Bottled Water Wars
The bottled water wars are everywhere. They even arrived at Water Analytics shortly after we started up in 2010. As a company that is in the water space, I was determined to make it 100% bottled water free. Some employees…
Too Young to Die, Too Old to Rock-and-Roll
Millennials are entitled. They want a trophy for showing up to work. They spend money on avocado toast but can’t save for a down payment on a house. Last month we hired a technician and, by 9:00 am on Monday,…
Apple and Insufferable Smugness Part 2
I’m writing this blog from my new 15” MacBook Pro. My beloved 17” laptop died and could not be resuscitated. It turns out that, even though you spend twice as much for an Apple computer as you do for a…
It’s not New Coke. It’s a Temperature Device Change and It’s all Good.
Whether a company manufactures jets or ball point pens it constantly faces the challenge of introducing a new revision of a product. Not a new product—that’s easy. New products don’t have “baggage.” Existing products have baggage and we typically group…
Will You Be Left Behind?
Last Thursday I ordered twelve individually labeled trophies for a kids Pinewood Derby competition.
The Joy of Jargon
Every profession has its fill of technical jargon that few outsiders understand. Since war paint has become so yesterday, these odd assortments of letters have helped bond us together. The business world loves high powered gobbledygook like synergy, low-hanging fruit,…
What I learned from Radio Shack (RIP)
I am old enough to remember the Radio Shack that was really a radio shack. This was the place where kids in my Dad's generation would go to build or repair ham radios. And though I am quick to admit…
Why Colleges have Failed our Kids
My company has had a fruitful relationship with the University of Massachusetts of Lowell since we started operations 5 years ago. As a small company we don't have the luxury of hiring all the engineering talent we need. So we…
The Biggest Misconception in pH Measurement
The pH probe is the most ubiquitous analytical sensor on earth. Even people who never took a science class in college have heard of pH (though few truly understand what it means). In our industry nearly every person I talk…
What Would Marcus Do?
What do women's clothing, Key Lime pie and toys have in common? They are all businesses that Marcus Lemonis turned around. Marcus is the star of the CNBC reality show, The Profit. He takes a major equity stake in failing…