Taking Aim at Hardlines

We've moved

2009-08-10T14:56:00.001-04:00

Check out our new site at http://www.marketingnewproduct.com

Emerging Leadership Circle

2009-06-02T09:51:00.002-04:00

Tough economic conditions mean we all have to tighten our belts. Training is one of those areas that will feel the pinch, but it doesn’t mean that you have to eliminate training all together. Now is the time to train people and gain a competitive advantage when the market rebounds. Emerging Leadership Circle is a new online approach to training featuring a number of recognized experts augmented with special guests to provide current training at affordable prices that you can access from your computer, when and where you want. Click here to get your free trial and learn more about Emerging Leadership Circle.

Danaher to lay off 2,300; close 16 facilities

2009-04-23T16:39:00.002-04:00

Restructuring hits Danaher. With the economy down and still no sign of returning to previous levels, Danaher is taking action. How long before we similar restructuring at other Hardware/Hardlines manufacturers. What does this mean about how Danaher views the future of our industry?

IP: It's a market failure argument

2009-02-24T11:54:00.003-05:00

I have an Inventor Mentor program that I present for groups and at a local college. Every inventor wrestles with getting a patent. Some think it is an invisible shield that protects them from any intrusion into their area of endeavor. Most are very unhappy to learn that a patent only provides you with a basis to go to court and that it will be worthless unless they can pay the legal fees to defend it in court.
This article gives the other side of the story and outlines an alternative approach with some examples.
Good Stuff for Inventors!

Inflation is Coming!

2009-02-04T22:02:00.002-05:00

Glenn Beck got information from the Federal Reserve that shows what is happening with the money supply.

Run for the Gold

New DeWalt nail gun

2009-01-02T08:23:00.001-05:00

You have got to see this post of a new nail gun from DeWalt. Click here

The Tree of Knowledge 3.0

2008-12-07T20:11:00.002-05:00

In the 1980s, I was lucky enough to tap into a new venue for advertising. I moved our company from print in the traditional screwdriver books to broadcast. I had to decide between wrestling and Nascar. Both had the potential to reach my target audience, but Nascar was going to be an easier sell to my Board. Once convinced I spent $500,000 and got $1,000,000 worth of exposure that was part of the reason that sales increased about 60% while I was at that company.
Today another opportunity exists to multiply your advertising investment and increase sales in a questionable economy. Take a look at my latest Taking Aim newsletter. Click here.

The Election is Over

2008-11-07T07:44:00.002-05:00

Yeah! The never ending election is over.

Regardless of your candidate, we will all be watching very closely to see what transpires over the next 4 years. Some will be pleased and some will be discouraged. Either way, if history repeats itself, we will begin this process all over again in two years. Ugh! There must be a better way.

Election Overload

2008-10-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am burnt out on the election. I get more disgusted every time I hear or read about the election. I suspect that it also is playing a big role in having our markets acting like a yo-yo on a daily basis.

I am certain that come Wednesday of next week that when the election is over, the media will begin a new drumbeat about the administration. At least we will not be harassed with boring debates and never ending political commercials. With any luck, the stock market will pick a direction and stick with it for more than a few hours.

My real fear is that the media is so ramped up and so desperate because of the economic decline in newspaper and major network audiences that they will hype anything that happens to try and create significance for themselves rather than dealing with the real problem. They need to recognize the world has changed and they need a new business model.

Reflections

2008-10-23T13:58:00.003-04:00

It is a beautiful fall day and as I look out the window the lake is still and the hills and trees are perfectly reflected in the water. Meanwhile in the real world, the financial markets are in turmoil, energy prices are an unknown, the election outcome weighs heavily and the internet continues to change at an unbelievable pace.

The last couple of days, I have become convinced that we are in for a long, slow year. Next year at this time, the lake will most likely look very much the same, but the real world should look much more certain. To that end, I suggest that we all rethink our current positions and activities in an effort to increase our productivity. What can be done to maximize our output and minimize our expenses?

Any steps you can take now to improve your productivity should produce gains when our economy finally stabilizes and once again moves upward.

Garage Inventor Website

2008-10-20T14:27:00.002-04:00

Just found the Garage Inventor website. This is a new endeavor geared towards helping preserve manufacturing in the country. That is a goal I can totally support. We need creative new ideas to keep our economy rolling forward. Last week I attended the Hand Tools Institute meeting in Chicago. Everyone was talking about the economy. How we are looking at a tough year coming up and how important new products will be to our survival and prosperity.
I am really looking forward to meeting with these folks next week to see if we can gain advantage by working together towards this worthwhile goal.

