September 29, 2005
Vivacious Valuations
Man has the market gone nuts or is it just me? 30X earnings on solar energy manufacturing companies? ERSOL over-subscribed by a multiple of three?
Qcells going public in a few days. Same story. Everybody wants in at any price...and then Solarworld takes a 20$ plunge in two days! Could it be that the world has said "enough"?
Buyer beware. Just make sure that if you invest in solar power stocks, you have a longer term view than a day trader. You'll surely go up in time, but the realities of the market soon take the bubble out of the fizzle. Some of these stocks ran up too fast and now will take a breather. Could be a good time to buy the right one...
Sass
solar power
Posted by sass at 02:04 AM | Comments (2)
September 28, 2005
The butler won't do it anymore!
Ask Jeeves, bought out by Barry Diller in July, is dropping its famed Butler logo in favor of a new brand identifier.
The butler was good for them up to a point, but if they are to compete with Google (good luck), they feel that a fresh approach is required.
I did just the same thing a few months ago and the fruits of that change have already appeared. When its done right, you CAN create a new image which is a closer match to where you want to go, rather than where you've been.Huge exercise, costs a lot of money upfront and there is no guarantee that your following will follow you. In the case of my company ICP Solar, the execution has been helped by a wonder agency and frankly speaking, by an industry which is very stuck in an old "sales" mould. Selling is not marketing. Selling is just pure selling. (Interestingly enough, in the traditional "solar" industry, salespeople are being let go because demand is so high that companies can't supply more and therefore have nothing for their salesteam to do).
Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a "sales" company. My friend Mike Kronstedt runs a half billion dollar sales company in Minnesota and they do just fine. They key is that their brand is about selling only, and they leave the product branding, product innovation, logistics to others. All they do is sell like hell! The thing that Mike does well is stay at that line. He doesn't cross is (well not too often anyways) to try to become a marketer or product developer. Sure he inputs ideas, but the fact is that it takes a very special kind of organization to drive innovation, product management, manufacturing and marketing all at the same time. So his brand is that of a sales company, and he has no issue identifying it as such.
Mike runs a fine example of how a sales company should run. Others try to be everything to everyone. Sales company, importer, program manager, wholesaler... Sales companies that are hybrids were very functional five or ten years ago. Today, they can't last. So they either change into a product innovation company or they revert back to what they do best..sell!
That's basically Jeeves dilema. It worked in the past, doesn't mean it will work in the future. Mike's brand remains steady in that he focuses on the same clients, in the same way and limits the identity of his team's activity to match his company's reputation or brand. The key to his success is partnering with others who do the innovation yet he doesn't try to step onto their turf either. He knows that his brand is that of a sales agency and the minute he does step onto other's turf, he may lose a big following which is his bread and butter today. Others who run sales companies, and try to be more, are doomed to failure if they have no brand strategy for what they want to become.
Know thyself and be prepared to change when the customers demand it. Jeeves is changing for that reason. The key to their successful transition is holding onto the old customers while attracting the new ones. But for now, whereas the butler did it before, he no longer will do it for them!
Sass
Posted by sass at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2005
Marvelous Massachusetts
The state is about to vote in some tax breaks for consumers that buy hybrid cars!
If you're hearing more and more about conservation and alternative energy in the past month, its all because of a flurry of consciousness that comes from the ravaging the hurricanes in the USA have caused. Renewable energy company stocks are soaring, as gas prices soared. Yet what will happen with the gas prices come back down, as they surely will?
My suspicion is that the feeling of needing alternative energies will endure in the US. This is one of those "marking moments" in history, where a people was so affected, that its leaders began to search in earnest for alternatives. Now don't get me wrong, a leader from Texas is hardly going to run out and become "green" overnight. There's a reality check that says that when your supporters are enriched by the flow of petrol, you help petrol flow! And yet, in his second term, we see a more modest George Bush ready to embrace alternatives, even to the point of suggesting ways to save gas.
From Amazing Arnie to Marvelous Massachusetts, as long as Americans are moving towards where the rest of the world already wants to go, who cares if its Kyoto or any other event which helps this happen. Of course, it would have been preferable that it not be an event which caused so much destruction. Well, at least its leaders are listening now...
Sass
Posted by sass at 07:55 AM | Comments (2)
September 26, 2005
The "Herbal Essence" of Solar?
