Nike announced today that they cancelled their endorsement contract with Lance Armstrong. Registration for this weekend's Livestrong ride in Austin is rumored to be down significantly from years past. Armstrong has stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong board. The house is burning, and Lance, trapped by his steadfast refusal to acknowledge the truth, is sitting inside while it all falls down.
Grizzly Adam used superlative terms to describe the scope and scale of doping in cycling. I commented that he's missing an important qualifier: cycling is just the largest conspiracy that we know about. But to think that larger, wealthier sports--where the competition to land a spot on a team is higher and the upside of doing so is much greater--do not have doping conspiracies at least as large that simply have not been exposed is naive.
In the early 2000's, I cheered as much as anyone for Lance as he was sweeping across France seven years in a row. I didn't think he was doping because I didn't want to think about it. I was enjoying the show too much. At some point, it just smelled fishy, too good to be true. Ulrich and Basso were doping, but Armstrong still won? Hmm.
Similarly, when I watch the NFL or Premier League or MLB, I enjoy the show. But like Lance, the show is too good to be true. Whether the shoe ever drops and a conspiracy larger, richer, and more sophisticated than cycling's is exposed is simply a matter or whether the business owners getting rich from sport ever decide that cleaning up the sport is good for their bottom line. Athletes have already shown that the incentives are just too great to ever police themselves. To think otherwise is to be willfully ignorant.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Coming clean
Today's announcement by USADA of the publication of findings against Lance Armstrong and his US Postal team should come as no surprise for long-time fans of cycling.
Though it comes as no surprise, it still has stirred up a lot of emotion, especially amongst those racers who could have made the big show had they doped and chose not to.
I started racing at 35. And I'm kinda chubby. A pro contract was never in the cards for me. So perhaps I don't have the ability to muster vitriol the way others whose dreams and careers were derailed might.
Here is what I do know: the racers named in the report had a choice whether to speak up or stay silent. They chose to speak up. Perhaps they were coerced, but they still came clean, something the biggest name of the bunch refuses to do.
I don’t applaud what they did, but I do applaud their choice to be honest about it now. That, at times, can be the more difficult choice. The sport didn’t need them to dope, but it did need them to come clean.
Though it comes as no surprise, it still has stirred up a lot of emotion, especially amongst those racers who could have made the big show had they doped and chose not to.
I started racing at 35. And I'm kinda chubby. A pro contract was never in the cards for me. So perhaps I don't have the ability to muster vitriol the way others whose dreams and careers were derailed might.
Here is what I do know: the racers named in the report had a choice whether to speak up or stay silent. They chose to speak up. Perhaps they were coerced, but they still came clean, something the biggest name of the bunch refuses to do.
I don’t applaud what they did, but I do applaud their choice to be honest about it now. That, at times, can be the more difficult choice. The sport didn’t need them to dope, but it did need them to come clean.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Loss
When I began racing bikes several years ago, I was not alone. My brother, Steve, and I were together at almost every race. Throughout the years of racing, we have met and become friends with many other racers, to the point that the race itself has become secondary, and the primary function of racing is seeing our friends at the venue.
Among these friends are two other sets of brothers, the Bradleys and the Cottles. Seth Bradley told me, "you and Steve are the fast brothers, we're the good-looking brothers." I don't know about this, given that Seth and I have raced a lot together, and he has finished ahead of me quite a bit more than I have finished ahead of him. Besides, for a short, paunchy, middle-aged guy with thinning hair who has been given the nickname "Gimli," I think I'm reasonably good-looking. Regardless, the Cottles are the wise brothers, universally admired both for their success on the race course as well as their kindness and insight when mentoring other racers.
Just over a year ago, I was fearful I would lose my brother after a racing accident. In the fickle game of roulette that is life, Seth lost his brother Matt this spring, while Daren's brother Doug passed away over the weekend. In each case, like Steve, it was an unforeseeable accident. There is no good explanation and no platitude that will make it all feel better. I am simply reminded to never trade the assurance of a today for the assumption of a tomorrow.
