July 29, 2005
Defining leaders...is anyone following you?
As I've gone through my life, stages have appeared sometimes because of my own doing or because of things happening around me, that changed my views on leadership.
One of my mentors is someone named Po K. Lau. An unassuming fellow that hailed from Hong Kong, Po defines leadership through influence rather than position, in its truest sense. A couple of years ago, when I was going through great soul-searching about how to change myself and my company's vision, he gave me a quote I shall never forget: "The difference between a boss and a leader is simple. A boss turns people off while a leader turns people on".
Its ever since that time that I've begun a re-invention process of my leadership skills that I hope continues on forever, no matter what part of my life I am calling on those skills for. And with each passage of time,a new "influencer" has entered my life. Recently, three other people have done so, and they've influenced changes in my views on leadership that I hope will positively impact my ability to lead in various aspects of my life.
The first person is Mitch Joel, whom I met last year and already wrote about (see "MY SOLAR SAVANT" blog entry). Mitch nominated me for an MS Leadership award, which I was chosen for. He was also the influence which led me to enroll my team to The Power Within conference.
The second person is Tom Sweeney. Tom came into my life as an advisor last year and helped me see things within myself and my own company that I had completely been blind to and ignored. Those issues may have killed my company had I not taken action to correct them. Let's just say he was just in time! Tom's mentorship focused on how I could become a CEO of a greater company than ICP already was and what were the issues I had to address immediately, lest my legacy rest in the memory of a failed entity.
The third person is Isabel Dos Santos, my executive assistant. Isabel has worked at public companies assisting executives in the highest positions. I feel she's taken me on almost as a project of sorts, to help me become as good a leader as I possibly can.
Issy's latest efforts included passing to me a book by John Maxwell, entitled "Leadership 101". Now for those of you who don't me, I haven't read a complete book in a decade, so this act was almost doomed from the start. However she gave it to me just as I was leaving last week to board a long 15 hour flight to Hong Kong, and so the hope was that my computer battery would die, I'd get bored with reading every single magazine or newspaper on board (as well as the airline magazine twice) and then I'd finally give in and start the book. Well, frankly, it wasn't that hard after all.
Once I picked up this book I could not put it down. Yes, I did finish it. In fact, I read it twice so far. So much have I seen inside it why some of my initiatives would not work no matter the intensity with which I tried and why some of the things I've been doing for the past few years are bang on!
John Maxwell is a recognized leader who pushes himself to new heights and gives people insight into how they can do it for themselves in this short, 100+ page handy-sized hardcover book. He focuses on essential qualities required for true leadership, being: influence,integrity,attitude,vision,problem-solving,and self-discipline. He then guides us through practical steps to develop true leadership in our lives and the lives of others around us. For my quest is not simply to make myself a better leader, but to help those around me acquire abilities to become leaders themselves.
A leader is nothing without a following. In fact, if he/she has no followers, then its really just a walk through life they are taking. One of my favourite quotes in the book is "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."
So to Po, Mitch,Tom and Issy, and so many other "leaders" in my life, a huge thanks. My hope is that the constituency that chooses to follow me, as opposed to being forced to follow me, can grow each day, as I redefine my leadership level in time and through effort.
I'm off on my 3 day holiday with family and friends, so no blog entries until next week! Yes, that's right, Sass with no computer on his lap...my friends are taking wagers at this very moment on whether I'll make it through the weekend without slipping off the "computer wagon".
Ciao for now,
Sass
PS> A footnote for Mike Gering, whom I should also mention in the category of "leader" and might even be surprised to read his name here, yet deserves mention as an "influencer" in my life. Mike, if you're reading...the ends do NOT justify the means.We've both had challenges leading solar organizations through troubled waters. A sincere wish of success to you and your team.
Posted by sass at 03:27 AM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2005
太陽能
Wondering what these interesting symbols mean? Not if you're chinese! They stand for "solar power".
I'm just on my way home from a long overseas trip which took me deep into Northern china, just shy of the Russian border. I visited volcanos and drank their mineralized spring water.
