Reed Mullen, Sir Reed the Optimistic, became a Knight of VM in 1997. He was the senior planner for most of VM/ESA and for some of the z/VM lineage as well. Senior Planner was the title, but he was more than that. His vision, creativeness, and articulation are the yardstick by which others are measured today.
He is also the only IBMer to have his own bobble-head figure:
And what discussion about Reed would be complete without the infamous cheese-butt story. The following picture circulated at SHARE, showing Reed wearing not a cheese-head, but a cheese-butt. Reed is a serious Packers fan. I believe this picture was just prior to the Packer's 1997 attempt to repeat as Super Bowl Champs.
Five or six years ago, I picked up the book "Vital Friends: People You Can't Afford to Live Without", by Tom Rath. It discusses the importance of friendship, particularly in the workplace. The book discusses eight vital roles that friends play. It also has a little web based application to help you determine which roles your friends play. Reed's roles came out to be: collaborator, mind opener, and navigator.
As a collaborator, Reed and I do have several common interests and we relate to one another well. It has allowed us to pool our resources and talents at times. In March of 2005, Reed and I did a series of CMG regional conferences that hosted "Virtualization" days. Reed and I represented z/VM and then they'd also have speakers from VMware and Microsoft. I would cover the technical basics and Reed the business aspects. We kicked butt.
As a mind opener, Reed really did help me see the business side of things. He also was a help in tempering my passion when it got the best of me. Lastly, he was able to point me to the upside of most situations.
The third role was navigator. This didn't mean telling me which direction to go. Often it was more about helping me talk through the options I faced. The process of working through the pros and cons allowed me to come to a decision in which I had confidence. Reed as a navigator is ironic in one perspective. When traveling by car, Reed hates to be in the passenger seat, especially if the driver goes slow.
Which reminds me of one of my favorite Reed stories. I believe we were coming back from the CMG regional meeting in Washington DC, in late March of 2005. Though it may have been a Hillgang meeting. We had driven (ok, I drove for about 15 minutes and then Reed wanted to drive). On the way home, we stopped for dinner in Frackville, PA, on Route 81. Shortly after getting back on the highway we saw some flurries. Until then, the roads had been clear. Within the next couple miles as we climbed in elevation, the snow was more significant and several inches could be seen on the shoulders. Traffic slowed. And then in a section of the divided highway cut through some hills, traffic stopped. We surmised there was an accident. After several minutes of standing still, Reed called home to tell his wife that he'd be late. It was probably around 7 or 8pm at that time.
After an hour or so of not moving, Reed would call his wife to let her know that he probably wouldn't be home tonight, that once we got moving, we'd find a hotel. At this point, our laptop batteries were close to 0%. Another hour went by with us moving about, ... well not moving at all. We took inventory. Neither of us had any food or anything to drink. For a brief period, I thought Reed was looking at me like in the cartoons, where I had transformed into a big turkey drumstick.
During inventory, Reed pointed out that we didn't have much fuel left. We decided to turn off the engine. While snow is a good insulator, the metal and glass rental car was a better conductor, aided by the winds cutting through the pass. As the optimist, Reed would point how great it would feel when we turned the engine back on and heat worked its magic. We would do that several times in the hours of standing still that followed. We would doze off periodically. I tried to keep one eye open, remembering that drumstick image.
Around 2am, we'd hear someone tapping on windshields telling people to wake up and move. Apparently a big part of the delay was truckers who had gone to sleep and were harder to wake up back in the sleeper cabs. As we started moving, we could see several snowmen built along side the road. Based on them, we believe the back up was well over a mile. We would end up driving straight home, after we stopped to fill the tank.
There are few people with which I'd rather be stranded than Reed. Though, I now always make sure I have a full tank of gas, something to eat, and water when traveling that stretch of Route 81. We love to tell that story now. I can't hear "Frackville" without thinking of my friend Reed.
Reed was a leader in VM, not because of a title of Senior Planner, but because he lead and people followed. His ability to communicate surpassed only by his character and integrity.
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