Sales is more than just a numbers game...

When you think retail, quality racks can make or break a sale

Many of us who are now in the profession of Sales, ‘cut our teeth’ by starting out somewhere in a Retail business. For me, it was Women’s and Children’s clothing (independent retail store). One thing that needed attention was restocking the shelves and the various display racks. I recall when we remodeled the store, we met with the architect to select new displays for clothing and accessories. It was not much different from selecting appliances in a kitchen remodel.

As time went on, and I changed jobs, racks and displays popped up in a variety of places. We needed revolving racks for trade show displays for easy access and the presentation of collateral and brochures. Coming into the hotel at night, I would see racks stocked with regional tourism or event information. As a manufacturer, when working with distributors and wholesalers, we often provided racks for them to display our product, or marketing materials.

As I look at today’s market and economic climate, I got to thinking about this niche industry of manufacturing displays and racks. The manufacturing side is suffering the same pressure as any other manufacturer located in the United States. Also, there is the wide range of materials and designs available for the same application, i.e., why choose wire racks over acrylic/plastic ones?

When the announcement was made on Monday that Blockbuster would be closing more stores (“Blockbuster more than doubles planned store closures to nearly 1,000”), I began to think about all those racks that would be re-sold, or discarded. Looking at how thin my local newspaper is – not to mention the giant leap in price at the newsstand ‘rack’ – I have to believe the number of racks built for newspapers and magazines is on the decline. How about the declining numbers of independent, local bookstores –the movie “You’ve Got Mail” quickly comes to mind. Enter the momentum of the digital book and e-readers for the classroom, or reading for leisure with a handheld device or Smartphone – I still like ink on my hands.

With all these market forces, if you were in the display and rack business as a manufacturer, I am betting you wish there was a “Cash for Clunkers” program for racks of all kinds. Some of the display racks I see in stores or outdoors would definitely qualify and not require a means to disable them; they are nearly DOA already.

Although the above may seem bleak, there is one manufacturer I know, with over 30 years in the industry, which is far from tossing in the towel. R WIREworks, Inc, based out of Elmira, NY, offers a wide range of wire racks and displays, where “most items proudly carry a Made in the USA label “. When you look through the selection of categories and individual racks, it reminds me of one of my favorite phrases I used during my time with Unisource; “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

Selection is not always enough in their industry. Product innovation and quality are equally important to survive. They use high quality materials and pay attention to creative designs. Knowing the construction and wholesale lumber & building material dealer industries well, I could appreciate their venture into Roofing Displays. Not only do they design and manufacture these displays, but they assist their customer with layout and installation needs, too. They are taking a full-service approach to a product that can easily be seen as nothing more than a commodity in a catalogue.

Small businesses like R WIREworks are under a great deal of pressure from many directions. Pricing in the business of racks and displays is very competitive, and the cost to manufacture is not going down. To survive, manufacturers will need to not only serve their existing markets well, but also look for new markets with innovative, high-quality products. Recognizing that supplying retailers is a partnership, quality racks can make or break a sale.

Book Review - I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse
Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss
By Michael Franzese

A book review by Don Kusterer

I am not at all a meeting person, especially since most business meetings are conducted either without an agenda, or with just a bare outline, and carried on until the allotted time runs out, or the leader runs out of something to say. As a unique learning experience, “Sit down” in this book is covered as a model of efficiency for today’s group interaction (read meeting). “The agenda is made crystal clear. Do we whack him or not?” Few words are wasted and business is transacted in an extremely concise manner. Results are measured, and acted upon quickly.

This is the prelude to Michael Franzese’s new book, “I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse - Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss”. If you’re looking for a revealing book about Mob secrets, you’ll need to look elsewhere. However, if you want to gain a new perspective – albeit from a rather uncommon business spokesperson – on balance, negotiation, personal habits, and basic business conversation, you’ll find some poignant tactics and new habits we all can put to use if not immediately, then at least cerebrally. 

For many of us, we probably already know some of these secrets; we’re just waiting for someone who has more experience to help us put the puzzle pieces together. We are motivated even more by those who seem to be a high profile figure. When it comes to high profile, Franzese was “#18 on Fortune Magazine's "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses" list in the mid-80's.”

