Dubai Ports World Isn't A Major Threat To Our Security, but our own government failure is

People always feel safer controlling access to their own assets. This "feeling" is not a valid argument to block Dubai Ports Worldwide from operating major US ports. The possible maritime threats to the US are (1) Delivery of a WMD (2) Delivery of terrorists (3) Attack on a major shipping channel (4) Shut down of the global shipping industry due to security concerns (costing billions per day). Truth is, the likelihood of these threats does not change whether a US or a foreign company manages our ports.

So what is the true concern? Repeated failure to act by our government despite constant warnings from people like Steve Flynn. To date, over 70% of cargo entering the US is not inspected by US law enforcement. That means that a terrorist, regardless of whether Dubai Ports Worldwide is in the picture, has a 7 in 10 chance of smuggling something undetected into the US. Success of an infrastructure attack to shut down a major ship channel is probably just as high. The list of concerns goes on. Unfortunately the list of concrete steps our government has taken towards resolving these threats is short and underfunded. Given the expenditures we have made as a nation on dubious homeland security initiatives, it's amazing how little we have done to protect and harden the maritime system and infrastructure that provides many of the goods you use on a daily basis.

Port security deserves the mindshare it is now being given,but it is being directed at the wrong target in the form of Dubai Ports.

If we build it, they will come ... and we still will have the highest cost of doing business in the country

Mayor Tom Menino wants to build Boston's tallest skyscraper. He says, "it will be a stunning statement of our belief in Boston's bright future." You know what would actually be a stunning statement about our future? Getting the price of doing business down so Boston can attract business and retain our citizens. Boston consistently ranks as the most expensive city in the nation to do business. Massachusetts is one of the few states to loose population every year. A skyscraper isn't going to solve that.

I love spectacle and the thought of a big building is cool. But, (1) Extra office space isn't going to help us out & (2) It smacks of NYC ... Boston isn't a town with an amazing skyline and shouldn't aspire to be part of the skyscraper club. I whole heartedly support civic development that moves us forward. I just don't see how a new skyskraper will accomplish anything.

If private developers want to move forward with this, I'm all for it. But I don't think it's a point for political grandstanding and it sure doesn't deserve a lot of tax breaks.

Putting In A Long Day At The Office

Ask the majority of people what they will do at work today and you will hear "go to a meeting", "send email", "file a report", "make a pretty graph", "come up with a list of 10 strategies", etc.

I don't think the above is always work. Work needs to have a connection to:

• (1) increased sales
• (2) reduced cost
• (3) fulfilled legal requirements (reluctantly included due to SOX, SEC requirements, etc)

Having consulted for a few companies, a good number of employees don't know how what they do day-to-day actually translates into dollars. If you can't connect what you are doing today with an impact on one of the three categories within the next six months, it probably shouldn't be considered work.

Blizzard 2006

Mild winter, but finally received something worthy of the word "storm". Got about 15 inches here. Not a trifling about, but did we really need to have 6 hours of "storm force" coverage on all the news affiliates. Was providing comments like, "This snow appears to be light and fluffy" or "Home Depot is sold out of shovels" really need to preempt Meet The Press, the only good show on TV? I think the reality is that these stations invest so much in their weather teams that they need to justify their existence by rolling them out during a storm.

NYC had the highest snow total in its history. Amazingly, Bloomberg says that it will be business as usual in NYC come Monday. Boston, on the other hand, is keeping schools closed and I believe some government offices. I don't want to get started on how I think Boston is a dying city (population loss, high cost of doing business, departure of corporate HQ's, inept political establishment), but come on, how can we not be ready a full 15 hours after an intense, but not historic snowfall?

Sun Tzu - Over-used or still an inspiration?

Sun Tzu likely wasn't an individual. The 13 great chapters in his book are probably an amalgamation of knowledge from a great variety of leaders from 500 to 250 BC. This doesn't lessen the brilliance in the text. Unlike Clausewitz, who would follow almost a millennium later, Sun Tzu is nuanced, less absolute and more practical for today's matrixed world.

That said, are the Sun Tzu quotes a little overused? I've used them in at least three exec level presentations and you can't go more than a couple slides in any corporation's internal sales decks without finding one. Reading the Sunday NYT, there was an ATT advertisement with a Sun Tzu quote. Maybe the "new" ATT is using Sun Tzu as a guide. The "old" ATT sure wasn't and would have benefited if it had followed Sun Tzu's advise earlier: "You should not linger in desolate ground."

Maybe Sun Tzu is now the universal strategy standard. If everyone is following his dictates, though, is it time to find another inspiration? Maybe there is some obscure leader out there who beat Sun Tzu in 200BC and I can start using that strategy. Or more likely, like everything else, it comes down to execution. People quote Sun Tzu, but can't execute his vision.

Who knew what, when?

The NYT reports today that the White House was briefed on the New Orleans levy breach 24 hours before what was previously stated. A lower level FEMA official apparently had heard about a breech, hopped a ride on a helicopter to get a first hand view and then reported the information up through his leadership. This fact will likely kick the congressional investigations into higher gear, especially with the news that Brown will not get the full cover as a presidential advisor and will answer congressional questions. Three observations:

(1) Whenever something disastrous happens, two types of investigations are possible. The first assigns responsibility, the second makes recommendations for improvement. I think both are always necessary; people should be held accountable for their mistakes and "lessons learned" should be sent to those who might benefit. However, with Congress's partisan makeup, these two investigations really need to be separate for anyone to actually be able to learn something from the failings.

(2) I hate to say that Org structure is strategically important, but I really think it is. FEMA and DHS botched this whole effort because they have a Byzantine command and control structure with little understanding of who is accountable for what. The Coast Guard, on the other hand, was able to respond because it is decentralized and has an understanding of accountability which drives impactful action.

(3) Once you have accountability nailed down, DHS needs to build process. This is pivotally important for us going forward because the same command and control process that botched the Federal Katrina response will be the one dealing with a wmd attack, influenza pandemic, etc. We need to know who is accountable for what and how information and decisions are passed to and from the accountable owner.