Updated: 9/1/09; 12:12:10 PM.
Gary Mintchell's Feed Forward
Manufacturing and Leadership.
        

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

And, since I'm on a roll this morning out on my patio before my workout--just a reminder that I'll be moving this fall to http://garymintchellsfeedforward.squarespace.com as the Userland site shuts down. This is post number 2100 through almost six years. I've had as many as 100,000 unique page views in a month and usually between 55,000 and 70,000. Thanks to all of you for reading and contributing back. I'm posting to both sites for the time being and will let you know when I make the definitive switch. You could start moving over any time. (I'm still developing the site. Been way too busy this month. But probably no coffee mug with the Radio logo.)

(I wouldn't go to the bank with those numbers, or sell advertising against them, but they're an indication of interest in commentary on automation--and maybe soccer and marketing and life.)

7:44:52 AM    comment []

I received an anonymous comment to one of my Invensys posts. Normally I just delete anonymous comments and spam. I'll let this one sit, but in no way to I want to become a Jim Pinto-style "gripe log." Mr. "Well Informed" bemoans the end of an era for Wonderware. Yes, he/she is right. It has managed to remain rather independent in the midst of a large organization. All its competitors who sold out have been subsumed into their respective corporations. It's sad in a way, but also a reality of business. As for greed, I'm not well-informed there. I don't know Ulf personally. However, you work for a public company. Public companies are a) always for sale (that's why they sell stock) and b) always out to maximize shareholder return. Years ago stockholders were upset that top managers didn't watch the stock market closely enough, so they changed the reward system to include huge bonuses in stock--if the stock went up. I think many are re-thinking this strategy, but if you work for a public company understand the dynamics.

7:38:10 AM    comment []

Another Podcast was posted. In this episode of Automation Minutes, I jump across the pond (via Skype) to talk Lean Manufacturing with Jean-Christophe Ledoux of consulting firm Accenture and Yves Vergnolle, of software supplier Apriso about a project where the companies combined to provide a software solution to companies looking for tools to help them implement Lean Manufacturing. The guests call in from France for this episode.
7:26:19 AM    comment []

I started a heck of a thread with a post on Twitter, blogs and communications. I just read another blog post from Scoble who talks about why he still does Twitter--he's in a constant quest for the latest news. He's right, you'll get news first from Twitter. You get thought later in a blog. Magazines, on the other hand, need to have even more research and analysis to remain relevant. Newspapers have a problem. I think they have to become more local--and remember they're still the best places for coupons. I know there are Web sites, but newspapers are "in your face."

You'll have to click the link above and read the comments. They are great. I have had little time the past several weeks to update so many different vehicles. And when I wanted to Tweet more, the service was down. Twitter is just going to have to get more reliable. The other problem with Twitter is it's ephemeral. Old posts get lost. So don't put thoughts there, just quick updates or news or conversation. Some people thought Twitter would replace blogs. No, it's a different form of discourse for different stuff.

By the way, all this social media stuff--check out this social media blog. I've heard talk about ROI lately regarding advertising and reaching prospects. I think what I heard was relating it to "leads." Leads are names of people who click a link. But people, leads don't give return. Return means money--sales. ROI is that amount of money you earn on a money investment in something. Your boss (or you if you're the boss) wants metrics these days (probably have an MBA with little or no experience in the sales trenches). Names on clicks or even the number of clicks are a metric. Return is what YOU do with that. As Jason says in his post I just linked to, today you still generate more sales through traditional means. Maybe that changes in the future. Who knows?

Or, come to the ISA Sales and Marketing Summit in Boston Sept. 10-11 and discuss with us.

7:18:56 AM    comment []

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