Is there anyone in North America who has not yet determined that the Herbal Essence brand of shampoo is the one that most men want their women to buy? The reason...well, if you recall the ads, women who use that shampoo seem to be "really really really enjoying" the sensation (I'll leave it at that to be PC in this public forum, but you get my drift!).
Now imagine a boring solar charger. Is there a way that we can get people feeling about solar energy like those women felt in the shower with that shampoo? Maxim magazine has already told us what solar can power to get that same reaction, but what if we wanted it more from Consumer Reports or Time or Newsweek or USA Today?
In other words, how can we get mainstreamers to feel about solar the way those women felt about the shampoo. Many will tell me that the ad is an exaggeration and I agree. Yet it gives off a feeling that remains even IF the shampoo doesn't have that effect. In my mind, they have targeted the absolute most important factor in the success of a product..customer satisfaction. Mind you, the satisfaction of those women is not what one would expect from a shampoo, but maybe the "shock value" is what they have succeeded in delivering, as well as the concept of satisfaction.
So what does GE and Intuit now ask their consumers on their surveys? One simple question: "Would you recommend this product to your friend?". After all, if you would, then you are putting your reputation on the line as much as the product's. When you have reached that confidence with a product, it says something about the deliverable/expectation success of that product and its maker. We can create all kinds of customer surveys, yet in the end, nothing speaks louder than a client willing to go out on a limb and recommend your product.
So your ultimate aim is to create an offering, a brand in which the expectation is high, to exceed that expectation, which raises its value,which increases the expectation and ultimately leads you to continually improve your product. Better to be driven by positive feedback than negative. Strive therefore to leave "no unsatisfied customer, not even one" as Camping World, a cherished partner writes in their website, so that you too can give customers as incredible a feeling as the Herbal Essence shampoo does. Can you just imagine your customer standing by the solar panel yelling "YES, YES, YES"! :)
Sass
Posted by sass at 12:14 PM | Comments (1)
September 25, 2005
How to learn from a 4 year old leader...
Visit the site of Amazin' Hazen to understand just how a 4 year old kid can inspire far beyond what many people far older in chronological years still don't get.
Hazen is a child who by age three had two teeth pulled, his nose broken and his hand caught into an elevator. By age 4, he had discovered he had cancer. Yet if you take some time to read his website, its an incredible story of a family and community that rallied together, chose to embrace the challenge, rather than wallow in sorrow, and mostly because of the incredible attitude which this young boy displays every day he lives.
Embrace life. Understand that the power of positive is an incredible thing. It may not end up beating a disease, but it depends on whether your sole focus is the disease of the individual, or the disease of the "negative" that others may be cured of. Inspiration comes in may ways, I've said before.
Hazen, you inspire and you lead through the influence you exert on others by your daily embrace of every breath that you take. My hats off to you, for you have understood something at such a young age, that many have yet to get. "Givers gain", and you have given us so much understanding of how petty our daily complaints about life's small tribulations appear.
Sass
Posted by sass at 01:51 PM | Comments (2)
September 24, 2005
What does your customer want?
How often do you hear of salespeople that walk into a meeting all pumped up about their new invention only to learn that their customer doesn't think its the greatest thing since sliced bread? Where was the issue, the customer or the salesperson? Listen closely...ITS NEVER THE CUSTOMER!
If your salespeople have not conveyed to the customer the value, it's either because they have not been armed with the tools to do so or they are not the right people for the right job. Many salespeople start a presentation with "this is my company" when they should actually be listening in the first meeting, rather than speaking. They should listen to what the customer wants to provide to their consumers. To what the customer believes are the missing ingredients of their current program, to know what their customer's biggest frustrations are.
For without listening, how do you know what's important? It's called the "voice of the customer", in marketing lingo. Now what happens when you solicit that voice from the customer's customers but you don't involve the middleman? They are in an education deficit that you must correct. For if they don't get it, their consumers may not have access to it.
In creating our newest creations, we went far and deep into the consumer's minds to see what was important to them. In parallel we engaged some of our more progressive partners in a development program which led us to understanding where even our program was failing. Watts? Watt the *&^% does that mean to a boater or RVer trying to fill their battery? Yet the industry is caught in a paradigm because its supply chain talks that way. "STOP!", we said...listen to the customer.