I noted on the web that most of the cars that entered the American Solar Challenge are going to make it. Those that will not will surely have learned valuable lessons in so many areas. Matters not if you win or lose, matters more than you tried your best.
The title of this entry was chosen carefully to honor my chinese hosts who are now avid readers. They took extremely good care of me and to them I am very appreciative. 谢谢所有的中国同事在中国对我的照顾，特别感谢宁书记私人邀请我共进晚餐，我很荣幸。Not sure if this will mean much to them (I used altavista translation) but we'll see.
Anyhow, gotta leave this Starbucks at Hong Kong airport and run to the gate...I wonder if we can ever solar power a Boeing?
Sass
Posted by sass at 02:31 AM | Comments (1)
July 25, 2005
Race on, eh!
Fully one quarter of the remaining cars in the American Solar Challenge are Canadian, including the one from Queen's University, my own alma matter.
If you do the math, it means that a country with 10% of the North American population (and even less of the proportional number of universities) has 25% of cars remaining in the race. Is this chance or perhaps a reflection of how important renewable energy initiatives are to each country? With Japan and Germany remaining the dominant players in renewable energy, perhaps these are signs of a required wake-up call to American industry and government to put more focus on investments and capital "welcoming" policies for renewable energy...
Meantime, Go Queen's Go!
Sass
Posted by sass at 02:40 AM | Comments (1)
July 22, 2005
Solar Critters
What looks like a sleek little bug and is covered by solar cells? A: The solar cars of today racing in North America!
ICP sponsors just such a car which is in redevelopment at McGill University here in Montreal and that's why its not in the current race. Bombardier, another quebec based company, is currently helping redesign the shell afterwhich we'll be able to determine the solar cell needs of the vehicle. Canadian Tire, a retailer that got into solar thanks to ICP back in 1994, is also involved in the sponsorship of this initiative. Numerous other companies support the car in many ways.
What is the value of such races if only to serve as a promotional tool for solar? Multiple! Firstly, the university teams develop a keen understanding of the 3 components of power (as mentioned in my previous blog entry "Watt is Power"). Second teamwork skills, in very demanding circumstances, are honed. Third, it's a platform for everyday people to see how solar energy is progressing as a technology of the future.
Unfortunately, there's also a flip side. Because of the current limitations of the "power formula", the solar cars can only house one driver if they are to go at a decent speed, must be made of materials that would not protect as well as today's normal cars in case of accident and have limited manoeuvring capabilities. Some will say that this actually serves to lessen solar as seen as a valid technology for cars, yet I would argue the reverse. These are "extreme" uses of solar for automobiles. As anyone whose been following my company, ICP Solar, will tell you, solar battery trickle charging is where its at today in terms of automotive applications.
ICP currently makes such items for car makers, having been selected from a number of other companies, mainly because we understand the automotive environment and how the solar cell interacts with the automotible battery. We even supply Winnebago with their RV solar panels to prevent batteries from going dead while on the dealer lots (they call this "rot lot") or while you store your RV in the winter months.
So let's all encourage our university students to get involved in solar, even if its unlikely that you or your kids will ever drive a totally solar powered car.
Thanks
Sass
Posted by sass at 07:27 PM | Comments (1)
July 19, 2005
I want to pump solar up!
Go Arnie Go! The "governator" wants to have a million solar roofs in California and bless him for it. Its refreshing to have a republican leader in office countering the others who are oil barons. And as long as he can navigate the political waters, Governor Arnie will indeed get his wish. It is the most ambitious solar program ever offered in the United States and rivals what the governments in Japan and Germany have done. Can't wait for our solar slate to adorn his governor's mansion..hey, a guy can dream can't he?
As stated in the article linked above, the "burden of roof" will be in the successful implementation. They believe that such programs can bring down the cost of solar to be competitive with fossil fuels and its probably true if you figure in the cost of pollution of those non-renewable power sources. Pump it up Arnold...and its no longer a gas pump we're hoping to be the source of your power!
