December 21, 2006
Just because you believe...should we all?
Interesting article in this morning's CNN website about a Republican government official who believes that more control should be put on the immigration policies of the USA with respect to a specific group of people, namely Muslims.
The lawmaker believes that it would be in the USA's best interests to limit legal immigration of people from the Middle East or of other Islamic origin. He takes exception to another recently elected government official wishing to place his hand on the Quran rather than on the Christian bible.
Ah, the times they are a changin', and with this change come out fears of insecurity by an establishment which to date, remained unchallenged. Now islamic students ask why references to the Ten Commandments and New Testament can be made, yet none to the Quran. Where does it end? Should we have references to ALL organized religions in the USA on official's walls or should they be free to post that to which they prescribe?
Franky speaking, my personal belief is that religion is a personal matter, not something for public consumpton. Yes, we do say "in G-d we trust", yet that statement in no way limits how we believe, what we believe and in whom we believe. The key issue to me is true faith. IF you really believe in the book you are placing your hand upon, then nobody can tell you which book to choose. IF its YOUR office, you should be free to put up one, two, a hundred religious references of your own choice. Nobody should judge you based on what you put on your wall, more than what is in your mind and heart. Simple as that.
The issue I believe is that there is a new reality in the USA, with a new population strength in the Muslim community which dares to speak, whereas before, those who spoke were seen as rebels, now they do so as full citizens who wish to participate in every corner of American life, their way. These are interesting times. Diversity is what the world is about. Get used to it Senator.
Sass
Posted by sass at 07:27 AM | Comments (1)
December 17, 2006
Your TIME has come...
Youtube has been part of the democracy that the internet has become. WE can get to YOU or YOU can get to WE. No longer is the communication channel controlled by a few big wigs whether in Hollywood, New York, London or any other media centre.
And so now comes word that TIME magazine has selected YOU to be the TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR. So here I am wondering how TIME decided that 2006 is the year for this accolade vs prior ones? Is it because somebody came up with the brilliantly simple idea of giving us all a giant, free, poster-board to put up whatever we thought of relevance and let the world make that decision? Didn't we all have that ability before?
So what is it that makes the sudden growth in internet space sites like YOUTUBE, MYSPACE, FLIKR suddenly make us a person of the year? Is it simply recognition by one of the most traditional media that their "time" has come?
I believe that if we look deeper, it relates back to everyone's desire to participate in something BIG. These brilliant websites are amazing in their simplicity and that's what attracts people to them. Rather than the demanding and lonely setting up of one's own site to post pictures, movies or whatever our hearts desire, we can participate in a "global community exercise" which may bring far more viewers to that which we wish to share than our own site might. It is that desire to "belong" which gravitates us to these sites and makes over 100 million people per day visit YOUTUBE.
Simplicity. Demystification. Power of the People. Hmmm..funny how these are the themes that ICP SOLAR launched as part of our future innovations and messaging to our customers in 2006 and how its led to huge gains in consumer demand of our solar power products. We'll give you even more power in 2007 in so many ways yet I believe that within the themes of belonging, giving, caring, simplicity and sharing we can collectively achieve that which we seek.
Many who seek their moment of fame, post their stuff onto these websites. What I push my team is to understand the needs and wants of today's community and ensure that through the promotion of our solar power solutions we can collectively benefit.
YOU are the real stars and WE need to remember that.
Sass
Posted by sass at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2006
Speak freely...when its about someone else...
There was a conference recently in Iran about the Holocaust, sponsored by that country's President, as an exercise in "Freedom of Speech". A gathering of Holocaust deniers and former Ku Klux Klan heads.
I find it rather hypocritical that while the conference was touted of one for freedom of speech, any negative report about the government in Iran, from within Iran, would not meet with the same enthusiasm by the government to "speak the truth". As reported by a BBC reporter, it would seem that the Iranian government feels completely comfortable when freedom of speech is used to help those who deny the greatest man-made catastrophe in humankind, yet if that same reporter were to make a negative comment about the goverment and publish it, their fear of his effect on public opinion would lead them to censor him/her.
