now with all of that said, were we becoming complacent? Were we getting lost in our “illusion” that everything was fine? Was the “gravity of success” lurking around the corner?


While it is clear that no one is immune to the tug of that “gravity,” the dinner conversation prompted me to take action on an immediate moment of success. As I said we have just finished a very successful trade event for our company, clearly exceeding past experiences and even our high expectations. Regardless of that reality, the dinner conversation prompted me to call for a “debrief conference call” this week, so we could review the experience in detail and while we will celebrate the “wins,” we will work hard to uncover and identify the opportunity areas form the past week. Kasparov said, “question the status quo at all times, especially when things are going well.” It is with that advice that I am taking action this week; I am appreciative that an innocent and pleasant dinner conversation has led to my awareness of, and respect for, “the gravity of success!”

Ode to my Dad: part 2

Ode to my Dad: part 2

It is widely written that grief is a process, unique to every person, often coming in waves of happy and sad memories brought on by poignant and insignificant triggers. That description of “process” and “waves” is most certainly my reality after losing my Dad, now a bit more than two weeks ago. For me, I have been drawn to pull out old photo albums and mementos, wanting to remember and embrace some of the “old stories” of my family from years gone by. As I was sorting through some old papers in my bedside nightstand, I came across a letter that my father sent me more than seven years ago for my 45th birthday. It was a short letter, written in his clear steady hand writing, from an earlier time in his fight with Parkinson’s disease. After wishing me a happy birthday, he added a few lines of “advice” that made me smile last week, amidst tears, thinking of his good natured encouragements:

“I am tempted to give you a list of “advice”, but would boil it down to this:
• Just continue to be yourself
• Be a leader by your example
• Honesty, sincerity, and your love of people are the route of your life
• Watch out for those “management fads”
• And finally, keep your sense of humor!”


While I am tempted to take each of his points and break them down into action oriented connections for all of us today (maybe fodder for a future essay), I am struck by the authentic nature of his good natured advice. He wanted only good things for me, and over his career as an electrical engineer primarily for ALCOA, he learned a number of important lessons of leadership that he wanted to pass along. I remember clearly how he talked about certain of his bosses/leaders that really knew the work and the team and how that authentic connection made them effective and admired. Equally he talked about other bosses/leaders from the opposite end of the spectrum, more focused on “managing up” or trying the latest management “technique” (see “management fads” above) than really working on the challenges at hand. One story he talked about was of a boss that had fully adopted the principles of the “60 second Manager,” a popular “management fad” of the 1970’s. It seemed impossible to my dad how someone would/could expect to handle a situation in less than a minute, when the technical problem at hand could not even be described accurately (analytically/mathematically) in less than sixty minutes!

As I continue to dig through old papers and photos, I am certain that I will come across more nuggets of insight and perspective. For me the process is not solely nostalgic as the above quote suggests, reminding me today of ways to be a more effective professional and leader. Take a few minutes yourself, either with the “advice” from my Dad, or from your fathers or mothers, or your friends, mentors, or bosses and look for their “advice” on how to be more effective. Not only will it do your heart a bit of good (as it is doing for me), but you just might find a pearl of wisdom to apply to your life today.

Post script: Over the past few weeks I have received calls, notes, texts, and letters from a wide variety of family and friends and I can’t overstate their impact. Each message has brought me comfort and support, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has reached out, thank you all!

Ode to my Dad

We always worry about the wrong things. Last week, I was concerned about an out-of-town fishing trip, last second details at work, upcoming travel logistics, and potential topics for upcoming blog essays. At the time, it seemed like the appropriate focus, and thankfully, I added to that list having some time with my family and making sure I called my dad before I went fishing. What I didn’t know last Tuesday was that my father, Dale Hill Levisay, would suffer a dramatic cardiac event Friday morning and quickly pass away twenty four hours later. Thankfully, I did indeed talk to my Dad changing planes in the Minneapolis Airport last Wednesday morning, and while he had had a bad night, he was excited about my “Walleye Plans” and wanted a lot of pictures. I spoke to him one last time Friday afternoon as I was making my way to his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, (with the tremendous help and support of dear friends and “fishing buddies” Chris, Paul and Scott). He was present enough to ask about the fishing trip and wanted to know how many fish we caught. Literally a fisherman to his end!

The following is the obituary that I wrote for my Dad early yesterday morning. It is an understatement to say that words can’t equal a life, but at least it gives a brief overview of my Father:


Dale Hill Levisay passed away suddenly last Saturday, September 21, at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. He is survived by his wife of thirty seven years, Doris Levisay, his brother James Livesay of Richmond, Virginia, his three children: Mark, Bill and Alice Levisay, his two stepsons Bill and Tom Dunwoody, and his eleven loving grandchildren. He is pre-deceased by his first wife Arline Levisay and a daughter Lois Ann Levisay.