Among these friends are two other sets of brothers, the Bradleys and the Cottles. Seth Bradley told me, "you and Steve are the fast brothers, we're the good-looking brothers." I don't know about this, given that Seth and I have raced a lot together, and he has finished ahead of me quite a bit more than I have finished ahead of him. Besides, for a short, paunchy, middle-aged guy with thinning hair who has been given the nickname "Gimli," I think I'm reasonably good-looking. Regardless, the Cottles are the wise brothers, universally admired both for their success on the race course as well as their kindness and insight when mentoring other racers.
Just over a year ago, I was fearful I would lose my brother after a racing accident. In the fickle game of roulette that is life, Seth lost his brother Matt this spring, while Daren's brother Doug passed away over the weekend. In each case, like Steve, it was an unforeseeable accident. There is no good explanation and no platitude that will make it all feel better. I am simply reminded to never trade the assurance of a today for the assumption of a tomorrow.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Campaign Spokesman
I was invited to be the campaign spokesman for Mitt Romney at a conference on women in aerospace. I think it turned out just as I hoped.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Great Basin
This weekend we took the kids on a trip to Great Basin National Park. We have wanted to visit for years, but when we had free time always seemed to have other destinations that won out. We went into the trip with three objectives:
After returning to camp and having breakfast, we loaded up our packs and drove to the Johnson Lake trailhead. Whereas Wheeler Peak took three hours round trip, the hike to Johnson Lake with kids and heavy packs took about three hours one way. Nevertheless, all three kids made it, the older two carrying packs and with little difficulty.
A curious thing happened during this trip: most of our meals were evaluated in the context of whether it was good enough to serve on a hut trip. It seems that the hut trip bar has been set high, because in each case but one, there was at least a tweak or two needed for them to be truly hut-trip-worthy. The one exception was the peach cobbler Rachel made in the Dutch oven. Sadly, the huts are not equipped with Dutch ovens, and I'm certainly not about to haul one in.
Johnson Lake fills the hollow left by an extinct glacier at the bottom of the headwall of a U-shaped canyon. Three sides are bounded by a steep, rocky ridgeline. Although the glacier is gone, snow still makes its effects known, as all the trees surrounding the lake were snapped off at the trunk about 2.5 meters above the ground. I would not want to have been on the business end of that avalanche.
After hiking out on Monday morning and stopping along the road to harvest some pinion nuts (which were abundant), we toured Lehman cave. On the long drive home, I was left wondering how we could possibly have packed any more into the weekend than we did. I don't think we could have.
- Take the kids backpacking (heretofore they have only car camped)
- Tour Lehman Cave
- Climb Wheeler Peak (this was a solo objective, not something I wanted to do with kids)
.JPG) |
| Sunrise on Wheeler Peak |
.JPG) |
| Looking south toward Pyramid Peak |
.JPG) |
| Looking west over one of many wind blocks on the summit |
.JPG) |
| Jeff Davis Peak from the east end of Wheeler summit |
After returning to camp and having breakfast, we loaded up our packs and drove to the Johnson Lake trailhead. Whereas Wheeler Peak took three hours round trip, the hike to Johnson Lake with kids and heavy packs took about three hours one way. Nevertheless, all three kids made it, the older two carrying packs and with little difficulty.
A curious thing happened during this trip: most of our meals were evaluated in the context of whether it was good enough to serve on a hut trip. It seems that the hut trip bar has been set high, because in each case but one, there was at least a tweak or two needed for them to be truly hut-trip-worthy. The one exception was the peach cobbler Rachel made in the Dutch oven. Sadly, the huts are not equipped with Dutch ovens, and I'm certainly not about to haul one in.
Johnson Lake fills the hollow left by an extinct glacier at the bottom of the headwall of a U-shaped canyon. Three sides are bounded by a steep, rocky ridgeline. Although the glacier is gone, snow still makes its effects known, as all the trees surrounding the lake were snapped off at the trunk about 2.5 meters above the ground. I would not want to have been on the business end of that avalanche.
