Talent on Display

One of the great pet peeves I have is hearing the negative comments about the talent in our industry.  Basically the discussion, which has become more prominent in recent times, follows the theme that too much of our little piece of the world is lacking the brainpower compared to other industries.  I am sorry, but that is just plain wrong.  I know as an industry we are very unique and we do things that are probably not the smartest.  However that in my opinion doesn’t come from a question of talent but other out of control factors. (And I can guarantee you other industries have similar issues- no world is perfect)  In all honesty, I believe we are loaded with men and women who could transfer into any industry and do VERY well.  As a brief example, guys like Oliver Stepe of YKK, Devin Bowman of TGP, and Garret Henson of Viracon I would put up against anyone from any other industry.  And I believe I’d win.  And these guys are just from the top of my head.  At the end of the day, it is an absolute fallacy that we lack talent, there’s tons of it; maybe some folks just don’t want to look for it.

Elsewhere…

--  As a side note to the above, I believe our whole “Family Business” model is what also bring us heat as so many companies in our world are family operations.  But that is not a bad thing (sure I am biased as heck here) A great example of a family success that probably doesn’t get enough pub?  Companies like My Shower Door/D3 Glass with the Daubmann family at the helm.  Success is not an accident there- it took some talent for sure.

--  Obviously I have written a ton about the DOE over the years and most of it negative, but now there’s a chance that we could be moving into a positive space.  With the resignation of Dr. Steven Chu, they’ll be a new leader coming on.   Add that fact with some impressive fresh blood now in the organization and taking bigger roles, I am very hopeful.

--  ABI went up again… so with that news, and with most of last year’s totals, we should have a great year right? 

--  I’m told the new show “The Americans” is really something to see.  Going to check that out hopefully this week.

--  Last this week... the Super Bowl... the power outage?  Crazy eh?  The comeback?  Even crazier.  Me losing a Super Bowl Square payout because of the safety?  Depressing.  Anyway on to the commercials...  Overall I thought they were weak. On the good side:  I really liked the M&M's "Anything for Love" spot, enjoyed the the fantasy of the "Go Daddy" ad and got a kick out of the Oreo library commercial.  Plus no doubt "The Rock" is truly an American star, with him being in a bunch of spots with the best one being his "Milk" commercial.   And the halftime piece from JEEP was fantastic.  On the flip side, I thought the Dorito's spots missed badly, and I have no idea why Budweiser keeps introducing new beers during this game with such awful and unmemorable efforts.

Oh and I did pick the Ravens... from the start of the season... the blind squirrel found the acorn for sure...

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Wow- great customer service and a customer surely determined to get some.  Wild story.

--  Tremendous story of a pizza franchise that gets it.  And now that I am eating Pizza again, next time I have a chance, I’m ordering from these guys.

--  This story is too wild.  A girl had to sue to be able to use her given name?  And it's not a wild one either.  Worth the quick read.

VIDEO of the WEEK

Charles Barkley does the weather.  Always a comical guy…