# people I want to have dinner with

# people I want to have dinner with

As I set goals for 2012, I always like to put together a list of people I would want to have dinner with; some are carry-overs.. still working on them..some are new… others off the list! Here is early look at 2012 (subject to revision) ..in no particular order

Danny Meyer: the founder and chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group and founder of Union Square Café; his book “Setting the Table” is a must read on customer service. He and I have met, but my experience at his restaurant –the one at the Modern Museum in New York—I have now told to over 8,000 people when I speak; absolutely incredible way to empower employees to do the right thing, but also hold employees accountable with “constant gentle pressure”. I just had dinner at Blue Smoke—6^th time I have been there, always the same table. Coincidence?

Al Gore:  Perhaps a polarizing figure, but his concession speech in the 2000 election was brilliant; his comeback even more impressive.

Gary Erickson:  Founder, CEO of Clif Bar. He and I have met as well, but not for enough time.  As a former PowerBar passionate employee, Clif accession has been remarkable—and they do it with purpose, conviction and walk the walk.  Day care in the office, cafeteria, smart people, one can succeed and not compromise values. I am a fan.

Eminem:  Let’s face it, brilliant marketer.  What other cursing, tattoo laden, controversial rapper could have street cred and sell thousands of cd’s at Wal-Mart.  8 Mile is brilliant.  Lose yourself is an anthem to all generations. 

Occupy People:  I guess this one is easy, grab a sandwich and go sit in the park. I respect their dedication and passion—but I want to better understand “What does success look like?”

Brian Cashman:  General Manager of the Yankees. Yes, a long time fan and weaved into our family tradition.  But talk about “managing up”; he has had the toughest boss in the world, consumer demands to deliver the best product each and every year, scrutinized by the media and deal with tough employees (players)

Meredith Vieira:  Much respect. She eases into one of America’s biggest franchises, the Today Show, effortlessly, has a wonderful self deprecating way, but is incredibly smart. She leaves on her own terms for the right reasons –her family. Plus, she is a Tufts grad as well.

Paul Giamatti: The anti-George Clooney just keeps hitting it out of the Park. Sideways was brilliant, “Win Win” may surprise everyone with a Best Picture nod.  I would talk film, but also baseball. Check out who is Dad was.

Steven Wright:  If you don’t know the old school comedian, pull him up on YouTube, podcast etc. Dinner with him would be dry, sharp and hysterical.

Gisele Bundchen:  Of course..you say. But worldwide model, incredible businesswoman and Mom. Who else could make Tom Brady into Mr. Mom?  Plus she lives near me J

Michael Dell:  An entrepreneur who is a success story..but also a fascinating one as Apple’s explosion has impacted his  business and how he is dealing with change. Plus I love Austin, so I will come to him.

Jimmy Fallon:  No one on TV has ever gone from ridicule to brilliant in such a short period of time. If you don’t watch him, DVR it. There is no one doing such creative, innovative and relevant to the 18-34 demo as Fallon. The fun he is having is contagious; his Justin Timberlake (#1 not #2) rap was one of the most amazing things on TV in a decade.

Me:  All business people, especially this one, should slow down and have a long end of the year dinner to reflect on the year and plan for the next year.  My dinner may last a week.

Occupy Brand Street

Occupy Brand Street

As committed people camp on Wall Street to Main Street-and someone think they should be committed - they are showing the power of resolve, technology, and community and, most impressively, their voice. Unlike a political movement, let's understand this is a consumer movement.  The idea of the Consumer Voice maybe Times Man of the Year.

We are now seeing the power of that voice impact consumer brands

-First Netflix, and then this week, Bank of America.  In speaking to a business school class last week, I was challenged by my assertion that Netflix will be the "new Coke" of this decade. Many of you maybe too young to remember the debacle that was new Coke in 1985.  But after 100 Years the iconic can and formula were changed.