Auf Wiedersehen,
Sass
Posted by sass at 12:26 AM | Comments (1)
July 15, 2005
Watt is Power?
Power is a three part equation. Creation. Management. Storage.
Get any one of the three wrong, and your solution is scrapped. Solar panels create. Electronic power circuits manage. Batteries store. Use the wrong panel with the right other two components and it doesn't matter how much sunshine you get, it won't work. Use the right panel with the wrong controller, your battery either won't get the right juice or will even overcharge.
So the secret is in having the knowledge to combine the three together in the RIGHT manner. Where you gonna get that? At a discount retailer? Not likely. They'll try but the clerks changeover in the stores so often they keep the nametags for the managers to recognize them, never mind educate about solar! Don't get me wrong. They can move product, and sometimes tons of it. At the most basic battery maintenance product level, this should not be an issue. But when you get into power systems, beware that it gets dicey.
The more consumers realize that the power equation is not as simple as a "solar calculator" or some chart that shows you power consumption, the more they will understand that they need to work with brands they can trust (unabashed plug!) , with information accessible to help them make their purchase decision or to validate if there's an issue that comes up. No doubt the mass merchants are great at selling commoditized product or low priced units for simple trickle charging (we know because we supply Walmart with low priced units under the Coleman brand). Yet, if you really want to know what to buy, try the specialist retailer or educational webstore where you can deal direct with a technician. I'd rather to go a West Marine or Camping World or certified recreational vehicle dealer to find out what I need for boating or RV'ing, because I know the team will understand my needs, and also likely still be there if I return to the store. Same goes for solar. These folks get it! They understand that when a customer asks "what do I need", they need to understand the vehicle's battery setup, electronics management and only THEN can they suggest the right solar panel combination.
Power. A small word that is more complicated than we give it credit for. Shall we add temperature, light level, humidity and shading to the equation just to complicate it a bit more? What about where you live and the angle of the sun? Still think that a discounter can tell you what you need for your backup power or cottage or sailboat?
Don't let this scare you. ICP Solar is launching a whole new webservice and support mechanisms that will point you to the right solution in as little as three clicks. We're also partnering with the specialist retailers mentioned above to bring you innovative solutions that will astound you for their simplicity and value. Their customer service teams and store managers will receive in depth training by our "energizer bunny" sales trainers this fall as we launch a whole new line of product. It's all coming as part of a tremendous new ICP-wide initiative to take solar offerings to the next level...
Let our power give you freedom.
Ciao,
Sass
Posted by sass at 03:21 AM | Comments (1)
July 11, 2005
The squeeze is on...
Look at the latest pricing report from Solarbuzz and you'll see that the pricing squeeze continues, although the pace has somewhat lessened. I suspect this is more due to a "breather" than anything else. We're all expecting yet higher prices for silicon feedstock for 2006 and that will drive prices higher as well.
Will the growth in solar be stumped due to a few dollars higher price? I doubt that. We are caught between wanting to grow our consumer base through price drops and higher value. Yet despite the price of solar going up in the past year by over 4% at the retail level (industry average), sales have skyrocketed.
Those that are squeezed are therefore in the middle of the value-chain. If you don't make your own solar cells, you are surely feeling a margin pinch. Thin-film solar cells have not increased as much and are slated to begin mass production by a number of new players. In my humble opinion, the only sport in which it pays to be thicker is sumo wrestling! This explains the rush to thin-film production by such "thick film" veterans like Sharp Japan. New players with exotic thin film materials are bringing manufacturing capacity on board at current market prices very shortly. Their capacity will be limited at first but is due to rise significantly in the first quarter of 2006. How many technology industries do you know in which the cost of the same component goes up?
Retailers will push back on price increases, yet there will be no avoiding "some" pain. I suspect they are aware that they are playing in a commodity market which is out of stock for a good year to go, until such time as new capacity comes on board. So consumers will bear little brunt and those in the middle, well I simply suggest you "think lean". Put your company on a diet and consider how you can bring added value to add margins to your bottom line, or else be prepared to face a disappearing "bottom"...
