Maybe Not So Crazy After All

Well, at least a couple of people didn't think my idea about a t.v. show on process automation was really stupid. In addition to the comments attached to yesterday's post, there's this email from Jeff Brandt of JLS Automation, referring to my Automation Minute on "Selling the Cool":

  You're right, of course, and your suggestions are right on the money.   Remember, most kids kind-of know what mom & dad do, and they see what teachers do, and, to them, this is 'work.' Career Day just doesn't cut it any more.   For my part, my company just did a conveyor project for a very large central Pennsylvania candy and chocolate company, and we had some product in our facility for testing. The testing completed, and the product was left over, so we employees were tasked with "disposing" of it. I disposed of about a case of it to my youngest son, who is a math teacher at a local high school. He, in turn, used it in the classroom as a motivational tool.   Of course, the product we were given is not yet on the market, so the kids wanted him to tell them how he got it.   "My dad was doing a project for the manufacturer, and they used these to test the project."   "A project? What kind of project can you do with candy bars?"   "It's a conveyor and servo motor thing."   Long story almost over....I have an invitation to come to his classroom, and show the kids how I use math in my work, to convey candy bars, and also to print newspapers (just returned from Saudi Arabia on a startup).   The cool is anything they can identify with -- or -- something they'd like to identify with (world travel).   Of course, bringing kids in is only the long term problem....manufacturer's are dying out there..they can't even hire decent help to keep their heads above water....but this is another subject.

Anybody else out there got ideas for "selling the cool"?