Yesterday was the close to a very sad chapter in technology history with the shareholder vote of Sun Microsystems to be acquired by Oracle. From a shareholder perspective, this is perhaps the best outcome that was possible (the alternative being the Silicon Graphics descent into permanent penny-stock land shrinking each subsequent year.) For Sun customers, it’s probably neutral since most ran Oracle databases anyway and are already Oracle customers. For IBM and SAP, this is likely bad news since Oracle now controls Java and MySQL.

For those of you who do not know, I worked at Sun twice for a span of 9 years in total. In a very real way, I came of age inside the company and gained many of the skills that have become central and vital to my approach to business and track record of results. Sun was a very special place with great people, a winning attitude, can do spirit, and fantastic innovation. But in the end, the market shift from symmetrical multi-processor machines to cheap, commodity machines running Linux was too much for the company to overcome.

Unfortunately, many of the more recent lessons I take from Sun are negative lessons about what not to do in particular situations. I’ve also really taken a close look at the difference between activity and results. Something Sun, at least as recently as 2006, didn’t have a good handle on. And the relative value of vision, innovation, strategy, and execution. Sun never lacked the former three, but had difficulty on the later topic from about the year 2000 onward.

Here are a few of the lessons I truly value that I learned at Sun:

• Act Now – Once you know something is right/wrong, act now, there is no reason good enough to hesitate (though you may be provided with 1,000 good reasons from others.)
• Execution trumps Strategy – Given a choice between a killer strategy and a killer execution capability, take the ability to get things done. You may get the wrong things done from time to time, but at least there is a foundation to work from. Ideally, you have a mix between good strategy and execution, but I don’t see that terribly often.
• All the Wood Behind One Arrowhead – This was a common McNealy-ism, but it’s really true and vital. You can’t have people pulling and different ways and expect a coherent and good outcome. What’s the prize? Define it and get everyone to go after it. In the early days of Sun, the company and it’s people excelled at this practice.
• Be hard on the issue, be easy on the people – It’s all too easy to just be an asshole in the corporate world. It’s not necessary. Yes, we have to get business done, but that’s really the set of issues that we’re working on. The people, generally, are all trying to do the “right” thing. Coach, consult, help, but don’t kill the people. Resolve the issue. There is a difference and it really is the only thing that distinguishes smart people from one another, their ability to build and maintain sustainable productive relationships while handling horrible issues.

There are many more, but these are the lessons that come to mind. In the meantime, let’s have a moment of silence for Sun. It was a good ride, and now it’s over. I hope for a smooth transition into Oracle, that many get a chance to show their worth in the new world vs. simply join the ranks of the unemployed, and that some of the great ideas and technologies gain a second lease on life.

Meanwhile, it’s good to take the time to reflect and say thank you. Sun as a company was very good to me, provided fantastic opportunities for learning and growth, and recognized and rewarded my performance during my tenure there. More to the point, there were some really great people that I had the honor and privilege to work for and with, and I’m very grateful to that community for the way it embraced me and allowing me to participate and contribute. While I’m saddened by the passing of that era, I will always hold the company, community, and people in the highest esteem.

Might as well go around advertising UFO abduction on your car…this wouldn’t have been out of place in the Fairborn, Ohio Fourth of July Parade. Why is it religious nutjobs also have to pull out the patriot card? By and large, it seems these are the same peckerheads who think torture is a good idea! Ah, nationalism wrapped in the bible, what a wonderful world we live in.

Yesterday, about an hour after I returned home, two missionaries came calling at the door. I was very polite and said that I wasn’t interested in their product. But they wouldn’t take no for an answer and I suggested it was highly probable there is no god of any sort and that they would be better served selling some other product door-to-door. That got me a “Though you are headed for eternal damnation, I’ll pray for you anyway” parting comment.

I’ve never had an atheist knock on my door asking me to join the club…come to think of it, I’ve never had an atheist ask for 10% of my money either. Or ask me to talk to imaginary friends with a group of other deluded souls. Yep, I’ll take the road to damnation every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Well, the title says it all. Back on the ground waiting for my family to return from a dog walk and thought I’d make a quick entry. The view to the right is from the 51st floor of the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Central Hong Kong. My brief stay there only reinforced my view of the city as being my favorite in the Orient. Clean, modern, nice people, and efficient. But boy is it crowded!

Here’s the trip by the numbers:

• 19,434 – Miles Flown (32,276 km)
• 122 – Total Elapsed Hours Door-to-Door
• 52 – In-Transit Hours
• 39 – Actual In-Flight Hours
• 38 – Meeting and Business Event Hours
• 32 – Sleep, Eat, Relax, & Other Hours

The sequence of travel went SFO->Dulles, Dulles->Amsterdam, Amsterdam->Frankfurt (this took 4 travel hours!) Amsterdam->Hong Kong, Hong Kong->SFO. Whew, no wonder I’m tired…..

This is posted as a public service announcement for anyone that thinks business travel is “fun” – as sometimes comes up in social conversation. It does have moments, but mostly it’s a grind and as I get older, it takes longer and longer to recover from each trip. Particularly trips like this one.

The good news is, the objectives I had for the trip were fully met and while it is taxing, the investment will have a good return over time. Regardless of the outcome, it’s nice to be home again. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

After the Fourth of July Parade for Fairborn that had every church in the land marching in it, I was in a foul mood. This video perked me right back up!

Happy Fourth everyone!

Seems like it’s not a good time to be a celebrity, they’re dying left and right. With all the hoo-ha going on around this “Michael Jackson was the best performer ever!” NOT! I thought I’d weigh in with the one passing that actually had any connection for me, that was Farrah Fawcett. Not that I knew her, I didn’t. But I sure did spend time looking at her poster!

No claims of best actress ever, no claims of most attractive woman, no claims of best human being, none of that is necessary. But for a heterosexual male of my age raised in the US, Farrah was for many, the first big celebrity crush. Looking back on it now, the 1970’s style is dated (she certainly inspired a whole generation of females to have “feathered” hair in the following years.) I remember watching Charlie’s Angels just to get a glimpse of Farrah.

While I’m sad at her passing, I can’t help but wonder if it provided some relief given her protracted illness and treatments. All I can say thanks for the memories Farrah.