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Proviso:
If you have arrived at this page from the Commercial ESEM, then you probably know the context in which it is written. If you have arrived from another search route, this page may not be for you. For those who are interested, the purpose of it is to help establish the facts about the environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) both from a technical and a historical perspective. This is not an easy task especially when we have to overcome prejudice not only on technical matters but also on human relationships. Many will be left untouched, but it is hoped that even if only a few can see the righteousness of the case, they may be able to counterbalance all negative influence pulling progress backwards. Those who wish to be positive in the field are encouraged to study the works published and available for downloading from Danilatos. Unless there is a good understanding of the technological context, the material below may appear out of place, but it is only an early attempt to iron out the record and it will be enriched gradually with time.
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"OLD AGE AND TREACHERY
WILL OVERCOME
YOUTH AND SKILL "
was prominently displayed on a tablet for all to see including the president, the investors and the company personnel alike..., an old Greek adage playing politics inside a modern American company..., an ominous sign that the technology was in the wrong hands...
Is competition a panacea to all problems and a guarantor of progress at all levels of human endeavor, even inside organizations? Can it serve as the basis of internal relations in a company, or is it inherently the negation of harmony and coordination within any organization? Cooperation, as opposed to competition, is the internal rule of any living organism. Human competition (not to be confused with "natural selection") is tantamount to distributed (decentralized) coercion. This does not necessarily produce an optimum outcome (usually does not), as it causes attrition that often leads to destruction. Logical selection through consciousness, cooperation and leadership is the way for human progress and freedom from blind physical and social forces. It is the road from necessity to freedom.
A company's leadership is the nucleus that should ensure cooperation among all members at all times. Given the viability of a product in the market, company success or failure rests with the leadership. Wrong signals from the head and the company could be doomed. People brought up in a competitive culture become imbued with the desire to rise at any cost, if that's the only ethics they are accustomed to. Venture a company with such people alone and you have a problem from the start. Investors who are not aware of this plain truth have inherently a lesser success rate, i.e. if all they do is spreading their venture capital around and hoping for gold by chance of technological success alone. It is true that technological success often is unpredictable, if further R&D work required. However, the investors take the greatest risk at the outset when they establish the leadership for each company. Specifically, the company leaders are most effective when they include the inventor(s) of the technology. This applies, in particular, to companies based on a complex and open-ended technology that requires continuous R&D. If the inventor is limited only to an advisory role without any executive power, if the leadership is separated from and not integral with the essence of the technology, then the chances of success are minimal; unless the leaders are wise enough to overcome the chasm, i.e. to somehow bridge the inventor with the company management. Actually, matters are more complex as they are convoluted with matters behind the academic world .