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EnergyWatch Blog

Electrotechnology Insights

The EnergyWatch Blog is a daily information source created by Bill Attardi, president of Attardi Marketing. The blog provides a veteran electrical professional’s perspective on the news and industry insights through eyes of electrotechnology insider. Bill Attardi’s experience within the channels of electrical manufacturing and distribution keeps readers ahead of the curve about advanced product technologies and services that satisfy the ongoing energy conservation needs of the end user.

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A Race to the Bottom? by Travis Jones

Posted on November 30, 2018 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

http://jcsllc5.com/blog/ With a thriving economy, these should be great times for the lighting industry. From large conglomerates to specialty niche players, there ought to be much rejoicing. However, the onslaught of offshore, low cost competition has forever changed industry dynamics.…

Tagged with: Jones Consulting, race to bottom, Travis Jones
Posted in Blog

The Past, the Present and the Future by Bill Attardi

Posted on November 1, 2018 by BillAttardi — 1 Comment ↓

What do you think? This is another attempt to pull together an understanding of the transition taking place from the Traditional Lighting industry (the Past), to the Smart Lighting industry (the Present) to the Intelligent Lighting industry (the Future). As…

Tagged with: Bill Attardi, Future, Intelligent Lighting, past, present, smart lighting
Posted in Blog

OVERAGE BY HANK BERGSON, FORMER PRESIDENT & CEO, NEMRA

Posted on September 28, 2018 by BillAttardi — 1 Comment ↓

Overage it’s a word that exists in our business, loved by some and hated by others. It is frequently a topic of conversation or a word that works its way into those industry seminars many of us attend. Overage has…

Tagged with: Agents, Hank Bergson, NEMRA, overage, Reps
Posted in Blog

Plugging into the Gig Economy by Krista Keay

Posted on August 29, 2018 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

Keay Krista - Pompeo

Over the past few years, a phenomenon known as the “gig economy” has spread across the nation. The word “gig” originated in the music industry as slang for a job or performance, and usually (but not always) refers to jobs…

Tagged with: gig economy, Krista Keay, Pompeo Group
Posted in Blog

HIT CUSTOMER HOT BUTTONS BY JIM LUCY OF EW

Posted on August 10, 2018 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

Hello from Kansas City! Really liked the discussion on the NAILD podcast, particularly your thoughts on what happens when the bulk of the sockets are upgraded to LEDs. I lean toward your philosophy that there will be something new that…

Tagged with: Jim Lucy, podcast, REITS, Yankees
Posted in Blog

Time to Rethink High Bay Fixtures. Think LED by Kevin Youngquist of EarthTronics

Posted on July 11, 2018 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

Not long ago, warehouses, manufacturing plants, retail operations and even gymnasiums had few options when it came to specifying lighting for their high bay fixtures. The choice was to either install HID or fluorescent. That’s no longer the case as…

Tagged with: Earthtronics, high bay, Kevin Youngquist, Retail, retrofit
Posted in Blog

Life is Good NOW by Bill Attardi

Posted on June 21, 2018 by BillAttardi — 3 Comments ↓

Maybe you heard…………..Chris Brown received the Life Time Achievement Award from EdisonReport at Lightfair this year: Chris and I agree that the best of times is right NOW! It really is the best of times for us. Good friends like…

Tagged with: Bill Attardi, Chris Brown, stages of life
Posted in Blog

Logistics as a Service, L(o)aaS by Steve Bryne, COO at Facility Solutions Group

Posted on April 23, 2018 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

LaaS may not be what you think it is. In the disrupted world of lighting distribution, the paths to market are ever changing. Manufacturers find themselves partnering with end users and traditional supply chain customers to bring products and solutions…

Tagged with: FSG, L(o)aaS, LaaS, logistics, Steve Byrne
Posted in Blog

Never Forget Your Friends by John Grasso

Posted on February 10, 2018 by EnergyWatchNews — No Comments ↓

A very good friend of mine (thank you Linda) sent me this wonderful teaching moment and being the soft hearted grateful fool that I am who treasures all the friends that have been part of my life, I want to…

Tagged with: friends, John Grasso
Posted in Blog

Within the Next 20 Years We Will Be Living in a Different World! And You Thought It Was Just in Lighting

