Appreciating Greatness

Sometimes it's fleeting and sometimes it lasts, but no matter – greatness is pretty rare. Those of you with real jobs see it less often, as work and myopic focus often cause you to not be able to see the forest through the trees.

Greatness is not a guarantee of future performance, however. In 1957 DEC was founded. It boomed mightily for decades. In the early 90's revenues were $14 billion. They were great – they did all the things the great ones do, except one. They forgot how they became great, and instead became defiant about the changes occurring in the world around them. At the time of their death, they still held onto the rapidly shrinking super-mini market top spot. They thought PC's were dumb. They thought the processor was the thing – but they didn't think about usage. They had confused the world with one who cared about technology, instead of people who wanted to use technology for some higher purpose. At their demise they were number 1 in super-mini's, had sold what would become key IP networking technologies, had by far the best search technology on the planet – much better than anything that existed for many years after – and killed a 40 year old company in no time.

They didn't care about search. They only used it as a PR generation thing to show off their processor. Search was an application, and applications were far less complex than chips. At one time, they had a project called Gatekeeper that was the world's largest catalog of indexed web pages. Know what they did with it? They used it to show off Alpha. All they had to do was look around at what was happening, but they closed the blinds and told each other how nice they looked in their new Taurus'.

The Niner's were the greatest sports team in the NFL for a decade, because they applied current environmental change conditions (the rules, and the ability to distribute decision making) to the same old game, and kicked everyone's butt. Then they ignored the fact that environmental changes occurred again (everyone else applied the same theories, and the era of parity – or a standard salary cap) and became a victim of the things they once took advantage of, but their run was great.

So, just because IBM is old and rich, don't think it can't go away. That goes for everyone. As soon as you really believe your own bull, and begin feeling like success is a right versus a privilege, your days are numbered. When you start trying to keep the outside world from changing to maintain your status quo, it's time to go. Even so, you should learn to appreciate the magic when it's happening. It's rare stuff.

I appreciate what EMC has done, what Cisco has done, what Google has done, what NetApp has done, and what other kings have done. I'm also waiting to see who is the next class of former kings to become as irrelevant as the Edsel. I hope it's one of the Airlines. I despise the old school airlines. There are plenty of airline like examples of companies or people who were once the absolute pinnacle of their game, who refused to change with the world around them. They will either die or become marginalized to the brink of oblivion, sort of like the guy who played Luke Skywalker or perhaps the modern venture capitalist. Bruce Jenner had the same ridiculous haircut for 50 years, but even he changed eventually. (Of course, now he went a bit too far, his face could be used as an ice pick). If something sucks really badly, eventually even the lemmings will abandon it, or someone will come up with a better way and the lemmings will migrate. Jet Blue sucks way less than traditional carriers, but the entire airline experience before and after the actual airplane continues to suck worse every day. Entrepreneurs have forever despised snot-nosed VC's with the operating experience of a beagle puppy telling them how to run their companies, typically screwing it up, and then making off with 90% of the loot if it works while the people who actually made the thing successful end up with a celebratory beer or two.

Faulty companies and even entire industries that propagate garbage simply because they can, will be revolutionized eventually. Sometimes it seems like forever, but it always happens sooner or later. We suffer through the pain because we are lemmings – and we are lazy. Things we did once because it was a step forward we still do the same way because as we get older, we get complacent. It's easier to deal with the devil we know. Do you really think our kids are going to tolerate the same annoyances we do? It's not going to happen. I don't care if it's IT or cell phones or airplanes or hair loss or VC's, it's all going to change. As we were cool with Pong, our kids play interactive video on a global level. How much time does my 13 year old think about VOIP? Never. It came with the X-Box. Do you think "can you hear me now" is going to be anything but a nostalgia ad in a few years? I can't keep a call on the Mass Pike for 20 minutes, but one can go from one end of China to another without a hiccup.

I'm particularly fascinated with how the venture capital community has not been dismantled. In the day, VC's were not only vital, they were smart. They didn't spend their time jumping on whatever bandwagon just rode by, bidding against themselves. They made a big pile of money by backing the right people and companies, and then helping them to avoid the pitfalls of inexperience. Since banks were not a legitimate alternative, the venture community was necessary – and by and large, good. Good spawns imitation, and imitation spawns crap. The entire industry is set for revolution. If VC money is dumb now, and the play essentially a crap shoot, then when are we going to start applying modern principals to the way that game is played? The rest of the financial world has adapted to the modern era – E-Trade doesn't even have a building, but they write mortgages, have cash machines, trade stocks, and sell insurance. The dinosaurs either followed suit, merged to form protective girth, or bellied up. Do the VC's really believe that the blue blazer and Harvard MBA will remain all they need to guarantee riches? How far away can we be from online discount venture? Already smart Entrepreneurs who've made a hit are starting their own VC firms – not like the ones of 10 years ago where they just wanted to capitalize at the same level their VC's did – but are creating operating firms. Who would you want backing your venture, Jonathan Buttwood IV or Tom Mendoza? (He's not a VC yet, that I know of, I'm just making a point).

The good news is upheaval is inevitable. In the new world order of Tech 3.0, everyone is one degree removed from everyone else. It is only a matter of time before social networking meets money – a place where community intelligence and everyman investments can fund the next great idea, and provide global guidance by leveraging the collective intelligence of the stakeholders. Remind me to invent that, as a matter of fact. Why couldn't it happen? Because J. Buttwood Sr., Jr., III, and IV don't want it too? That's good enough for me.

I especially like the little guys getting big, and then becoming kings and taking arrows. Like the Patriots. They sucked forever (I suffered through many an embarrassing season in what had to be the single most pathetic stadium in the history of man. Circus Maximus had more modern amenities.) Now they have taken the environmental changes that have occurred in the same old game, and have done things that simply couldn't be done. Everyone loved them as they went from rags to riches. Everyone hates them now that they have dominated an industry at its peak – one designed to prevent such domination. They are too good, too good looking, and too smart for most people to like any longer. When you hit the top, folks try to rip you down.

Watching the Pats is watching true greatness right now. Perhaps unprecedented greatness. Perhaps the greatest greatness of all time! I shall be there, and I shall appreciate the spectacle I'm lucky enough to be witnessing. Even better, I've back-doored my way into the fold via my 4-year old, Lily, who is best friends with gigantic pro-bowler Vince Wilfork's 4-year old Destiny. I think there is a good chance that Giselle is going to try to hit on me at the victory party (yes, I'm being presumptuous, but it's fate, baby. I rented the house 4 months ago. Destiny isn't just Vince's kid; it's something you really can't ignore.)

Perhaps the best reason to appreciate the Pats is that while it is inevitable that eventually they will become just another team, during their amazing run you don't see the ignorance or stupidity that tends to engulf other successful entities and people. They remain humble. They never say anything bad about anyone else, and they don't ever take anyone or anything for granted. They have a brilliant owner and perhaps a more brilliant leader. They never deviate from the mission at hand. You can listen to a Bill Bellichick press conference and if you didn't just witness the 57-3 drubbing with your own eyes, you would swear they lost the game. They don't presume they will win because they have previously won. They adapt to the changes in their world, and while the game remains the same, no one has been able to imitate them successfully. It will happen in time, but until then, sit back and marvel. I'm willing to bet you a buck that you will not see anything like this in sports again in my lifetime. Is Google the next one to watch? Perhaps.

Go Pats