Rugged Gentlemen

"Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage."
- Theodore Roosevelt

"Just after Easter Roy gave me the Winchester .22 rifle I'd learned to shoot with. It was a light, pump-action, beautifully balance piece with a walnut stock black from all its oilings. Roy had carried it when he was a boy and it was still as good as new. Better than new. The action was silky from long use, and the wood of a quality no longer to be found."
- Tobias Wolff, taken from This Boy's Life

Most people I know have a guilty pleasure or two. This expression "guilty pleasure" is thrown around a lot, and I don't know of anyone or any authoritative source that has taken the time to define this expression. MAD may or may not agree with my definition but I will submit that it can be defined by the following two characteristics: (1) something that brings you an inordinate amount of enjoyment, and (2) you are more than slightly embarrassed to admit what brings this enjoyment to a person who is not a member of your immediate family or close friends.

With this criteria in mind, I would say that the following are some of my guilty pleasures: TYR goggles, hand sanitizer, a hair cut from my barber Lazaro--big surprise there, a deep shoe shine done by somebody else, the movies Road House and Point Break--maybe the finest two "B" movies ever made, and men's magazines--namely GQ, Esquire and Men's Journal. It is this last item on the guilty pleasure list that has gotten me thinking about Rugged Gentleman.

It's next to impossible for me to throw away a beloved magazine. I'm the same way with book. From time to time, I will go through previous issues of GQ and Men's Journal and just re-read the articles. Throw in a Scotch whisky, and I'd call that a great afternoon. So, as I am going through a Men's Journal from 2006, there are a bunch of photos of the next generation of the Explorer's Club--don't ask me what that is exactly--along with pictures of the individuals who have preceded the current generation. All the historic members of this club all wore suits, most of them three-piece suits at that, backed up by some very manly facial hair. These pictures got me thinking, "Who were these guys and what were they like?"

For the most part, I believe that most of these men came from relatively affluent families. I haven't really hard of a random farmer from the Midwest funding an expedition to go deep into the Congo to further the collective knowledge of humanity. Sir Edmund Hillary--who was a beekeeper from New Zealand--is probably the exception to this statement. Anyway, I would submit that most of these men had an education in the Classics--Greek, Latin, etc.--and at the same time were deeply interested in learning about the Natural World through direct experience. These people were not above going out into the Uncharted Territory and getting their hand's dirty--they just made sure that they cleaned up well after the dirty work was over. Above all else these men were capable.

Personally, I don't think that the generation of men that I am describing is necessarily better than the current generation. But I do believe that men have become more specialized in what they do. Back in the 50s--from what I am told and have seen on television--most guys knew how to work on a car. When was the last time you saw a couple guys outside of their house, actually working on a car? I haven't seen that since I was eight years old--and that was more like watching two men do greater damage to something instead of fixing it. Are men not as masculine as before? Probably not. But most men I know don't have the breadth of knowledge that men seemed to have in previous generations.

Another thing I have noticed is that many people I know look like absolute crap while in the workplace. I was changing after swim practice last week--putting on my standard slacks and pressed shirt--and a lane mate of mine said, "Gosh, I'd hate to have to wear that every day to work." The odd thing is that I really enjoy putting on a pair of slacks, a pressed shirt, and a pair of well maintained shoes. My lane mate--on the other hand--sauntered off to work in a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. If I went to work like that I'd probably find some random corner of the office and take a nap at midday. I don't know exactly what it is, but somehow attention to detail and care in appearance translate into attention to detail and care in one's work. I believe that the previous generations understood this, but somehow was lost along the way.

Needless to say, this generation of Rugged Gentleman did have their problems. Jack London, one of America's finest writers as well as a really "butch" guy, was a terrible racist. He had gone to Alaska, done some really manly things there like gold mining, penned some amazing literature, but felt that black or "colored men" were inferior to his Caucasian counterparts. In fact, it was London who coined the term "great White Hope" in a newspaper article regarding then heavyweight boxing champ, Jack Johnson. These men were not perfect, but they did have a few things figured out.

Instead of Rugged Gentlemen, my generation has Metrosexuals. Nice. This might be the most emasculating term in all of the American English vernacular. The pendulum has swung in one direction. Hopefully, it will start to swing back--only this time without the racism and obscene amount of facial hair.

Five Two

"How old would you be if you didn't know hold you are?"
- Satchel Paige

Today one of my most dedicated readers--Aunt Shelly--is celebrating a birthday. I'd love to say that I knew about this for some time now, and sent her flowers to mark the occasion. But the truth is that I found out yesterday when she sent me an email and said point blank, "Tomorrow is my birthday." I think she realizes that most men in the McGill family--maybe I should extend this to say most men in general--don't do well with subtle hints. Her statement was direct, yet tactful. So in celebration of this day, I decided to write something.

Wind the clock back 7 years to when I was a cocky, semi-idiotic college student who had talked his way into a summer internship in audit with Deloitte and Touche. As part of the internship, I was sent off to Disney World for a week of training. Most of the time spent there was a load of happy horse shit. Basically, they just wanted to see if you could get absolutely drunk each night, and still manage to show up to class the next morning and be semi-productive. The one thing that I will never forget about that time in Florida was a speech by Jim Taylor--author of "The 500 Year Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next"--that he called "Be the Wave."