I have a strange feeling that the president of Iran has gone beyond even that which is acceptable to his people. This is a country which is quite unlike any other in the Middle East. Iran is not an arab country, yet it is often lumped in with them as such by those who do not understand its distinct character. While women agree to be covered in public, once inside, they take off their veils in discos that would rival the best the West has to offer. So while acceptance of the law is overt in public, its refusal is covertly done for fear of reprisals. Is this the president's definition of "freedom"?
Although I have no personal connection to Iran, I firmly believe that its people will one day rise strong enough to permit a change of course so that it can take back a rightful and respected position in the world society. This leader is an anomaly in its history and the same students which rose up against their restraints under the Shah will one day lead the same type of revolution against the same type of strangling authority which deny them true freedom of speech, and freedom of life.
Sass
Posted by sass at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2006
Symptom vs Cause of CEO Stress...
A gem I just received from a friend named Tom. So true...
Forbes.com just published ten ways for CEO's to cut back on stress. See if you can detect the obvious problem with this list:
Find An Outlet - A hobby, like fishing
Get A Massage - And light a candle
Get Your Zs - Sleep helps
Have A Sense Of Humor - Lighten up, dude
Lead A Healthy Lifestyle - Exercise and eat well
Have An Understanding Spouse Or Partner - Manage the situation
Learn How To Delegate - Let it go
Make Money - Money calms many worries
Meditate - It's not just for Buddhist monks
Schedule Vacations - And then take them
Do you see the problem? Exactly! It doesn't deal with what's causing the stress. Here's my list (and Forbes? Perhaps you folks should switch from business to alternative medicine.):
Be passionate - About how your work improves people's lives
Be clear - About precisely how you provide that value
Stay focused - On what customers truly care about
Communicate unceasingly - Your passion, vision and strategy
Stay tuned in - To the rapid and endless changes in today's marketplace
Be kind - If you want your people to be kind
Stop lying - To your people, shareholders, customers and, especially, yourself
Trust others - Which is not the same as telling them what to do (see #7 above)
Give back - To customers, employees, the needy, and the environment
Take risks - Brand is a verb, not a noun
Sometimes there is no point to my own words when someone says it so much better...
Sass
Posted by sass at 05:38 PM | Comments (2)
December 07, 2006
Thin Film Monsters
Amazing how a few days can make some people warm up to my view that thin film WILL be 17% of the market by 2010. Enter a complete unknown into the solar industry with this announcement of a 160MW thinfilm amorphous plant.
They've done it with the right partner in my opinion. Although the piece states that Oerlikon is the "only" supplier of complete systems, there is in fact another. Its an american company called EPV. EPV uses a small footprint of 5MW building blocks (at the moment) and believes in a strategy of putting down smaller factories near the location of the market whereas Oerlikon believes that with such massive buying power, you can negate the advantage of such localized manufacturing of small batches. Both sell systems for about $1 per watt in capex investment so this is where it gets interesting.
The competition in thinfilm just got much much much hotter and it shows that a prediction of a TON of supply coming onto the market in the next 24 months is absolutely true. It also validates the strategic plan which we have put forth to our Board on Monday, which will be made public at the appropriate time. No forward-looking statements here, just a bunch of grins on the faces of my executives who are more and more comforted by our direction.
Expect some blood on the floor in the next 12 months. Suddenly cell suppliers are calling out of nowhere and the race to market share just got much more intense.
Sass
NASDAQ SYMBOL: ICPR
Posted by sass at 06:49 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2006
New Symbol, New Board Members, New Day
ICP Solar announced a new symbol today ICPR on the NASDAQ OTC exchange effective today. Finally we have our own symbol and soon the name will also match ours. Reverse Takeover is how Microsoft and others went public yet they are not always understood well by the investing public, so here's a stab at it.
Often times, smaller companies will try to attract funding through the establishment of a public company on the NASDAQ OTC exchange given that its much less costly and onerous on their small staff capabilities. Several of them don't end up finding financing and thus simply become empty shells.
