Transformational Work at Raytheon in Indiana

800+ words just doesn't do justice. As I've previously grumbled in this Blog, trying to fit an entire experience and/or interviews into my Chicago-based Midwest Business column ("The Hoosier Coefficient") is tough to do in 800-900 words.

Just was the case during my recent trip inside the Raytheon defense citadel in Fort Wayne. As readers of the MB Chicago column already know (if you haven't read it, here's a link: http://indiana.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=19283), trying to explain the Raytheon-developed "Networked Urban Operations Test Bed" (NUOTB) and its profound implications for saving lives and improving national security in 800+ words represents a singularly tough assignment.

The cutting-edge technology that I was able to view was indeed impressive. Surrounded by plasma screens and projected data, it was easy to see how combat commanders and civil authorities could much more quickly grasp, understand and act on key data as it emerged from turbulent environments (such as a riot, battlefield, raging fire, etc.). As the defense folks put it, NUOTB "collapses the communication dimension."

Whether or not the profundity of that came across in the column is up to the reader's judgment.

My takeaway? If Indiana-based engineers and professional staff can come up with superb innovation such as this, then the $6 billion in defense and related contracts that presently land in the state are no way representative of the true capacity that Indiana could be making to national technology advancements.

If you could sit in one of the chairs above (as I did in early June), you might be surprised as to the depth of innovation that is already well established, both in Fort Wayne and elsewhere in the Hoosier state.

Return to Forever Engages Indy

The presence of Chris Katterjohn, publisher of the Indianapolis Business Journal, summed it up. This was no ordinary "boomer" concert. This was engagement at its height. (more about the digital marketing aspect in a moment)

For jazz fusion fans, the unexpected reunion of four extraordinary musicians - read Legends with a capital "L" - was akind to a 21st century reuniting of the Beatles. Chick Corea (keyboards), Stanley Clark (bass), Al Di Meola (guitar) and Lenny White (percussion) haven't played or recorded together for a quarter of a century. The ensemble was widely viewed in the 1970s as the greatest collection of talent then manifested in a four piece jazz group.

Back then, as now, their compositions (while obviously not for everyone) required a consummate, don't-try-this-at-home level of talent, energy and gift-laden ability. The 2,000+ people who showed up June 22 were equally unusual. I turned 54 today (June 23) and if anything, I was on the young side of the crowd. I was surrounded by doctors, lawyers, academicians, mothers, grandfathers and people who obviously looked to be pushing 60, if not higher (sorry, Mr. Katterjohn). These were serious jazz fans, who like me, had been smitten with the raw virtuosity of the group some quarter of a century ago and never forgot it.

By the way, if you don't think that boomers are going to outlive the millennial generation (or at least die trying), then you should have been at this concert. Perfectly respectful people instantly gave the group the first of many deserved standing ovations when they walked onstage, even before they had played a note.

The concert, of course, was unforgettable. But that was just the beginning.

Today, after dragging my now half-century+ old bones off to work and back, I Googled "Return to Forever" at home to see whether there was some vestige of the happy memory of just 20 or so hours ago. Lo and behold, at http://www.return2forever.com/index.cfm there was an outstanding social media site that already was replete was numerous concert and related photos (see above), including music and commentary from the June 22 performance!

For a band that shattered the jazz music mold back in the 1970s, I guess one should expect no less in the online realm from Return to Forever. There, as digitally vibrant as it gets, was Al Di Meola in the Indy Murat Theatre with his $100,000 1959 Les Paul (thanks to Brian Alexander, a long-time friend from Los Angeles and chief tech for Corea, for the pre-concert stage run-through -- whew!), Corea with the rebuilt and updated 70s-era Moog synthesizer, and great, great memories, all newly renewed thanks to some superb social media architecture.

I had planned to spend a couple of minutes rummaging through the site (that is, if I could find one, which I did instantly on Google), and now, nearly two hours later, the site is still live behind the post editor for this entry. If that's not digital engagement, then I give up.

The lessons for social media marketing that I took away? 1) Start with a great product 2) Personalize content to reach out to consumers 3) Provide a digital feedback loop for visitors to engage and offer up contact info 4) Mix in great images that relate directly to your audience 5) Punch it all up online in less than 24 hours

Obviously a great deal of pre-tour planning work went into this site before Corea and company ever got on the tour bus, so add a couple of more take-aways: 6) Design and build your architecture for from-the-road-less-than-great-conditions posting 7) Build content from everywhere and execute!

Thanks, Chick, Stanley, Al and Lenny. In his onstage remarks, Lenny was right about two things for sure: 1) Indianapolis is definitely a jazz town, and 2) Don't wait another quarter of a century before you get back together. Meanwhile, check out RTF's Web presence some great examples of 21st century state-of-the-art social media.

A Competitive DIESEL at the Indy 500?

