The Top 10 Plus 1 Most Impactful Books of 2010

By Rich Cavagnaro
President, AdEdge Technologies

In 2010 I had the stated goal to read or listen to two books a week. With Christmas rapidly approaching I completed book 104 two days before Dec 25 and rewardingly met my self-imposed goal. There was no particular reason for two books a week other than to see if I could do it. The discipline required to meet this pace required on average about 40 pages a day and listen to around one hour of books on CD each workday. Books were recommended to me by friends, blogs, magazines or other books. I didn't necessarily have an agenda of what to read but I focused heavily on books that provided something new to learn. The breakdown by category ended up as follows:

• Fiction-11
• Non-Fiction/Autobiographical-5
• Spiritual-7
• Investment/Money-3 
• Self Help-17
• Leadership-5
• Business (56)
• Relationships-8
• Management/Strategy-21
• Sales-6
• Marketing-4
• Economics/Behavioral Economics-7
• Motavational-8
• Social Media-2

When all is said and done and undoubtedly people will have far ranging opinions but for me this is the Top 10 plus 1 of the most impactful books I read in 2010:

10 Plus 1. What Matters Now? by Multiple Authors: A simple ebook format presented almost as a PowerPoint presentation concerning provocative words and how they apply in the coming business environment. This book makes it possible for me to see the benefits of how future ebooks can be presented in a stimulating fashion.

10. Ask And You Will Succeed by Kenneth Foster: A terrific management tool covering multiple business categories and well thought out questions to guide a discussion.

9. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker: He is the master! A very useful book to read and re-read.

8. Wisdom Walkers by Dan Britton & James Page: I was given this book by a friend and it has 31 daily doses of wisdom with a spiritual tie in. Enjoyed it very much.

7. Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel: Those who are new to social media should put this book on your must read list.

6. The Management Mythbusters by David Axeson: He tosses the conventional management practices upside down. I truly enjoyed his practical advice of how management should really act.

5. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman: A terrific book on leadership, the title says it all!

4. Hot Flat & Crowded by Thomas Friedman: This book is an eye-opener into so many current and emerging societal issues. This book opens your eyes to the world, every person especially college age kids should make this required reading.

3. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel: Truly one of the most inspiring books I have ever read and to think he had this ability to be so impactful while in a Concentration Camp during World War II.

2. The Case For Christ by Les Strobel: Fascinating analytical approach to proving the existence of Christ. He approaches the evidence as a crime reporter would do so. The result is compelling.

1. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy: I have never read a book that was such an excellent laid out plan to improve one's life. I followed the plan diligently for over a year and had the most rewarding year of my life. Enough said.

For a complete list of all 104 books with a brief comment, please email me at rich@adedgetechnologies.com

Are You Satisfied with Your Water? Check to See If It Is Treated With RO.

Go to your sink and pour yourself a glass of water. Study the way the water looks, smells and tastes. Is the water murky? Do you notice an odor coming from it? Does it taste "off"?

If you answered yes to any of the above, reverse osmosis might be an option to provide your community clean, pure drinking water.

Reverse osmosis, or RO, is the process of removing impurities from water by passing it through a porous membrane.

Five Reasons Why RO Might Benefit Your Community:

1. RO removes organic chemicals, excessive minerals, salts and dissolved solids from a liquid. This is very beneficial to people on restricted potassium or sodium diets since RO removes all excessive potassium and sodium.

2. Water treated by RO smells and tastes better.

3. The RO filtration process allows water to hydrate the body quicker which is helpful during exercise and the warm, summer months.

4. In areas short of clean drinking water, RO is an effective desalination agent--it removes impurities from the sea, ocean and groundwater. RO reduces the salt content to a normal, drinkable level.

5. RO removes certain biological contaminants from water such as pathogens and bacteria that are harmful when consumed.

Passion, Pigments and Clean Water?

by Joe Naylor, Marketing Manager
AdEdge Technologies Inc.

Recently, I was on a flight out of town and the man in the seat next to me, bored with his airline magazine, finally spoke up and asked "where ya headed"? A small town outside Newark I replied. Then, after a brief pause and feeling a little obligated, I asked him...what's your destination? Immediately he exploded with life as he answered "I'm going to a pigment show".

Surprised at his sudden change of character and enthusiasm about going to a pigment show, I responded...really!.. and what kind of pigments are exhibited at this show? All kinds, he said. There are plant pigments, chemical pigments, dry pigments, liquid pigments, pigments for cosmetics, pigments for printing, organic pigments, and even fluorescent pigments. He continued on, enthusiastically proceeding through a rather long list of facts and information. After about 10 minutes I felt like an expert on pigments, and that I had just attended the entire show he was on his way to attend.

Ok, so what does this story really have to do with clean water? Everything!

Eventually we were re-entering our silent flight mode. I thought about how impressed I was with his excitement and enthusiasm about pigments, and more important, how passionate he was about pigments, and... how we in the water treatment industry have to be passionate about clean water.