Like a lot of the other stuff at that training session, Taylor had some touchy feely fluff going on. However, he did make it absolutely clear that in his mind, being fifty was the perfect age. I remember how he talked about being able to play poker for a lot of money, and be able to hold his own--which is something he couldn't do at, say, thirty or forty. He could still go out and run half marathons, but didn't feel the need to prove how manly he was by running a full marathon. He had a much deeper appreciation for his wife, and the love that the two of them shared--some might say that it was "better than new." Now he might have gotten glimpses of these things as a younger man, but for some reason, all these things became clear as day when he entered his fifties.

Now wind the clock back five years to when I was a beaten down second year at Deloitte in the audit department. I headed to Mass on Sunday night to get my spirits up for another work week, and got a helluva sermon from Fr. Tom Lucas that I will call "Transform or Deform." He said that over time, people either continue to grow and move with Life, or they hang on to certain moments in their past. If you still think you are the twenty-five year old sex-pot at forty-six, you probably are going to perpetually frustrated with yourself, and the reception you get from the rest of the world. But if you move with Life as it comes, then you will evolve with Life and it's events. Things that you never imagined possible will open up right in front of you--things that are only possible with the passing of time and the self knowledge that comes with it.

From these two experiences, I'm going to submit that being fifty or being in your early fifties, is the best time of a person's life--given that they have chosen to transform over time. If you've gone about things properly, you'll have friends and family that know you on a very deep level, you know what your utility is professionally, and hopefully, you have enough money in the bank to buy some nice things--you don't stalk the Nordstrom sale listing or drive 700 miles to save a few hundred US dollars on a suit. But maybe, just maybe, when a person is in this age bracket, they will have the pleasure of seeing how perceived defeats and tragedies from their past gave way to transformation. I think that right there is the greatest blessing that you only get with two or three additional decades of data points.

So, Aunt Shelly, may the time you spend today be filled with joy, and much love from your friends and family.

Namaste

Better Than New

"Whatever it is that makes closeness possible between two people also puts them in the way of hard feelings if that closeness ends."
- Tobias Wolff, taken from This Boy's Life

I first encountered Tobias Wolff as a freshman in college. My writing class was reading "In Pharoah's Army," I struck up a conversation with the professor about the material, and she recommended that I read "This Boy's Life." Now I haven't read Wolff's latest work, "Old School," but I do believe it is fair to say that "This Boy's Life" is his undisputed masterpiece. He writes in lean sentences, similar to Hemingway, but with a polish that Old Ernest never had. It was one of those rare books that was beyond good; I rationed out pages of this book each night to prolong the enjoyment.

Somewhere in the first two chapters, the main character manages to con his mother's boyfriend out of his beloved shotgun. He refers to the gun as being "better than new." Some things, like shotguns and shoes--given time, the appropriate care, and use, have the possiblity to be "better than new." This was the line that played through my mind this weekend as I went to get a new pair of shoes.

As I have gotten older, I have developed a taste for well made suits, shirts, and dress shoes--running shoes and goggles should be on this list as well, but they deserve to be written about in a post of their own. At the same time, I will rarely pay retail for suits, and shoes. I'll drive to Los Angeles twice a year to scavenger for discounts at the Barney's sale, and monitor Nordstrom for sales. This weekend Nordstrom had their anniversary sale, and I was able to score a pair of beautiful black cap-toes, and save $130 USD in the process.

I score the shoes, take them home, and compare them to a pair that I already have in my rotation. I have had the original pair of black cap-toes since October of 2006. They have been shined a countless number of times and go to bed each night with shoe trees placed firmly inside. They conform to my foot the way a great pair of jeans meld into your backside. But with all this said, they are due for a trip to the shoe repair store in the near future. They are better than new, but still need some work.

On Monday morning I talk about my concept of "better than new" with my boss, Sean. I give him the example of shoes being better than new, and asked him if he had experienced anything like in his own life. This is where Sean knocked me on my ass--as he can do from time to time. "Well," he said, "I think relationships, like my relationship with my wife, are the best example in my life of things that become better than new over the course of time."

This is where quality men's dress shoes and human relationships seem to cross paths: given the appropriate care, they both get better over the course of time. Abuse your shoes, don't give them a deep, thorough shine on a consistent basis, save the $17 USD and pass on shoe tress, and over time your shoes--regardless of how expensive--and they will literally fall apart at the seems. If I had to summarize this into one word it would be this: Care.

That's my heavy, deep thinking for this post. Otherwise, things are good here in my world. The months of gutting my freestyle are starting to pay off. I still have some lingering tendinitis in my left shoulder, but it's beginning to dissipate. I can see how all the pieces of my training with Coach Kevin are coming together. It's been a long, trying road to get to this place, but I would say that this is what the Path to Mastery is all about: deferring comfort in the short-term for capabilities in the long-term.

I haven't written in awhile, and it feels good to clear out the cobwebs. My mind always feels clearer after a good writing session.