Coke a cola decided to change its formula to great fanfare. That included the new beverage arriving at the Lincoln Center and I believe the Statue of Liberty. The backlash was like anything we had seen before.  Netflix may be worse. Netflix changed its pricing plans by separating streaming from DVDs and suddenly consumers’ bills doubled over night. Moreover, DVDs were known as Quickster-destroying a brand that had "hero" attributes and turning it into a villain. From a branding standpoint, “Qwikster” spin off would have been partly understandable if they were planning to spin it off.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings quickly apologized but did not change the pricing.

Consumer’s voice was heard through Twitter and emails and with their wallets- 100,000 people left and the stock is down 30%--- and Occupation Netflix was complete. Plans were being restored

Occupation Bank of America took hold this week as consumers pushed back on a $60 a year fee for use of a debit card. The policy was revoked.

So how far can this Occupy Brand Street take us? Perhaps to the White House where this group now can influence an election easier than Bank of America.  But my bet is Airlines and cable systems -especially Comcast. 

I do wait for the day sports fans don't show up at Fenway Park to protest ticket price increases-- that would truly make a great visual statement

We are the voice of change...occupy away

Social Media Impact on Sponsorship

A few weeks ago @JimAndrews_IEG  IEG’s Jim Andrews wrote in his blog—a must read of insights into the sponsorship and branding business—about the impact of Social Media on sponsorship.  Jim, who I consider a good marketer and a better friend, and I exchanged some emails on the subject. I have thought more about the impact and thought I would share.

The fascinating part of Social Media on sponsorship is that ironically it may actually drive shorter deals, lower rights fees and even lessen the reason for sponsorship.   Why?  If, for examples AMICA Insurance as a sponsor the Boston Celtics gains access to season ticket lists or names via on site promotions.   If AMICA does a good job of engaging consumers, starts a two way conversation via blogs, Facebook, managed content newsletters and a continued dialogue ensues.. AMICA has a few choices when their deal concludes  1) Our social platform worked well and we want to lasso further Basketball fan/ consumers  2) we already have the access we need, we can email or tweet Basketball fans without the need for sponsorship. The conversation is unfolding… and we are really a sponsor of that

I believe it will be closer to #2)    what is the impact?  Due to Social Media, I believe sponsorship deals will continue, but will shorten to two or three year deals.  Shorter deals are an issue for properties (category too closely affiliated with first mover brand, energy and resources to sell a new partner etc.)  The bigger issue is that the value of X Category may drop as the initial sponsor in the category has already developed social media access and owned a conversation with the consumer/fan.

My recommendation for Brands?  I would recommend thinking not for your brand..But think like your competitors.. What would they do?

Dan

Sponsorship You Thought was Safe at Home

Paging through Sports Illustrated a few weeks ago, I saw the Bigelow Tea @bigelowtea ad featuring Terry Francona and Joe Torre.  It is funny, with professional athletes being indicted, shooting themselves in the foot (literally) or driving while intoxicated, you would think Managers are safe? Mature, leaders, buyers and retailers can identify with them. 

 Bigelow is a great brand, owned by a great parent company and a strong culture that adds to the earth the community , growers and people around them.  So a brand manager that says "what can happen? Managers are a great fit for a brand endorsement"

But in the case of Bigelow, their brand's mission statement is "satisfied employees", "strong relationships" , "satisfied consumers" and "good corporate citizen".  Their imagery is one of "serenity".

I am sure you laughed as you read those words above. Poor Bigelow. This is a teaching moment for all on the challenges of signing celebrities.  Terry Francona, who I have met a number of times, is a great guy and was the right person at the right time in Boston.  But "satisfied employees" is not the word we would use this week. And neither is "strong relationships"  And as far as being a good corporate citizen, John Henry may disagree.  For Torre, I am not sure if he and A-Rod have a "strong relationship" after his book came out a two years ago.

There have not been many soothing tea moments this week. Torre and Francona may plan a cup of tea together over the winter, but they will share stories of "betrayal", "tough bosses" and "frustration". 