The world's population grows while the natural supply of potable water remains constant. It's our industry that keeps it safe. We all need to be the person on the plane who can't wait to talk about our passion for clean water. Ask any employee at AdEdge, and they'll tell you what's on top of our Company's Core Values list.

Are Residential RO Drinking Water Systems Effective for Arsenic Removal? Not Really.

by Beth Thomas CWS VI, Business Development Manager, AdEdge Technologies Inc.

While continuing to be sold as a good method for removing arsenic from potable water in homes, Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology is not effective in treating arsenic in residential applications. In fact, The Water Quality Association and the American Water Works Association changed their recommendation for this application as not acceptable several years ago when it was determined that reverse osmosis membranes do not remove both forms of arsenic. While arsenic V is removed, arsenic III is not effectively removed. Most groundwater supplies are higher in arsenic III than in arsenic V.

Another concern with the use of RO for arsenic removal is that the arsenic rejected by the membrane is concentrated in the waste stream. This reject stream is then discharged back to the environment through the sewer, septic system, or leach field. Consequently, residential RO systems waste water. Most systems use about 8-9 gallons of water for every gallon of treated water produced. Larger commercial and municipal systems have a much better efficiency rating.

The good news is that residential systems are available to the public that are efficient, environmentally friendly and effectively remove arsenic. AdVantEdge™ residential drinking water systems by AdEdge Technologies, use arsenic filtration cartridges. These systems do not have a reject stream. They remove both arsenic III and arsenic V. In fact, these cartridges can be also be used as pretreatment to an RO membrane to remove arsenic so there is none in the waste stream, or as in-line cartridges used after the RO to remove the arsenic III not removed by the membrane.

AdEdge AD26 Iron & Manganese Removal System McGraw Hill Data Center

AdEdge Technologies...Embracing Sustainability

"Sustainability". It's a word working its way into the environmental business lingo around the world, including the water treatment industry. Is sustainability just a trendy word? Are people in the industry really beginning to understand what the word means as it relates to water treatment?

The EPA on their website defines sustainability as "Policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." According to Wikipedia, "Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it's the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which in turn depends on the well being of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources".

At AdEdge, our continuous strive is to design systems that not only are effective in treating contaminants, but are economically viable, energy efficient, socially responsible and waste little or no water in the process.

A few years ago as our vision of future success and growth began to crystallize here at AdEdge. The formal affirmation of who we are as a company and our vision of the future was documented into a mission statement and core values. While not the buzz word it is today, the notion of sustainability was indoctrinated into these documents. An essential part of our AdEdge mission included the development of "integrated systems that promote the value of water, are environmentally beneficial and economically sustainable" .

Just words? No. These fundamental elements in our AdEdge corporate culture have resulted in providing innovative water treatment solutions and technologies that not only accomplish our customers treatment needs, but are forward thinking... environmentally and economically. Our H2Zero™ Recycle/Backwash systems allow backwash water to be recycled rather than being discharged as wastewater, saving water as well as energy. Our Bayoxide® E-33 media for arsenic removal and can be disposed of as non-toxic material, posing no environmental threat when media change outs are necessary. Many of our systems are designed with a smaller foot print, minimizing construction and unnecessary use of land. And our latest innovation WaterPOD™, is a self-contained treatment system ready for "plug and play" operation...no building required.

At AdEdge, we're proud that today, we're embracing sustainability and continuing to develop new treatment solutions that are on the leading edge of water treatment technology.

In a league of its own, Adedge uses "Company Teams" as a tool for self improvement.

by Joe Naylor, Marketing Manager
AdEdge Technologies Inc.

A "Team" approach in a business environment...common, but rarely well organized and facilitated as an ongoing self improvement strategy. Don't get me wrong, the analogy of a team working together in a business to achieve a common goal is certainly valid. Imagine however, not just a team but an entire league of teams that are effectively organized, meet regularly, and challenged with self improvement. And rather than competing in the playoffs, there are performances, one team to the other teams...a continuing cycle of team work, analysis, measurement, presentations, and improvement. Everyone is a participant, everyone plays, everyone benefits...particularly our customers.

Implemented nearly two years ago at AdEdge our "teams" concept has been instrumental in the successful growth and exemplary service AdEdge offers its customers. Two years ago the words technical support, safety, customer loyalty were common business terms. I understood their meaning and purpose as well as anyone. Today however, when I see and hear the same words , I see the team members, I recall the presentations made about their mission, their goals and the successful implementation of the improvement ideas the team developed.

I'll admit....at first it all seemed like a frivolous activity that wasted and diverted time from our individual job responsibilities. But after two years, the results speak for themselves. Our "teams" concept is one of AdEdge's unique competitive advantages that allows AdEdge to deliver the best products, supported by the best customer service available in the water treatment industry.