Tim Brown: 3M a Franchise Pick

With blood on the streets after yesterday's annihilation, you may want to take your cash to J.R. and Loren Ridinger's Market America and pamper yourself a little to take your mind off the carnage.

Getting a beating on the field can be tough to take, but any respectable player would not sit back and take it. It's about pride and the drive to succeed. In the market, those who took a beating yesterday need to pick themselves up, wipe off the dust, dirt and mud, and refocus.

As everyone knows, when others are selling -- especially out of fear -- there is a buying opportunity. I think we have a good chance of picking up more shares of a company that is a real winner.

A few weeks ago, I suggested picking up shares of 3M(MMM Quote - Cramer on MMM - Stock Picks). The company is science-based, even though it is known for Post-It Notes, which it introduced almost 30 years ago. Everyone thinks of the square sticky pads when they hear the name 3M. As long as the company is around, it will be associated with the notes. However, the company has been around for more than 100 years. It's in everything from health care and highway safety to optical films for LCD displays.

It's truly a diversified business. You may notice that a lot of my picks are companies that do many things. That's important, because it has many irons in the fire at the same time, which gives it a better chance to avoid getting too banged up when the market goes south and gives it an improved chance of being in the hot sector.

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