His new book, published by Thomas Nelson - a company known for motivational and religious publications - is basic and straightforward business sense; but, for lack of a better term, offers up how decisions for others in his previous career had life changing consequences. Where today’s news is filled with financial improprieties, Franzese offers up the chapter “Mob Rule # 7: Cook the Pasta, Not the Books”. In each chapter, he offers experiences that occur in a world outside our own; but not too unlike corporate America, he tells us how we can apply these lessons to our more ordinary lifestyle.

There is no shortage of books that will give you basic business tips, self-help, and a bit of Win/Win make everyone happy (with a trophy or medal); and by the way, don’t remove my 30,000 feet view of the world that I am confident is correct. This is where Franzese departs from the pack. His view on failure as a tool and as a part of self-development, has certainly strummed one of the strings that yours truly has seen time and again in working with young salespeople. He uncovers the subject of failure in a way that is real, and not sugarcoated like some of the other self-help books that preach “we’ll damage someone’s self image if we let him fail”. When you read the book, these precepts will fall into place for you, as well.

While this writer, coming from a strong Judeo-Christian background, finds Franzese’s concept of Machiavelli vs. Solomon difficult (from a personal point of view), it does bring forth my view that a lot of philosophy doesn’t reach the common businessperson’s day-to-day encounters, despite steady emphasis and education. I wonder how many ordinary folks think about these relationships. 

Would I dare be negative in commenting on a book written by a former Mob boss? I found several things that I disagreed with conceptually, but not having walked in his shoes, appreciated the opportunity to experience the personal benefit of learning something new. Can we all learn from Franzese’s experiences? You can bet your life on it!

From a sales and marketing point of view – after all that’s the working world I frequent most - this is a book that is well worth the investment. It’s not what you know in business that causes you to fail; it’s what you don’t know, or what is not on your radar screen, that comes back to get you. Franzese will raise your consciousness to a new, perhaps never before thought of, level that actually was, and is, his world.

“Don’t look for the leader; instead let the line form behind you.” – Don Kusterer

Don Kusterer is a sales and marketing executive with Care Line Inc., an industry leading custom packaging and medical pillow manufacturing company headquartered in Greenbrier TN. He has over 40 years experience in sales, recruiting, training and management in the health care industry.

Recaning old chairs becomes lesson in advice

Four of our older chairs were in need of replacing the original cane seat. I have noticed that many of the used chairs I see for sale are also in need of repair/replacement. There may be a message in that observation as to the difficulty of the project at hand. Nevertheless, having done a fair amount of woodworking and DIY projects, I figured I was up for the challenge this past weekend.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” – Proverbs 19:20

That was my first step; go find some advice and get some instruction. The Web was plentiful with instruction, but I found the advice varied across the many sources available. Although most people spoke from experience, some offered extra tips and tricks to ease the pain and not make common mistakes. Readers added their own perspective with questions and advice.

In my case, I would be using ‘sheet’ (machine-woven) cane and planned to match the original installation of size and style. If the situation presents itself, I might be willing to try the hand-woven method another time.

The first order of business is removing the old cane. Cutting the basic seat area (of cane) with a utility knife - down to the interior of the frame - was straightforward. The next step is removing the old spline. This is not too different than what you would encounter replacing a screen in a window or door, except the spline material is wood.

Not so fast. I had read there was a spline removal tool, but that some people just used a screwdriver to get under the spline and pry it out of the groove. That’s where my prior woodworking took hold. I decided that was not a good plan as the screwdriver could easily get loose and damage the groove – or go right through your hand. I dug a couple of tools out from my toolbox that fit in the groove and allowed me to get under the spline. I would recommend that if you are doing more than a couple of chairs, get the spline removal tool – I plan to do that if I have to do anymore of these. Also, in the video mentioned later, you will see them use their hand like a cantilever for the removal tool; I would suggest you use a soft wood block in place of the back of your hand.

It’s much harder than it looks if you are faced with a similar situation to my own. I am convinced that the manufacturer used some form of carpenter’s/wood glue as the spline was a bear to get loose. Once that was completed – in many pieces – I soon found myself left with remnants of the old cane inside the groove. I did catch a mention later of a steam method – softens the glue and wood - that might make this job easier.

To get the remnants of the old cane out of the groove, I tried a variety of methods of chipping or cutting it away. I was confident I needed a clean, smooth, uniform groove for the new cane and spline. In the end, I found my powered rotary tool and a ‘chipper’ bit to be the most effective, using care not to put too much pressure against the wall of the groove (so as not to gouge it).