You know what?  this week's Sports Illustrated Bigelow Ad?  Features Wayne Gretzky :)

I hope Bigelow doesn't become the EA Sports or Sports Illustrated Cover Curse.

DS

Marketing "Win Win" Putting Yourself in Someone's Shoes; Why are people so Myopic?

So I am on a bit of a rant tonight.  I teach a film class at a Senior Home once a month-- I learn more from them than they learn from me-- and I saw the movie "win win" tonight.  I am doing the film as a center piece to a discussion about Paul Giamatti. 

But the film got me on a late night rant. 

So why am I on a rant?  

Here is my bedtime story for you...

We are building a partnership between two companies-- a property (event) and a brand. 

We presented the proposal to the property to review.  This is a property with limited sponsors. The reaction?  The property executive tore back the pages, interrupted me and said they "were being screwed" by the other party.  "We are giving away too much value"  "They are screwing us"

Yes. You got them. That was an element of this billion dollar brand's strategic plan.  Among objectives to expand globally into Russian and China, evaluate production facilities and start a new packaging division, their goal was to "screw Bill from the XYZ Marathon".

This is coming up daily at S2F-- why have people become so myopic?  Is it that they are trying to do more with less? it is because of the economy?  technology?  lay offs occurring? Narcissism?  Does it matter?  The issue is that people/companies are not putting themselves in other people's shoes to set up "win win" relationships.  Some may say "win win" is a cliche-- but how can something that is a champion formula be a cliche? Saying to people in a meeting that you want to talk "off-line" is a cliche.

If this property had put "themselves in the other brand's shoes" they would have learned the brand was  doing a regional test for a national deal.  The other party needed test data before scaling the relationship nationally and this was very high quality/ low quantity marketing than they were use to.  They are also a big brand and they had to pull different functional groups into the meeting at each stage.  During that process, the partnership proposal had some things taken out and some added.  But all in all, the brand was offering a very strong package compared to what the property was getting from other sponsors.

So what happened?  The Property eventually took the deal.  They included a lot of "best efforts" contract language--eliminating accountability-- and entered the relationship with a "we are getting less than we should" attitude.  Meetings were tense. Execution was slow.  And most frustrating, the people at the property spent more time reading the contract and citing what they were not required to do. They said they had a lot on their plate --which they did--but they came out and said that the brand was offering less than originally promised-- and they would make best efforts to deliver.  This was even though the final offer/proposal was more than anyone at the time in the category was paying for these rights.

The brand? The brand came in with  "we want to meet all our commitments, under promise and over deliver" attitude.

What happened next?  The property started getting into jams --vendors not showing up, additional event dates-- and they needed help from sponsors.  Without asking, the brand swooped in to help.  The brand understood the nature of relationships in the field.   

Well.... the property ice melted.  The property calls with last minute opportunities/ fire drills (depending on whose shoes you are in)  -- but to their credit the tone has changed.  Even though it was not everything the property wanted from the start, the partnership blossomed and they found "win wins" that were never in the contract.  There are more smiles, more phone calls greeted with  "it's us again" with laughs.  And the property provided more ROI measures--if even only a picture or video from an event.  Guess who else won? The consumer/participant.  The consumer loves the brand and the product..and they loved coming to these events. 

So I will give you a KISS good night.  Keep It Simple Stupid.   Isn't this all so simple?  If the property had put themselves in the other parties shoes (the brand), they would have seen that the brand was launching a number of new products this year.  This particular brand/ product was not a focus in 2011 at the company-- and their budgets were seriously cut--but in 2012 the budgets for the brand are tripled.

For the brand, they are learning the benefit of quality engagement vs mass advertising.

I recently heard someone say that a successful negotiation is when "both sides leave the table unhappy"-- that is ridiculous.  His point is understood.. no one party should leave unhappy and if both parties leave happy, then one is bound to say "he/she is too happy..what did I miss?". 