YouTube Videos

2008-10-15T17:07:00.002-04:00

A while back I was video taped for Youtube videos. This was a first effort and had no idea where it would or even if anyone would even see the videos. "What's the Big Idea about Decision-Making" has had 665 views. "What's the Big Idea about Positive Attitude" has had 147 views. The latest video is "The Cannon Advantage" and has had 26 views. That is really cool to think that over 800 people have seen these videos.

Check them out for yourself!

Social Networking

2008-10-14T08:07:00.002-04:00

I am just getting started with Social Networking. Check me out on linkedin.com.

I am also on Twitter. Check me out on Twitter.com.

Any and All thoughts and suggestions on how to maximize my efforts are greatly appreciated.

Financial Crisis Procrastination

2008-10-13T21:11:00.003-04:00

The current financial collapse has caused many to panic. It caused me to procrastinate until I overcame my emotional mindset and began to honestly think about the situation it caused me to write my latest newsletter available at http://www.cannonadvantage.com/news0810.htm

What's the Big Idea about Decision Making

2008-01-31T07:18:00.000-05:00

Recently I had a chance to make a video about decision-making and thought you might be interested in seeing it. Click here to see it.

PLANET - Green Industry Conference

2007-11-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

Recently I had the privilege of speaking at the Green Industry Conference in Louisville for the Professional Landcare Network Conference. It was a very interesting show with a huge educational schedule as well. This is a growing industry with some potential for my friends from the Hardware Industry. Certainly there was a tremendous amount of equipment on display with hands on testing taking place outside the building.
Our friends at Snap-On were there selling maintenance software. There were others selling tire changing equipment. It looked to me like there are opportunities for hand and power tool manufacturers, gas can producers, storage system people and other hardware products.

Three Options for Inventors

2007-08-16T14:48:00.000-04:00

There are three basic things that you can do with your invention.

You can sell the invention. This is where you assign your rights to the patent to someone else. Once you have sold the patent and assigned your rights, you have given up total control. The invention and the patent are no longer yours. This approach requires the least amount of investment of time and money and generally offers the least economic reward.

Your second option is to license your product to another entity. With this approach you will collect a royalty on product sold by the licensor. This approach includes many variables and can provide a little more control than selling your invention outright depending upon your licensing arrangement. Will this be an exclusive arrangement? Is the license limited by geography or market? How long is the agreement? Are there minimum quantities required? Is the royalty to be paid on the license to be a fixed percentage or will it vary with volume and/or time? These are just some of the issues to be negotiated with the entity that licenses your invention. Your expenditure of time and money is reduced and your return is potentially greater than an outright sale of the patent.

Your third option is do-it-yourself. This is the most difficult, the most time consuming and the most expensive of the three options. It is also potentially the most lucrative.

If you are interested in more information for inventors, visit www.marketingnewproduct.com .

2007 INPEX Show

2007-06-12T07:21:00.000-04:00

This was my second trip to the Inventionshow in Pittsburgh, but my first as one of the speakers at the “Inventor’s University.” While this is not a huge show, it is a growing show. There were several things that struck me that should be of interest to you.
1. Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, Office Depot, Everlast and Wahl Clipper Corp. were just a few of the companies there looking for new product ideas.
2. There were inventors from all over the world.
3. There was a large contingent of Chinese visiting with the inventors and looking for products to manufacture.
This is an interesting show and might be something to consider spending a day even if it is only from a defensive perspective.

HTI Presents Award to Duncan Hunter

2007-04-02T11:28:00.000-04:00

The Board of Directors of the Hand Tools Institute awarded Representative Duncan L. Hunter with the Hand Tools Institute American Manufacturing Champion Award. The award recognizes leaders that demonstrate strong support for manufacturing. Congressman Hunter has been a vigorous fighter for fair trade policies for American manufacturing and the American worker.

HCN Reports Hand and Power Tool Demand Rise

2007-03-27T08:10:00.000-04:00

Researchers at the Fredonia Group predict that Hand and Power Tool demand will rise by 3.1% annually through 2011 reaching $14.3 billion. Sadly, they are predicting flat production in the U.S. with all of the growth coming from offshore.

Taking Aim for Better Decision-Making

2007-03-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

New Book Positions Decision-Making as Competitive Advantage!

