Back when I was reading Notes on the Synthesis of Form, I mentioned that one of Alexander's productive diagrams can make a bunch of senseless data suddenly morph into something meaningful. I experienced this type of eureka moment today. I have been struggling with the data that I have generated using the chiral column. Assumptions that I had going into the project have been ravaged, leaving me with two or three possible ways to interpret the data. The first step to my productive diagram was reading a paper (that my coworker found) describing how two of the materials that I have been using have different sublimation properties. One of my assumptions at the beginning of the project was that these materials had basically the same sublimation properties. My data was suggesting that their sublimation properties were different, but it wasn't until I read this paper that I could use this insight to interpret the rest of the data.
I encountered the power of the productive diagram when I gave each type of material that I have been using (there are 3) a different symbol in a figure that summarizes my data. As soon as I made this change (all 3 materials had the same symbol previously), my messy data became crystal clear. I now have a relationship between a property of my experimental material and one of my experimental observables. I'm not quite sure what it means, but rather than preparing to let the project sit for a week or so while I try to figure out what to do next, I have a clear plan of what I need to do over the next couple of weeks. I'm running some old samples now to see if the same trend holds. I wasn't sure if I would have something that could be published from this work when I went to work this morning. Now, thanks to a well designed diagram, I see a clear path to a publication. Now I just have to see if my experiments will cooperate with my plan.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Learning environment online
Fresh off my decision to pursue an MBA online through Marist College comes an article by Richard Barker in the Harvard Business Review (that is also posted on their blog) that blasts the entire idea of on online MBA. The online MBA does not provide the right platform for management training because "the environment within which people learn can be more powerful than the specific material taught." It's the interaction with other students and learning from their professional experience that is the real benefit of obtaining an MBA.
The business school, at least in Barker's ideal, provides a learning environment that allows the student to link the topics of the different classes with those topics from other classes and their own experience. The combined experience of other people allow this linking to extend to other situations through discussions with other members of the class. As expressed in the article "The pedagogical opportunities in sharing [professional experiences] are obvious—and they require an environment in which students actively work together and learn from one another." Barker goes on to say that "in a collaborative learning environment the people around you are more than just colleagues and friends; they are an explicit and valuable part of your educational experience. It follows from this that effective business education cannot be delivered exclusively online, because online delivery is a teaching mechanism, not a learning environment."
Why can't an online class provide the learning enviroment that Barker finds so commendable? If a broad array of experience in one's classmates is an explicit and valuable part of the educational experience, won't 500 or so people drawn from all over the country at a variety of professional levels be superior to 200 or so students drawn from a fairly narrow distribution of educational and professional backgrounds? I do not need to be physically proximal to sombody to engage in a meaningful discussion of how my experience colors a particular class topic. Online discussion tools available for the class, gchat, email, text messaging, or an old fashion phone call can be used to discuss a topic just as well as talking about it in person.
Barker puts the onus of providing a learning environment on the instutition. Once that is in place, the student will be a vessel for this abundance of rich interactions that the wise admissions officers and deans have created for these fertile minds. That perspective is backwards. Every student chooses how engaged they will be in a class. If I want Barker's learning environment, I will be able to find it no matter where I go to school or how the instruction is delivered. Just because somebody goes to Harvard doesn't mean that they will be fully engaged in the Harvard learning environment. Similarly, just because I'm not in the same room as my classmates doesn't mean that I will not engage in a meaningful discussion with one or two of them. I am responsible for my classroom (virtual or otherwise) experience. The creation of a learning environment falls to me. The institution provides the context. I decide how deeply I will delve into the content.
The business school, at least in Barker's ideal, provides a learning environment that allows the student to link the topics of the different classes with those topics from other classes and their own experience. The combined experience of other people allow this linking to extend to other situations through discussions with other members of the class. As expressed in the article "The pedagogical opportunities in sharing [professional experiences] are obvious—and they require an environment in which students actively work together and learn from one another." Barker goes on to say that "in a collaborative learning environment the people around you are more than just colleagues and friends; they are an explicit and valuable part of your educational experience. It follows from this that effective business education cannot be delivered exclusively online, because online delivery is a teaching mechanism, not a learning environment."
