Words from Ron Hollis

Here is the latest published blog in PDD…..

http://www.pddnet.com/column-dr-ron-hollis-10-years-ago-a-paradigm-shift-began-020510/

I guess this makes this a blog within a blog?

Ron

Quickparts is a proud supporter of NASA and the US-lead exploration of space. Being a leader in providing low volume custom parts for product development can provide some very interesting experiences.

We are very proud to have been able to support the development of the Robonaut 2. This is a very cool robot that is being developed to go deep in space so you don’t have to.  I was able to see the predecessor, Robonaut, and was very impressed.

Quickparts was the provider of the parts for the Mr. Robonaut 2.  We were able to leverage the right manufacturing processes to support the technical requirements, project lead times and tight budget.

Check out the article from FOXNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/02/04/nasa-unveils-robonaut?slide=2

Quickparts.com (www.quickparts.com) has launched a new video series starring Johnny Quickparts. He will be sharing his adventures in product development. Johnny is the star engineer in Better Be Running! Tools to Drive Design Success, an “almost” best selling book on product development and manufacturing.

A video series with a common character is a very unique approach to marketing in manufacturing. Most manufacturing information is very dull and boring. The video information that is available is typically shots of a machine doing something….great for 10 seconds, then dull after that….some may know the feeling.

There will be another 15 episodes this year and then the execs at NBC/CBS/ABC will decide if they cancel it (if they too busy, then we will decide the future).

Please check out the video and let us know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnnyQuickparts

I love Amazon! I have always been a loyal customer to Amazon and their products. I bought one of the first Kindles upon release years ago. While it did not adequately serve my needs, I was anxious for the future generations.

So, here comes the Kindle DX. It is bigger, faster and better. I bought and tried to implement it into my reading system, but was unable to get the value I needed. I am a reader for the acquisition of information and knowledge. I don’t just read for the sake of reading. Most of my reading is non-fiction works about business or biographies. So, when I read, I try to process the information for application, which requires me to make many marks and notes in my reading.

The Kindle DX does not allow you to easily mark the text and does not support freehand at all.

So, here comes the Sony Reader Daily Edition PRS-900. While not as cool looking as the Kindle, it did support freehand note taking, so I decided to give it a shot. I sold my DX and placed an order for the Sony Reader. Thus my journey of horrible customer service begins.

• Placed order on 12/27/09 from their website (www.sonystyle.com). It showed a ship date of 1/15/10. A long wait, but hey, this is a great product
• Upon ordering, I get my email confirmation for the order
• On 1/15/10, I had not heard anything, so I check my account online and it says “processing” and ready to ship on 1/12 (odd, I thought, so I emailed customer care for an update)
• I get a response saying their system is behind sometimes and the dates may not be right. They would be shipping the product soon.
• I wait until the end of the week and check again. Same status. It’s now a week later than promised and NO real information.
• I send another email to customer care and get a response that their systems are behind and they can’t really tell when the product would ship, but it would be soon

NOW for the fun

• On 1/26/10, I get an email from Sony’s system saying they have CANCELLED my order. Trying to diffuse the information, there is a small comment says there was a failure to communicate with the bank.
• I EMAILED and they said the order cancelled but they were not sure why (interestingly, the email they tell to inquire about issues lets you know they would be handling your request within the next 5 BUSINESS DAYS)
• I CALLED that night. I get a nice guy that looks up the account and says, it was cancelled…Why, I ask, “not sure, something about the communication with the bank”. We think you should call your bank. FYI: The credit card I used was a SONY CREDIT CARD from CHASE BANK….they were probably still in business.
• I asked why they would just send an email cancelling the order instead of telling the customer there is an issue and to call. “I’m not sure why we don’t do that, it’s the way the system works”
• What are my options? We can transfer you to Sales and you can place the order there. I tell them that I don’t want to wait another month, so to have my account marked for special shipment to get me back to the front of the queue. “Sir, we can’t do that. Once the order is cancelled, there are no options, that’s the way the system works.”…
• I ask for his boss…after 10 minutes of waiting, I get his manager. Another nice guy who re-iterates their inability to help me all because of the system.
• He tells me he will be sure to report this issue….”Great, that helps a lot, NOT!”
• He tells me to send an email to sonylistens@amsony.com . Pretty funny email, I thought, because they may listen but they damn sure don’t help.

