“The current pandemic has created a tipping point for networked controls in lighting.”That’s what Peter Brown sent us in an email earlier this month, rather than reply we got him on the line to talk this out for the show. Our assumptions abou

#148 - Ellis Yan Part 2: I Have to Pay to Go to Jail?!

Aug 17th, 2020 47m

Ellis Yan returns to continue his life story for us. Picking back up on the farm in the mountains, he shares how the experience built up his resilience and made him more open to new experiences, but the plot takes a small turn when his family l

#147 - Our Own Phases for UVC Deployment

Aug 10th, 2020 41m 53s

Bernie Erickson of Facilities Solutions Group is in the middle of expanding his company's offerings in UV disinfection options, so we had to ask him on the show to share what he’s been working on.He breaks down the differences between surface

#146 - Business Dynamics: Acquisitions, Agents & DLC

Aug 3rd, 2020 35m 18s

Al Uszynski returns as a podcast guest to speak about his perspective on and his personal history in the lighting industry.Launching Inside.Lighting to keep track of rep agencies, but ended up writing news to keep the site relevant. Once agen

#145 - The LRC Has Created a Monster

Jul 27th, 2020 1h 22m

The LRC has put together a very cool web-based tool for designing a space for healthier living (https://www.lrc.rpi.edu/healthyliving/), after playing around with it ourselves, we asked the minds behind it for an interview.Allison Thayer and

#144 - Ellis Yan Part 1: Half-Cooked Rice

Jul 20th, 2020 48m 23s

We’ve always known that Ellis Yan has a story to tell. We take a break from lighting technology and delve into history, as Ellis explains his life under The Cultural Revolution under Mao. It starts with the day he was sent to school without les

#143 - Work-Light Balance

Jul 13th, 2020 44m 26s

Henrik Clausen has thirty years of experience as an electrical engineer, educator, and a consultant. And when he wrote for LED Professional calling for brighter, more personalized light at work (read it here: https://www.led-professional.com/re

#142 - Sell Our Way Out

Jul 6th, 2020 35m 50s

Al Uszynski has trained salespeople at the university level and he joined us to share his insights on selling right now. He shares some adaptations to current restrictions as well as creative ideas for selling online that will be even more us

#141 - A New Kind of Lighting Cue

Jun 30th, 2020 45m 49s

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is moving past energy efficiency research and into researching better life indoors. One of their projects was looking into ‘realistic’ lighting in an Neonatal ICU. Andrea Wilkerson, senior lighting rese

Kevin Poyck, Signify Americas | Get A Grip Outbreak Update, June 25

Jun 25th, 2020 31m 51s

Kevin Poyck just had his legs under him as CEO and President of Signify’s Americas Market Group when the outbreak threw his business into chaos. He shares his thoughts on virtual offices, managing at a distance, and the shape of post-pandemic n

#140 - 8 Plus 1 Equals Crisis

Jun 22nd, 2020 1h 1m

Ray Molony edits Lux Review, and in one month into lockdown he wrote what he considered to be the eight effects the lighting sector will see coming out of the current health crisis. Read that here: https://www.luxreview.com/2020/04/14/8-effect

#139 - Connected for a Mirrorworld

Jun 15th, 2020 44m 40s

Signify’s Robert Lee returns to the show to elaborate on an article he wrote for LEDs Magazine on what SSL lighting will look like in 2030 - you can read it here:https://www.ledsmagazine.com/smart-lighting-iot/article/14168528/picture-the-fut

#138 - Distributing UVC

Jun 8th, 2020 42m 19s

Jim Colantoni starts our conversation with him explaining the background of his company and how they’re working to create lighting tools for health and wellness. We get into the background and particulars of UVC technologies. Michael and Greg d

#137 - Democratization of Lighting

Jun 1st, 2020 37m 15s

The King of Lighting, Ellis Yan, returns to the main series and he brought Lesley Matt, Senior VP of Sales at TCP Along with him. They share their current virtual lunch and learn series, and the company’s own rebate and incentive program before

#136 - Starfish

May 25th, 2020 37m 19s

We’re taking a short break from our usual lighting dork topics this week to chat with Tyler Gildin about his documentary The Starfish, which profiles his grandfather’s journey from Nazi Germany to Sweden, across the USSR, and over the pacific o

#135 - Familiar Discussions Made Portable

May 18th, 2020 46m 37s

Tom Beckett and some colleagues in his side of lighting spent three years setting up an ANSI certification for flashlights, and once they were done they turned that team into the Portable Lights American Trade Organization to maintain standards

#134 - Dark Sky: Trade-offs from the Bottom-Up

May 11th, 2020 46m 11s

In April, the Illuminating Engineering Society and the International Dark Sky Association released a joint statement on the five practices to best confront light pollution. We’re here to speak with IDA’s Ruskin Hartley and the IES’ Brian Liebel

#133 - Harvesting the Golden Tail

May 4th, 2020 55m 13s

4-time guest Mark Lien returns to act as the lighting industry’s very own futurist. We discussed the ease of charting the direction of change as opposed to predicting its pace, the marking of epochs, where our particular businesses stand at the

#132 - Disrupt or Die

Apr 27th, 2020 38m 3s

Westlite’s Brenda Puckett knows that there’s no constant in our industry but change, and that if you can’t be an agent for change your company won’t thrive.We joined her at her office earlier this year to chat about doing more than selling bu

#131 - UV Disinfection: What You Need to Know Right Now

Apr 20th, 2020 52m 56s

We’ve noticed a spike in requests for UV lamps and fixtures recently and aside from reading the side of the box over the phone, we don’t have a clue what to tell anyone. Fortunately, Karl Platzer and Fred van Lierop of UV Lamp Consulting were k

#130 - Close Some Deals...Safely

Apr 13th, 2020 9m 48s

Keeping this one short and sweet this week. Michael and Greg share stories about selling while under quarantine orders. It’s a surprisingly good time to upgrade systems or relamp a facility. Get on the phone and let people know you’re essential

Tim Taylor, Light Efficient Design | Get A Grip Outbreak Update, April 10

Apr 10th, 2020 15m 41s

Light Efficient Design's CEO Tim Taylor is our guest today. He talks about starting his company, his current supply chain issues, and his ideas about lobbying the US Congress for lighting infrastructure projects as a form of economic stimulus.

When in Crisis: Do Everything - Rebecca Costa | Get a Grip Outbreak Update, April 7

Apr 8th, 2020 1h 15m

Sociobioligist, futurist, and author of The Watchman's Rattle and On The Verge, Rebecca Costa is here to help us take a big step back to view the pandemic's effects on not just our jobs, but society.She and Michael delve into questions of lea

#129 - The Daily Learning Curve

Apr 6th, 2020 43m 13s

38 years ago, Steve Byrne started working in the warehouse of American Light. After a name change and a few promotions he’s the COO of Facility Solutions Group. He invited us to his offices to share his experiences and insights into the industr

Jon Sayah, Saylite | Get A Grip Outbreak Update, April 3

Apr 3rd, 2020 21m 18s

Jon Sayah came prepared for this one. We spoke about the reduction in the scope of short-term planning, the new shift schedules at Saylite's production facilities, and boxing metaphors.