Why can't an online class provide the learning enviroment that Barker finds so commendable? If a broad array of experience in one's classmates is an explicit and valuable part of the educational experience, won't 500 or so people drawn from all over the country at a variety of professional levels be superior to 200 or so students drawn from a fairly narrow distribution of educational and professional backgrounds? I do not need to be physically proximal to sombody to engage in a meaningful discussion of how my experience colors a particular class topic. Online discussion tools available for the class, gchat, email, text messaging, or an old fashion phone call can be used to discuss a topic just as well as talking about it in person.
Barker puts the onus of providing a learning environment on the instutition. Once that is in place, the student will be a vessel for this abundance of rich interactions that the wise admissions officers and deans have created for these fertile minds. That perspective is backwards. Every student chooses how engaged they will be in a class. If I want Barker's learning environment, I will be able to find it no matter where I go to school or how the instruction is delivered. Just because somebody goes to Harvard doesn't mean that they will be fully engaged in the Harvard learning environment. Similarly, just because I'm not in the same room as my classmates doesn't mean that I will not engage in a meaningful discussion with one or two of them. I am responsible for my classroom (virtual or otherwise) experience. The creation of a learning environment falls to me. The institution provides the context. I decide how deeply I will delve into the content.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Random
If I could figure out how to get my work laptop to connect to my Wifi network, I would have been doing work on Saturday night. I started an HPLC run on an idea that I came across while seeing what the literature had to say about enantiospecific interactions on Friday afternoon. I made a few trial injections before I left the lab. There looks to be some kind of interferent right on top of a very important peak, but I decided to go ahead and run a few samples anyway. I can think of one of two ways to get some useful information from the run even with the interferent. My curiosity to see how the run looked is pretty quiet when I'm busy with the kids, but once I'm on my own, I get very anixous to see how things look.
While I have accepted that research is not the best direction for my career, leaving the lab will be a difficult process. I plan on staying close enough to the labs that I will still see and think about data, but I won't have this daily interaction with a few problems that lead to original ideas and experiments. The depth of understanding that I have will become more superficial as my responsibilities shift. I have thought that maybe a smaller company will allow me to stay closer to lab activities while taking a leadership role. When I interviewed at a small company it was clear that every level of the company was involved in research. At the same time, maybe it would be better to just go cold turkey and make a clean break. A management position that requires a technical background might be better.
So what did I do on Saturday night when I wasn't checking on my HPLC data? I drank beer (which I would have done with the data anyway), listened to a Muse concert on the Spin website (which I also would have done while looking at the data), and played Mario Kart Wii online. I stopped playing for a couple of months, but I started playing again a couple of weeks ago when I figured out how to to mute the controller. I have done really well in the two or three sessions that I've played. I don't know the results are more about me being good or the other people being bad. I kind of think negative things about the people who are too good at some of the tracks (shouldn't they be doing something better with their time?), and I can't help but think that other people have the same opinion of me. I plan on limiting my playing to the weekends. I don't want to become a loser who is too good at a dumb video game.
While I have accepted that research is not the best direction for my career, leaving the lab will be a difficult process. I plan on staying close enough to the labs that I will still see and think about data, but I won't have this daily interaction with a few problems that lead to original ideas and experiments. The depth of understanding that I have will become more superficial as my responsibilities shift. I have thought that maybe a smaller company will allow me to stay closer to lab activities while taking a leadership role. When I interviewed at a small company it was clear that every level of the company was involved in research. At the same time, maybe it would be better to just go cold turkey and make a clean break. A management position that requires a technical background might be better.
So what did I do on Saturday night when I wasn't checking on my HPLC data? I drank beer (which I would have done with the data anyway), listened to a Muse concert on the Spin website (which I also would have done while looking at the data), and played Mario Kart Wii online. I stopped playing for a couple of months, but I started playing again a couple of weeks ago when I figured out how to to mute the controller. I have done really well in the two or three sessions that I've played. I don't know the results are more about me being good or the other people being bad. I kind of think negative things about the people who are too good at some of the tracks (shouldn't they be doing something better with their time?), and I can't help but think that other people have the same opinion of me. I plan on limiting my playing to the weekends. I don't want to become a loser who is too good at a dumb video game.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Evolving Mega-group (and my place in it)
After all of my gnashing of teeth over the Big Reorg at my place of work, not much has really changed in how I go about my day. My big fear, losing the freedom to pursue my solutions to interesting problems, has been a non-issue. I have teamed up with another scientist to keep the chiral column busy (it helps that each sample takes an hour to run, my conventional method for the same samples takes 2 minutes). It still seems that as long as I keep delivering what is needed for my development projects, management is content to let me tinker around in the lab. I have also been pleasantly surprised at the level of involvement from my new manager to how I coordinate activities in the lab. I expected a much stronger hand.