So, it’s always the systems fault why you can actually serve your customer.

How can a company with the brand of Sony and history be so poor at serving their customers? They should stick to developing products and using distributors to manage the customer relationship because these guys suck!

The good news….I have a greater appreciation for the customer service of Amazon and their ability to serve their customers AND have systems….go figure!

While I am not a huge Thomas Friedman fan, in his book, The World is Flat, he did expose for public discussion the changes that have occurred in our world.   With the advent of instant communication, the world is much smaller and much flatter than any time in history.

I recently ran across the following quote or statement from Friedman that is appropriate to our time.

Friedman stated, “There are still two really important things that can’t be commoditized.  Fortunately, America still has one of them: imagination.  What your citizens imagine now matters more than ever because they can act on their own imaginations farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before- as individuals.  In such a world, societies that can nurture people with the ability to imagine and spin off new ideas will thrive.”

Being in the product development world for my entire career, I can appreciate his point more than most and confirm that he has this absolutely right!  Over the past 20 years, we have seen a complete transformation of the product development world that allows ideas to be created in hours instead of weeks.   At the end of the day, it comes down to the tools available to empower one to release his imagination and convert the imaginary into the reality.  There are 3 major tools that have evolved to make it easy for anyone to empower their imagination for the creation of something new.

1) CAD.  Some of the most powerful tools that have freed the imagination of man is CAD (Computer-Aided Design).  This is the canvas of creation. This is tool that allows a person to translate their thoughts and ideas into a representation of reality. Some 20 years ago, CAD was still an electronic version of paper and all ideas were broken into an archaic and difficult language of engineering drawings and 2-dimensional representations. Today, a guy in his underwear watching a ball game can load Google Sketch-up and design his idea in a 3-dimensional language that represents reality. If he designs a new, fancy cup to drink his coffee, then it will actually look like a cup, not a bunch lines to represent a cup.  These new CAD products are much easier to use, affordable, and very powerful.

2) Rapid Prototyping. Now you have a cool design that represents your imagination, what’s next? Again, some 20 years ago you were stuck. The option was to go to a model maker that would cost thousands and take weeks to turn your design into a prototype.  This is definitely not a way to free the masses to imagine and create, but to stifle creativity and leave it to the companies that have figured out how to make money with their product. Today, with the evolution of rapid prototyping, the world of design to reality is AMAZING! A design can be transformed from the electronic representation of a design to reality in a few hours for very little money.  This allows virtual products to be evaluated under the circumstances of physics, reality and usability. This allows the design to evolve very rapidly from an unproven concept to a real, functional and worthwhile product.  A designer can finish his cup design this afternoon, login to Quickparts.com to order his prototype and have it delivered tomorrow morning. From imagination to design to reality in day!

3) Low Cost Manufacturing.  Many times the purpose of imagination and development is to solve a problem of the world. In the case where the problem only exists for the one person that designs the solution, then a prototype may suffice. However, odds are high that a problem for one is a problem for many. So, there is a market of your design. Again, 20 years ago it would be very difficult to have your design manufactured cost effectively. You would have to invest huge dollars to get started. Today, the world is great. With the evolution of manufacturing technologies and the mass expansion of manufacturing capacity with countries like China being an email away, then a product can be setup and manufactured very cost-effectively.

By combining the independent power of these 3 tools, the world of imagination, innovation, problem solving, product development and creation are highly accessible to those in the US. We have been blessed to have access to such powerful resources as developers of tomorrow and consumers today. It is with these tools that the US can maintain our world-leader status as the innovators of the world as long as we are willing to accept the challenge of creation and not try to offshore it as well.

Imagination is the seed of creation.  Creation is as God-like as you can get.

This week marks the 10 year anniversary of a major paradigm shift in the manufacturing world. January 3, 2000 was the first business day when a designer could sit at his desk, go to to a website, upload his design data for his custom parts and get a quote INSTANTLY and then buy his parts IMMEDIATELY…. All without having to speak a word to a pesty sales person, wait for days to get his quote or get a quote for parts that were already several revisions behind.

It has been 10 years since the launch of Quickparts.com! It has been a decade in which the world shifted under the feet of the dinosaurs of the industry that believed that….

