From the fabricator: Talent on display

One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing negative comments about the talent in our industry. The comments, which have become more prominent recently, basically assert that too much of our little piece of the world is lacking the brainpower of other industries. I am sorry, but that is just plain wrong.  As an industry, we are very unique, and admittedly, we don't always do the smartest things. In my opinion, however, that doesn't stem from a lack of talent but from other out-of-control factors. (And I guarantee you that 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.  For example, I would put guys like Oliver Stepe of YKK, Devin Bowman of TGP and Garret Henson of Viracon up against anyone from any other industry. And I believe I’d win. And these are just guys I can think of off 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 family business model also draws criticism, as so many companies in our world are family operations. But that is not a bad thing. A great example of a family success that probably doesn’t get enough pub is 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 has been negative. But now, there’s a chance that we could be moving into a positive space. With the resignation of Dr. Steven Chu, there will be a new leader coming on. With some impressive fresh blood now in the organization, I am very hopeful.
• The ABI went up again. That news, combined with last year's totals, means we should have a great year, right?
• I’m told the new show “The Americans” is really something to see.  Hopefully, I'm going to check that out 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, "The Rock" is truly an American star. His best spot was the milk commercial. And the halftime piece from Jeep was fantastic. On the flip side, I thought the Doritos 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...

Read on for links and clip of the week.

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.