... the face has it!

OK - people have spoken, well voted, and the face wins. I have updated twitter to match. Personally, I voted for the cartoon - but it didn't win. Theory has it that it maybe a self image issue!

Thanks for all those that voted. This is democracy without tax increases.

... i need a new picture for my twitter id.

Please vote using the POLL on the right.

.… Alex should take a H-I-T.

Today A-Rod meets the press in Tampa for what I expect is going to be a long day. In case he needs it, here is my advice. Take a H-I-T and don’t mean from Phelps’s bong – although from what people have told me it might help him relax.

A couple of times in my work life I have been in companies and situations where things were tough. They were embarrassing and messy. Pride is often a good thing but as we know, it comes before a fall. Some marketing managers and less experienced PR people tend to want to ‘sugar-coat’ the story and use ‘weasel words’ to try and find a way through the mess.

Don’t do it.

It always comes back double (at least). For me, I always suggest H-I-T.

For me H-I-T stands for Honesty-Integrity- Transparency and it’s my advice on how to handle his press conference this afternoon. It sounds like ‘tough love’ and it is. He will not like it but if he wants this thing to end anytime soon, he should follow these rules.

With one exception.

Don’t confuse the transparency with blaming others. Offer what proof you have of your innocence and if you have none for your past, offer it for your future. I wouldn’t say ‘trust me’ (that’s one that can come back to bite!) but you can offer to be tested and publish results.

Unless of course he is still cheating, in which case, there is a theory that states … nothing can save him but his millions.

... that this could be big news.

After a long and detailed, some what or completely unscientific, poll on Twitter - I have decided to change my Twitter id to @nigeldessau.

I tell my team at work we should operate with honestly, integrity and transparency. I was worrying that the 'legin' handle had the chance of making it look like I was hiding behind something. Thus the change!

… you always get caught in the end.

As I sit here in my Yankees t-shirt reading A-Rod drug stories, I have to admit that I want this theory to be a fact. Not sure Alex Rodriguez would feel the same way – unless he is of course innocent, in which case he should sue SI and become even fabulously wealthy.

Problem for A-rod is this - if he’s on the list then he’s on the list. Putting him on the list, he may argue, was wrong – but he’s there. Sad to see him do what The Rocket did and go down in flames.

The interesting bit for me here is not if he did it or not do it (I can guess) but how he’s now managing the reaction. I think Mike Lupica’s piece in the NY Daily News makes the point really well when he compares A-rod to Phelps.

Michael Phelps got caught this past week in a different kind of story and a different kind of headline, involving a college party and Phelps allegedly smoking dope.

It is a sports misdemeanor compared to what A-Rod is now charged with, and had nothing to do with the records Phelps set in Beijing. But when the picture of Phelps with that bong began to circulate out of London and around the world, here is what Phelps finally said:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect of me. For this, I'm sorry. I promise my fans and my public it will not happen again."

Sports Illustrated went to Rodriguez for a comment and he said, "You'll have to talk to the union."

I remember when I made my first mistake at IBM (I made many) and I quickly told my supervisor. I was nervous but he was not worried. A mistake quickly fixed is not a problem. It’s the cover-up that kills you (eh, Martha?).

From a PR point of view I also think A-rod is making a real mess here. The truth out is always the best strategy. Say what you know. Come clean. Sit through the press conference and the world will move on. There is always another JonBenét Ramsey story around the corner - sadly.

Back to baseball: I am pissed that A-rod is on this list and Torre’s book isn't helping either. These are distractions that the Yankees don’t need. But NY has never loved A-rod and I have never been a great fan. Jeter is there when the action is hot. A-rod is somewhere practicing him swing.

As one of my Twitter buddies tweeted to me yesterday “Arod never understood why New Yorkers love 250 hitters who hit 500 in the World Series and not 320 hitters who go 063 in the playoffs.”

Pitchers and Catchers report for duty in less than a week. There is a theory that we should just let them play ball. I suspect lots of other stuff will be tossed around before we get to that.

… that planes arrive on time.

I have always wondered if flights are as really on time as airlines say/think they are.

We are used to hearing airlines say that a majority are, but my experience was very different. With that in mind I decided to keep track of all the flights I did last year – all 110 of them. There maybe some debate as to when we leave and arrive, as well as what control the airlines has over those times (actually, I don’t really care if it’s the airline or the airport) but I am still the traveler and I am still on time or late.

To give as much flexibility as possible, I noted the following times on every flight I took last year:

- Official departure time
- Pushback from gate
- Take-off time
- Original time of arrival (ETA) – what it said when I booked
- Landing time
- First person off the plane
- My bag off the belt time (if I checked luggage)

During a long flight back from the UK this weekend I finally looked over my spreadsheet and here are my results. I am giving percentages but that’s pretty close to the actual numbers.

Of the 110 flights only 36% of them arrived on time.

In other words, the first person got off the plane on or earlier than the ETA only 40 times over the 110 flights. Not really surprising when you consider only 9% of the flights took off before the departure time. Some would say that was unfair because there are ATC and all sorts of weather delays to blame in this number. Maybe, but when only 35% of flights even leaving the gate or on before departure time, I am not so sure. A majority of these are from Austin where the plane if often early.

These delays mean that on average you should expect to push-back from the gate an average of 11 minutes late and you will not take off until, on average, 24 minutes after your departure time.
The good news is that you will land only 6 minutes after your ETA and could be off the plane only 14 minutes later than ETA as shown. If you have bags you should wait about 15 minutes for them (unless you are in Las Vegas – when it can take for ever).

This was better than I had expected but I think moving to Austin really helped. If you fly in and out of bigger hubs I expect it is not this good.

Only two flights were canceled and American is better (maybe Austin effect) than United.

So what did I learn from this effort?

Not much, it was something to-do for 110 flights. Also when I was really delayed (worst delay was 210 minutes) I knew if no-one else cared – at least my spreadsheet would.

There is a theory that states on a plane my spreadsheet could hear me scream.