The blog is my silent partner--until it needs to speak

10 am and already I've put in enough of a day to justify my title of Senior Managing Director of Enterra Solutions.

And I will admit that the title was more aspirational than operational until things started kicking into high gear over the last month. Steve DeAngelis was very nice and respectful of my obligations surrounding BFA's publication in October, allowing me to ramp up my participation at a pace that made sense for my other endeavors and my family.

In the last four weeks, however, the SMD title has come to define my identity more and more, to the point where I consider myself that more than anything else right now.

And even in my work at Enterra, the blog remains my silent partner. It connects me to so many great people who remain invisible to me until such time as they decide it makes sense to surface.

Late last week the CTO of Accenture surfaces, taking some righteous umbrage at my tendency to crack nasty on the Redskins, a franchise that--quite frankly--I despise first and foremost for that image of Lombardi post-Green Bay (and yet, Lombardi Cancer Clinic is where Emily, my daughter, was treated in the mid-1990s, and that experience softens my dislike somewhat... toward DC while not impacting my dislike for the Skins whatsoever!).

Anyway...

This guy takes me to task a bit. We trade some emails. He's been checking out Enterra. So we set up a breakfast this am with Steve.

Great conversation ensues, in which this guy validates a lot of our approach and market definition, even our handling of various suitors (and there are several). I mean, it was very solid to walk away from a meeting like that--very validating.

And then there's the very tangible prospects of work together...

Listening to Steve and this guy talk was pretty amazing--like two flags talking concepts of operations. There was a sequence of about five minutes there when neither said a single word of English that most humans would recognize, just acronyms masquerading as words. I know just enough to follow and pipe in now and then, but I'm not arrogant enough to butt in when I'm not needed.

What's so cool about what Steve DeAngelis is doing with Enterra is that he's amassing serious A-Team talent. In most situations, you see this sort of talent step aboard and it makes you nervous in a zero-sum way (is my influence or stardom diminished by this addition?). But with Enterra, given the scaling challenges we face with all this interest and dealmaking opportunties, I'm happier than hell every time he hires somebody--the more world-class the better.

It's the oldest strategic planning story: planning for failure is easy, but planning for success--especially runaway success--is amazingly hard.

Being Senior Managing Director for Enterra is both hard (dealing with that scalability issue) and easy (blog it and they will come). My confidence comes primarily in the partnership with Steve: I do my part and he does his and ever the opportnities will meet.

And now back in the hotel, I sneak off for a swim and gym workout. Got a VC type flying down from NYC to have lunch with me. This guy goes all the way back for me--to the World Trade Center. Strong China connectivity. More amazing opportunities to consider--by lunchtime.

I feel like I'm at the end of one of those choke-me-up commercials: "I am Thomas P.M. Barnett, and I'm Senior Managing Director of Enterra Solutions!"

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[Fade to black as James Earl Jones intones solemnly, "BE RESILIENT!"]

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