by Gary Mintchell | Jan 30, 2010 | Commentary
National politics in the United States is in a period (not unusual to our history, by the way) where we have drawn into two sides with each saying the other is the embodiment of evil. This attitude spills over to other areas. My city of about 20,000 just went through a series of very bitter elections for increased local taxes for the school district. After several defeats, it finally passed last November–by one vote. It is almost three months after the election and people still are writing letters to the editor about the rich people in their luxurious homes foisting off higher taxes on the poor and elderly. Some even argue against their own economic well being. (One of the most vocal opponents to the levy is a rental unit owner. If the levy never passed, the schools would face massive cuts back to state minimum standards, reducing to a very low number people looking to move here, reducing property values, therefore reducing the potential customer base for his rentals and the value of his wealth in real estate. Oh, if life were only logical. I feel like Spock.)
Seth Godin ponders this psychology in his blog The False Solace of Vilification. Here is a sample:
A flood hits a town and innocent people die and buildings are destroyed. The widows and bereaved families take it out on the insurance adjuster or government official who has come to help.
The economic downturn hits a town hard and some residents attack, quite personally, the hard-working school board members who had nothing to do with the bad news and in fact represent one of the best ways to ultimately recover.
In each case, the person being hated on is precisely the person who can do the most to help. And yet sometimes, we can’t help ourselves. It takes significant emotional maturity to separate the event from the people in proximity to the event, and any marketer or organization that deals with the public needs to embrace the fact that just because you’re close to where the bad thing happened doesn’t mean it’s your fault.
Emotional maturity. Something I’ve been trying to attain for a very long time. Just when I think I’ve achieved balance, something happens and I explode. Fortunately that’s only once every other year or so anymore. But I’m sure we all need to strive for it. I once was in a training session for managers where the instructor put up one of those famous 2×2 matrices. The two axes were good/poor feel for people and good/poor emotional maturity. Research was done which showed that positive reviews of managers by “subordinates” centered around emotional maturity regardless of “feel for people.”
The next time you’re delayed at the airport because of bad weather, don’t take it out on the gate agent. That person has no control and sometimes knows less than you. However, that person can be your best friend in finding another flight. I’ve seen where one didn’t help the person in front of me who had launched a tirade. But I stepped up with a smile and said something like “tough day, isn’t it?” She got me on another flight, and I got home at a reasonable time. My goal–be that way in all my dealings with people.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 30, 2010 | Commentary
Guy Kawasaki, lover of lists, published Twelve Resolutions on How to be a Mensch. (No, I don’t know Yiddish.) I’ll guarantee, though, that if you incorporate these ideas into the way you live every day, you’ll feel much better about yourself.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 29, 2010 | Automation
Another lull in posting due to another trip to the office in Chicago. The February issue on control is just about put to bed, so I can think about other things.
The main reason for a trip to the office was a visit from Joe Martin and Shane Novacek of Beckhoff Automation. They wanted to talk about a concept formulated by the guy with his name on the company–Hans Beckhoff. First–some background. In the last half of the 1990s, some engineers began to rebel against what they saw as prices to high and complexity too great in existing control systems. Why not take control software and put it in a cheap(er) personal computer–and thus was born PC-based control. The idea was to leverage commercial technologies (where money invested in product development was greater than money spent on industrial controllers) in order to reduce expense, open up the platforms to greater innovation and reduce the number of components of a system.
The PC-based control market took off quickly and then pretty much disappeared by 2003 or so. However, there were a few companies, Beckhoff being one, that continued to use the term. The power of “PC” technology has continued to grow tremendously, so the term doesn’t really do justice to the technology. Your iPhone, for example, is really a pretty powerful computer. Beckhoff is now touting the term “scientific automation” for this use of PC technology in an industrial form factor.
A brief description would go something like this–microprocessors are now so powerful and robust that one in a controller can control multiple control disciplines. A single Beckhoff controller can handle logic, motion, HMI, measurement and communication. The system architecture requires only one control module–there is no need of a separate motion module (occupying a slot in the chassis) or a separate communication module. The resulting architecture is smaller, less complex and (so they say) less expensive–by a factor in some cases. Think PC-based control in a robust, industrial form factor.
We’re still leveraging commercial technologies where possible, helping drive costs down. Ubiquitous use of Ethernet is a prime example.
Anyway, I love these presentations where I can try to poke holes in the argument and get a great discussion going. Worth a trip. My next stop is Orlando the week of Feb. 8. If any of you are coming down, send a note and let’s try to meet up.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 25, 2010 | Automation
One reason for investing in simulation technologies is to facilitate knowledge transfer–maybe also called best practices. Emerson’s Jim Cahill discuss this, and points to the Mynah blog–which I did not subscribe to but do now. Thanks.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 25, 2010 | Automation
Here’s a nice anlysis of Siemens Energy’s Smart Grid initiative from GigaOm’s Earth to Tech. I usually just cover what is now known as Siemens Industry. But Wes Iversen is planning to visit Siemens Energy’s press event in a couple of weeks while I’m at ARC. I’ve had ABB’s look at this issue. I’ll probably have more coverage this year as the controls/automation and power companies converge technologies.
