Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Career Advice

Saturday must have been opening day of Girl Scouts cookie sale season.  It typically starts with the soft and polite knock on the front door.  You purchase five boxes - - mom is in the SUV fully stocked and highly mobile.  This is a true logistical machine that should be the envy of the Department of Defense.  The next view of the selling machine is at the grocery story.  Set-up inside the store and doing a brisk business (in competition with the grocery store).  You purchase three more boxes and forget the New Years resolution - - a covey of moms thanks you.  Two miles into your five mile run later that afternoon - - the little red wagon boxed three feet high and two little girls pulls up beside you (the run is more quantitative than qualitative).  You carry cash with you on runs during cookie season - - one more box for the road.

If you are thinking about a career and industry, one interesting question for a future employer might just be - - "What is your connection to the production, distribution, and sale of Girl Scouts cookies?"  Chemical engineers involved in food production, industrial engineers interested in distribution, packaging engineers, even graphic artists - - the closer you can get to the center of the Girl Scouts cookie empire as a career, the better off you might be.  We all envy stable employment opportunities that have two characteristics - - a closed and monopolistic market structure combined with an energetic, polite, aggressive, and low-cost (free) sales force.

PS - - My favorite this year is the "Crunchy Fudge-Coated Treats"  with the "same cookies, same size, less packaging."

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.