Gary Mintchell's Feed Forward

I went to Chicago last week and that destroyed my productivity. We're busy getting out the February issue of Automation World. Saved a whole bunch of useful sites to suggest. Next is a bunch of automation news I've saved in my @blog folder in Entourage (Outlook for Mac).

Guy Kawasaki talks about Twelves Resolutions on How to be a Mensch. These are excellent ideas for incorporating into your life. Couple of them are be a talent hunter, give something you don't pay for (no, that doesn't mean steal it), spend more time in the "beginners mind," and be happy for others.

Michael Hyatt gives Eight Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr (OK, his day was last week, but I'm behind). These are also good thoughts.

Marketing thinker Seth Godin had a couple of really good posts lately. Here's one on competition that should get you thinking. This one is especially timely give the recent bitter school levy fight in Sidney not to mention the bitterness of our current American national politics, The False Solace of Vilification.

The Emerson bloggers have been busy. Here's Jim Cahill with advanced valve diagnostics. And Greg McMillan with an essay on Virtual Plants.

Garr Reynolds talks about the presentation, but the content is also worthwhile--how to live better longer happier.

And to complete my reading for the week--a couple of items from my favorite Lean blog, Evolving Excellence. The Lesson of Teddy Bears and The Culmination is ... Poof.

Well, not exactly. Check out these pictures from Mars. Way cool. And--PackML has a wiki.

I'm driving to Chicago again tomorrow for a big internal meeting plus a meeting with Yokogawa that was changed from face-to-face to a Web/telephone conference. Followed by a meeting with Beckhoff Automation on Wednesday where they want to discuss a new initiative.