Chapter 0 - The orginal first chapter of Defining Moments

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Defining Moments: A Brand New Day –Original Chapter 1

Air Warriors to Dream Warriors

4:00am!  The terrible shrill sound of a cheap travel alarm clock sounds in the stateroom of the motor yacht Imagineer.  Bob jumps up and quietly shuts it off and walks to the shower.  No coffee this morning, he will get that at the Admirals Club across the street at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field.  SAN is Bob’s home airport and his home port is the Sheraton Hotel on San Diego’s Harbor Island.  Not the hotel, but slip C3 in the Marina.

Bob’s Tumi roller luggage sits on a hotel luggage stand in the corner.  Mostly packed, he picks the suits that match the trip and the rest of the clothing for a five day trip to five cities.  No time for laundry on the road, he has to pack in and pack out everything he will need for these five days on the road and in the air.

Still dark, he locks the door on the Imagineer and heads up the dock.  Card key opens the marina gate and he heads for the lobby of the hotel to get the first shuttle ride of the day to the airport.  A mere quarter of a mile walk from the Imagineer to the airport gate, the shuttle avoids all the road crossings and obstacles that make the walk longer than the ride.  Often though, he thinks for a minute about the nice walk in the cool San Diego morning breezes.

He knows all the shuttle drivers, front desk and bellmen at the Sheraton, so there is always conversation waiting for the shuttle and on the way to the airport.  Guest at the Sheraton wonder who he is.  The staff waves and knows who he is as he drifts effortlessly past other waiting in the lobby nervously chattering.

Just as quickly as he is on the bus, he is usually first off with Tumi and Satchel in hand.  Through the front door, he bypasses the ticket counter and flashes his American Airline Executive Platinum “Black” card at security as he goes through the special screening entrance for “Crew.”

A few steps past security is the front door of the American Airlines Admirals Club marked simply with five stars arranged in a circle on the door.  He pushes the doorbell and the door buzzes acknowledging that the magnetic lock is open.  He walks through and into the open closet where he deposits the Tumi roller.  Then he walks to the front desk.

Linda says Hi Bob!  How are you?  Good Linda!  And you!  Great she says.  Where are you going today?  DFW and then to ORD Bob says handing Linda the black card.

Linda knows Bob and breaks policy to address him by his first name because Bob demands it.  Once an Admirals Club supervisor scolded a receptionist at the club in San Jose and Bob fired back asking, “Is my wishes important to American Airlines brandishing the black card?”  “Yes, the supervisor said!”  Then with a smile, Bob said, “I am pleased that your team addresses me by my first name because it is one of the few ways that I feel at home traveling 250,000 miles a year with your airline.”  Now wherever he goes, American employees address him by his first name.

Linda asks, “Do you want to be ticketed and upgraded for all segments for the week.  Bob says, yes for the upgrades and no for ticketing.  I may have to “push” in Chicago and divert from ORD to FLL.  We are having some issues at IBM Boca and I may have to go and make nice nice.  Linda hands Bob today’s tickets and tells him that the flight is leaving just next door which is an insider’s message to Bob that he can wait until the last minute.  Bob takes the tickets and wishes Linda a good week.  All the time, other standing at the front desk wonder who is this guy as the complain, grouse and demand upgrades, changes or just cranky because of the early hour.

Bob is in the club at 5:45am and grabs a cup of coffee, walks over to a barrel chair that is next to a plug and a phone outlet.  Being a high tech CEO from Silicon Valley, Bob has the latest technology.  He has to plug in his laptop to the phone jack because that new WiFi wireless connection he had installed has not yet been added to the features at the Admirals Club or in the airport.  Another commuting CEO greets Bob asking if he is headed for San Jose?  Bob says, no I am wing on wing for the week and headed for DFW this morning for a quick interview at “The Club” at gate 20 and then onto ORD for a dinner meeting.  I may have to push and go to Florida, but plans have me in “The City” (New York) day after tomorrow.  The other CEO says, I am headed to SJC, but may be headed to LGA tomorrow.  If I do, I will call you to see if we can do dinner at the Bull and the Bear.  Bob said great and connected to email.

The announcement comes that the flight to Dallas is boarding.  No one moves.  Two more announcement and the air warriors in the club begin to stir and find their way to the closet.  Bob grabs the handle of the Tumi and with a snap, the titanium handle that Bob had custom made snaps soundly into transport position and he is out of the door with a wave an a smile.  Outside the door is the hustle and bustle of the main airport concourse.  A few step and Bob is at the gate greeted by one of the many gate attendants he calls friends and family.