For Immediate Release: January 31, 2007

Contact: Bob Cannon, 216-408-9495

Cleveland, OH: In his new book, “Taking Aim for Better Decision-Making,” Robert Cannon points out that decision-making is a serious and growing problem. Research at Ohio State shows that, “decisions fail half of the time.” This is a huge problem for business and it is even more challenging in today’s environment of speed, information overload, uncertainty and change. Cannon examines the traditional decision-making process and the reasons why it is not producing better results. He also provides an alternative approach that fosters greater commitment to the decision and facilitates smoother, faster implementation and improved results.

“Bob Cannon has captured the essence of leadership in this special book. The best piece of advice I can give you is to devour this book. Buy one for each of your managers, and use it to spark ideas, and discussions” said Mark LeBlanc, Author of “Growing Your Business”.

BOOK DETAILS

Taking Aim for Better Decision-Making
ISBN: 978-0-9792464-0-1
Price: $11.95 (To purchase, visit: www.cannonadvantage.com/ca_store.html)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Cannon is President of Cannon Advantage; a firm specializing in helping visionary leaders enhance performance and profitability. He is an author of Masterpieces in Health Care Leadership (Jones and Bartlett, April 2007). He is also the author of “Taking Aim”, the free monthly ezine written for leaders that takes aim at current issues, mixes in real-world experience and provides the focus needed to enhance performance and profitability. He has also been a featured speaker at industry conferences and has had articles published in a variety of trade magazines.

Bob holds a Bachelor’s from Grove City College, a Masters in Business Administration from Gannon University and a Certificate in Appreciative Inquiry from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He has also been awarded the internationally recognized designation of Certified Management Consultant (CMC). At this time, less than 1% of all active professional management consultants in the United States have been recognized with the CMC.

VF Corp sees the light! How long before others follow?

2006-07-21T07:20:00.000-04:00

I have skipped several weeks of postings because I was uninspired, but this morning's Wall Street Journal article about VF Corp building a boat load of retail stores sparked my enthusiasm once again.
Way back before the dot bomb era, it became apparent to me that manufacturers are at the mercy of the few large merchants in each channel of distribution. As distribution consolidates, the few remaining large players can exert ever increasing pressure on manufacturing and margins are going to suffer. Add in the pressure from low cost, off shore production and it is obvious that the route to survival is by selling direct and taking the cost of distribution out of the product (roughly 60% of the selling price in many instances).
In the article about VF opening stores was the following: "These days, if you are a supplier and want to control your own destiny, you better open your own stores," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a New York retail consulting and investment banking firm.
It seems so obvious but has taken so long for anyone to act. The only area where I might differ with Howard Davidowitz is that the store might be an internet store.
The Revolution in Manufacturing is just beginning. Stay tuned.

Stockholder Revolt at Home Depot

2006-06-02T06:58:00.000-04:00

Today's Wall Street Journal has a great story about the Home Depot Stockholder's meeting. Stockholders withheld votes for directors in response to Nardelli's $115 million pay package since he was hired in 2000. This at the same time the value of the stock has dropped 12%.

Could this be the beginning of the end for overpaid chief executive officers. Pfizer, Exxon, Mobil and Walt Disney have experienced similar situations at their stockholder meetings.

While I am a big believer in paying for talent, I also believe that executive pay has gotten out of control and the time has come for the pendulum to swing, hopefully to a more rational relationship between executive pay and the pay for everyone else including dividends for shareholders!

Cannon Awarded CMC

2006-05-30T11:41:00.000-04:00

The CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation is awarded to those select consultants who have demonstrated a history of substantive results for clients, adherence to the canon of ethics of the Institute of Management Consultants USA, and professional practice management. Global standards of technical competence and professional conduct are set by the 43-nation International Council of Management Consulting Institutes ( ICMCI ).

At this time, less than 1% of all active professional management consultants in the United States have been recognized with the CMC. For more information about CMC, see www.IMCUSA.org.

When you consider using a management consultant, look for the CMC designation . . .
Your project and your organization deserve nothing less.
The CMC® certification mark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

How Big Is Your Boat?

2006-05-19T06:47:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have been struck by the differences that exist between companies in our industry. We have some huge players who by their very size make it easier for them to ride out storms in the marketplace. A friend of mine used to refer to large companies as battle ships and that while they could ride out storms with relative ease, it was very difficult to turn these ships around. Their maneuverability is severly limited. We have companies like this in our industry and it is sad in a way to see all that potential sitting broadside to the changes taking place in this industry.

On the other hand, it is great to see the small, agile upstarts that offer so much hope for the future. Let's hope and pray that many will survive the storms and show us the way to the future in our rapidly changing marketplace.