Career reflection births ode to old school employment

As I prepared for an upcoming presentation – more about that next week – for the weekly gathering of CareerNet at SAPC, my notes were getting longer than the allotted time slot would allow. I found myself reflecting on many of my personal experiences related to my presentation that was titled, “Surviving the Job Interview – What can I do for an encore?”

In the process of putting the notes together, I waned nostalgic on how employment has changed over the years. From this reflection, I put to pen this simple ode to old school employment:

Gone are the pensions without too much thought; enter the complexities of 401Ks, and the need to plan your own retirement.
Gone is on-the-job training; enter the need to complete online courses and acquire certifications.
Gone is the goal of a corner desk, or office with a window; enter a temporary cubicle, virtual office, or a spot at a coworking facility.
Gone is water cooler gab; enter collaborative communication from a wiki, blog, or social networking site.
Gone is typing a memo with a simple QWERTY keyboard; enter starting over again with Office 2007’s radically new ‘ribbon’ interface.
And the Peter Principle is 40 years old!

One Goal - Revenue Generation ® Podcast series – We’re back!

To those of you who have asked about the gap in recordings, “We’re back!” In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing some new Podcasts for your listening pleasure. Fresh from a studio session, as soon as the edits are completed, we’ll push up the new releases. In the mean time, please visit the entire library of Podcasts.

If you are not a subscriber, please sign-up for a download from the iTunes Store, or Odeo. This makes it easy to get each episode that contains straightforward and seasoned advice; the series serves as an audio ‘pocket guide’ of selling and sales management tips. Most of the episodes are less than 3 minutes in length and are grouped into discs and tracks, like the chapters of a book.

Also, we would like you to become an active member of our new Group on LinkedIn. This Group is for listeners and subscribers to discuss the tips and ideas offered in the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® Podcast. These audio podcasts are focused on enhanced selling methods and better business models in brief, practical audio tips; they offer sales coaching for a variety of selling situations.

Don’t forget to write! We enjoy hearing from you by email, or Comments here in the blog. Thanks for listening…your support and encouragement makes for a rewarding experience.

Book Review - Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Teal Book of Trust

Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Teal Book of Trust: How to Earn It, Grow It, and Keep It to Become a Trusted Advisor in Sales, Business and Life

A book review by Don Kusterer

One may wonder whether a “raving fan” of Jeffrey Gitomer can objectively review his latest book on the topic of trust in “…Sales, Business and Life.” I will ask you to trust me for a moment, and then let you decide for yourself.

In a single sentence, if you’ve ever lost a sale, a customer, or a relationship, you must ask yourself why it happened and how you got there in the first place. Doing so will help you grow personally and avoid this mistake in the future. Gitomer’s latest book provides a framework for understanding trust, relationships, getting and keeping business, as well as giving you a number of tips and insight into the reasons behind these fundamentals.

If you are a system or process-oriented sales executive, this may not be a book that would attract your immediate interest. From my perspective, Gitomer is anti-system sell and writes in language that is easy to understand and embraces simple truth. That being said, you might do yourself well by reading it to get the other side of the argument.  He does have a tendency to “rant” (to use his term), and one needs to get past both the ranting and the constant reference to his business. In this book, Gitomer expands his reasons for saying what he does and why it’s important to know.

From this readers viewpoint, he either misses an important point about authenticity and sincerity, or I missed it by ‘sped redding’ and losing comprehension. In my mind, authenticity and sincerity are created by looking our customers in the eye when we talk to them. So many of us fail to perform this simple act and miss the benefit of the instant trust this meaningful action creates.

Gitomer is tuned-in to the way he does business and goes to extremes in everything he does; you have to admire both his passion and authenticity. He has been extremely successful and is recognized as a foremost expert on selling. I’ve been reading his columns, articles, and books from the beginning, and I am currently subscribed to “Sales Caffeine”, Gitomer's weekly sales e-zine.

One needs to view all of his books much like you eat fish that you just pulled out of the water; fry it, chew on it, and spit out the bones. In the Little Teal Book of Trust, his simple 17.5 elements of relationships are right-on for today’s complicated sales processes. Jeff is real in his illustration and timely with this tome. 

If successful sales and leadership are your goal, this book does not contain all the answers for success, but it certainly does contain many of the real pieces of the process. The Little Teal Book of Trust, like all of Gitomer’s earlier works, contains golden nuggets of knowledge that anyone, of any age or experience level, can extract from within. Where else can you find 198 pages of large print, easy to read gold at under $1.50 an ounce? 

