Last week was one of my favorite ones of the year; I got to hand out our
Product of the Year Awards in Silicon Valley. This year our awards are beautiful, engraved marble plaques. I'm always sorry that I cannot get around the whole country to present all the Awards but we do as many as possible in person.
The process generally involves the company organizing the presentation with a mixture of management and engineers attending. Last week we had CEOs, VPs, design engineers and marketing staff in attendance.
I concoct a little, off-the-cuff, short speech about the product -- and why the award, according to our totally undemocratic process, was made. I have never seen, in all the years we have been doing this, surprise or any kind of startlement on the faces of the company employees. What I do see on their faces is the fact that their very hard work is being validated by this guy who has the temerity to say it publicly.
But the shoe fits in the other direction as well. Every smiling design engineer, with an Award in his hands, completely validates what we are doing here at EN-Genius and it is heartwarming to see...and feel.
Where the trip fell down slightly was at one of my visits to one of the larger vendors. I am quite used to being asked, at some of the few remaining totally-sign-in lobbies, whether I am a US citizen or not. A valid question, maybe, if the company plans to brief you on defense projects -- although it hardly validates the person's security status anyway, even if you are American. And if I was a spy, military or industrial, I am unlikely to fall into the trap of saying I am not a citizen -- although it is nice to know that all aliens are considered dangerous automatically. I demur to the question and am happy to check the box as a non-US citizen.
Unfortunately, at this particular visit there was a new security track. Previously the company had had the tact of an elephant in demanding a photo ID from visitors. The fact that the person going to the lobby recognizes and greets you as yourself held no value for them. Smacks of a little Naziism? It is. It is the creation of an empire by a Hauptmann (Captain) who feels power over the little people.
But now, instead of a "are you a US citizen?" and a photo ID, this vendor's security has a "What nationality are you?" question. Whoa! None of your business, dude!
The security Scutze (Private) leapt for the phone to talk to his Hauptmann to seek orders for this flagrant breach of rules. His phone conversation plus the input from minutes on the phone with my PR escort explained that I would only be receiving information that is in the public domain. The Hauptmann finally released me into the building…which we promptly left at the back, into the public world, so we could go enter another part of the campus. And, of course, in this visit I was presented with a bunch of stuff that is really rather non-public.
The icing on the visit was that the company photographer decided to take the Award pictures in the lobby (more wood, less glitz) so this troupe of engineers and others stood around the Scutze's welcome desk with this rather unwelcome guest.
It all smacks of, "Are you a communist, Mr McGoldrick?" No, Senator, but we do see red when our rights are abused.