After hiking out on Monday morning and stopping along the road to harvest some pinion nuts (which were abundant), we toured Lehman cave. On the long drive home, I was left wondering how we could possibly have packed any more into the weekend than we did. I don't think we could have.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Cost
I don't talk a lot about business on this blog. Which is not because I don't think a lot about it. I think about it for a good chunk of each day, so this blog documents* what I do to escape that. Today I'm making an exception.
*Or rather used to document, since I haven't been documenting much of anything lately.
Last week my company laid off a bunch of people. Most of them are hard-working people who do their jobs well and did their best each day to contribute to the company's success. I wasn't involved with the decisions, so I don't know the specific factors except that the group affected is a mature product whose plans for growth have failed to meet expectations.
One of the best classes I took in business school was a corporate strategy class focused on decision making in a competitive market. As we analyzed case studies, the professor forced us to demonstrate how a given strategy decision would either increase revenue or decrease cost. The point being that as a manager, if you can't show how a decision will either increase revenue or decrease cost, you can't justify making that decision.
Further, a one dollar reduction in cost results in a one dollar increase in profit, whereas a one dollar increase in revenue increases profit by only a portion of that dollar because you have to factor in the incremental cost of earning the incremental dollar. Therefore, all things being equal, if you have the choice between decreasing cost or increasing revenue by the same amount, you're better off decreasing cost.
In today's software industry, there are effectively no manufacturing costs other than people. Which means in many cases, the only cost saving lever managers have to pull is headcount reduction. It's the only lever many executives know how to pull anymore.
Unfortunately, in some organizations, it's pulled too often. So often that the dollar in savings doesn't result in a dollar increase in profit. Employees who come to work every day with the fear it could be their last will never give you their best. They'll use company resources looking for other jobs, even if a threat to their current job is not imminent. They'll spend time during their workday blogging about the detrimental effects of layoffs.
We all understand the rational notion that if we work hard and contribute to a company's success, that success will increase our own job security. However there is a tipping point: if employees believe that no amount of hard work will ensure employment for as long as they want it, then the organization is fundamentally ill. If the same company has management that knows no way to align cost and revenue other than reducing headcount, this illness can be very difficult to cure.
*Or rather used to document, since I haven't been documenting much of anything lately.
Last week my company laid off a bunch of people. Most of them are hard-working people who do their jobs well and did their best each day to contribute to the company's success. I wasn't involved with the decisions, so I don't know the specific factors except that the group affected is a mature product whose plans for growth have failed to meet expectations.
One of the best classes I took in business school was a corporate strategy class focused on decision making in a competitive market. As we analyzed case studies, the professor forced us to demonstrate how a given strategy decision would either increase revenue or decrease cost. The point being that as a manager, if you can't show how a decision will either increase revenue or decrease cost, you can't justify making that decision.
Further, a one dollar reduction in cost results in a one dollar increase in profit, whereas a one dollar increase in revenue increases profit by only a portion of that dollar because you have to factor in the incremental cost of earning the incremental dollar. Therefore, all things being equal, if you have the choice between decreasing cost or increasing revenue by the same amount, you're better off decreasing cost.
In today's software industry, there are effectively no manufacturing costs other than people. Which means in many cases, the only cost saving lever managers have to pull is headcount reduction. It's the only lever many executives know how to pull anymore.
Unfortunately, in some organizations, it's pulled too often. So often that the dollar in savings doesn't result in a dollar increase in profit. Employees who come to work every day with the fear it could be their last will never give you their best. They'll use company resources looking for other jobs, even if a threat to their current job is not imminent. They'll spend time during their workday blogging about the detrimental effects of layoffs.