But I don't agree.  Both parties should come into the discussion with the same understanding; more often than not, we have to work together.  Putting yourself in someone else's shoes allows for you to understand key elements such as- How is this person evaluated? When this person sits down with a family member of friend..what do they tell the person about their job?  What business issues is he/she having and how can you help solve for them?   What is this person fearful of?

If the property had taken time to put themselves in the other persons shoes they would have asked questions and learned that the executive at the other party did not commit to additional elements of the partnership because he knew there were lay-offs coming and it was going to be very difficult to commit to things that he knew would be more difficult to fulfil.  He was "setting things up to succeed" from the start.

So what to learn from this late night good night story..
1.  Pick up the phone. Email makes things so much more difficult.  A phone, or better, a Skype conversation makes things more human
2.  Don't take things so personally--trust me
3.  Ask questions
4. Share how both of you are being measured and why this deal/partnership is so important to you. If it isn't  --leave

O.K. this bedtime story is not "Good Night Moon".. but if more properties and brands thought this way... we would all sleep better

DS





  

SGMA Numbers.. what is driving the growth?

PART II

The most fascinating sport continues to be running.

·        Fueled by “bookend demographics”—running is growing at 50%

·        This number will sky rocket this coming year ironically due to equipment; the hottest trend in running in 20 years is “barefoot” running from Vibram. The “five finger shoes”, featured in the best seller “Born to Run” has formed a category the running shoe companies are calling “minimalist”.  It is flying off the shelf and should be called “maximus” as 1.) you have to be a gladiator to run in these shoes and not get injured  2) built with two napkins and a rubber band, these shoes are maximum profit potential

·        Don’t get me wrong, East Coast City Sports Chain cant keep the New Balance product in store

·        “Bookend” is younger—high school kids whose running programs are being expanded because other more “equipment intensive” sports are too expensive for school districts, encouragement in this less active/ obesity age and the concept of “everyone gets a medal” narcissistic age.  With numerous track and field events, you have a chance for the “look at me”’ generation to participate and win a medal.  Let’s understand that there is only one center in basketball, but there are 4 entries in each heat of the 400 meters and 10 events overall.

·        More fun running events like the surging “Mud Category” of mud runs like the Tough Mudder, Muddy Buddy and Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run Tour are all sold out.  These “mud” runs are 5k up to 10 miles that are run through mud, water and over obstacles.  Kids as young as 5 are doing them! Think it is military crawling along on their stomach in mud? Nope. Average demo is 26 year old women. It is like a Book Club out there

·        The other end of the bookend is the Boomer Set.  The boomers are making things like marathon Runs and Triathlons grow. The once unattainable Ironman—the grueling 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile marathon run—is selling out in 12 minutes in some locations.  The World Triathlon Corporation sold to Providence Equity three years ago, they are building and gobbling up races, consumers can’t get enough and when Venture Capital gets involved with a sport that has 250,000 participants-there must be growth. It is like they have bought Apple at 26 and are running, biking and swimming to the bank. 

So here in the spirit of good or bad sequences, is the big headline; Apple.

The piece of “sporting equipment” that is fueling “low equipment” sports is one item; the I-pod.

Yup.

I was only half kidding when I said that we should stop checking Dick’s Sporting Goods and start checking Best Buy.

If you really look at the SGMA List, the sports where you can use I-pods, I-phones or “I” anything—is growing.   Running, Gym, bicycling etc.

The sports, with regional lacrosse an exception, where you can’t drift off into music outer space. Football, roller hockey, golf, scuba diving etc. that have lots of equipment are all down.  In this “140 Character” age, it is my opinion that people want to put on their I-pod and go …that’s it. No bags of bats, balls, skates or helmets.  Just Lady Gaga.

So where do we see all this going?  Well, you have to call us to find that out.  But in short, we see a lot of outdoor active sports continuing but a hot growing trend is emerging. And yes, you have to have us in to share with you.