While some of my fears have not been realized, others problems are starting to pop up. It looks like we're going to treat the new big group as a larger version of our old groups. This will not work. It's just too burdensome. We are also relatively rudderless. The only hint of a vision for the group is to test a particular class of samples in a specified time frame. I think this should be treated as a given as we put more emphasis on improving how we work and gain a better understanding of the fundamental properties of our systems.
I'm doing all that I can to move the group to a greater emphasis on innovation and breaking free of the status quo. The structure of the entire division is not suited to an innovative culture, we're too focused on how many routine samples we can process, but I keep looking for ways to poke and prod the focus of individuals from what they're going to what they could be doing. Surely there is so critical mass that will shift the balance from a focus on routine tasks to an emphasis on innovative work.
While some of my fears have not been realized, others problems are starting to pop up. It looks like we're going to treat the new big group as a larger version of our old groups. This will not work. It's just too burdensome. We are also relatively rudderless. The only hint of a vision for the group is to test a particular class of samples in a specified time frame. I think this should be treated as a given as we put more emphasis on improving how we work and gain a better understanding of the fundamental properties of our systems.
I'm doing all that I can to move the group to a greater emphasis on innovation and breaking free of the status quo. The structure of the entire division is not suited to an innovative culture, we're too focused on how many routine samples we can process, but I keep looking for ways to poke and prod the focus of individuals from what they're going to what they could be doing. Surely there is so critical mass that will shift the balance from a focus on routine tasks to an emphasis on innovative work.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I get the point, so what's the point in reading the whole thing?
I am very adept at finding the one piece of information that I need from a research paper. Why bother reading the whole thing when I can get what I need from a couple figures and a passage or two of text? I recently started applying a similar criteria to books that I'm thinking about reading. I was poised to read The Innovator's Dilemma. Rather than starting at the page one and reading straight through, I flipped to the back and read the summary of findings presented in the book. After reading that and the intro I felt like I had a good enough grasp of the innovator's dilemma. Rather than wade through a detailed description of the disk drive industry's evolution, I returned the book to the VCU library without reading the whole thing. I can't add the book to my list of completed books, but I don't think I would have gained anything by reading the whole thing.
I have also decided to pass on Clay Shirky's new book. I commented on a video that is basically a synopsis of the book (at least from the reviews of the book that I have read) a few months ago. (This interview with NPR also lays out a few of his arguments.) This whole cognitive surplus idea is an interesting way of thinking about how we use our time, but I really don't need to read (and buy) a whole book about how the web allows each of us to make a small contribution to a much larger project. I am not all that blown away by people using their free time to develop Linux. If there was a comparable thing for chemists, I would work on that. I have spent almost half of my life learning chemistry and using that knowledge to solve interesting problems. I would happily spend a couple of hours trying to make sense of data that somebody couldn't figure out. While it's not as easy to recognize as playing a musical instrument or painting a picture, I like to use my chemistry research skills. I have developed some level of mastery over an area of inquiry. I like to use expand my skill set by trying to solve new problems (after watching this video I can also cross Drive off of the books that I would like to read, I think this video pretty much says it all).
I have been a reader of fiction for most of my life. A novel begs to be read straight through from page one until the story ends. I am slowly orienting myself to the idea of flipping through a book to get the main idea and moving on to something else. Most of the popular business books that I've read are really only trying to convey one or two ideas. Most of the book is illustraions of that idea or an argument to support some conclusions. Unless I am extra interested in a topic, I don't see why I should spend time on what is really just filler. I will likely start applying strategies like these to get the good stuff out of a book and leave the rest behind. Once I start using my cognitive surplus to get my MBA, I will need to find new ways to find new ideas. This is a good place to start.
