I was just reviewing some notes and a pattern emerged–marketing managers always talk about what customers want. But they don’t want me to talk to customers.
Hmm, they never tell me about customers wanting simpler, cheaper software licenses. Or things that work out of the box. Or not to be locked in. Or prompt, professional support without a complex agreement.
On the other hand, we know that customers will never tell you about the next new thing!
I’ve accumulated a bunch of stuff. Won’t have a bunch of posts for the next 10 days or so, but check back once in a while or check your RSS reader. By the way–subscribe to the comments as well as the main feed. Sometimes they get interesting.
I’m not sure how many people receive Jim Pinto’s newsletter, but I’ll put in my analysis for those who do. I guess Jim attended an analyst meeting regarding automation companies recently. One of the analysts (I wonder how they get hired sometimes) heard GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt say that he was interested in acquiring industrial companies and suggested that perhaps Immelt meant Rockwell Automation. Pinto thought that was good, partly because he thinks Rockwell needs to be purchased and partly because GE would give it broader distribution in China.
I (non-analyst that I am) believe that when Immelt said industrial that he was talking about companies that make things that would also fit within the GE portfolio. The hot areas right now involve power and energy plus medical devices. GE has significant investments in manufacturing in those arenas, and I would expect to see some acquisitions to expand its reach there. GE would be looking for acquisitions poised for growth. Specifically, I’d expect more in wind turbines and the electric grid.
Now if I knew everything I’d be rich, then I’d be like Jim and writing for fun instead of trying to make a living (wait a minute, this blog is for fun, oh well). But a $5 billion automation company may not be the best play right now. Plus the stock has rallied since March more than doubling its worth. The window for purchase was last spring. By the way, Pinto also cites an uptick of RA stock since the meeting. But it’s been growing for eight months now. By the way, as has ABB’s and Emerson’s.
And, oh yes, GE has an automation company–GE Intelligent Platforms–that supplies much of the parent’s automation needs. As for distribution–automation distribution is a far cry from turbine and appliance distribution.
Usually Jim and I agree, but we don’t on Rockwell. I follow more the ideas of an investment banker whom I recently talked with who admires Rockwell for its sound cash management policies. It’s not a buy and flip stock where you try to make big bucks on growth. It’s more of a conservative buy and take the dividends. (Disclosure: If I have any ROK, it’s buried somewhere deep in the funds I have. I don’t trade in automation stocks. And I definitely don’t advise people, even me, on stocks.)
Invensys
I see that Invensys Operations Management is still coming together, but it’s getting there. A new Website has popped up I guess I’d go with the majority of people I’ve talked with outside the company–the new logo doesn’t do anything for me. But the new site brings together all the disparate parts that they are trying to merge.
Standards
I talk often about standards in automation. The last 18 months or more have seen more than its share of discussion about wireless standard development — WirelessHart and ISA100 especially. I think standards help an industry move forward, because people can start to develop products or write code around them and users gain some assurance that the technology will stay around a little while and applications will interoperate. On the other hand, I always saw the wisdom of Ken Spenser who was at the time CEO of Think&Do software–“The best standards are de facto standards.” Here is a blog post by Dave Winer on the subject. He is concerned with the “high tech” world, but the ideas are applicable here. What do you think?
Volkswagen the new GM?
Here’s a post by Bill Waddell over at Emerging Excellence analyzing recent moves of Volkswagen. I agree with much of what he says. But I’d add a question — can companies become so large and complex that they simply can’t be managed any longer and must be pruned in order to prepare for new growth?
I see Jim Cahill has signed off for the year. Have a good time away from the computer. I’ve only slowed down because I’m trying to wrap up the January issue of Automation World and am writing the main feature about innovation in automation. It’s very interesting, but very involved.
While recognizing people from Emerson Process, Greg McMillan has been busy with his Exceptional Opportunities in Process Control series. I appreciate this one–it’s something I can understand right away! Thanks for the series this year, Greg.
There has been a proliferation of thinking about ISA since its shocking announcements in early October (hope you’ve caught up with Our ISA. Keith Campbell, retired from Hershey and now a blogger for Packaging World, posted a provactive essay this week. Will ISA Take the Wrong Path Again?
I first met Keith in relation to his work with OMAC (and I think he made a great presentation on financial justification of projects at a WBF meeting several years ago if memory serves). ARC Advisory Group used to sponsor OMAC, but then it handed it over to ISA to run some time ago. But OMAC still has meetings at the annual ARC Forum in Orlando. Same will be this year. This year it’s called “ARC World Industry Forum: Where Industry Leaders Meet to Solve Their Most Challenging Issues.” It’ll have four tracks you can choose from. Check it out. I’m sure they’d love to see more “end users” show up this year. I plan to be there. Once again they have press conference marathon for editors from 12 to 6 on Monday. Gives its clients a chance to get in front of us–hopefully with news. It’s February 8-11 at the Rosen Center.
I have a bunch more items in queue, but gotta get to the gym and then finish that article. Watch for our special innovation and ideas issue online in early January and in your mailbox in mid-January.
I forget when they teach you that you should firmly know your audience before you begin to write. I know that my audience is mostly engineers with not many theologians (although some soccer fans thrown in for good measure!). But I’ve been studying again a 13th Century English mystic who didn’t record his name on his works, but the essay title is “The Cloud of Unknowing.” He went so far as to define his audience at the beginnin of the essay. I wonder if anyone read this and quit reading:
“I do not mind if all the loud-mouthed, or flatterers, or the mock-modest, or fault-finders, gossips, tittle-tattlers, tale bearers, or any sort of grumbler, never see this book. I have never meant to write for them. So they can keep out of it.”
So there. Take that. Actually, sometimes I feel that way–not so much about you, but when I read blogs and comments on other blogs that come from people such as those. Think about those traits for a minute. Do you want to hire any people with these traits? Trust me, I did once in my career to my detriment hire someone with many of those traits. The results were not pretty. Twenty years later I still picture that guy once in a while–and shudder. Oh, and I hired him to be my lead sales person. Do you want to be sold to by someone like that?
If you haven’t read Andrew Hargadon on innovation, you’ve missed a treat. Here is a post on Career Skills in the New (Networked) World. Hint, here’s another case of debunking popular mythology from the press. The required skills are the same ones that made America great–and will continue to do so.