But what I can share here is that one of the Top 10 Activities for the older set in the SGMA Survey was “bird watching”.  See… no equipment either.  And you can do it listening to your I-Pod Too. Maybe they download The Counting Crows.

Dan

SGMA Numbers.. What is behind the numbers?

Up Up and Away

PART I 

The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Associations annual Sports Participation Numbers came out recently. This is the data that shows the growth of sports often year over year and current year vs. decade growth. 

This data is most useful in staff meetings and cocktail parties—should you have  friends that are interested that “roller hockey is down 65.3 percent”.

But in some ways, cocktail parties are actually the reason why this data is skewed any way.  See, anyone at a July 4^th party who sticks their toe in a Pool or the Ocean checks “swimmer” on the survey and now swimming is the most popular sport in the country. 

Have you been to your local gym? —Compare the amount of people on the Elliptical (up 7.3 million in the decade).

Speaking of the Elliptical, it seems that Americans are fascinated by things that go up and down vs. across.

We are always fascinated by growth and numbers that go up.   Example is that Triathlon participation is up 63.7 % vs. the prior year. 

And things that go down also fascinate us; the darling of sports lifestyle, skate boarding, is down 30.9 %.

Anything going “across is down”; roller-skating, jet skiing, football, water skiing are all significantly down.

But with this report, people seem to be actually interested in things that literally go up vs. across.   “Cheerleading”—fueled in part by airtime on ESPN, competitions, savvy footwear and equipment marketing and the pop culture aspects of Bring it On and even Glee, has promoted this niche.

While I have been a bit sarcastic in writing this, that is actually the point.  The SGMA numbers are exactly that.  They are driven by the “Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association” and are often in line with the sales of sporting Equipment.

And if you are going to take an insight from this report, it is exactly that.  Here is the real headline, Sports with low equipment instances are growing. 

·        Gym Participation is booming.  Ironically why?  Because you don’t have to buy any sporting good equipment.  The gym has it all for you including the high growth Elliptical and now the hottest trend TRX

·        Similarly is the surge of Yoga—up 23% according to SGMA but up a billion percent for anyone who has tried getting into a Boston Yoga Class.  Again, no equipment.

·        Also fascinating is the (not measured) growth of at home workouts such as P90X and Insanity.  P90X, the infomercial fueled 90 day workout routine—which I have done and is fun, effective and grueling all at the same time—does require one piece of equipment. A DVD Player.  Maybe I should get Best Buy’s Data instead of SGMA?  Actually, P90X does require weights, a mat, training shoes and sometimes a pull up bar—the later selling very well at Dick’s Sporting Goods

·        Similarly, the rage of “Cross-Fit” Center across the country—recently aligning with Reebok—is evidence of this as well. No equipment purchase, we have it all here mentality