• Customers did not need the convenience of the Internet
• Engineers would not upload their data to a website
• It’s impossible to quote a part without a human expert
• Instant quoting would never stick
• My customers need my help in designing their stuff
• The files are too big to transfer
• Websites are not secure
• This Internet thing is just a fad that will pass
• My customers love me
• My customers are loyal to me and would never leave me for a website
• You can’t take the human element out of manufacturing sales

It has been a decade since Quickparts.com began the journey of making it easy for our customers to buy custom designed parts that meet their needs. We started with the focus being on the customer and have worked every day since to make the experience of the customer unlike any experience they have had in manufacturing and more like the experiences they expect from the retail stores they visit.

By executing on this focus of the customer, we have been able to disprove all the naysayers. After 10 years, our competitors have realized that we were right and for them to continue to exist; they must look more like Quickparts and less like themselves.

Over the decade, we have learned many things. One of them is that the challenging technologies of online instant quoting were not the really hard parts. It was the development of the rest of the technologies and systems that would allow us to handle over 12,000 customers buying over 500,000 custom parts.

It has been a great 10 years for Quickparts.com. We have been able to demonstrate what we believe to be the purpose of business, which is to serve their customers; build leaders; enhance their communities; and provide a return to the stakeholders.

As a founder of this great company, I personally express a sincere Thank You! to all of our customers, team members (past and present) and stake holders for allowing us to enjoy the journey.

Interesting patent APPLICATION recently published by Objet…

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Aa_HAAAAEBAJ

As the original RP patents begin to expire, it will be very interesting what new patents can take their place and how it affects the industry.  Possibly, if the major IP constraints were removed, then the market could finally break-out of this technical malaise and begin innovating again.

Every year, scores of folks set new years resolutions. Most of them include something about losing a ton of weight by joining the gym. Great revenue opportunity for the gyms each year. However, most folks only go a few times and then quit…..possibly, this is better than those that try to stick it out and keep going to the gym…how, you ask?

Is it possible that by joining a gym and actually going can make one fatter? I have be diligently working out everyday for the past year. A major part of my routine is to go to my local fitness club (LA Fitness) every weekday morning at 5:15am. Just this experience is interesting in that it turns out that for the most part, the same group of folks go to the same place on the same routine at this crazy early hour. They are what you would expect from a discipline group of gym rats, hard working, fit and trim. Then, there is the later arrivals, around 6am and on that begin to change the physical demographics of the group. These are the ones I have been observing lately and noticed an unexpected phenomenon…..these folks are getting fatter.

I watch some very large folks come to the gym. There are several (greater than 10) I have watched that have been committed enough time and effort to come to the gym most every day and be there for an hour or more. After several months of watching these folks, I have also noticed no significant change in their body. They are still as fat as they were as when I first started watching them. Actually, I think a few are even bigger than when they started.

In observing their routines, I noticed that they spend very little time on the cardio machines (stairs, treadmill or bicycles), but love to hang on the equipment. They get in place, take a drink from their jug, and then push or pull for 10 or so reps. Stop, rest, take another drink and then wipe the imaginary sweat from their brow. It can be humorous except they are doing themselves a disservice. They think they are doing the right thing, they are doing good for themselves, when in fact they are killing themselves. When they leave their early morning “gym workout” and hit the local Mickie D’s, they end up a loser. They justify their diet for the rest of the day as being acceptable since they “worked out” this morning.

Unfortunately, they don’t realize they only burned 200-300 calories and that donut has 400, so before they hit the office, they are on the wrong track. Here comes lunch, with the self-talk of “who needs a salad, I worked out this morning!”, so they slam the burger and fries. Then there is dinner. I need a good dinner to build up my energy for my work out tomorrow. Of course a good dinner must be followed by dessert….again, I worked out today, I deserve it.

So, if they did not go to the gym OR for the folks that were smart enough to be quitters in the first place, then they would not have the false sense of reality about their fitness and would eliminate the rationalization of indulging. They would eat their salads and keep planning on heading to the gym next week.

Why this blog..well, there is a great article in August 17 issue of Time (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html) or the PDF is at www.ronhollis.com. This article is challenging the concept of exercise and its overall value to weight loss. The author is right on here in challenging the perceptions of reality. Essentially, she is writing what I have been observing. Folks that go to the gym feel vindicated to eat whatever. My observations show that even going to the gym is a compromise in that the exertion is very limited but the overall experience is that “I worked out this morning, so let’s eat”.