Cofion cynnes ("yours" in Welsh..for my Bridgend/Wales team),
Sass
Posted by sass at 09:24 AM | Comments (1)
Plug'n'Play or Plug'n'Pray- The education gap in solar
The risks associated with an uneducated purchase are numerous. Consumer dissatisfaction, high returns, damage to industry. Whenever someone buys a solar panel thinking its going to work miracles for them and then realizes that there a long list of caveats associated to the deliverable, you have potentially created an "enemy of solar".
The issue comes back to the promise. Lighting makers know this issue all too well. Is it about the watts or the lumens or about how often you must change the fixture. I finally bought the $10 light bulb from Home Depot. Its' a twisted fluorescent type that promised to last as long as 6 incandescent ones. Well, it has been over one year and no burnout to report. It turns on, it turns off, it shines beautifully through rain or snow. Guess what? I'm a convert.
How to do the same with solar consumers? Perhaps we should make sure that their first and every contact with our sales team know what they are talking about. It means that either you increase the knowledge of your sales team or you risk losing that sale to competition. This is why the internet is going to play such a big role in future sales. Expect online sales of solar systems to explode in coming years. Installers will be just that, rather than wearing the double-hat of salesperson. The burden of proof and convincing will become the manufacturer's.
The risk of an uneducated purchase goes far beyond the consumer that returns a $20 trickle charger which couldn't light up its LED indicator light under cloudy conditions. That consumer will doubtfully become a buyer of larger systems. Mass merchants see return rates of up to 10% on this category due to misinformation. I am willing to bet that this creates an opportunity for those who educate their team and prove to consumers their knowledge.
A clerk at a canadian mass merchant retail store recently told me the solar panel they were selling could work in the dark. Either this guy didn't know what he was talking about...or miracles still do happen!
Tata for now,
Sass
Posted by sass at 09:01 AM | Comments (1)
July 08, 2005
Personal Power Inspirations
WOW! Spending 8 hours being engulfed with such positive vibes as we were today is exhausting! I invited my team to see Dr. Phil, Loretta LaRoche, Herb Cohen and a host of other motivating speakers during a rush of energy here in Montreal at the conference center.
Such events are meant to help you take a left turn where you would have always taken right. Empower yourself through action rather than just talk. Remembering that what was doesn't have to determine what will be. Owning your destiny through your own empowerment.
Basically, be your own sunshine. Take responsibility and control of your destiny. Don't be afraid to be different. Just a bunch of sensible advise that its' sometimes good to remember, yet organized in such a fashion as to be applicable by the simplest. "Getting it" was Dr. Phil's main message. Be a person who gets it. Not the one who says "HUH"? The example of Donald Trump was brought up. He lost all his billions and then made them back in two years. Those who don't "get it" can win hundreds of millions in lottery winnings and be poor in no time.
Loretta LaRoche is an absolute nutcase, yet so sensible in her vigorous approach to "living life" (think about that quote a bit). Firecracker is the best way to describe her. Her motto is "life is short, wear your party pants". "Be juicy" she asks us to be. Not the dried-up orange in the basket, rather the wet, explosive "juicy" one. She had me dancing in the aisles. I think our Sales Admin almost had a heart attack seeing me dance like that. SO WHAT! We were just being taught to LIVE in the manner which was professed by Bob Dylan in his song "Forever Young".
Distinction, energy, owning your destiny, living life..these are all themes that characterize ICP's attitude and vision for its team. They grow, we grow. I want my best salespeople to be making more than me. No caps on commissions. No ceiling on growth. Make ICP profits and they deserve the same.
And as one of the presenters professed "live each day as if it were your last and each night as if it were your first"..
Well,that's it for today, its night time and my wife is waiting to find out if this 45 year old has truly been re-energized!
Tata for now,
Sass
PS> Visit The Power Within to get a sense of what we had the privilege of living today.
Posted by sass at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2005
The Suns of change are shining...