Many travelers, even some air warriors, stand at the gate so that they can be first on.  Once Bob was two counters away from a bomb explosion at London’s Heathrow airport, so he avoids crowded gates.  He also waits until the last minute, because his seat 3E is on the aisle and he hates to be beaten up by all the infrequent flyers and their shoulder bags as they pass in the boarding process.  He waits until the gate is almost empty and sails through usually the last one down the ramp.  As he approaches the front door, rarely does he not know the flight attendants and crew.  A wave through the jet bridge to the pilot or a greeting at the cockpit door, he finds his way back to 3E.  A quick snap and the handle of the Tumi is in retracted position and quickly placed into the overhead.  Wearing a suit today, the flight attendant offers to take his jacket and as quickly he is seated.  He falls into his routine of taking a few deep breaths to relax, he greets his seat mate, closes his eyes and relaxes awaiting the aircraft to lift off and the sound announcing that it is Okay to use personal electronic equipment sounds.  

The airplane taxis out and to the end of the runway.  As it turns and picks up speed, the aircraft gently rotates skyward Bob always looks out over the left wing to see the Imagineer sting at berth,  then over Point Loma and a left turn over San Diego Bay climbing out toward Dallas.

The loudspeaker sounds with two quick chimes and before the flight attendant can pick up the microphone, Bob has his laptop and coming out of sleep mode.  Now it is time to work on emails so that when he gets to the Admirals Club, it will be a hookup and time to upload his notes and download the first emails of this week from his team.

In the early days of high-tech and the beginning of the PC, Bob and his colleagues had to scrap for every bit of business.  IBM and other companies like Digital Equipment Corp tried to convince IT professionals that personal computers were a fad and would never amount to anything.  Early companies found their CEO’s on the road all the time and Bob was no different.  From the late 70’s, Bob was traveling most of his career.  Now in the mid-90’s, business was getting tough and the CEO’s had to hit the road again.  Bob had never exchanged a desk for an airplane.

Now with over 2 million miles, most remained in the reserve waiting to be used with a special someone one day.

Once again the double beep sounded indicating the approach to Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW).  Then it was touchdown and a quick taxi to gate 14.  The door opened and Bob grabbed the Tumi and set out for the 5 gate walk to the Admirals Club and his interview.

At the glass elevator, he paused for a moment as he rose the one floor to the Admiral Club reception area taking a moment to collect before his meeting.  The highly polished chrome door opened and he walked to the open closet, deposited the Tumi and walked to the front desk.  One of his favorites, Dianna, greeted him.  “Hi Bob…looking pretty smart today!”  He offered his smile as his greeting and she said, “we have your meeting room ready, stocked with sandwiches and refreshments.  Your guest is already here waiting for you.”  “Thanks!  I might have to push and divert to FLL.  Can you check to see if there is anything available later today or early tomorrow?”  “It should be less than an hour for this meeting and I can check to see if I need to change.”

Bob cruised up to the meeting room area and said hi to Janet the bartender at DFW as he passed.   He walked to the meeting room that had his name on it and pushed the door open.  A young woman smiled and introduced herself as Amy the editor of Success Magazine doing the story on the “Telecomuting CEO’s”.  Bob extended his hand and asked if he could get her anything.

Turns out that Bob was going to be listed as the number 3 telecommutingest CEO in High tech in a feature article she was writing.  He asked, “How did you determine that I was number 3?”  She said with a smile “that we polled all of the airlines and asked who were their top flyers.  You were listed by American, Delta and United as being in their most elite frequent flyer programs.  Adding up the miles, we determined that you were number 3.”

The interview started with the why’s, how’s and when’s he expected.  What he did not expect was the next question.  “When do you have time for your family?”  Bob answered, “All the time because I am with my family everyday traveling in the air.”  This sparked many more questions that were more curiosity than what pertained to the article.  Amy could just not imagine someone traveling as much as Bob did and he attempted to fill in the gaps about how the objective is to get through everywhere quickly, effortlessly and with grace, style and excellence.  It is how he tolerates things.  Going with the flow rather than swimming upstream.  Bob shared with Amy as many details as he could and how his balance was his boat Imagineer and the lifestyle he lived at the hotel marina.

