A Destroyer the size of (actually longer than) a WWII Battleship with decreased AAW capability than its predecessor. No ASW capability other than helicopters. But it looks cool and has a Captain with a cool name.
That ship is named after Admiral Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt, Jr., who served as Chief of Naval Operations in the years before his retirement.
When he retired he was chosen to be the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of a company named American Medical Buildings. I was a 30 something VP of that Fortune 500 size company at that time, and the company's President and CEO assigned me the responsibility of getting Zumwalt up to speed on what AMB did and how we did it.
The guy was remarkable. As bright a human as I'd ever met. Engaging, funny, but also no-nonsense whet it came to ethics and performance. Within a month I was taking him with me to meet with prospective clients. He was powerful and direct, and more often than not we won contracts to design and build very expensive buildings.
Bud had some peculiarities. All staff meetings were held standing up so that nobody would get too comfortable and start wasting time. Memos were limited to one page; proposals limited to two pages. If you couldn't express an idea on one page or a proposal in two, it was thrown back at you with an admonishment to start over and clarify your thinking. Meetings started exactly on the second. The door was closed, those not there were not let into the room. He was tough.
At the same time he was generous and kind. If he worked a guy on his team late for a few weeks, he'd send the guy's wife flowers and a handwritten apology. He'd remember your kids birthdays and send them cards. He sent my then middle school age son a wonderful letter of encouragement offering to help if he decided to apply for admission to Annapolis.
Bud was a controversial leader in the Navy. He changed rules so enlisted men could wear traditional Naval bell-bottom dungarees on ship, and could grow moustaches. He'd reach down into the lower ranks of officers and promote younger officers over older, higher ranking (and hide-bound) older officers.
The great tragedy in Bud's life was that his son, a young Naval officer contracted cancer and died a lingering death due to Agent Orange exposure, having been in-country when his father ordered Agent Orange spraying. Bud became an ally of former military and their families in seeking redress from the government for the use of Agent Orange, a chemical he was told by the manufacturer and Navy brass was not harmful to humans.
I worked with Bud Zumwalt for a bit more than two years. I went on to another employer; Bud moved back east robe near his very ill son, his daughter in law, and their children. He'd send an email every two months or so with an update on his son's condition, and a request for prayers. The last email I received from Bud described his son's funeral and burial. It was heartbreaking to read.
Bud Zumwalt deserved to have a ship named after him. He was a remarkable leader at a time when the Navy needed to be brought into the modern era. I am eternally grateful for the time I worked with him, and for the conversations we had during the downtime traveling to/from an assignment.
Thanks for sharing that story, Haz - the admiral sounds like quite a guy - we don't seem to produce Americans like him these days.
Short memos, proposals and meetings are all great ideas. That's true leadership right there.
And we most likely never will again considering top brass cares more about their ranks, pay, retirement, and privilege. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about crooners like Dean Martin/Sinatra and that era of the Rat Pack and a little before and how that type of music and those types of men will never be among us again and I ask him to just compare anybody like that today and he thought about it and then got slightly repulsed and said, "All we are producing is high pitched, staccato baby men." Then we lit our cigars on my porch and kicked each other in the nuts for stamina. :D
5 comments:
A Destroyer the size of (actually longer than) a WWII Battleship with decreased AAW capability than its predecessor. No ASW capability other than helicopters. But it looks cool and has a Captain with a cool name.
Still don't recommend messing with it.
That ship is named after Admiral Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt, Jr., who served as Chief of Naval Operations in the years before his retirement.
When he retired he was chosen to be the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of a company named American Medical Buildings. I was a 30 something VP of that Fortune 500 size company at that time, and the company's President and CEO assigned me the responsibility of getting Zumwalt up to speed on what AMB did and how we did it.
The guy was remarkable. As bright a human as I'd ever met. Engaging, funny, but also no-nonsense whet it came to ethics and performance. Within a month I was taking him with me to meet with prospective clients. He was powerful and direct, and more often than not we won contracts to design and build very expensive buildings.
Bud had some peculiarities. All staff meetings were held standing up so that nobody would get too comfortable and start wasting time. Memos were limited to one page; proposals limited to two pages. If you couldn't express an idea on one page or a proposal in two, it was thrown back at you with an admonishment to start over and clarify your thinking. Meetings started exactly on the second. The door was closed, those not there were not let into the room. He was tough.
At the same time he was generous and kind. If he worked a guy on his team late for a few weeks, he'd send the guy's wife flowers and a handwritten apology. He'd remember your kids birthdays and send them cards. He sent my then middle school age son a wonderful letter of encouragement offering to help if he decided to apply for admission to Annapolis.
Bud was a controversial leader in the Navy. He changed rules so enlisted men could wear traditional Naval bell-bottom dungarees on ship, and could grow moustaches. He'd reach down into the lower ranks of officers and promote younger officers over older, higher ranking (and hide-bound) older officers.
The great tragedy in Bud's life was that his son, a young Naval officer contracted cancer and died a lingering death due to Agent Orange exposure, having been in-country when his father ordered Agent Orange spraying. Bud became an ally of former military and their families in seeking redress from the government for the use of Agent Orange, a chemical he was told by the manufacturer and Navy brass was not harmful to humans.
I worked with Bud Zumwalt for a bit more than two years. I went on to another employer; Bud moved back east robe near his very ill son, his daughter in law, and their children. He'd send an email every two months or so with an update on his son's condition, and a request for prayers. The last email I received from Bud described his son's funeral and burial. It was heartbreaking to read.
Bud Zumwalt deserved to have a ship named after him. He was a remarkable leader at a time when the Navy needed to be brought into the modern era. I am eternally grateful for the time I worked with him, and for the conversations we had during the downtime traveling to/from an assignment.
If it isn't going to blow chinks out of the sea, then what good is it?
Thanks for sharing that story, Haz - the admiral sounds like quite a guy - we don't seem to produce Americans like him these days.
Short memos, proposals and meetings are all great ideas. That's true leadership right there.
Sixty Grit said...
Thanks for sharing that story, Haz - the admiral sounds like quite a guy - we don't seem to produce Americans like him these days.
Short memos, proposals and meetings are all great ideas. That's true leadership right there.
And we most likely never will again considering top brass cares more about their ranks, pay, retirement, and privilege. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about crooners like Dean Martin/Sinatra and that era of the Rat Pack and a little before and how that type of music and those types of men will never be among us again and I ask him to just compare anybody like that today and he thought about it and then got slightly repulsed and said, "All we are producing is high pitched, staccato baby men." Then we lit our cigars on my porch and kicked each other in the nuts for stamina. :D
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