Per the Time article, there are 45M gym members in the US, which is up from 23M in a $19B gym industry…..good size industry. One would think there must be some good in all of these memberships.

Recently I experienced a hydrostatic body fat analsyis. Very interesting results that are quite daunting. At the end of this test, I was 24.5% body fat and needed to be at 20%. Of course obese for men is 30%, which would appear to be practically every person I see in life, especially if they are over 40. It seems impossible to not be obese in today’s world. Even with my recent investment in fitness, I am struggling to lose this last 4.5%.

However, the guy that gave me the test was very candid and told me that body fat was 80% DIET and only 20% exercise. Meaning, you have to manage the calories you consume more than just the calories you burn. He’s right. When I started tracking all the food I consumed, it was quite amazing how fast you would ADD calories. Reality is a muffin is 350calories or the ranch dressing for the healthy salad is 100 calories. For me, I can consume 2000 calories to break-even for weight (my standard living caloric burn is 2000 calories per day). So, if I want the glass of wine or ice cream, I have to account for that in the diet and be sure to work those calories into the day by exercise. If I can work out for 60-90 minutes to burn 500 calories (which is mostly running), then I get 2500 calories to BREAK-EVEN…but my goal is to lose body fat, so I still have a problem.

At the end of the day, losing or maintaining weight is simple arithmetic. Calories consumed less calories burned equal your caloric surplus/deficit for the day. For every 3500 calories you accumulate a deficit (net burn), then you lose one pound.

That’s it…use the gym as a resource to burn calories that are actually counted toward your daily numbers and NOT as an excuse to eat whatever.

Besides weight control, why else should one be interested in exercise. It does appear to be positive for cognitive skills, especially as a person ages. There may be a reduction in the risk of cancers or illnesses. But very fit folks get cancer too, so it’s a combination of life experiences.

Exercise or not, one thing seems certain…..you don’t see very many fat old folks walking around. So they don’t exist OR they are confined in their domicile.

The following few blogs will be summary reports of some major cities visited the past few weeks in Europe.  I was tracking my thoughts and observations about the cities.  The purpose is to share one person’s observations at one point in time. Things can change from weather, seasons, and economies, so these observations could very well be different the next time I make the visit.

Athens, Greece- December 2009

Key Thoughts: Old, run down city. The place was covered in trash and graffiti. The people were not overly friendly (acted like you were invisible).

Likes:

• Greek Salads (love tomatoes and olives)
• Mythos beer was tasty
• Small area that can be easily covered by foot
• Historical presence that is very old (2000+ years is a long time)
• The Athens Gate Hotel was ideally located

Dislikes:

• Non-historical stuff was old and run down as well
• Dirty with trash and graffiti
• People were mostly indifferent or rude
• Too many youths (mostly young men) loitering
• The burning remains of the riots that had just occurred the day
• Expensive
• Flying Delta- where they decided to deny my bags and change my seat
• Athens airport is poor excuse for an airport

The following few blogs will be summary reports of some major cities visited the past few weeks (December 2009) in Europe.  I was tracking my thoughts and observations about the cities.  The purpose is to share one person’s observations at one point in time. Things can change from weather, seasons, and economies, so these observations could very well be different the next time I make the visit.

Frankfurt, Germany- December 2009

Key Thoughts: Dull and lifeless town. There seems to be very little energy in the city.

Likes:

• Clean
• Organized
• Historical
• Food (Schnitzel and pilsner)

Dislikes:

• People are indifferent or tend to be rude
• Boring
• Lacks any energy
• Lacking strong Internet infrastructure (China has these guys beat bad)

Did enjoy driving on the main highways (autobahn)….no speed limits on open areas of the highway is a practical reality. Why limit a driver in a desolate area? Of course, there were many areas with speed limits on these roads and from the behaviors of the drivers and cops, they are strictly enforced….

You gotta love the logical approach to life of the Germans…..their engineering prowess shines through in their lives….now that I think about it, Germany probably reminded me a good bit of Huntsville, AL (the city with the most engineers per capita)…very logical place to be.

After experiencing the geography of the country, it is confounding to know what Hitler was thinking in going for global domination….Also, learned that swastika’s are illegal in the country….

Summary: Very good visit….look forward to visiting other German cities for comparison.