It’s Only Common Sense: Hire for Hunger, Train for Skill
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘The 'NVIDIA Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant’
Don Ball: It’s Never Felt Like ‘Work’
December 1, 2025 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
For the November issue of PCB007 Magazine, I was sent a list of questions that would highlight my personality and career. If you’ve read my previous columns, you know I am not reluctant to talk about myself, so here it goes.
The Early Years
I was born in November 1947 in Syracuse, New York (a genuine baby boomer) and grew up in the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville, NY. My childhood was pretty good, and in high school, I made one of the best decisions of my life.
In my freshman year, inspired by the 1960 Olympics in Rome, I decided to try out for the track team. Of course, I wanted to attain glory as a sprinter, but this turned out to be a less-than-optimal pursuit, and I gradually moved up in distance to become a miler. To everyone’s surprise, I was good at distance running and became one of the first in my class to earn a varsity letter, much to the disgust of some of my more athletic classmates in the higher-profile sports.
This was important to me since it did wonders for my self-esteem and kept me from being a complete 1960s high school nerd (i.e., the main male characters in “The Big Bang Theory”). Of course, I still resent that even the third-string quarterback on a football team that couldn’t win a game in the entire four years I was in high school had more social standing than me—a member of the only teams bringing in championship trophies—but generally, high school was a pretty good time.
To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the November 2025 edition of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"The I-Connect007 team is outstanding—kind, responsive, and a true marketing partner. Their design team created fresh, eye-catching ads, and their editorial support polished our content to let our brand shine. Thank you all! "
Sweeney Ng - CEE PCBSuggested Items
From AI to AEP, an Impressive Array of Keynotes at APEX EXPO 2026
04/17/2026 | Marcy LaRont and Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Each year at APEX EXPO, the Global Electronics Association provides an impressive lineup of keynote speakers to kick off the largest electronics manufacturing event in North America. This year included four keynote speeches, on topics ranging from the promise and peril of AI to the power of electronics, quantum computing, and the importance of heterogeneous integration in advanced electronics packaging.
The Next Generation of Leadership: New Student Board Member Aubrey Smith
04/10/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007At APEX EXPO 2026, the next generation of industry leadership was on full display with the introduction of Aubrey Smith, the Global Electronics Association’s newest Student Board Member. She’s a third-year electrical and electronics engineering student at the University of Georgia and a first-year participant in the Emerging Engineer Program. Aubrey represents the curiosity, initiative, and openness that define tomorrow’s innovators.
ASC Sunstone Circuits Implements Smart Parts Technology at Mulino Facility to Enhance PCB Manufacturing Efficiency
04/09/2026 | ASC Sunstone CircuitsASC Sunstone Circuits, a division of American Standard Circuits, has implemented Smart PartsTM Classics technology at its Mulino, Oregon, manufacturing facility, advancing its commitment to efficient, high-quality PCB fabrication.
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘The 'NVIDIA Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant’
04/09/2026 | Dan Beaulieu -- Column: Dan's Biz BookshelfI just finished "The NVIDIA Way" by Tae Kim, and let me tell you, this isn’t just a book about a semiconductor company. It’s a book about conviction, stubborn vision, and, most of all, what happens when a leader refuses to think small. At the center of it all is Jensen Huang. Kim does a masterful job showing us that NVIDIA’s rise wasn’t luck, timing, or some Silicon Valley fairy dust. It was discipline and obsession. It was long-term thinking in a world addicted to quarterly results.
Meet Emerging Engineer Logan Bistodeau, IBM
04/09/2026 | Michelle Te, I-Connect007When he was growing up, Logan Bistodeau was always interested in how heavy machinery worked, so it was natural that he earned a mechanical engineering degree at Iowa State University. He originally grew up near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, now works for IBM, and is in his first year of the Emerging Engineer Program through the Global Electronics Association. I got to know Logan a little better at APEX EXPO 2026.