We all understand the rational notion that if we work hard and contribute to a company's success, that success will increase our own job security. However there is a tipping point: if employees believe that no amount of hard work will ensure employment for as long as they want it, then the organization is fundamentally ill. If the same company has management that knows no way to align cost and revenue other than reducing headcount, this illness can be very difficult to cure.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Crusher
Saturday was the Crusher in the Tushar. I had four goals:
The first goal doesn't sound like a big deal, but I was racing Pro/Open Men, so there were not really any slow guys that would automatically keep me from the lanterne rouge. And there were a number of legitimate pros, i.e., guys who actually make a living racing bicycles. That meant I needed at least one guy in that field to have a bad day, but not such a bad day that he would not finish. Really, though, I wanted to finish fast enough to beat at least one person who was not having a bad day.
Goals 2-4 are a carryover from cyclocross, where every week there is the race within the race between the four of us. I am still smarting from Rick beating me at the line at Ft. Buenaventura, which cost me three points in the season series, which meant Seth beat me by two points in the overall standings and in the process got the eighth and final callup for the first race this season. Seth and I are both keenly aware that he gets a callup and I don't.
Goal 4, however, was kind of a stretch goal, because I have ridden enough with Rick this year to know that he is riding super strong, particularly if the race involves climbing. I think it is safe to say that climbing is a key component of the Crusher.
My race preparation went well, and other than flying to the east coast the week of the event, getting home late Thursday night, driving to Beaver on Friday, and waking up Friday night with stomach pains that led to me throwing up most of what I had eaten for dinner, I really can't complain. Also, it was raining when I woke up Saturday morning and continued to rain after we started. Not that I mind the rain, I just suffer less than others seem to when it's hot.
The best part about this event is lining up at the start and seeing guys that I have cheered for as a spectator at cyclocross nationals--namely Ryan Trebon and Jamie Driscoll--get callups, and then line up right behind them. Seriously, if we could just do the callups and first 5k where I get to ride in the same group with those guys, I would still pay my hundred and whatever bucks for the entry.
After the first 5k, the rest of the race was really hard. The road was muddy and rougher than last year. I had fewer problems with cramping than last year, so that was nice. Rick beat me by a few minutes, but I reached my other three goals.
I am happy not to have any races longer than an hour for the rest of the year.
The first goal doesn't sound like a big deal, but I was racing Pro/Open Men, so there were not really any slow guys that would automatically keep me from the lanterne rouge. And there were a number of legitimate pros, i.e., guys who actually make a living racing bicycles. That meant I needed at least one guy in that field to have a bad day, but not such a bad day that he would not finish. Really, though, I wanted to finish fast enough to beat at least one person who was not having a bad day.
Goals 2-4 are a carryover from cyclocross, where every week there is the race within the race between the four of us. I am still smarting from Rick beating me at the line at Ft. Buenaventura, which cost me three points in the season series, which meant Seth beat me by two points in the overall standings and in the process got the eighth and final callup for the first race this season. Seth and I are both keenly aware that he gets a callup and I don't.
Goal 4, however, was kind of a stretch goal, because I have ridden enough with Rick this year to know that he is riding super strong, particularly if the race involves climbing. I think it is safe to say that climbing is a key component of the Crusher.
My race preparation went well, and other than flying to the east coast the week of the event, getting home late Thursday night, driving to Beaver on Friday, and waking up Friday night with stomach pains that led to me throwing up most of what I had eaten for dinner, I really can't complain. Also, it was raining when I woke up Saturday morning and continued to rain after we started. Not that I mind the rain, I just suffer less than others seem to when it's hot.
The best part about this event is lining up at the start and seeing guys that I have cheered for as a spectator at cyclocross nationals--namely Ryan Trebon and Jamie Driscoll--get callups, and then line up right behind them. Seriously, if we could just do the callups and first 5k where I get to ride in the same group with those guys, I would still pay my hundred and whatever bucks for the entry.
After the first 5k, the rest of the race was really hard. The road was muddy and rougher than last year. I had fewer problems with cramping than last year, so that was nice. Rick beat me by a few minutes, but I reached my other three goals.
I am happy not to have any races longer than an hour for the rest of the year.
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