Dale was born in Durbin, West Virginia, on July 2, 1930 and grew up along the banks of his beloved Greenbrier River. After graduating first in his class from White Sulphur Springs High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served his country aboard the U.S.S. Valcour and the U.S.S. Oriskany. Upon an honorable discharge, he entered Virginia Tech where he studied Electrical Engineering, ultimately graduating again at the top of his class in 1956.

Dale spent a long and productive career in the Electrical Engineering field, most notably working for ALCOA in a number of locations for over thirty years. He was always singularly proud of his executive liaison assignment that took him to Tokyo, Japan, for a few years late in his career. A holder of a number of patents, he is remembered fondly by ALCOA associates today.
After retirement, Dale and Doris spent many happy years in Louisville, Tennessee, and Williamsburg, Virginia, travelling the world and spending time with family and friends. Dale loved to tinker in his workshop, always creating new inventions that he shared generously. A scout master for many years, Dale was also an avid Ham radio operator, fisherman, and a keen gardener his entire life. He will be missed deeply by all who knew him.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made in Dale’s memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. No public memorial service is planned.


Once again, we always get lost in the trivial business of life and always worry about the wrong things. Whether lessons learned from my grandmother “MaMa” (Dad’s mother), my first boss Bruce Paynter, or from my Dad’s passing this past weekend, I recognize that life is precious and fragile! In the end, all the material possessions (the “stuff & things”) of life wash away and all that really matters is the love in your life with those who are precious to you.

How to be "Present", "Safe", and "Refreshed" in a Multi-tasking World

I am literally writing this essay flying to LA, listening to a great playlist on my I pad put together by my son Bryson (check out the band “Best Coast”, they rock) , keeping an eye on my work emails and hoping to have a few minutes to read todays “Huffington Post” headlines on-line before I land. Over the past few years in a job that requires extensive travel, I have become completely dependent on technology to enable me to be effective anywhere and anytime regardless of time-zone and location. I long ago dismissed the outmoded notion that an “office” is a static location in some corporate building where one schedules meetings. My “office” is wherever I have power and internet connectivity, wherever I can access my company’s network and connect to a good cell signal, whether in a remote airport gate, a hotel lobby, a street corner coffee shop, or a foreign train station. Technology has allowed me to be effective literally almost anywhere, anytime and I am constantly using this enhanced capability to “multi-task my brains out” in order to accomplish my goals personally and professionally. It is in this context that I want to share some thoughts or ideas on ways to be most effective in our wildly muti-tasking world:

Be Present: It is so tempting to always be doing two or three things at once. Think about it, we are often doing work emails while watching news or financial headlines/updates, while staying current in our personal social networking community. Heaven forbid that we might miss a posting from a group of friends with photos from a concert/party, or be slow to respond to a text from a work associate with an urgent, though maybe not important ( see a past essay “5% for #2” on that topic) request. In a recent executive review at work, we had an interesting experience. A large group had gathered in a conference room to discuss upcoming priorities and almost everyone had their ipads or laptops powered up and connected to the network. As we dove into the agenda it became clear that most folks participating in the meeting were ALSO doing emails, checking updates, etc. As it got to my turn to lead an agenda item, I covered a slide or two but then paused with a moment of silence to see how long it would take the group in the room to realize that I had stopped talking. Gradually, people raised their heads to look up at me and I waited for the last individual to look up, ultimately nudged by their neighbor in the conference room. I suggested that we weren’t holding the meeting to hear ourselves speak, and that if they wanted to be in the meeting then they should really be “in” the meeting. Choosing to be fully “present”, with all of your thoughts, experiences, and perspectives deployed to the moment at hand is extremely valuable and potent regardless of environment. When the moment arises, choose to be focused and great at the singular topic at hand, rather than distracted and merely adequate across a range of “muti-tasking activities.”

Be Safe: There is a growing realization and concern that multi-tasking in the wrong moments and environments can be dangerous and potentially lethal. Recently I was walking near a busy intersection in Santa Monica where I noticed a young woman walking next to me, ear buds firmly in place, and texting furiously on her iPhone. I stopped as we approached the busy corner, seeing the light turn red and cars starting to pull out ahead of us. Without even looking up, the young woman stepped off the curb heading blindly into traffic. I grabbed her arm to stop her, which caused her to raise her head to see me yelling for her to stop. While she seemed “pissed off” that I had grabbed her arm, she stepped back to the curb and went back to her texting. Unbelievably and blindly dangerous for what??
In a related vein I will add my voice to the growing chorus of organizations and individuals crying out against texting and driving. We as a nation have come to the realization that driving drunk is dangerous, potentially lethal, and thus unlawful and unacceptable! Recent studies show disarming similarities between texting and drinking when driving (http://io9.com/texting-while-driving-now-kills-more-teens-than-drunk-d-504588550) and we must take action culturally and legally now! The famous director Werner Herzog recently completed a short 35 minute documentary film that highlights the stories of a number of individuals and families involved in and affected by texting while driving. Please take a moment to watch this poignant film (www.scpr.org/news/2013/08/13/38675/werner-herzog-s-short-film-on-texting-while-drivin/) and take a note of the topics that were being texted at the moment of impact. It’s horrific, tragic and ridiculous how meaningless the topics are that distracted drivers to the point of turning them into killers!