This book is a simple “how to” edition that reads easily and naturally; it will fall into my library as a sequel to his other books that I often recommend while training new salespeople. Trust me; this one is worth its weight for the recently hired or really experienced salesperson, as well as those who manage them, who aspire to be a ‘Trusted Advisor’ rather than seen as just a peddler of wares.

“Don’t look for the leader; instead let the line form behind you.” – Don Kusterer

Don Kusterer is a sales and marketing executive with Care Line Inc., an industry-leading custom packaging and medical pillow manufacturing company headquartered in Greenbrier TN. He has over 40 years experience in sales, recruiting, training and management in the health care industry.

Upgrade to Office 2007 Ultimate feels like a rear-end collision

You know the feeling; out of nowhere you are rear-ended by another car and wonder what the heck happened. You were motoring along just fine and looking forward to getting to your destination. Now you have to deal with the damage and the insurance company.

So it was with an upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate this past week. From then on, it’s been an uphill battle trying to gain some normalcy in a daily business regimen.  Up to this point, I was resistant to changing versions of Microsoft Office since everything seemed to be running just fine. Friends, family, and business associates have been encouraging me to go for one of three options: 1) Use StarOffice, a.k.a, OpenOffice.org, 2) Go 100% online with various applications from Google, or 3) Upgrade to Office 2007.

I quickly scrapped the Google idea. Past experience didn’t bode well for that as a solution. StarOffice was an attractive option. But, there are some newer applications in the Office Suite from Microsoft that had caught my attention and I was interested in taking them for a test run.

After comparing versions, I chose the Office 2007 Ultimate Full Version (versus an upgrade; the reason is another story in and of itself). I didn’t have any need for the Office Accounting add-on, but clients had been asking us about Business Contact Manager (can be bundled in with Outlook as a standalone, too). This seemed like an opportunity to ‘give it another go’; the last time we looked at it, it was unimpressive compared to other contact management or CRM tools.

The first burp in the installation came shortly after choosing “Upgrade” for the installation. Everything appeared normal until I opened Outlook. Error messages starting popping like microwave popcorn. The first was a reference to a missing link to a file, followed by a prompt asking for the prior version’s CD. Thinking this was some quirky validation scheme, I complied and assumed it was resolved. Outlook performed, and other than the new appearance and Ribbon (tool bar), I was operational – not so fast, my older established business rules for email, and folders, don’t work; something else for me to attend to.

When I came back for the next day’s use, the errors were back. I poked around the Web and found this was a common problem, and a little trial and error solved one problem by deleting an unnecessary file (leftover from the prior version) . But, the Install error message continued to ask for the CD. Assuming it was a version compatibility or licensing issue from the upgrade, I decided to call Microsoft’s Tech Support.

The first call’s recommendation didn’t work; but, a second call for the same problem pointed in the right direction. By the time I was welcomed back from the long hold by the tech – doesn’t anyone have an escalation plan anymore – I had already searched the knowledgebase (KB) and discovered what might be the resolution; while waiting, I had downloaded the utility file associated with solving the problem.

It turns out that the upgrade did not fully remove all the prior version files and entries; using Add Remove Programs wasn’t much help, either – that generated a new error message. The utility cleaned things up and the error message in Outlook went away.

I continued on to install Business Contact Manager (BCM). Little did I know that would introduce a new set of problems. As an aside, it took me awhile to find BCM on the CD. Assuming it would install with Outlook (after all, they are dependent on each other), it turns out that it is on Disk 2 of the CDs with no obvious mention; it’s not marked on the face of the CD, nor any reference in the tiny slip of paper included in the CD case. A mini manual might be nice, too.

When my Auto Archive for messages kicked in, an error message popped up from BCM telling me it couldn’t store the messages due to incompatible file formats with the old Office version. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I have some work ahead of me to try and rectify the situation; it has to do with the older format storing in a non-Unicode data file and the newer version storing in a Unicode data file. Apparently a similar problem exists for older .pst files that relates to a file size limitation in storing email.  Good information for me – I have a large archive .pst - and an additional incentive to make the conversion. Why the error referenced BCM is still a mystery to me.