Now some people are reticent to change because of the fear of failure. So now we come to the job of the salesperson in this link. Their job is to understand these fears and address them. To deny them will absolutely cost you the customer's loyalty, as it should. The challenge therefore lies in showing that any changes being prescribed are for the good of the consumer and that the middleperson will be a leader, not a bleeder.
In essence, learn to be your customer. Put yourself in their shoes whether its a trade buyer or a consumer. Understand what gives them pleasure and what gives them angst. Is it about margin or contribution dollars? You can make 50% on a million or 45% on a million and a half..you do the math. Same effort, different program.
Never judge the customer. They may possibly be the "wrong" customer for what you have to offer. But never judge them for what they need.
Sass
Posted by sass at 08:07 AM | Comments (1)
September 23, 2005
Here comes the bride...
Isabel is getting married tomorrow. She's my trusted assistant you may have read about in earlier blog entries. I can't imagine ICP without her and yet for two whole weeks she'll be away in Tuscany with her new husband Gary. I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle tomorrow and say "I do". Well, Issy, here are a few other questions to which you can consider that response to:
1. Do you know that you help me be a better CEO?
2. Do you know that you are a great contributor to the "social health" at ICP?
3. Do you know that we are all going to miss you for the two weeks you'll be gone?
4. Do you know that you are absolutely making a great choice tomorrow?
5. Do you know that no matter how hard you try to avoid me, I will insist on one dance with the bride tomorrow?
6. Do you take ICP, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer,
for better or worse, to be your lawfully wedded career for years to come? (Didn't want to write 'til death do you part only because you might consider killing me as a way out of that one)?
Smile and enjoy the moment Issy. We're all in your corner too.
Sass and company
Posted by sass at 06:42 AM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2005
How a CEO's blog can affect their company.
There are more and more CEO's using blogs. In some cases,rather than write just about whatever comes to mind that day, they see the blog as a purely promotional tool. Others see it as a personal expression tool. However, each must be aware that whatever they write, as personal as it may seem, will have some effect on the image of the companies they lead.
In many public companies, CEO blogs are written for them by copywriters and then edited by lawyers. You get a really bleached view of what the CEO really wanted to say. With liability insurance premiums quite high to cover "C-level" executives, companies don't want their public CEO's flying off the handle and talking about their drug experiments in university or anything edgy like that.
Well, here's my opinion folks (you just knew it was coming right?):
It all depends on whether you consider it to represent the brand of the person, the brand of their company, or both. I believe that no matter how hard you try to convey that its your brand, it will have an effect on the company's. Now if what you write as a CEO is so far away from the brand that people associate the company with, its not likely you will lead that company for long. Steve Jobs is edgy. Steve Jobs knows what he wants. If he write something along that line, its actually in keeping with the image that Apple wants. A bank's CEO being edgy....I'm not so sure!
So for me, I will write what I feel reflects my true feelings about something, yet I will consider the effect of what I write on the company I lead. I will NOT have lawyers vetting my copy, nor copywriters doing it for me. You'll see grammatical errors, but you'll see the real me.
Just as I have embraced tremendous change in my being and my surroundings in the past two years, so has my company gone through change. As I continue to embrace change, you will see this blog evolve. The chinese say that challenge and opportunity are one and the same. I could not agree more.
Sass
PS. In going back to my first blogs, I have noticed an evolution. Whereas my first two months of entries focused far too much on competition, the last two have not as much. I suspect its because I felt a need to unload a lot of stuff I had been carrying inside. There it's done. The "high road" does feel a whole lot better...
Posted by sass at 06:52 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Sun of a hybrid!
I read today that Japan is hogging hybrid parts! This indicates that the fight to offer consumers alternative energy products is heating up the parts supply chain far beyond solar. Its affecting real big entities like Ford that want to get into the game in a bigger way...or is this a ruse?
The easiest way to cover up the fact that you have not been ahead of the game is to blame someone else. So Japan was ahead of USA, Inc! There's no point in complaining that they were ahead as far as I am concerned. Rather it sounds like sour grapes towards competitors that were ahead of the curve.
Its up to American companies to embrace alternative energy technologies for their products and consumer solutions just as German and Japanese corporations have led the way in actually using renewable power on their headquarter roofs, fleets,etc...
America is a great power that, once it puts its head to something, can deliver greatness. The Japan Inc's advantage is that it works together following a government mandate. The issue for renewables, is that only in countries where government has taken the lead has renewables shined.