Dan to Dan

Dan Gilbert: Dan to Dan
Tonight I sit in my living room watching the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat to win the NBA Championship and I, like so many fans, are rooting against the Heat as much as for the Mavericks. It was almost a year ago that I had to sit through “The Decision”—the insensitive over hyper poorly orchestrated event that LeBron James organized to announce where he would play in the future.
LeBron shied away from the camera, referred to himself in the third person and did not take responsibility for his “decision”. That was the first glimpse that he was not a leader.
He thought the “Celtics model” of Allen, Garnet and Pierce was the model for the next century. But what I think he missed was that the Celtics had a sense of maturity. They had been in the leagues over 30 years yes, but they also conducted themselves with defensive intensity on the court and professionalism off the court. The Miami antics and theatrics at their press conference should have been no surprise, why don’t people remember LeBron’s pre-game “picture snap shots” in Cleveland?
Looking back on those antics, it wasn’t the immature pre-game shows; it was that he acted like he was so close to those teammates.
See I should know I am Dan Gilbert. I am the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. And I am a fan of basketball as well. And while you listened to The Decision on the radio, watched on TV or engaged on the internet, I learned about The Decision the same time you did. The Cavaliers were blessed to land the Ohio Native and most heralded prospect in the NBA in decades. In turn, The Cleveland Organization supported a boy grow to grow up into a man. Well, maybe physically, but he is still so young.
That is why I sent my poorly worded email blast the night of The Decision. It was emotional and it was wrong. But can you imagine that as the Owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, I too had to learn that the anchor of my franchise and MY BUSINESS was leaving for another job. That is his right and this is America, but how about a phone call?
**** Before you send this to the media or re quote, this is Dan Schorr and not Dan Gilbert. Dan Gilbert tweeted tonight “There are no shortcuts”—maybe another emotional response. But let this man have his moment. His redemption actually began about a month ago when Cleveland jumped other teams in the NBA Lottery to secure the #1 pick in next weeks NBA Draft; they deserve it.
And Dan Gilbert deserves a lot of overdue accolades and what a better time than tonight.
You may be able to answer basketball trivia but did you know Dan Gilbert moved over 1,700 of his employees, and many sister companies, to downtown Detroit? Sure it was for business reasons, but it also is revitalizing Detroit.
I do wonder where Dan Gilbert is tonight. I would hope in his living room, sipping a scotch or Champagne. Some have said he is tough to work for, he made rash decisions to fire key employees supposedly, but the guy has passion and I love that. He is allowed to smile tonight.
And I can’t sign off from my living room without giving a high five to the City of Cleveland. I hope you are smiling, partying at the Winking Lizard and proving that you are “great by the Lake”.
I am going to finish my Champagne and make a toast to “no short cuts”. That is my decision.

999,000 Miles Up in the Air

999,000 Miles Up in The Air

I am a real life Ryan Bingham.

Like the protagonist in the critically acclaimed movie Up in the Air, I too am at a milestone.

Until recently, I have been loyal to two things in my life; Finesse Shampoo and United Airlines; then, I lost my hair and now it is just been United Airlines.

United has been my “carrier” to safety, to adventure, to business and to loved ones.

People in history ask themselves the quintessential question, “Where was I when Kennedy was shot?” or perhaps “where was I when the Red Sox won the World Series?”  For me, I am asking myself “where will I be when I hit 1,000,000 Frequent Flyer Miles and what will happen?”

Long before Up in the Air the Film came out, I read Walter Kirns novel Up in the Air—a brilliant and different story—and I was a kindred spirit with the protagonist Ryan Bingham. 

Looking back on my early years, I am not sure how much I had in my backpack.

I started traveling at age 25 when I helped build an iconic American brand. I was young Superman that hit the road and loved everything about it. I couldn’t wait till I boarded a plane and heard the old United Airlines Music playing. I knew the tricks where to stow my bags in the overhead so I wouldn’t be slowed down. My routine included immediately opening my copy of the Hemispheres Airline Magazine and checking my horoscope for the month (since removed). Somehow I believed United Airlines knew me better than anyone, and they were the sage that knew what my month would be like.  I smiled at the Flight Attendant as we both mouthed the script about “the tray table being in an upright position” and “lights from the floor will be illuminated”.  I loved the pre-IPod, pre lap-top quiet of flights.  I was Superman and this plane was my “Fortress of Solitude”

Airplanes were my place to hide from my voice mail, drama and probably commitment as well.  For six hours there were no decisions’ to make.  Think about it, where in your life are you given an assigned seat?

So now I am a “St. Louis Length” away from 1,000,000 miles. I realize this has not been a quest but, like Ryan Bingham, a lifestyle.  And a lifestyle, I relished.  While some loath the vanilla hotel rooms, smoky rent a cars and Applebee’s expense account meals, traveling is my passion. It was my opportunity to be one person in Providence and another in Tucson.  United Airlines was my conduit to my chameleon nature.

At that point in my life, as sad as it sounds, many relationships I valued included the Agent at Gate 70 in San Francisco and the woman who bumped me up to first class in the B Terminal in O’Hare.  The Robin Hood Flight Attendant who stole wine from First Class and brought it to me in my center seat in Coach.  Forget Face book, this was a community, this is why I flew.