Here I am at Lac a L'eau Claire, in Quebec, Canada, attending the annual ICP Solar Sales and Marketing sessions. At these pow-wows, our teams from all regions and company areas get together once a year to discuss the changes for the next year. This year something amazing has occurred...we have all 3 areas of our company (Solar Consumer Products, Solar Cells and Solar Construction Materials) slated to grow at the same time and the energy is simply so energizing, that I can't wait to get out with our sales teams to spread the news of what's coming to the market soon.
New products, new branding, new channels, new logistics, new production capacity, new ERP system... all coming online within months. A mammoth task that I know my team is up to. Its so energizing listening to this tremendously qualified team. During one of the breaks, we got word that our biggest potential customer was just confirmed. Its immediate needs and pipeline potential has 10 times the forecast of our largest previous client. Our issue will be supply to a market already starving.
Remember the Santa at Macy's who referred the kids and their moms to other stores? Macy's sales skyrocketed as it began to sell things through the increased visits simply because it became a one-stop-shop for information, not simply product. Guess what happened? People walking in and out almost always bought something else they did not come for. So ICP will be the same.
We'll share our plans with the market in the coming months and be honest with those that we can't partner with, and those that we can, simply due to capacity. Those that cannot be supplied will be referred to other ethical vendors. And because competition at the low end has been hobbled by recent independant tests and increased rigor in rating reporting, the situation will only serve to aggravate the demand for honestly-rated cells and products. Retailers who previously did not think twice about selling fake-rated items, will now be forced to do so. Manufacturers who now make fake-rated items will lose markets everywhere. The pressure for new production capacity will rise once again.
Such excitement..I think I'll go jump in the lake right next to the hotel to cool off! Oh, before I forget, check out this link created by Gregg Cohen, latest addition to the ICP team. This file perfectly reflects the spirit this week: Download file
Tata for now,
Sass
Posted by sass at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2005
Kenya, a shining example of standards..
You might not yet know this, but Kenya has one of the most developed off-grid solar power markets in the world. Tens of thousands of Kenyan homes are now powered by solar panels from ICP and other makers for remote power to work their lights, fans, small fridges and communications.
Yet one of the most rampant problems in Kenya has recently become the same in North America. Manufacturers of amorphous silicon solar panels (aka: thin film) are over-rating their panels and causing mass deception and margin erosion for legitimate manufacturers.
As a result, Kenya's Renewable Energy association mandated Humboldt and University of California at Berkley to run long-term testing on the most prevalent solar panels in the market. Their findings mimic what we at ICP have been saying for close to a year. In essence, while most makers come within earshot of their ratings, only one solar panel maker consistently lies about their ratings.
So what does an industry do? Well, we know that in the long term, such practices will simply backfire. Whereas this maker used to have quite a strong position in Kenya, their market share has virtually vanished in anticipation of the publication of these results (see test results download at bottom of this blog entry).
Yet we should all look to Kenya to replicate these testings and demand that makers/distributors rate fairly. Now that Kenya has taken this action, the World Bank has received the testing results and will most likely banish this same maker from bidding on huge contracts it previously would win.
As time goes by, the example that Kenya has set will push ALL makers to be honest. And that is the greatest protection that we can give to consumers in a field which by its nature is already ambiguous.
In Canada, CANSIA (the canadian solar association) is also asking the government to get involved. You can find our edited version of their release at this link on the ICP site.
Arne Jacobsen, one of the testers from Humboldt, has promised to begin lobbying the marketers of the same false-rated panels in the USA and we know his influence will begin a process which will start to eliminate the practice in America. The report he's helped prepare also points to other very important points like delamination and water ingress which are major causes of panel failures, yet are not obvious to the first-time buyer at point of purchase.
Kenya, you led the way. Kudos to you. And special kudos to those other ethical companies like Solar Cells and Free Energy who performed well within the required ranges in these tests. Honorable competitors only serve to make the industry better.
Tata for now,
Sass
PS. Download the file at Download file
Posted by sass at 09:08 PM | Comments (1)