So I guess this means that Americans will either have to wait behind the others or wait for another President to be elected. George W. is not in my mind inclined to favor renewables over oil anytime soon!
Sass
Posted by sass at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
The Duller Image?
What's happening to The Sharper Image? It used to be the store we could count on for wild innovations that you were the first on the block to own (ie. toys for "bleeders" who are prepared to pay more than anyone else just to be first).
As my friend Mitch just wrote in his blog, (aka "bla bla"), TSI stores are not what they used to be. No wonder that TSI has had a rundown lately with its stock value far below its previous highs. I think much has to do with the fact that its strategy seemed almost "single product" oriented with the Ionic Breeze series. When the product claims were challenged by editorial comments, TSI flew into a rage, and yet everyone's ears perked up. Meantime, others are getting into the "cool stuff" retail game like Apple, Sony, etc. So you have manufacturers opening up retail fronts for "leading edge" apparatus, yet with a clear focus, while TSI is a collection of things that are un-related. What is the message the clients are giving? I think the message is that the retail landscape has evolved and people want lifestyle solutions to which they associate your brand.
Success comes from focus on an image. As others get into your garden, its the old adage of "improve or die". Does TSI have anything cooler than the iPod nano? Doubt it.
Its all about your brand. If your sizzle is not backed up by good steak, then you will be found out. If the steak isn't that good today, doesn't mean that you can't improve it to be as good as the sizzle. Otherwise, the truth will come out in the end. Sell quality, be quality, be focused, be a winner.
What value can this blog have for an RV, Marine, Camping, AutoAccessory, Hardware retailer? Well do you have a section of the "coolest" stuff at Xmas and Mother's/Father's Day in your store? It would fit all of the criteria I have listed above (cool, focused, thematic, lifestyle). If you're an "e-tailer" why not create a "cool stuff" section relating to your customer base? You can all be "sharper images" if you wish..and it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg.
Sass
PS. Mitch, the Leadership 101 book has many lessons for all. One I picked up...leaders (whether companies or people) should listen more than speak. If TSI is listening to those who put a value on its stock, it will stop reminiscing about times of old and get with the program to develop a new strategy.
Posted by sass at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2005
Can't get solar chargers? You're not alone...
Everyone is doing their best to keep customers stocked these days but some vendors make more efforts than others due to the immediacy of the consumer's demand.
For example, a stationary solar project could always be slightly delayed due to solar panel shortage, but what about the consumer who clicks BUY NOW? If he/she can't, they may be lost forever to the dealer. I think the key is to be honest with your customers. Some may not like what you have to say, but you need to say it. Rather than aggravate by sticking your head in the sand, tell the truth and deal with it together.
Some retailers even go to the point of telling people when they will have the new stock. Northern Tools is a great example of this, where they tell customers who would call today that any 30, 80 or 125Watt modules are not in stock until January 2006. And they have been in that status for over 60 days, so just imagine the lost sales! I applaud their candor. They figure that either you'll buy another solar panel that is in stock or you'll at least know to trust them when they let you know what their situation is. Other dealers might just take your order and make you call and call and call!
Other "e-tailers" like Costco.com take an even more radical approach. They recently removed a competitor's offerings from their website since they could not ship the goods to end-consumers who would anxiously await their merchandise once their credit cards were charged. Costco's take on it is that if it can't be shipped, don't advertise it. With the moving target of deliveries these days, they simply don't want to have to keep updating availability.
From discussions with other vendors, like Sharp, they are sold out for 13 months! Guess some of us should have bought futures in solar energy company stocks! If a distributor is telling you otherwise, ask them for a delivery guarantee...and see them develop a nervous twitch!
There are some disruptive technologies slated to start in mid 2006. Let's hope they help alleviate this terrible situation for the industry otherwise the wild growth rates that we have been used to will not materialize as consumers flock to other power solutions.
Sass
Posted by sass at 05:31 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2005
That's MISTER Blogoogle to you!
Googling blogs? Now we are going to be given a tool to search blogs for information. Or is it editorial? What is the difference? Where is the line today? Is it advertising? Does the writer have a hidden agenda? Hmmm..the age of blogs just clogs us up with information or does it really give us a media through which to express ourselves.
