Do you ever sit back and wonder what kind of leader you are? Are the people who work for you inspired by you or are they there with you because you are the only game in town? Would they stay with you if another very similar company opened up across the street? Think about that, […]
Book Review: The Inventor’s Dilemma: The Remarkable Life of H. Joseph Gerber
The Inventor’s Dilemma: The Remarkable Life of H. Joseph Gerber by David Gerber Copyright 2015 Yale University Press Pages: 400 and Index This is the story of the man who changed our industry. Everyone in the PCB industry should read this book. All of us who have heard about, talked about, and used “Gerbers” for our […]
What Do Your Customers Really Think Of You?
As always, it’s all about the customers and more importantly, it really gets down to what your customers think about you. I want you to really think about this for a minute or two. What do your customers think about your company? What do they think about how you do business? Would they recommend you […]
We Have To Work Together Or Else!
Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival. One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, […]
Book Review – Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and other Difficult People
A book review from Dan Beaulieu: Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and other Difficult People by Alan Willett This is the book you’ve been looking for…even if you don’t know it. I approached this book with a bit of trepidation. I wasn’t sure what this was going to be about. But […]
Selling Value Is Always Valuable
Looking at the title of this column, you might be saying to yourself, “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” but stop and think for a minute. What can you offer that goes way beyond the product itself? What can you offer that will get your customer thinking beyond price issues? What do you have to offer that […]
The Incredible Exploding Email!
Has this ever happened to you? You start off an email to a co-worker warning her about this customer of yours who is a real jerk and outlining a potential problem they are about to cause for no good reason but that he is a jerk who likes to push people around and if you […]
Book Recommendation – Agile PR: Expert Messaging in a Hyper-Connected Always-on World
A book recommendation from Dan Beaulieu: Agile PR: Expert Messaging in a Hyper-Connected Always-on World By Marian Salman and the team at Havas PR Copyright 2017Amacom Price $29.95 Pages: 243 with Index Connecting stories in the new age of Social Media This is one strong book, especially to those of us who are just hanging […]
What Customers Really Want
When it comes to what customers really want there is one big secret. They think that they want our products or services. They think that they want us to deliver good products on time. They think that they want good quality. They think that they want a great price (or “great value” as they would […]
Catching up with…Coast to Coast Circuits CEO Walt Stender
Coast to Coast is an independent American circuit board manufacturing company. Yes, the key word here is “independent.” After many mergers and acquisitions that have diminished the mil/aero PCB vendor base, there are only a handful of independent companies for our country’s defense and aerospace contractors to choose from. Concerned about the demise of mil/aero […]