Have you ever been frustrated to the point of using laughter as a coping mechanism?  Why is it that the most important mornings are often preceeded by the most horrendous nights?  In “Sales on Fire”, Marissa shares a humorous story about the frustration she experienced the night before a big deal-closing, morning meeting.  Listen well.  There are great lessons to be learned.

Here is the second installment of Marissa’s Short Stories from the Road.   As I said in the Introductory post: With so many years in the business, and with countless hours on the road and in sales meetings, Marissa has been in a wide variety of situations, and has plenty of stories. Many are humorous and almost all of them have a lesson within. Marissa has decided to share these short stories in audio format for people to listen to and learn from. We hope to host …

I first met Marissa Oskarsen at the PCB East show in early spring 2009 outside of Boston.  Just as I am unique within the industry due to my age, so too is she unique considering how few women work within the field of printed circuit board sales.  We have kept in touch since, and she was one of the first people to whom I pitched the idea of an industry blog.  We have talked a few times about ways that she can contribute to this project, and we have finally …

Paving Roads with Old Circuit Boards
With an eye to recycling, circuit boards are being used in asphalt
By Mark Fischetti
Millions of printed circuit boards from discarded electronics are tossed into landfills every year. In addition to the volume of waste, the material can leach chemicals into the soil. As an alternative, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are finding various ways to reuse the panels, including as an additive in asphalt.
Xu Zhenming and his colleagues stripped the boards of all components, pulverized the remains into a powder and …

It’s no secret that advertisers have been bombarding the public with provocative ads for years in an attempt to grab the consumer’s attention for just a moment more.  Ford, Proctor and Gamble, Axe, GoDaddy, etc; they have all run campaigns that have pushed the limits, and in most cases, been exceedingly successful.
But would Sex Appeal increase Circuit Board sales??  There are a variety of angles (or curves) that you have to consider.  I welcome you to join the debate in the comments section of this article.  We’re very interested in …

Etsy.com is “your place to buy & sell things handmade.”
Whether you are a novice artist looking to make a little extra money on the side selling things you’ve made, or if you are a broker of handmade and unique products, Etsy.com is a great resource.
I came across some really cool looking products made from recycled circuit boards. From Earrings to desk organizers, there is a plethora of creative, useful, and artistic items that have been put up for sale.  I’m sure that I will be following the site as different …

Every day we read or hear about how a healthy life is about balance.  There are only two things my dad critiques me about when it comes to my health: “sit up straight and stretch more”.  I find that amusingly ironic.  The same desires my dad has for me have made their way into the PCB Industry.  As designers have sought to develop longer lasting and more complex electronics, circuit boards have been forced into a regimen of balancing traditional rigidity with the ability to bend, twist, and essentially be …