The meeting ended, but instead of an hour, it lasted three.  Even Bob was shocked at the time.  Bob walked Amy to the front desk and shook her hand.  Dianna waiting for Amy to leave said, “That was long!”  “You Okay”  “You look tired!”  Bob said, “Do you have a moment?”  Dianna said, I go on my break in 15 minutes, I will meet you back in the room.”  Bob said, “Good! I need to check where I am going tonight and we can talk then.  I will be in the meeting room.”

Bob went back to the meeting room and call his assistant to find out his next destination.  Already a long day, Bob is thinking about pushing and walking over the sky bridge to the Hyatt for a quiet dinner and early night.  After checking into the office, it was confirmed that the next location was going to be IBM Boca Raton.  Chicago would have to be pushed and the rest of the week recalculated and condensed

Just then, the door to the conference room swung open and Diana, lunch bag in hand, walked in.  Bob looked up and said, “Thanks I need a friends ear.” Dianna smiled as if to say I am listening!

Bob began,” It is funny he said, this interview was remarkably like the dinner I had with an old friend last week.  She and I try to get together in San Jose once a month or so for dinner.  Most of the time we talk about our travels and funny things we see and hear on the road.  Sort of air warrior talk.  This time, she said, what are you doing with your life?  I am worried about you.  You are always on the road returning to that empty stark apartment or on your boat alone.  It is just not healthy.  I shrugged it off and told her that I am with my friends and family all the time.  You are family and my friends are in the air with me.  Dianna, don’t you consider me a friend?”  “You bet”, she said, “but I worry about you as well.  It is really not normal how you live from hotel room to hotel room and airplane after airplane.”  Bob looked surprised and said, “The editor spent 15 minutes asking article related questions and then the rest of the time asking questions about my lifestyle.  It was Okay, because I was sort of listening to myself as well.  I guess that is why I asked for your ear.”  “Oh, I have to go to FLL and I can’t push.  Can you book me on the next flight to FLL and a post noon to ORD and a 9ish pm into LGA  so I can reconnect with my original schedule?”  Dianna said,  Sure, I hope I helped!”  “You did,” Bob said.

Dianna, “484 to MIA leaves in about 20 minutes and will get you into Miami at 7:20p.  If you go to FLL, there is a change in ORD and the earliest in is around 11p.  Bob, “I guess MIA it is!”  “Can I order you a car?”  “No, I will do an Avis Preferred call from the gate.”

Bob started to leave the club for the gate and looked back at Dianna and threw her a big smile as to say thanks!

There are times at DFW when you can barely walk because of so many people.  Then there are times when you cannot find a soul in the terminal.  Rare, but this was one of those times and seemed calming to Bob.  He felt something going on, but he could not put his finger on it.  There was a sense of happiness that cast over him.  He thought, maybe it was the talk with Dianna and boarded the flight to Miami.

Sitting on the plane, he thought again about the feeling he had.  Like there was someone he was supposed to meet.  Yes, that was the feeling that someone new was about to come into his life.  As the jet rotated, Bob fell asleep.  Long day!

Then he was awoken with a touch on the arm.  The flight attendant asked if Bob wanted his special order meal.  He thought, I just jumped onto the plane and did not order a special meal.  He smiled, Dianna!!  He said is it a double bowl of Tomato Basil soup.  She said yes!  Dianna had called down to the gate to make sure that Bob’s favorite was on board.  It was on the menu and Dianna said to make sure he received two servings.

It is not a terribly long flight from DFW to MIA.  It was quick and there was the typical thunderheads brewing over the Everglades.  The pilot announced to have the flight attendants be seated early.  A few moments later, there were some little bumps followed by a huge air pocket that caused the pilot to circle around some monstrous vertical column clouds.  We did not hear from the crew until we were on the ground.  There was another jet in front of us that had worse problems than us, so we had to head out over the ocean to make a broad sweeping turn and land.  The pilot said that we were just at the edge of a major thunderstorm and it hit the tarmac before we made it to the gate.  It was a full day for Bob and he was happy to get off the plane.

Destination was the Pier 66 Hyatt Regency.  Bob snapped the Tumi into roller mode and headed for the Avis Preferred area.  As he approached, he saw his name on the board.  Space C9 and he was off.  Trunk open, he snapped the Tumi into retract mode and placed it in.  The keys were in the ignition and the contract hanging from the rear view mirror.  He cleared security and turned toward Interstate 95.  He has done this run many times.