Posted on September 16, 2017 by BillAttardi — 4 Comments ↓

An interesting talk by the Managing Director of Daimler Benz – a bit mind-blowing really. There have always been the same 3 constants… Death, Taxes and CHANGE! Our competitors are no longer other car companies but Tesla (obvious), Google, Apple,…

Tagged with: 3D printing, Airbnb, bitcoin, Education, self-driving cars, Uber
Posted in Blog

Embracing the Digital Economy in the Wholesale Distribution Industry by Karen Lynch, Vice President, Global Head, SAP

Posted on August 26, 2017 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

Are you an innovator or a follower? Disrupter or disrupted? Growing or stagnant? Digital predator or digital prey? The choice is yours. Today’s competitive markets demand that wholesale distributors evolve more quickly, become more efficient, and provide memorable customer experiences.…

Tagged with: disrupter, distribution industry, Karen Lynch, SAP, value-added services
Posted in Blog

WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS IN THE CURRENT SMART LIGHTING INDUSTRY? BY BILL ATTARDI

Posted on August 5, 2017 by BillAttardi — 4 Comments ↓

We defined the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Stars / Problem Children / Cash Cows / Dogs in our last two blogs…….Now it’s time to put everyone in their place! Forget about Cash Cows and Dogs……..those still in the traditional no…

Tagged with: BCG, Bill Attardi, key players, Problem Children, Stars
Posted in Blog

WE DID CASH COWS, NOW LET’S DEFINE STARS / PROBLEM CHILDREN / DOGS BY BILL ATTARDI

Posted on July 22, 2017 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

We defined Cash Cows in our last blog as follows: Cash Cows represent business units having superior market share in a mature, slow growing, fading industry. Cash cows require little investment and generate cash that can be utilized for investment…

Tagged with: BCG, Bill Attardi, Dogs, Problem Children, SBUs, Star
Posted in Blog

WHAT DO GE, PHILIPS AND OSRAM HAVE IN COMMON? BY BILL ATTARDI

Posted on July 9, 2017 by BillAttardi — 2 Comments ↓

They all want OUT!….or do they? What keeps you up at night? I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I figured out where the Strategic Business Units (SBUs) of our friends in the lighting industry think they…

Tagged with: BCG, Bill Attardi, Boston Consulting Group, Cash Cow, GE
Posted in Blog

Malcolm Gladwell Says AI Will Make Human Judgment More Vital by Phil Goldstein, Web Editor for BizTech

Posted on May 30, 2017 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

As artificial intelligence advances in the workplace, humans will need to solve mysteries amid large volumes of data that machines cannot. Artificial intelligence may replace some jobs, but it will also highlight the importance of human judgment in the workplace,…

Tagged with: AI, artificial intelligence, Gregory Treverton, human judgement, Malcolm Gladwell
Posted in Blog

Leadership is a skill, not a genetic disposition, so they say…

Posted on May 7, 2017 by BillAttardi — No Comments ↓

Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders. Tom Peters Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. President Harry S. Truman Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made…

Tagged with: leadership quotes
Posted in Blog

CHRIS BROWN IS FREAKIN SEVENTY

Posted on March 25, 2017 by BillAttardi — 5 Comments ↓

70! Not just a number anymore. Not when it’s me and I’M FREAKIN SEVENTY! (To read the unexpurgated original version, find Chris Brown on Facebook). First thought……YIPPEE, I MADE IT! On second thought, How the hell did this happen?!? Thinking…

Tagged with: 70 years old, Chris Brown
Posted in Blog

A Judicious SWOT Analysis – Just Five (5) Apropos Questions to Ask Yourself by Bill Attardi

Posted on February 12, 2017 by BillAttardi — 1 Comment ↓

The SWOT (Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) Analysis is an important tool in the strategic marketing planning process and is taught in every graduate and undergraduate business course in academia. My view is that this should be an…

Tagged with: Bill Attardi, IT, new entrants, questions, SWOT
Posted in Blog

Finished: The Whole Customer Value-Added Proposition by Bill Attardi

Posted on January 22, 2017 by BillAttardi — 2 Comments ↓

Ok, I’m back…….to finish my previous blog: The Whole Customer Value-Added Proposition. Let me define what I mean before I relate it to the lighting industry. Much has been written about the value proposition, the almost holy value proposition. You…

Tagged with: Bill Attardi, LaaS, product, service, solution, value proposition
Posted in Blog

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