3M - Bigger Than You Know

Episode Description:
I'm confident in saying 3M is bigger than most people realize, you may not have even heard of them. Over 100 years of innovation (and some luck early on) has resulted in over $30 billion in annual sales, they're one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow, and make many of the products you encounter daily. In this video I talk about how they got so big and why most people don't realize how big they are.

A big thanks to all of my Consultant level Patrons: Andrew, Benjamin Thomas, Bradley J. Humble, Caleb stephenson, Chris Lion-Transler, Cody Davis, Corey James Dzielinski, Cristian Smith, Daniel Bernard, Devin Rosenthal, Evan Williams, Gregory Estep, Harrison Wright, Helen Pearce, Isaah Jeffries, Jacob, Jacob Filmer, Jeffrey Russom, Jimmy1985, Joe Pettit, Johannes Jaemsen, SuperWings AeroGlittetGel, Kunwoo Kim, M.A. Driggers, Marshall Kurtz, Mike Weaver, Mina corridor, MyNameIsKir, Ryan Kelley, Sirpoptart, Sondre Grimsmo Sinnes, Specter Koen, Stewart Tritapoe, Thomas McGill, Vincent Frame, Alexander Hewes, Erick McGraw.

Company Declines:
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[virally]

Bro. Idk what makes your videos so entertaining but I can't get enough. Good job on finding that perfect niche to fit into.

[Oddman]

I knew about 3M from a book called "To Engineer is Human" by one Henry Petroski. One of the things that 3M does, is allows it's employees to use their facilities for a percentage of their time to experiment and try to create new products. The employees are *paid* for this time. They are also told "Fail early, fail often." Just because something doesn't do what you intended, doesn't mean it's useless.

The post-it notes are a good example of this in action. Someone tried to make an adhesive, which is something that 3M uses in just about everything they make. The adhesive wasn't much good - it comes right off! Some years later, someone else at 3M wanted to make a bookmark that would stay put, but could be removed from a book's pages without damage - and they used this "bad" adhesive. The bookmarks ended up being used to write stuff on more than they were used as bookmarks. And here we are, post-it's for almost four decades now.

[NoCumBacksiFunny]

When I tell people my mom was the head of design at 3M for 15 years, they say “Oh cool” and dont realize she was one of the most influential people in the product market. She designed almost all of their reflective stuff that is now used by police forces across the world and designed the 3M attire for 3 separate olympics

[Iconoclasher]

It's nice to hear about a company that's not in the news every day.

[kkuhn]

I can attest their the incredible spending on research. I had a project in highschool that required one of their engineered fluids, and they actually ended up sponsoring the project!

[gd]

Fun fact: in 1950 3M invented micro encapsulation. Better known as SCRATCH AND SNIFF =)

[danielwilliams]

3M is becoming a noticeable name in the car community because they make some of the most high-quality material to "wrap" a car a new color or for protection. Once I found out about 3M and their history, there was really no way I wasn't going to buy a few shares :D

[ladyyatexel]

The weirdest place I've seen 3M is at my work - a parole office. They make GPS ankle monitors!

[ImSquiggs]

I didn't even know Scotch was a brand, it's so ubiquitous that I thought transparent tape was just called Scotch tape.

[Dannylv]

"They wasted all of their time and money obtaining something with no value" Sounds like my college degree.

[sanguinesoulful]

A lawyer, a doctor, a butcher and a couple of railroad executives walk into a bar...

[firstname]

I used to work for this company and just to give you an idea of how big 3M is, I can say with confidence that it is almost impossible to go through out your daily life without encountering/using at least 10 3M products each day. You are probably using one of their product right now without even knowing it.

[Mac-twzu]

as a Minnesota native I can confirm we are very proud of 3M

[DJ-Manuel]

Did you also knew that almost every modern smartphone has some 3M things in them? 3M does a lot of adheasive - also those used in Iphones, Samsungs, etc. for example to glue the Front glass panel together with the LDC panel, so 3M is everywhere - really everywhere

[Shannon_Vlogs]

So embarrassed about my lack of corundum knowledge

[phlemington]

All hail our adhesive lords, 3M.
May their products keep us united for all time.

[UpcycleElectronics]

I owned a small Autobody shop for years. Painting cars is a business with a massive amount of overhead. Sand paper and masking products are about half of the total materials expenses. Nothing beats 3M in that area, at least there wasn't anything available ~10+ years ago that could compete. I tried to find alternatives too. There were cheaper alternatives but every one of them I tried ended up costing the same after accounting for materials used per job. A box of 50 sanding disks from another brand may cost 80% of the 3M version, but I always seemed to need that extra fifth of materials to get the same job done. Why fill my trashcan/dumpster 20% faster/more?
3M is the master of the sandpaper world. Their industrial products side is usually a completely different standard than the consumer market offerings though. The stuff you find in big box stores is generally low quality. It's okay for getting basic stuff done, and it's competitive with the other products on the market, but the stuff marketed directly to industry is completely different.
-Jake

[goldcd]

3M has my respect, as their name randomly pops up in so many markets as the premium branded version.
Never the cheapest, but their version is always noticeably better.

[nmikloiche]

I work for 3M and have been with them since 2007. It amazes me how many people give me the “huh” look when I say I work for 3M. I always follow it up with — “you know, the company who makes post-it notes and scotch tape” and then the person smiles and nods. Something that people might not know — is just how much if your everyday life depends on 3M products and tech — we help airplanes, boats, and cars hold together without adding a lot of weight. And 3M products and tech are in your smart phones. We make tons of sterile tapes ad dressings that are used in hospitals and tapes and casts and really it’s mind numbing. We make reflective tapes used on highway signs and roads. It’s stunning how much you interface with 3M without ever knowing it. Anyone looking to work for a great company should look at 3M. They are really a great employer — just top notch in all the ways you want.

[FutureNow]

"Rockiest start" I got the joke like 2 min. after you said it.