I have also decided to pass on Clay Shirky's new book. I commented on a video that is basically a synopsis of the book (at least from the reviews of the book that I have read) a few months ago. (This interview with NPR also lays out a few of his arguments.) This whole cognitive surplus idea is an interesting way of thinking about how we use our time, but I really don't need to read (and buy) a whole book about how the web allows each of us to make a small contribution to a much larger project. I am not all that blown away by people using their free time to develop Linux. If there was a comparable thing for chemists, I would work on that. I have spent almost half of my life learning chemistry and using that knowledge to solve interesting problems. I would happily spend a couple of hours trying to make sense of data that somebody couldn't figure out. While it's not as easy to recognize as playing a musical instrument or painting a picture, I like to use my chemistry research skills. I have developed some level of mastery over an area of inquiry. I like to use expand my skill set by trying to solve new problems (after watching this video I can also cross Drive off of the books that I would like to read, I think this video pretty much says it all).
I have been a reader of fiction for most of my life. A novel begs to be read straight through from page one until the story ends. I am slowly orienting myself to the idea of flipping through a book to get the main idea and moving on to something else. Most of the popular business books that I've read are really only trying to convey one or two ideas. Most of the book is illustraions of that idea or an argument to support some conclusions. Unless I am extra interested in a topic, I don't see why I should spend time on what is really just filler. I will likely start applying strategies like these to get the good stuff out of a book and leave the rest behind. Once I start using my cognitive surplus to get my MBA, I will need to find new ways to find new ideas. This is a good place to start.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Different Paths
Lonnie Allen and I had almost every class together when we were ninth graders in Clovis, NM. We were in the advanced classes together. I remember talking to him about what we were going to do with our lives. I really had no clear idea of what I wanted to do (pharmaceutical research scientist was not on my list of potential careers), but he was already doing things to get ready to be a prosecutor. We had fewer classes together when we moved to the high school (only 10-12 grades were in the high school), but we did have Algebra II together. He would tell me how hard it was to take AP English with the math classes needed to take Calculus when we were seniors. I moved to Virginia after that year. I moved during the summer so I didn't get a chance to say good-bye to most of my friends from school.
I wondered about Lonnie until we reconnected on Facebook. He's not a lawyer. He draws comics. He doesn't draw superhero comics or Sunday funnies type of stuff. He's more a graphic novel comic artist. He posts a short strip every couple of days on his blog. He's been a zombie in a video store commercial too. I have no idea what his day to day life is like, but I'm certain that it's much different than mine. I have never thought about what life would be like as a struggling comic book artist living in Denver, but seeing somebody who was once very much like me (at least at a superficial level) choosing a much different life has made me wonder what could have happened if I had made different choices in my life. I'm very happy with the choices I've made, but I've always been so focused on the next stage of my life or career that I've never stopped to consider an alternative to my experience.
You know you've been closed to new experiences when buying a fairly unconventional polo shirt is a relevatory event. I have been pushing my limits here and there recently. It's been in fairly tame ways, like trying new restaurants (the wife and I discovered a great place just outside of our usual haunts this weekend) or wearing almost designer jeans with shoes other than running shoes on the weekend. My decision to pursue an MBA online is another way that I am thinking a little more broadly about how to go about living my life. I know that none of these things are particularly edgy. Lonnie will always be further out on the experimental side of life than I will ever be, but I intend to make experimentation, trying something new just for the sake of trying something new, a bigger part of my life. Rather than passively waiting for new experiences to find me, I will start looking for ways to do new things and building on positive experiences that I have had in pushing my boundaries. Today it's building a little wall for my kids' garden. Who knows how tomorrow's choices will change the path of my life.
I wondered about Lonnie until we reconnected on Facebook. He's not a lawyer. He draws comics. He doesn't draw superhero comics or Sunday funnies type of stuff. He's more a graphic novel comic artist. He posts a short strip every couple of days on his blog. He's been a zombie in a video store commercial too. I have no idea what his day to day life is like, but I'm certain that it's much different than mine. I have never thought about what life would be like as a struggling comic book artist living in Denver, but seeing somebody who was once very much like me (at least at a superficial level) choosing a much different life has made me wonder what could have happened if I had made different choices in my life. I'm very happy with the choices I've made, but I've always been so focused on the next stage of my life or career that I've never stopped to consider an alternative to my experience.