Since the BCM database is completely empty – I haven’t found the time to try it – I was surprised by a database error this morning. It quickly fell into the “who cares” bin, right along with the MS-imposed reminder to back it up. You can see that I am not eager to evaluate BCM any time soon based on these experiences. I am left wondering just how compatible this add-on is. More so, one quirk I found already is that your Contacts in Outlook are stored separately from BCM. I have this gut feeling that this is cobbled together in some way, and that gives me pause.

The odd thing about this experience is that all the other applications in the Suite seem to be running just fine. The only two applications that didn’t clean-up in the install were Outlook and Publisher. And, the only Office 2007 application causing fits is Outlook (and BCM). What application do I use the most in the Suite? You guessed it; Outlook.

BEHR How-to paint video falls short of expectations during playback

The weekend brought about the larger painting projects. There are many brands and colors to choose from for interior painting, so once the color was selected the rest appeared to be smooth sailing from there. I must have wished success on our work too soon.

Once the painting project was completed, my wife suggested that adding a faux finish of some sort would add a special touch and appearance to the rooms. That brought on a whole new challenge of finishing choices like sponging, ragging, frottage and more.

Not having done this before, it was off to the Internet for some discovery and lessons. In the process, I found many useful utilities and tools on the Web sites of the paint manufacturers. But, wanting something more than a YouTube short video, I was attracted to the advertised BEHR videos on CD that were available at The Home Depot. As an aside, we chose another brand of paint for the base color.

Around $6.00 out-of-pocket, and I am headed for home with my new instructor. It’s a two (2) CD set with what appeared to be more than ample topics. I didn’t pay attention to the instructions on the back of the case (for playback) and put it in my home DVD player, fully expecting the TV screen to light up with a colorful menu and choices. What I got was an error message that the CD was not compatible with my DVD player. I should have looked at the system requirements, first; it’s computer playback, only.

I’m sure this works for many people; but, I found watching it on my laptop less than optimal for the intended purpose. I would have much preferred to see it play on a larger screen in the comfort of the den. Beyond the playback issue, the instruction was adequate. Here again, I had higher expectations. I didn’t find a significant difference in presentation on the BEHR CD than from some of the short clips I had viewed on YouTube.

After the finishing techniques, I had hoped to take advantage of the section on color selection. Truth be told, each time my wife asked me what I thought of the color choices she was showing, I would tense-up debating which answer to give her. In the CD, I was desperately seeking a mediator. I found that the individual manufacturer’s Web sites were more helpful than the video. So, again I was disappointed in the results.

I guess it boils down to the fact that I see this video from BEHR as an excellent marketing tool. But, when it moves to something I have to pay a nominal fee to watch – with so much being free today - then my expectation of quality and results rises significantly. I believe that accounts for my disappointment as much as the overall viewing experience. It was the letdown in shelling out the cash and feeling like I could have learned as much by simply spending more time on the Internet.

Of the two CD set, we watched four videos. That barely scratched the surface of what was shown in the menus. I am left wondering if they, and the rest of the consumer public, would have been served just as well, if not better, by making these free on their Web site.

In my mind, it would have the same marketing value-add, without the larger distribution costs to The Home Depot. Add the ease of updates and additional content delivered over the Web, and I see further gain for both BEHR and the consumer. BEHR does offer this over the Web with their video clips of BEHR Exterior Wood Care products. So is the driving force here to bring customers into The Home Depot?

What do you think? Does an experience like this change your purchase or brand preference in a manufacturer’s goods or services? What are your expectations for availability and viewing surrounding How-to videos? Should they be free on the Web, or purchased in a pre-packaged multi-CD set? As a manufacturer, how do you know where to draw the line between free and pay-to-view marketing materials?

Flexing sales numbers is one way to sidestep the question

As the AIM message hit my desktop, I knew I would answer, “No, I haven’t gotten to it, yet.” The question was related to whether I had read the latest “All Things Digital” in Monday’s (June 9th), The Wall Street Journal. It was in reference to the interview with Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon.com Inc.

Having put this section aside to read as short stories, I had read the article on Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Interesting history and I enjoyed the forthright discussion on passing the baton of leadership from Gates to Ballmer. But, I can’t buy into the notion that using XP is a “downgrade” in the choice of operating systems over Vista (“Is Vista a Failure?”).

Encouraged by the instant message to read the article on Bezos, I picked up The Journal Report expecting to read something visionary or as yet undiscovered in their business model, Amazon.com the company, or Bezos himself. Sorry, unless I missed something, most of it was old news to me. But, what did catch my attention was the discussion of sales results surrounding the Kindle.