The cheery on top was the reward of Frequent Flyer Miles. My miles have always been somewhat of a power play I have to admit. I can go to dinner with guys in Manhattan who make millions  of dollars at Deutsch Bank, money that I will never see in my lifetime, but I have one thing they do not; freedom. I can walk through Logan Airport; look at a Gate Destination that says “Jerusalem” and go. Free of charge and without anyone or anything tying me down.  My miles have given me freedom.

But as only Ryan would understand, I have shared with women how many people I have slept with before --but not how many frequent flyer miles I have; that is a personal question.

Ryan Bingham, my back pack is now filling up. I have met a wonderful woman. Metaphorically and physically, I am now grounded.

So now as I am approaching another milestone; One Million Mile Frequent Flier Miles and I am popping the question to myself; "Where should I be at this milestone and what should I do in flight?”

Should I board the plane with a T-shirt that says, “999,000 miles” and walk on the plane.  Where should I be for the millionth mile?  I have thought above the Eifel Tower. Or over Mount Rushmore, but technically that flight is managed by a subsidiary like Untied Express, and I feel that is cheating and not the real deal.  Maybe I should be over Las Vegas and bet my all miles on one hand.  Or bring my girlfriend and join the “Mile High Club”?  Even United would snicker at this and turn the other way when the latched door closes on the tiny vertical bathroom. United would have a tough time thinking of a better way to celebrate.

Or maybe I should give the miles away to children to see the world. A very real consideration.

And ala Up in the Air, maybe United Airlines Chairman Glenn Tilton will upgrade me to First Class and sit with me on the flight. We can share stories and suggestions—I have a brilliant Ad Campaign Idea!—and we can be kindred spirits as he hands me Global Service Access, a Black Card and lifetime Red Carpet Club Membership.

If you read this letter and view it as narcissistic in this time of job loss and economic recession, you are missing the point. These miles are my currency; they are in some ways, my memories and stories of my lifetime. They enable me to go places that I could not afford to go. 

And that point begs the question, why have I not used any of them? These miles represent the stories and a lifetime of “memories” that I don’t want to “cash” in. 

I would be depressed the day I get my United Statement and it reads “0”.  It would kind of be like losing my hair again.

So soon I will head to Airport and check in for the flight, which I believe will be next week, and I will have anxiety.  The anxiety is not around if United will do something for me to celebrate, it is the fear of the opposite. What if they don’t do anything?

I have loved United Airlines, what happens if they don’t love me back?

The purpose of this essay is not to be bathed in gifts —although who would mind? But, what if the Gate Agent just checks me into 7B a Middle Seat, and does so without fan fare. What if, instead of United Chairman Glenn Tilton next to me, it is Bob Thompson, Financial Planner for Dean Witter and he runs spreads sheets the entire time and I don’t have a chance to share my Milestone with him?

And what happens if the Flight Attendant just offers me juice instead of Champagne and when I disembark, they say “Have a nice day”  and nothing else?

I think the most disappointing thing would be if I land, get off the plane, head to a Taxi and ask the driver to take me my hotel.

Silence.  Crickets. No gifts or handshakes from airline personal No fan fare.

I may share with Taxi Driver that “I just flew a million miles” And he replies, “Today?”

I will be OK. I have a new love in my life; and the music is sweeter, she is a lot more comfortable, the food is better, there is less turbulence, she is first class and the rewards are better than miles. I am more grounded, emotionally and physically.

As I hit this mileage milestone, I am on a connecting flight to the next chapter of my life. Family, Children. Anniversaries. Commitment. Soccer Games and Ballet Recitals’.  These are new relationships. My backpack will be full of wonderful people and new memories.  And I can’t wait to take off.

But I do know that I will always be able look at my mileage total and say to myself,

 “It’s time to go Up in The Air”.

Thoughts on Brands, Sports, Life and Bourbon