You know you've been closed to new experiences when buying a fairly unconventional polo shirt is a relevatory event. I have been pushing my limits here and there recently. It's been in fairly tame ways, like trying new restaurants (the wife and I discovered a great place just outside of our usual haunts this weekend) or wearing almost designer jeans with shoes other than running shoes on the weekend. My decision to pursue an MBA online is another way that I am thinking a little more broadly about how to go about living my life. I know that none of these things are particularly edgy. Lonnie will always be further out on the experimental side of life than I will ever be, but I intend to make experimentation, trying something new just for the sake of trying something new, a bigger part of my life. Rather than passively waiting for new experiences to find me, I will start looking for ways to do new things and building on positive experiences that I have had in pushing my boundaries. Today it's building a little wall for my kids' garden. Who knows how tomorrow's choices will change the path of my life.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Time Interference
My wife, in her infinite wisdom and stubborn practicality, has challenged me to figure out how much time I will need to purse an online MBA. How much will my studies impact the time I spend with family? How long will it take me to finish? Both good questions. The second one is easy to answer. If I follow through with the program at Marist, I will need to take 17 classes. If I take 5 classes a year and start this fall, I will finish in December of 2013.
The second question is harder to answer. I sent the school an email asking how many people are in the program (about 500) and how much time is needed per class. I got the response that the prep time varies considerably from class to class but I can get in touch with the School of Management to talk to a staff member about the time demands per class. I had no time to make that call today. I'll find some time tomorrow. Regardless of what they say, the real question is how much time do I have to work on my classes without taking time away from the family. This is how I see it. I currently leave the building for lunch. If I start this program, I'll use one of the smaller conference rooms to eat while I study. That will be about 45 minutes. I may be able to read a little bit while my kids watch a video before bed. We'll call that 15 minutes. My wife goes to bed around 10 while I stay up until 12:30 or so. Let's call that two hours. That's 3 hours a day. If I use all of that time everyday that's 15 hours a week, 7.5 hours per class. A couple more hours on the weekend, we'll call it 9 hours per week per class. I have half-day Fridays until late-October. That's about half of the class for the fall. I would also have half-day Fridays in the spring. That's a couple more hours a week, assuming I'm not taking care of other things. Is that enough?
If that is barely enough time, I will have to give up every other leisure activity that I currently have to get this degree. I can walk on the treadmill and read. I may be able to squeeze in a quick workout before I start studying in the evenings. I wouldn't have much time to read for pleasure while classes are in session. Is the degree worth it? That's what I need to figure out.
The only way to see if I can make this work is to try it. I figure I can apply for this semester. They have waived the application fee and I don't have to take the GMAT. The cost to attend will be tuition, of which I will get 90% back when I finish the semester. I will be taking business classes that I will be able to apply to my job, at least in theory. I figure I give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, I'll just stop after the fall semester. I would have a couple of classes for a few hundred dollars and no regrets. We'll see how the wife feels about that plan.
The second question is harder to answer. I sent the school an email asking how many people are in the program (about 500) and how much time is needed per class. I got the response that the prep time varies considerably from class to class but I can get in touch with the School of Management to talk to a staff member about the time demands per class. I had no time to make that call today. I'll find some time tomorrow. Regardless of what they say, the real question is how much time do I have to work on my classes without taking time away from the family. This is how I see it. I currently leave the building for lunch. If I start this program, I'll use one of the smaller conference rooms to eat while I study. That will be about 45 minutes. I may be able to read a little bit while my kids watch a video before bed. We'll call that 15 minutes. My wife goes to bed around 10 while I stay up until 12:30 or so. Let's call that two hours. That's 3 hours a day. If I use all of that time everyday that's 15 hours a week, 7.5 hours per class. A couple more hours on the weekend, we'll call it 9 hours per week per class. I have half-day Fridays until late-October. That's about half of the class for the fall. I would also have half-day Fridays in the spring. That's a couple more hours a week, assuming I'm not taking care of other things. Is that enough?
If that is barely enough time, I will have to give up every other leisure activity that I currently have to get this degree. I can walk on the treadmill and read. I may be able to squeeze in a quick workout before I start studying in the evenings. I wouldn't have much time to read for pleasure while classes are in session. Is the degree worth it? That's what I need to figure out.