By now, those of you reading my blog on occasion have discovered something new somewhere in what I wrote that clicked for you (well at least that what some of the kinder comments have stated!). Fact is that the topic of solar energy is one that many more people are researching today so its natural for many more blogs to pop up.
In the end, blogs are just like anything else..a source of information. Still "reader beware" to determine if the information is really from someone trying to be helpful or from someone trying to sell. I, myself, have had a hard time distinguishing from my personal thoughts from those that would promote my company..and yet..I find that the more I do this, the more I can do just that. For my brand is me. And my company has its own.
If you now wish to search blogs on google, as of today, you can do this here. A whole search engine just for blogs? Why distinguish? Its just more information overload!
A bientot,
Sass
Posted by sass at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2005
Our deepest fear is not...
Watched "Coach Carter" tonight with my family. Amongst the many lessons this movie can teach us, I picked this one to share:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people will not feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.
(Marianne Williamson , in Return to Love)
Inspiration can be found in many places. Tonight I found it on a couch sitting next to Joshua (my third son who turned 10 today! Happy Birthday Josh :)
Sass
Posted by sass at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)
If it's "givers gain" then why am i feeling "givers pain"?
Yesterday was the Linda Saab Breast Cancer Golf Tournament. My team and I raised almost $10000 for the cause of breast cancer research and wellness centers in Montreal, thanks to the support of partners of ICP Solar. Of course, it feels great to be able to give to others in challenging moments. After sharing this event with my ICP team, including Isabel, Gordon, Randy, Dave, Luc and of course my wife and friends, it remains one person who continues to influence me to give more. His name is Mel and he's my father's youngest brother.
Mel is an incredible giver (and the best salesman I have ever met). He comes through with actions that match his words of giving. What I did not know, is that this man, who now regularly shoots high 70's in golf, had never picked up a golf club before one day going to the Linda Saab Golf Event in a suit, just to give moral support to his friend Charlie (linda's husband). 15 years ago, Charlie was missing some golfers so he told Mel to take off his tie, borrow some clubs and play. Mel has never looked back. After that first time playing golf, he was hooked.
Renee and I were very proud to be in the company of Mel and Joyce last night. But frankly speaking, after a full day of activity and several glasses of red wine, I am feeling "giver's pain" this morning... :)
Please remember to give. Last night the organizers gave over $40000 in donations for the beneficiaries. Who knows...maybe dollar "number 31222" is the one that cures breast cancer. Even if not, it certainly will have helped.
Sass
Posted by sass at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2005
Skypebay
So Skype and ebay get together..hmmm.
One sells VoIP and the other is known as an auction house. What do they have in common you ask? Well, ebay sees itself as a provider of space. Skype is a provider of communication over space. Space is the final frontier.
What's the link? Skype on Thursday also released a new suite of services called the Skype Voice Services Program, which includes some features that could be attractive to online auctioneer eBay. The Skype program calls for opening its VoIP universe to content providers to develop applications of interest to the firm’s 53 million users.
Amazing how a small group of visionaries created such value for their stakeholders in such a small time. The moral of the story..go build value and they will come. Value is sometimes about price but its often about what the service does to make your life better. I've been using skype for months now and not only have we cut out phone bills but we communicate faster too.
Sass
Posted by sass at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2005
Hurray Hybrids!
The time of the "green" car is arriving. Its' take off will depend on a combination of improved technology, continued elevated gasoline prices and more emphasis on green policies at government levels.
However for the "hybrid" to finally make the front page of MSN today, its a reflection of a change in paradigm. Sometimes its a shock event because gradual ones don't work. In this case, I have a feeling that when american consumers are paying what europeans have been used to for years, then the attitudes will start to get closer to each other's when it comes to environmental power technologies.
What this means is added pressure on environmental power technology producers to deliver the "real goods". The gadgety aspect of green power will be diminished only through "real" deliveries. It's along the same line of thinking as the watts vs "watts do u want" discussion in previous blogs.