Since they have already gone through all the headache and time to become public, they can often be "folded" into a real company with real potential. In some cases the "IPO" is in effect a merger with the private company "taking over" the public one. In our case, we entered into a financing agreement that, when all is said and done, gives ICP Solar access to US$10M of funding as part of the transaction.
The management and Board of Directors resign, and the recipient of the funds and new public entity starts to operate right where the old one left off, as a public entity, beholding to shareholders, the SEC and other stakeholders like any other.
When we did the takeover, we inherited the old company name and symbol. Today the symbol changed and very shortly the name will follow (its just a matter of different processes according to US securities laws).
So we took advantage of this fact to also announce two very prestigious additions to our board. Paul Maycock and Dave McDowell.
Further additions will be announced shortly.
As you can see, I did not choose a "yes-board" for ICP Solar. Paul and Dave held our feet to the fire as we discussed strategic directions and potential deals. Having these two by my side will help ensure that the strategies that ICP Solar understakes in the future are going to help ensure our long term success. And if today's market reaction to this little news is a gauge, it seems like we did something very right.
I'll begin blogging a big more about what I feel is the future of our industry shortly after the New Year. For the rest of this month, I've got to focus on my deliverables...as a CEO now beholden to thousands of investors, a board and a growing team which is depending on me for vision and direction.
Sass
Posted by sass at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2006
Sustainable Virgins...
Good for you Sir Richard!
Not only has Richard Branson announced that he'll pump hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into renewables industry, his main flagship Virgin Airlines has now begun to experiment with fuel saving measures aiming to reduce the use of fuel during taxi at airports.
While saving fuel, they believe they can cut carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons. When we mention the sustainable environment, its not always about high-tech solutions. Here we have a very simple and practical measure which not only makes sense for the world, it makes sense for his shareholders (the savings in rising fuel costs will be huge as well).
Isn't there something that your company could do to save fuel, money and carbon emissions? Imagine the win-win-win you could create through your own initiative at work. Go for it!
Sass
Posted by sass at 08:25 AM | Comments (1)
December 02, 2006
Exit Strategy for Lovers of Oil
Well its already begun...the oil men are figuring out their "swan songs" as they know the last days of the Bush administration is upon them. "George W" is now considering up opening up drilling for oil near Alaska in a place home to endangered wales and already dwindling salmon runs.
While I am sure that he'll make a case for "homeland security", since everything under the sun these days is being pushed under that umbrella, there are far better ways to ensure American self-reliance...the sun that shines on the contiguous states provides more than enough power, if cultivated, for the US' growing needs. The challenge is how to convince Mr. Bush that therein lies not only independance from foreign oil, but also very coveted and valuable industry jobs and careers.
Years ago we heard Bill Clinton cry out "its the economy, stupid!". I believe we are now seeing the days of "its the GREEN economy, stupid!". The GREEN economy will create tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years around the globe. If America wishes to claim a substantial chunk of it, then there need to be investments and government support for industry beyond the demand-side of the chain. Without dissing the demand side, the fact is that all that creates is installation and distribution jobs, while the development and manufacturing side will create intellectual property far more valuable to a society, and thus higher paying jobs across the board.
Think about that George W. Be the president whose legacy was NOT to open up drilling in some of the last vestiges and refuges of our wildlife. Rather be the one who left a legacy of the "greening of America" not through simply the planting of more trees, but more like the seeding of more green, young minds.
OK, so I'm dreaming in green technicolor...but hey...it all started with a dream for me too.
Sass
Posted by sass at 06:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2006
Carbon Catastrophe Climbing
We hear now that the amount of carbon being dumped into the world's atmosphere is actually climbing rather than receeding, this despite conservation initiatives. No surprise there.
The fact is that if the world does not engage both a conservation and energy-source change at the same time, its like dieting without exercise. Ask any forty-something woman what the secret to a slim figure is and they'll tell you...Watch what you eat AND Exercise.
So the fact that there is usually a combination of factors required to successful weight (or carbon) control is just pure common sense.
Hopefully the accelerated pace at which the world is adopting renewable energy and involved in initiatives like Kyoto...the sooner the pace of increase of carbon emissions will be reduced.
Sass
Posted by sass at 05:41 PM | Comments (1)