A few more blogs have been added to honored positions on the Illustrious Blogroll.  Check them out.  Lots of good bloggers (Bloggists?) with penetrating commentary on the current literature. 

Blogging is a bit harder for industrial folk. Or should I say riskier? One of the unfortunate realities of working in Fabulous Industry is the matter of secrecy.  You can’t discuss any of the fascinating stuff you work on with your buddies in academia. You know, chalk-talk stuff. The pay is good in industry (they fit you with golden handcuffs early) and the chemistry is fascinating, but the sad part is that it is nearly all confidential. When the conversation turns to sensitive material, people become noticeably uncomfortable. And they should.

Meetings with site visitors begin with the standard preamble- “You’ll recall that we are speaking under the conditions of our Non-Disclosure Agreement.  We at MegaLithium Company are in the XYZ business and have no need for any information from you beyond what is required to evaluate the project. We really don’t want to know your secrets.” Usually a well manicured and coiffed senior honcho says this. If the sleeves of his white shirt are not rolled up and his head shines with a high gloss, he is probably one serious SOB. This would be the alpha male and his underlings will studiously follow his lead. Often, there is a tour following the meeting.

As you take the tour you’ll find that the guides are not appreciative of breaching the decorum of secrecy, so blatantly nosey questions can cause them to throttle back the gee-whiz stuff. It’s always best just to nod appreciatively, pay attention, and be grateful for what you get to see.

I’ve been on both buy and sell sides of the secrecy matter.  I have hosted plant tours for visitors who were less than upfront with their intentions.  You see, in the custom chemical Business to Business (B2B) world when someone requests a price and availability, there is some chance that they have no intent on buying anything.  Their real intent may be to get scaled pricing and an estimate of the annual sales turnover for a product. It’s called competitive intelligence. And pricing intelligence is the most coveted of all.  Typically, this is only true for customers who may be competitiors. 

Here is some good advice.  If you’re about to sign a secrecy agreement, look for a clause providing for the reduction to writing for all Information to be considered Confidential.  These words are in bold because they are key words in a secrecy agreement. A good secrecy agreement will go to great pains to define what is meant by Information. If the other side is going to take you to task for a breach in confidentiality, then exact information that they consider sensitive had better be reduced to writing so you have a fair chance of avoiding a breach.