From the fabricator: Hoping for a speedy recovery

 

Without question, this past week was dominated by the destruction from the massive storm that hit New York, New Jersey, Virginia and other spots along the East Coast.  I, like so many others, hoped this storm would not be as bad as expected, but unfortunately in many cases, it was worse.  My heart breaks thinking about the loss of life and looking at the damage.  There's no question that it will take a very long time to recover.  No doubt, we are a resilient nation, and I know tragedies like this usually bring out the best in people and I expect that to happen here.  To all affected by the storm, here’s hoping and wishing you a speedy return to normalcy.
Elsewhere…
  • By the way, you may note I did not call the storm, “Super Storm Sandy,” as that name just is so annoying to me. This was a massive storm of destruction, and the media’s name for it sounds like a character on a children’s TV show.
  • There’s no doubt this week is a huge one, as the election is finally here!  I am thinking we’ll either have a blowout and it will be settled by 11 p.m. election night, or we’ll have a battle that won’t be decided for a very long time with the lawyers and courts involved.  No middle ground.  No matter what, at least the commercials will finally come to an end!
  • In the last several weeks, I have talked about trade shows and their success this year.  Some folks have disagreed with me; one in particular felt that the AIA show was not as good as I noted.  It got me thinking about what goes into making the show successful, and it is more than just a great booth.  It’s the pre-show promotion, using social media, communicating with customers/attendees, having something to draw people to the booth and so on.  Some of the groups that do that extremely well are preparing for Greenbuild with strong pre-show efforts.  Examples like producing great videos the way Guardian is, foreshadowing a new product launch like Viracon is, or creating a contest like Duo Gard is.  I am pretty confident that pre-show efforts like this will amount to a good show performance.  If you're doing something to push pre show, I’d love to hear about it. And, I’ll also be curious as to how it turned out.
  • A last note on the shows: a wise man recently told me that anyone who thinks the show can be replaced by online or electronic means is crazy.  There is no replacement for the personal effect and the ability to see, touch and feel on a show floor.
  • It's been a while since I was able to finish a book, but I just did this weekend and it’s a good one.  “The Last Headbangers- NFL Football in the Rowdy 1970’s” by Kevin Cook is a really strong read.  Especially if you are or were a fan of the 70s Raiders, Steelers, Dolphins or Cowboys. I think you would enjoy this lookback at football before it went off the charts in popularity.
  • Last this week, more pressure on my pals over at the Department of Energy with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce now asking questions about a $400 million loan to failed solar company Abound.  According to the story, an independent consultant helped push the DOE to approve the loan.  Knowing how some consultants are so very loved at the DOE and the folks there would jump into a lake if said consultants would ask, I could easily see this happening.  Something tells me this is not the last we’ll see about issues like this.

 

The author is founder of Sole Source Consultants, a consulting firm for the building products industry that specializes in marketing, branding, communication strategy and overall reputation management, as well as website and social media, and codes and specifications. E-mail him at MaxP@SoleSourceConsultants.com.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

 

 

Comments

According to the story, an independent consultant helped push the DOE to approve the loan. Knowing how some consultants are so very loved at the DOE and the folks there would jump into a lake if said consultants would ask, e-papierosy
e-papierosy

Anonymous
April 23, 2013 - 8:39am

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