The only way to see if I can make this work is to try it. I figure I can apply for this semester. They have waived the application fee and I don't have to take the GMAT. The cost to attend will be tuition, of which I will get 90% back when I finish the semester. I will be taking business classes that I will be able to apply to my job, at least in theory. I figure I give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, I'll just stop after the fall semester. I would have a couple of classes for a few hundred dollars and no regrets. We'll see how the wife feels about that plan.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Big gains at the gym by working out at home
I visited the gym yesterday for the first time in many years. I walked through the door with two objectives. I wanted to test my strength level by doing some bench presses, and I wanted to try the Concept2 rowing machine. I started with the bench. I was hoping to do 225 lbs. at least once. I manged 4 reps. This was after working my way up to that weight from 135. I was surprised by how easily I was able to handle the weight. I could do a few reps with 225 when we used to visit the gym before we had kids. I would lift two or three times a week. Seeing that I haven't lifted in close to 5 years, I thought I made be able to struggle through one rep. The fact that I was able to lift more by doing whole body exercises and push-ups while working out in my garage than I was able to do while lifting regularly has affirmed my workout strategy.
As for the rowing machine, I read about the Concept2 machine somewhere online or in a magazine late last year. I thought about buying one, but at $900 or so, that wasn't something I could buy without knowing whether or not I would enjoy the workout. I only thought about getting one because I was intrigued by the challenges and competitions Concept2 runs through their website. Competition is a big motivator for me so I thought having an exercise machine that would give an outlet to my competitive nature could only help. But would I like the workout. After doing two miles on it yesterday, I can say that I really enjoyed the workout. It's a simple machine, but it provides so much feedback it's easy to set a goal and use the workout to see if you can make it. The designers of the display must have read Flow because it easily satisfies the requirements of a good flow activity. I'm looking forward to doing it again next Saturday. Maybe I'll even look for a used one online.
A little postscript here, I just added another book to my read list. I'm making excellent progress on this resolution, but a good number of the books I have read this year were either bought this year or borrowed from the library. The book I added tonight, Geeks and Geezers, came from a coworker who got it from the library in our building. I needed to get it through it this weekend as I promised to give it back to her Monday morning. I wanted to use that resolution to work through my substantial back log of books that I want to read. Maybe I'll focus on that aspect of the resolution in the second half of the year, until I start working on my MBA anyway.
As for the rowing machine, I read about the Concept2 machine somewhere online or in a magazine late last year. I thought about buying one, but at $900 or so, that wasn't something I could buy without knowing whether or not I would enjoy the workout. I only thought about getting one because I was intrigued by the challenges and competitions Concept2 runs through their website. Competition is a big motivator for me so I thought having an exercise machine that would give an outlet to my competitive nature could only help. But would I like the workout. After doing two miles on it yesterday, I can say that I really enjoyed the workout. It's a simple machine, but it provides so much feedback it's easy to set a goal and use the workout to see if you can make it. The designers of the display must have read Flow because it easily satisfies the requirements of a good flow activity. I'm looking forward to doing it again next Saturday. Maybe I'll even look for a used one online.
A little postscript here, I just added another book to my read list. I'm making excellent progress on this resolution, but a good number of the books I have read this year were either bought this year or borrowed from the library. The book I added tonight, Geeks and Geezers, came from a coworker who got it from the library in our building. I needed to get it through it this weekend as I promised to give it back to her Monday morning. I wanted to use that resolution to work through my substantial back log of books that I want to read. Maybe I'll focus on that aspect of the resolution in the second half of the year, until I start working on my MBA anyway.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sorry, it's company policy
I never thought that I would mourn the passing of a grocery store chain, but every time I see the Martin's paid sticker I yearn for the good old days of Ukrop's. Ukrop's was part of the community. They treated their customers (and employees) like friends and neighbors. They trusted you enough to just give you your stuff if you didn't want a bag without putting a bright orange sticker on it. While I would occasionally get a tad annoyed by the cashier chatting away with somebody after everything had been bagged and paid for, I miss a store that values a customer as a person and not just a revenue source (that can't be trusted). The customer came first at Ukrop's. Corporate policy comes first at Martin's.
I never realized how different Ukrop's was until it was gone. I've never been one to bemoan the rise of large corporations, but seeing that a company could be successful and human makes me wonder why more companies don't value their relationship with the customer. We're constantly being manipulated by marketing tactics. Why not give me a good product and nice experience. Put your money into making my experience better rather than dumping it into some inane ad campaign.
I never realized how different Ukrop's was until it was gone. I've never been one to bemoan the rise of large corporations, but seeing that a company could be successful and human makes me wonder why more companies don't value their relationship with the customer. We're constantly being manipulated by marketing tactics. Why not give me a good product and nice experience. Put your money into making my experience better rather than dumping it into some inane ad campaign.
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