You know there are those times when you drive a mile and feel like it is 20.  Other times you drive 20 and feel in it was a mile.  This was one of those evenings where the drive from Miami to Fort Lauderdale seemed to flash by in a minute.  Bob is always so future oriented that sometimes it makes his friends a bit crazy.  This evening, it seemed as though time passed in a strange way.

Arriving at the Hyatt, Bob parked the car himself in the garage.  He opened the trunk and snapped the Tumi into roller mode.  He headed to the lobby noticing a few people along the way.  He likes this place because it is on the inter-coastal waterway and there is water, marinas and boats with lots of people.  It reminds him of his home in San Diego at the Sheraton Marina.

He moved into the lobby and went to the platinum desk.  He pulled out his new Hyatt Diamond Club card.  The desk person input his card and said to him, you do not have a reservation.  He said, No, I forgot!  Quickly a supervisor moved in because the card signaled one of Hyatt’s elite few in the back office area.  The manager inserted and said, “Welcome Home!  Bob knew it would be all right now that he forgot his hotel reservation.  This is special though because something is important about to happen!

They quickly found a room on the Regency Club level and asked Bob if he wanted the “Pillow Concierge” to bring him a selection.  No he said, I just want to crash!  They understood.

Part of the drill is that no matter the status, he had his Tumi carried up to the Regency Club for him by a Bellman.  There was no need to offer gratuity and none was accepted.  The bellman was compensated by the hotel because of Bob’s elite status.

When the latch of the door closed with a snap and clunk, Bob knew that he was on his own.  A quick trip to pull back the curtains and look down on the Marina made him feel at home again.  He would not settle in, but change into Jeans and head for a walk along the marina.  It is not too late, but he is tired.  There is something going on here and he is not sure what it is.  Whatever it was to be, it had him fixated and introspective.

It is now 10:00pm and Wendy is landing at FLL.  She is just back from a trip to San Juan Puerto Rico where Coke creates its syrup.  She felt tired and wished that she was home in Boca Raton.  Tired, she moved through the airport as effortlessly as she normally does.  Focused, She moved toward the parking area.  She found her corporate car and snapped her roller into the retracted position and placed it in the trunk.  Home at last, but she felt this strange feeling come over her.  There was someone I am supposed to meet, she thought!  Fleeting, the tired took over from the feeling.
Bob took the elevator down from the Regency Cub.  The Jeans rejuvenated him in a strange way and he was very hungry.  As he turned out of Pier 66, his hunger changed to a need for solitude.  What is this strange feeling that I am feeling?  What is this very strange feeling?

There is a very profound thing that happens just before you meet someone that will change your life forever and it manifests itself in very unusual ways.  Bob thought he was about to discover this fact of human science, but it was not happening in just now.

Wendy, back in her apartment in Boca walked into a feeling of emptiness.  Strange, this is my place and it now feels empty for some reason.

Bob, back at the Regency Club, still hungry, opened the drapes of his room and looked down on the lights of the marina. Empty!  Someone was close and yet so far away.  IBM in the morning and then onto Chicago!

Bob awoke to an early phone call that would soon turn out to be the most significant call of his life.  Still a bit groggy, the call was from Bob’s HR person.  She said, I have been thinking about this idea you had to fire everyone and have them reapply.

Bob, half joking and half serious was worried that his company was growing complacent.  He had heard at a meeting at the Churchill Club that the CEO of Autodesk routinely fires the company and has everyone reapply in a symbolic one day process every year.  Suggesting to his HR person that we might want to try that sparked her into action to find out a better way.

On the phone, she suggested a team building program that was very different compared to those touchy feely things that were popular in the early 90’s.  Admittedly skeptical, Bob listened as she talked.  Until he heard the facilitator for this session was going to be Larry Wilson, he was all but dead against it.  The Larry Wilson he said?  She said yes and the program will be at his ranch in New Mexico near Santa Fe.  She said, remember that conversation we had about our hidden team that gets most of everything done in the company.  You know those 15 or so people that make everything happen and that everyone else follows?  Bob said yes!  Well, she said, Larry has developed a three day program called “Play To Win!  She said, the program teaches company leaders to play to win versus playing not to lose.  My thoughts are to take key team members that we identify that are the spark plugs of our company and take them to this three day program in New Mexico.  You have to be there, she said.
Bob had long believed that companies disintegrate as they mature.  Hi friend and partner, Jim Belasco had written many bestselling books on empowerment using many of Bob’s philosophies.  In turn, Bob had used many of Jim’s discoveries and practices in his company.  Bob’s belief, as startups, nearly 100% of the people are engaged to win and he believes that as the company grows, it begins to lose it mission, purpose and energy.  Perhaps empowering this small team to change the company from the inside out would work, he thought.