Be Refreshed: Even in moments when we are being “Present” and “Safe”, multi-tasking will be pervasive broadly across our busy days, weeks, and months. It’s hard to put the technology down, even to grab a few hours of much needed sleep, knowing that there are emails, messages, contacts, etc. waiting out there! Try to find ways to step away from being connected ALL of the time, just to give yourself a much needed break. One example that works for me is an annual fishing trip “off the grid” that is coming up next week. Once a year I take a few days with some old friends and go fishing in rural western Ontario completely off the grid (I will save stories of the outhouse and the propane fridge for a future essay). At first it was more than disarming heading off from the dock and watching the cell coverage diminish and then go completely “dark.” Now with a few years of experience under my belt, I crave the idea of getting off the grid to take a break from the tempo and incessant onslaught of messages, if just for a few days. I prepare well for those few days every year, insuring that my team members cover the active projects and issues, with others tracking my emails watching to deal with any emergencies that might arise. It’s through that preparation that I now not only crave a few days “off the grid”, but come back “refreshed” and more than ready to dive back in!

It’s absolutely amazing what technology has allowed us to accomplish in our work and personal lives every day. I have no doubt that there will be new tools and applications in the years to come that will continue to enable us to “multi-task with abandon”, clearly at even greater speeds with greater impact than we can even imagine today. My council is for all of us (starting with yours truly) to take steps to be “Present, Safe, and Refreshed” so that we can convert this amazing “multi-tasking tempo” into a productive, healthy, and high impact life!

An inspiring Anniversary ... the fifty years ahead!

It is important for all of us to take a moment and remember and recognize the march on Washington for jobs and freedom that occurred fifty years ago today. I have often watched the “I have a dream speech” like many others all over the world, feeling inspired and challenged by Dr. King’s exhilarating words and delivery. As I reflect on this anniversary, there are a number of themes that I want to share.

The progress we have made: As a proud citizen of the city of Atlanta, I am proud that Dr. King called our city home and that Ebenezer Baptist Church is just a few miles from our neighborhood. Last weekend I had a chance to get on my bike, connect via the new beltline bike path, and work my way up to Piedmont Park in the center of the city. The weather was wonderful and the park was hopping and I was struck by the groups of kids all over the park; on the volleyball courts, on a soccer field, in the big swimming pool, and on the children’s playground all playing together clearly regardless of race. Here I was in a prominent southern city, within eyesight of Stone Mountain, and Dr. King’s speech came clearly to mind,

"I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. "
…

"I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

Here I was in the deep-south, with blacks and whites, south Asians and Koreans, Mexicans and central and South Americans and folks from literally all over the world enjoying a beautiful afternoon together, not even realizing they were all part of fulfilling Dr. King’s dream.

The progress not made: It is crucial to remember that the march fifty years ago was a march for “jobs and freedom.” As we sit here today, in late august of 2013, we have a lot of work to do on both of those fronts. Unemployment is still broadly at high levels all across the country, but if you look at the jobless percentages of those under 30, and especially for those young men and women of color, the statistics are frightful. In a landscape rife with national, state and local budget deficits, our ability as a country to invest in our children’s education, and candidly their future is under serious threat. Additionally in considering that the march was on the eve of the voting rights act fifty years ago, it’s impossible to mark this anniversary and not think about the challenges and limitations to the fundamental right to vote that are rampant all across our country. Again Dr. King’s words ring true,

"We cannot be satisfied as long as a colored person in Mississippi cannot vote and a colored person in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote."

We cannot be satisfied by the current tepid economic recovery and think that our economic woes are fixed. We can’t be lulled into thinking that just because our elected officials are more racially, ethnically, and gender diverse, that somehow it makes our democracy more open, more active and more vibrant. Clearly we have work to do.

The road ahead: Inspired as I truly am by Dr. King’s speech, I feel that we all need to be motivated and energized as we look at the fifty years ahead. Will we make progress on Dr. King’s legacy and be able to fulfill some of Dr. King’s unfulfilled “dreams?” Will our children look back on this day on the 100th anniversary (August 28, 2063) and marvel at the progress made, or be humbled by the yet unfulfilled potential? Since I am about to turn 52, I truly doubt that I will mark that anniversary, but I am more than hopeful that my children Bryson and Marie will celebrate that day. We should be clear that we all need to take actions now that will keep the march of progress moving forward, so someday our children’s grandchildren can all fulfill Dr. King’s dream,

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.
I have a dream today."