The stress of the road

Got home tonight after 4 nights on road. I really hate going that long.

Sunday crack-of-dawn I'm flying to DC to start 3-day Enterra exec retreat. I look around and realize I've got the third-longest tenure as exec after CEO Steve DeAngelis and our HR head. That's how fast time's flown by and that's how fast we're growing.

Got my weekly column done on the side. It's about America's essential resilience.

Tuesday Steve and I have a stunning meet with this huge and very old multinational with big ambitions in trusted banking of complex data that various parties in any complex global endeavor want to share, but in such a way as to deny any one player control--a very interesting and common problem we're encountering in industry after industry. It's like we've created this new global currency of data, and now the world wants a secure global banking system to go with it. Naturally this esteemed company's interest (it's one of the longest standing foreign firms incorporated in the U.S.) in Enterra is our ability to dynamically re-render rules on the fly. We expect to do great things all over the dial with this European firm.

Tuesday night I do Hugh's show from a DC hotel. Bit of a trick getting connected, so a few minutes lost.

Wednesday is meetings with Steve, then I chill the late afternoon by spending 2 hours in what I feel is my favorite art museum in the world (after the Hermitage in St. Pete): the National Portrait Gallery, a hidden gem in DC. Then I catch "Dreamgirls" (very good).

Up this morn (Thurs), I brief the HELP Commission (lost on acronym), the latest Congessionally-mandated commission set up by Frank Wolf (he who set up the Iraq Study Group).

The HELP commission is to propose what the future organizational standing of USAID should be. A few possibilities: arm of State, total merger with State, keep foreign aid spread across so many agencies, or set up a Department of... I dunno... everything else!

Guess why I'm brought in to testify.

I share stage with Brooking's Lael Brainerd, who is very sharp. She's got a new edited report/book out called "Security by Other Means." Judging by her slides, a must read. I gave her a card as I dashed out and asked for a copy.

Then speeding cab to CNA Corp for U.S. Navy conference on future roles and missions. I was the keynote lunch speech to about 150 mil and gov and research types.

Both talks very nicely received. Can see the follow-on invites coming.

Then to Dulles for flight home, during which I organize a year's worth of clippings I've dragged around with me all this trip in an extra piece of luggage. Gotta start a piece for Mark Warren and Esquire tomorrow and need first draft out the door by kickoff Sunday night.

I will be living in the home office this weekend....

I find myself dreaming--literally--of a simpler life. I can't believe it's still just January and already I'm feeling a bit burned out. Gotta recharge with the family big-time this weekend--and write that bit for Warren.

Comments

[Chap]

I am becoming convinced we need a Gramm-Rudman for interagency, or at least a Title tweak like was done for SOCOM.

We've got to get the government talking to and working with itself, and I don't see any way right now to improve it short of legislatively forcing connections to occur...