Namaste

Crash

"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."
- Officer Graham as portrayed by Don Cheadle in the movie Crash

So yesterday--around this same time--I was driving home. While I was driving in the left hand lance, a car pulled into the suicide lane, kept accelerating into my lane. I slammed on my breaks while veering right to miss the car, bumped into the car on my right. The car which caused the accident drove off into the Arizona sunset--fast. It was either leave the scene of an accident to chase this car, or stay put. As a Toyota Prius isn't exactly a performance vehicle, I chose to stay put.

The good news is, both myself and the person I bumped into are fine--not a scratch on either one of us--and the damage to both cars is just cosmetic. The bad news is that I am at fault in this accident from the perspective of my insurance company--the police didn't give me a citation--I'll have to pay deductible, and the deductible of the person I bumped into.

Gemini's aren't known for being mellow, simple people, and I've been sort of wrestling with myself about this whole situation. I think what frustrates me the most is that in my head, I believe that because I am safe driver and a good person--I work hard, pay my taxes, don't have any addictions, and treat people well--that I am above all of this random stuff that life throw at you. In my head this makes perfect sense. When thoughts are Reality collide, there is bound to be some frustration.

The truth is that what happened is just a sequence of actions, nothing more. The internal judgements and justifications like, "I'm not the one who caused this," don't make reality any different, or change the appropriate way to handle this situation. In fact, these mental dances just make the pain linger on unnecessarily.

Now in time, this won't seem like a big deal. The phrase, "This too shall pass," comes to mind. But until it doesn't pass, it will be a matter of monitoring my thought and remembering what is changeable and what isn't.

Namaste

Short Term Gains Versus Long-Term Progress

"Good things take time. Impossible things take a little longer."
- Percy Cerutty

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
- Richard Feynman

Upon my return to my old/new job, I sat down and crafted a two-year plan for professional development. After it was done, I went over the plan with our VP of Finance and went over the plan. He broke out a red pen, wrote all over it, and then had me re-draft the initial plan. After the quarter is over, I'll go back to his office, take stock of the progress that has been made and see if we need to make any corrections or adjustments.

During that session, he gave me a book to read called "Hidden Value." The book looks at companies like Southwest Airline, Cisco Systems, and the Men's Warehouse, and outlines their key actions and core beliefs that have made them successful. I'm guessing that there are a lot of managers or people out there that are looking to these management books for a "magic bullet," but this book basically says that there is no such thing as a magic bullet. One of the major premises is that these companies aren't doing anything magical, but they have the stomach to take a long-term approach to success. Instead of the "war for talent," it seems that these companies are battling each and every day for compounded competence.

One of the things that this book talks about is that most managers are measuring success on a quarterly basis. If you are just measuring success on a quarterly basis, I would imagine that it would almost be a disincentive to take a previously existing process or system, and make it better. So instead of focusing on the nuts and bolts of making things better, people will go and look for something that can fix everything in 12 weeks.

These ideas remind me of what Gordon Byrn has said earlier about training for the IronMan. Basically, you can get in shape in 12 weeks, but you aren't going to be able to make fundamental, bone deep physiological changes--in this case organizational changes--in 12 weeks. Making bone deep changes takes a much longer time horizon.

One of the other things this book talks about is finding people who are willing to admit their mistakes, and then in turn, learn from these mistakes. Basically, a culture of accountability is promoted. Great. Easy to say. But encouraging someone to say, "Yeah, I really hosed that Penske deal," is a dicey proposition. You have to have enough trust in the people that you work with to take responsibility for your actions, and know that you won't be fired, or scolded for doing your best. Instead of passing the blame, owning up to it mistakes gets you the pat on the back.

So these fundamental principles of accountability, planning, competence over talent, and trust are some of the underpinnings of long-term sustainable success. The thing is this: there is nothing "sexy" or "fantastical" about these things. You basically need a good group of people who are willing to take on challenging work each day, and commit themselves to a process without any clear indication that this will lead to ultimate success, or even immediate financial reward.

A few days ago, I received an email from Norway's favorite son, Axel Elvik. He shared with me how his work life was starting to open up and change in a semi-miraculous way as he was no longer "looking for signs of ultimate future success." Great words. Instead of looking for guidance from his managers that he was a big deal, he just showed up and tried to do the best job he could. In essence, Axel found Faith in himself as a part of the company.

So where am I going with this? Well, I wasn't exactly sure when I started writing this, but I think it's becoming clearer. From what I have been able to see from this business writing and personal experiences is that Ultimate Success is not a single victory, but rather a Path that a person follows for an indefinite period of time. You walk the Path because it's engaging and you enjoy it; this in and of itself is more enjoyable than quaterly bonuses or individual promotions.
For companies to create such success that is widespread within the organization, they have to get a core group of people who are all walking the Path, and then find like minded people that work within this framework as well as a business plan.

So there you have it. That's the Answer--yes capital "A." The only hitch here is that you have to be patient, you have to have the stomach to deal with change, and the Faith to keep pushing forward even when it feels like you are being punished for things that you haven't done--this is a common feeling in the world of accounting.

Namaste