When asked how many of the Kindles were sold, Bezos declined to answer the question directly. However, he did respond with “a new stat” to demonstrate the trend. According to the article, he stated that there are “125,000 book titles available for Kindle” and when compared to the “physical book sales of those same titles (at Amazon.com), the Kindle sales are now more than 6% of those total sales.”

So, what does that 6% mean? I assume he is talking about sales revenue. Or, is it the number of units sold, i.e., volume of books? Either way, without knowing how much of the “physical book sales of the same titles” was sold, in the same period, I am at a loss for what that 6% represents in revenue to the business. Assuming the average Kindle user buys multiple titles, that doesn’t tell me much about the installed base of Kindle users. You could probably go on from here with other like questions in search of the answer. I left with a shrug and moved on to the next article on Yahoo – which seemed like another numbers dance.

When it comes to sales forecasts and looking at projections, it’s usually not long before you hear me utter, “Anyone can hide under a 90-day forecast.” I don’t see where it is to anyone’s benefit to twist numbers into something believable in an attempt to make it look good. It usually comes to the surface sooner or later. Another favorite phrase of mine, “Bad news doesn’t get better with time.” – it’s normally expressed by me when talking about Public Relations (PR) – seems to hold true when it comes to projecting sales results that are going to fall short of the goal.

I won’t pretend that I haven’t been a party to this activity myself. As a salesperson, sales manager, and sales executive, I was always optimistic that we could hit the numbers. And, when the clock began to count down to the looming Forecast deadline, I would scramble to find some reassurance that the numbers would support my optimism, or at least build confidence in others. Nothing beats ‘positive spin’ when a bit of ‘need to feel-good’ is in order.

Now older, and hopefully a tad wiser, I take a more pragmatic approach to Sales Forecasts. I use the same posture as when my children were growing up and it was report card time at school. They would hear me say, “Just give me the news. I don’t care whether it’s good news or bad news, just give me the news.” As adults, they laugh about it now. But, they still hear it on occasion when they ask my advice that seems begging a response of, “What ‘really’ happened?”

I’m not attempting to dispute any of the aforementioned numbers, or question how/why they were presented; quite frankly, I think the Kindle, Amazon's new wireless reading device, is a good idea. See this as a plea to encourage all sales professionals to adopt the posture of solid sales forecast reporting. You owe it to yourself, your boss, and your company.

Smaller innovations quickly taken for granted

As I put on my eyeglasses the other day, I thought of how quickly we dismiss small (in size) innovations in our daily living. The eyeglasses I wear are spring-loaded at the hinge point, where the earpiece bar meets the lens frame. For those of us that are prone to yanking our glasses off in a single, sudden motion, these little springs help absorb the shock and keep the original fit intact.

Sticking with the theme of eyeglasses and innovation, I recall another pair I had where the sunglasses were held in place over the lenses by a set of magnets. The lenses of the sunglasses were the same design and style as the prescription lenses. You would ‘clip’ the sunglasses in place (aligned on the magnets at the temple portion of the frame) and you could barely notice the set of lenses over each other. Sadly, this style of frame was not sturdy enough for the hard wear I put on eyeglasses and eventually they were retired.

Certainly the materials used in eyeglasses today are innovative. Gone is the weight and limited styles and colors. In fact, each time I have to purchase a new set of frames, the selection nearly seems too great. Lenses, too, have made great strides. In my own case, the progressive corrective lenses (I wear bifocals) are barely visible and have a “sweet spot” for reading. Beyond colored lenses, or tints, there are progressive lenses that change color and become sunglasses based on available sunlight.

With the emphasis on innovation in software and information technology, I think we sometimes forget the smaller things that are innovative and make our lives better. I try and bring some of these forward in our Innovation section of this blog. In today’s example, I was captivated by something that was small in size but had a significant impact on my day.

Take a moment to think about this as you go about your day. Look for the smaller, simple things like the lighted vanity mirror in your car. Maybe it’s the sprinkler head on your hose that has a variety of spray settings. If you are like me, it won’t take long to get that “why didn’t I think of that” mindset.

The old adage of “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” still holds true. In reading a biography of Einstein, I discovered that the patience of observation was one of Einstein’s greatest assets. Innovation and new products come as much from observation as they do from a spark of genius. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” - Albert Einstein