Bob asked her, so what is the program about.  She said, “I can’t tell you!”  Bob thought about a spiky retort, but he realized, this is Larry Wilson at his best…only Larry Wilson could get away with not telling a company’s CEO what they would do.  

Got to run!  When are we going to do this?  Two week she said and I have already cleared your calendar for that weekend.  Weekend, is everyone going to be Okay with that?  Yes! She said.  Okay then!

Wendy returning from a weeklong trip that spanned a weekend getaway, walked into her bosses office at Coke to check in.  Gary said, I want you to take three of our elite people to a team building event in New Mexico in two weeks.  These three are going to be high flyers at Coke and Larry Wilson of Pecos River Learning is hosting a weekend program at his ranch near Santa Fe.  Wendy’s first response was, “Team Building?” Gary said, yes!   And it is an open program made up of about 60 people from four or five companies.  There is supposed to be a diverse group and I like the idea that we will only be taking a few of our elite.  Wendy asked, What kind of program is it.  Jerry said, I will tell you, but you cannot tell the team.  When he told her, she was shocked and said, well I just have to get them there right?  I will hang out in Santa Fe while they are doing the program, Okay?  No! Gary said, you have to participate.  How would it look to these key players if the VP took them and dropped them off while she tours Santa Fe?  Wendy agreed and said, I will see if I can convince them to give up their weekends.  Jerry said, already done, but you cannot tell them what they are going to do.  It is a part of the program at Pecos that no one knows what is going to happen.

Wendy thought, Oh Great!
 
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Chapter Epilog

Post:  January 2010 regarding Chapter 0

This lost chapter was written in the mid 90’s about life in the air in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  At the time we were about to publish Defining Moments, we dropped this first chapter because prepublishing readers felt that it did not fit the book.  We agreed and only resurrect it here because of the profound experience that both of us had watching the movie starring George Clooney, titled, “Up in the Air.”  It was our lives with one major exception, we got together.  So as you read Defining Moments, we feel that this lost chapter does now play an important part in our lives.  Think about meeting the love of your life and the circumstances surrounding that meeting.  This chapter prepares you for Defining Moments: A Brand New Day because it portrays our lives before meeting each other.

It was never an easy lifestyle for most infrequent travelers, but effortless and a big part of our corporate lives.  9.11.01 changed many things in our world, but significantly changed how we all fly.  Many of our friends at American, Delta and United retired or just quit.  We still stay in touch with some of them and others we have lost, but often think about and wonder how they are.

We do not miss flying since 9.11.01 because it has become really hard and difficult.  Anything is tolerable though except that the people in the airline industry have changed so much.  Openly unhappy and almost angry, the few times that we now fly make us sad for an industry lost.  People always make the difference in any industry and now with a few exceptions, all the adventure and fun is gone for the “air warrior.”

“I miss the aluminum tube flying through the sky.  Not because I miss the adventure.  I miss my family,” Bob Root

Funny as it sounds, when you live your life in a community that just happens to clock their air miles in the 100’s of thousands, you have entered a family of like-minded freaks.  One day in LA, the next in Dallas, then London, Paris the next and then back to LA means you are part of a crazy elite group of business travelers.

When you have a conversation with someone that sounds something like:  “ One is LAX, two ORD, three IAD, four DFW, five SFO and then NAPA for a rub and then to JFK on eight, it is not a line from a musical score, but your week plans and the airports you will be stopping through and in the order before you get a massage in Napa for the weekend.  Then off to New York Monday morning.  Bob’s life?  Wendy’s life?  Both, but not together.

So, the next time you take a business trip, log how many hours you are away and how many hours you are flying.  Then take the number of hours you are in the air and multiply that by 550 miles per hour.  Then divide the total number of hour you are away into that number.  This will give you your average speed for the length of the trip or as Bob & Wendy put it, your average speed sleeping!  For them 120 mph was typical.