To quote a sexy american actress of days gone by..."Hold onto your hats, its' gonna be a bumpy ride". I just haven't figured out how to move my hips like her when she said it on screen. :)
Sass
Posted by sass at 07:34 AM | Comments (0)
September 06, 2005
David and Goliath
ICP Solar welcomed a new and important member today. He's David Johnston, former VP Operations at Ballard Power and Chief Operating Officer at Ballard's Stationary Power Division. "DJ" (as I have nicknamed him) has led many energy companies operations and has joined ICP as Chief Operating Officer. He'll be taking over all operational aspects of the company while I am freed to be involved in financing, innovation, corporate vision and "helicopter" views, which as CEO I need to be. A CEO can't drive the vision if he's stuck on the ground floor. I need to be on top of the ladder seeing what lies ahead for our company. Freedom is what comes to mind when I describe my feeling today when it was announced internally at HQ. David is part of the "A-team" I am building to deliver on our mission to be "The customer's choice in power solutions based on solar technologies". And now I can write as many solar blogs as I can think of because that's what I will be relegated to? Well maybe not so fast..
Coincidentally, ICP received confirmation today of its largest OEM contract ever. We took on a "goliath" competitor. Yet our innovation, value-proposition and quality-management team were our "modern day sling" which won the customer over. Team ICP, the best is yet to come...
Sass
Posted by sass at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2005
Dear George...
I saw George Bush today counting the number of water bottles, beds, blankets, being rushed to New Orleans and I just had to wonder..what if all those troops over in Iraq were in the USA right now helping from day one in Louisiana and Mississippi to save people's lives?
Why was the reaction to the tsunami so much swifter? Are the folks on TV right to say that because the majority of affected population is black, that leaders didn't rush in with resources? (I don't happen to believe that myself, but I do find it interesting that respected reporters are discussing this).
With oil having its "perfect storm" (China, Iraq and Katrina) the entire US population is suffering from price hikes in gas well beyond $4 in some area. 37 million americans live in poverty and by the looks of the pictures on CNN, the majority of those affected are poor people that chose not to leave the only possessions they likely own. How are the poor going to afford heating fuel this winter at those prices?
Leaders can get their jobs because of what they talk. But they only keep them because of what they walk...
Sass
Posted by sass at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)
September 03, 2005
Friends are chosen...
They say that friends are god's way of apologizing for relatives. The fact is that in today's world, the term "family" has taken on so much more.
Over my life, there are people out there that have been nothing short of how family would act in times of challenge. Renee and I are blessed in that way with a close-knit group of friends that have been there for us and for whom we are there too.
They say that a man is blessed if he can count 5 friends when he dies. So take a count. Perhaps it might become an objective of yours, perhaps not. Either way, cherish your friendships for they are a measure of your life far more important than the funds in your bank account. They reflect who you are, because these people have chosen to be your friend.
G'night,
Sass
Posted by sass at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)
Whose garden are you playing in?
Does your competition have you playing their game? Are their moves so unsettling your company that you are not sure which way to turn? If that is the case, then you are playing in their garden by their rules. If they have set it up right, you can't win.
What are your choices? Well, its either roll over and die, or understand what your own core competencies are and change the rules to win on those, if you can. If you can't, it's because you are playing in a market that doesn't value them. In that case you have two choices..exit the market or change the market. I've chosen the latter, simply because the market is ready for it. How do I know?
In 2000, my sales team told me I was nuts to launch a range of solar panels at $4.50 per watt when the market was at $3.50 per watt. They warned me that we would be outpriced and never penetrate. Four years later, I think the results speak for themselves.
And now, I think it's time for a change again. Funny enough, I'm not hearing the same resistance. Two reasons: First, the team and market have learned to respect my opinion when I say that a change is good for all. Second, the market is ready for it. It has gone through the bottom-feeding try to find the lowest cost cycle and realized that consumers will pay for value, but value must be paid for to gain consumers.
So what's the link between the topics above? Well, if you toe other people's line, you don't stand much chance of distinction and growth. In fact, you may just be setting yourself up for failure. Don't confuse novelty for innovation. Novelty is new up until the point in time where it is disproven as valuable. Innovation is not only novel in its approach, but delivers the objective at hand.
Let them play by your rules. The entry fee to the game is much more expensive for the ones that don't own the playing field.
Sass
Posted by sass at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2005
Keep the donations going...
Visit FEMA's website to see what you can do to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. ICP Solar donated today 10 Coleman Solar Power Packs through its partner Camping World. Other retailers like Costco.com and Samsclub.com are making available our emergency backup power kits for those who wish to run power for small appliances during the power outages which threaten to continue for a while.
Do what you can do. Nobody ever asks for more.If you wish to channel your donations through the American Red Cross, that is possible too.
Sass
Posted by sass at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)