While Americans bitterly complain about the rising costs of gas for traditional (or even hybrid) piston -driven cars, a diesel revolution is well under way in Europe. Without much fanfare in the U.S., two years ago, a diesel-powered entry by Audi took first place at the storied 24 Hours of LeMans. This year, as AutoWeek put it, "The Audi pilots drove the wheels off their LMP1-class R10 TDI turbodiesel" to capture the 2008 LeMans race again.

Diesel? DIESEL?

Writing about the 2006 race, one blogger put it this way: "[The 2006 Audi diesel win produced] an important turning point in the perception (held by many Americans) that diesels are noisy, stinky, and slow: the Audis were the quietest, cleanest, and fastest cars in the race. Significantly, they were also the most fuel efficient."

The last time a diesel engine powered a competitive car at the Indianapolis 500 was in 1952, when a turbocharged diesel engine surprised all hands and captured the Pole Position. Track debris clogged up the air intake during the race and ultimately forced the Cummins diesel out, never to be seen again in real competition.

Major props to Speedway guru Tony George for requiring all current Indy cars to run on ethanol, setting an example that vehicles run on alternative biofuels can indeed go very fast. However, once upon a time the 500 was thought to be the top point of automotive innovation, pioneering new technology for commercial vehicles.

With a mind toward further restoring that legendary brand, mayhap 500 officials ought to take a squint at the Indy league rulebook and see if they can open up the door for a diesel engine or two.

If in fact Audi diesels are "the quietest, cleanest and fastest cars," maybe we could do with a few million of those on American roads today. If in Indy cars, perhaps soon on an Interstate near you?

Taiwan and Indiana

About a month ago, our firm, The MEK Group, was privileged to co-host a private reception for ranking Taiwan diplomatic officials from Chicago with Barnes & Thornburg. Indianapolis is a sister city of Taiwan's capital, and Mayor Greg Ballard was kind enough to drop by.

What struck me again was the true international elements inherent in the city, which I once cheerfully abandoned in 1976 for a 20-year stint in agency and academic life in southern California.

Senior representatives from Lilly, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), CB Richard Ellis and other Indy based companies all easily conversed at length about major global trends and their impact on the Hoosier state. John Aplin, a notable senior venture capitalist, recounted his role in starting up the first MBA program in the 1980s in China when he was part of the Indiana University business faculty.

If you want to know how important Taiwan really is both to the United States and Indiana, run a Google search on the M1 and M2 U.S. money supply, and see how many good old American greenbacks reside in that little Asian nation.

A Conversation with Scott Jones, Indiana's Serial Tech Entrepreneur

It's been a busy Spring, and so no entries for a while. To catch up, I wanted in late April to write about a late night conversation/interview I had then with Scott Jones, Indiana's premier serial tech entrepreneur. At the time, Jones had just consummated a $260 million deal to sell Gracenote, one of his many successful companies.

I covered the news of the sale in my Chicago Midwest Business column, which can be accessed directly from this link: http://www.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=19122.

One of the many things that didn't make it into the column was the tenor of Scott's seemingly never-ending enthusiasm for the role that technology can play in improving the quality of human life.

When my cell phone rang, it was about 10 p.m. and I didn't recognize the number. It was Scott, driving from the Indy airport, where he had just arrived back from the deal signing in California. I was driving as well, so I thought I'd better pull over, because one thing is for certain: you can't talk to Scott Jones on a cell phone, drive a car on I-465 and take notes all at the same time. So there, sitting on the north side of I-465, Scott animatedly told me about Gracenote and its impact on Apple and the rest of the music world.

Scott seemed in a hurry to wrap up his comments about Gracenote, which I mistakenly presumed meant he was tired from the trip from California. Having written a number of speeches (2000-2001) for Scott, I should have known better. Scott simply wanted to talk about the next big thing. Gracenote was sold and that was cool, but ChaCha -- the mobile search wunderkind -- was clearly on his mind. The next day, Scott hinted, the Wall Street Journal was going to drop the all-time validation of ChaCha technology in the form of a column from tech icon Walter Mossberg.

Scott, of course, was right. And like days of old, he emailed a WSJ link to the story to me at about 2 a.m.

Now I had two stories to cover in one column, which does not for a short period of time make.

The other bit that didn't make it into the column was the comments that Sequoia Capital -- the mega-tech venture capital firm that posted up some serious dough in Gracenote -- had to make about Jones and his work. I called out to Sequoia in the Silicon Valley for some background info about Scott, and unfortunately didn't secure that (there are, by the way, three hours time difference between Indiana and California) until after the Hoosier Coefficient column was shipped up to Chicago barely on deadline.

As VCs go, an investment by Sequoia in your tech company basically means that you're in the top 1% of all desirable and viable investments on the continent. There certainly wasn't any surprise on behalf of Sequoia that Scott had nailed a cool quarter of a billion as an asking price. What they wanted to know was what Scott was interested in doing next, suggesting that the Gracenote investment wasn't the last one they'll be making in a Scott Jones company.

Indiana is lucky to have him.