Connect with Karen Norheim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karennorheim/Email: knorheim@americancrane.com Show Transcript:Lisa Ryan: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan. Welcome to the Manufacturers' Network Podcast. I'm excited to introduce you to today's guest Karen Norheim. Karen is passionate about all things manufacturing as a second-generation coming into the leadership role for her family's company American Crane and Equipment Corporation. Karen has sought to solidify the founder's legacy while putting her stamp on the company culture.There's so much more in your background. Please share a bit about your journey and how you got to where you're at. So, welcome to the show, Karen.Karen Norheim: Hey, thanks for having at least I'm excited to be here. Yeah, so my introduction to manufacturing came through my father. I work for our family's business. And so I have. I am the second generation coming in. What's interesting is I wanted nothing to do with it. I did not think any factoring was all that interesting or cool, and he recruited me to come work for him. And I very reluctantly said okay, Dad. I'll get I'll give it a shot. Well, thank goodness. I did because it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Manufacturing is now my passion. I've been with our company for 18 years: amazing people, amazing products, and a wonderful experience to work with my father.Lisa Ryan: I know that you are doing many things well when it came to your culture and keeping things going. So what did you see that worked best for you during these uncertain timesKaren Norheim: Well, about, I think we're going on two years ago, maybe two and a half years ago, 2020 has warped my mind as far as, you know, I feel like I'm in time travel and I lost a year. But we put a lot of groundwork in as I took over leadership from my dad; I saw that we needed to lock-in that founder's legacy, that culture that he created for us.So we did a reboot, and we call our culture "Grit Matters." Perseverance, heart, and integrity. We did a lot of work on building our culture, cultivating our people, and nurturing our environment. Thank goodness we did because I think that is one of the key elements that we could pivot when we got to March of last year and figure it out.There was a ton of pain, but we persevered in 2020 and survived the storm due to our people's cultural reboot and development. They have been amazing. I can't tell you how proud I am of how they have risen and stepped up in the crisis to keep us going and keep our business thriving.Lisa Ryan: So take us back two years ago, before you decided to put this in process. What did it look like? What were some of the specific steps you did kind of build that culture you created?Karen Norheim: Well, we had already had a good culture. It wasn't like we had a bad culture; it just wasn't written down on paper. We didn't have those ritual things that kind of keep it top of mind, and we were starting to shift into a can't do versus a can-do attitude. And so we saw that, and people needed to know that I was in it for the long run. I didn't realize that, which is what my father and I learned from him.Through this mistake too is that we didn't. People don't know what you're thinking. Just because you know what's going on in your business, doesn't mean that the rest of your employees know what you're thinking. And we needed to communicate this. We needed to share what was is important. Employees wanted to know if I planned to stick around. We let them know that my family is committed to the business for the next 40 years. We need to put those things in place. It started with defining those behaviors. I think it's important to define what behaviors make us great and are important for us to do well as a company. So we revised our vision, mission, and core values statements, and then we did a rollout, which involves a ton of communication. Communication, communication, communication - to the point that you get tired as the leader hearing yourself talk. But it's so important. We had meetings. We have regular grit meetings monthly with different departments. We have grit contests. We have grit bucks to highlight good grit behavior. We've got postcards, we've got logos. We do a sticker contest - all kinds of stuff that we put in the works. And then when we got to the end of March, as we realized covid was here. We were sending a third of our workforce remote while we have a third in our plant manufacturing and another third doing service. We realized we now need even to communicate more. For the last year, we've done a Monday video. We started with two videos per week. We've shifted down to doing a video every Monday. There's a Friday email that goes out and a text message with blog information of just what's going on, new orders, what's happening, and just general thoughts. We also have other members of our leadership team communicating. There are communication notices hung throughout the building. I am living those values, and whenever I'm with my people I'm emulating what we believe in. But then also, highlighting how they're doing that, it's always this constant. I like to call it gardening. You're planting seeds. You're nurturing a little bit, you're growing, you're harvesting, and then you go back, and you plant again, and you grow in your harvest. It's a never-ending thing, but I feel like our team has bought into it and gets it, and it feels good. We all want to work in a place right that we're appreciated. We say the most important thing in American Crane is the people. We all want to work at a fun site that cares about us and provides us with meaningful work.So as our team has realized, that's who we are, whereas we evolve and revisit that. That's who we are, you know, there's a flywheel effect. And I feel like we are benefiting from kind of that flywheel of coming together. We're not perfect by any means, right. There's always room for improvement, but I'm impressed with how everyone has embraced this. I think it's going to serve as well as we go into the future. We've built upon it to deal with the disruptive change that's been happening.You know this covid was a disruption, and there are other disruptions out there. I feel like it has allowed us to add another competitive advantage. We say we're gritty; we get things done. We exceed our customers' expectations. We go that extra mile. We can also handle challenging situations and handle when things don't go the way you want them to go, which I think is a useful skill for a business to have in general.Lisa Ryan: Right. What do you feel would be the tipping point when you first decided to implement this grit strategy. You said, "communicate, communicate, communicate." When did you see the turn from, "Oh goodness, here's one more program that's not going to last," to, "Wow, this is something that they're committed to"? When did the employees buy into it and believe it?Karen Norheim: We had that coming into the end of 2019, I think in December of that year. We had been explaining and teaching it and living and starting to almost even go to that next phase two of integrating it even more into the fabric of who we are. And we have fantastic people. I mean, that's always really important that those that work for you are part of the culture and everything matches. And so we have amazing people, which makes it easy.But December was the tipping point. Last year I felt that we still got work to do, but we're doing good. And then I will say the second tipping point; we were already over the edge, and then here's a massive shift with covid. It just rocked everything. Everybody stepped up. They realized how important that was for us to be able to keep it up. We sent 40 some engineers home with their workstations to go home, go and do a home setup on a Friday and they were all up and running and working and had not skipped a beat by the following Wednesday. I mean, it was just kind of remarkable the flexibility and the willingness to work together, pull together that teamwork that problem-solving. It was the difference between mediocrity and excellence.Lisa Ryan: Right. And to give that idea that this does take time. You were already starting with a good team, and it still took almost two years to get to that tipping point. But then you saw how it benefited you when you needed it the most. And you didn't have to worry about employees and also to take care of them. And it sounds like you also empowered them to do what they needed to do. Here's your workstation; go set it up, and by Wednesday, they're good to go because you trusted and empowered them to do that.Karen Norheim: Yep. And I think that's part of what the covid situation gave us. We had no choice but to empower our people, and here was an opportunity where we just kind of threw everybody in this moment of change. This idea of one time has to be the first time. Well, guess what: we're all going to go to that moment; we're all going to have to use Microsoft Teams. We've never used it before, but we're all going to have to figure out how to do electronic signatures on it, so it threw us into that uncomfortable space, which has led to amazing growth and evolution of our people. Lisa Ryan: So what are still some of the things that are keeping you up at night?Karen Norheim: Well, something that I was already in tune to before we had the crisis of 2020 was this idea of digital transformation that was coming. I knew that for us as a company and as an industry. There was a lot of disruptive change, and it was something I would already be thinking about; we had talked about our digital roadmap. We had put some foundational blocks into that, but then covid also threw us into it even further for things we had to do. And I think it's imperative to number one: realize that there's a lot of disruption out there right now because John Chambers says that of the fortune 500 in the next ten years, 50% will be gone because of disruptive technology digital change. I wanted to make sure we were on that cutting edge. And so we had put the groundwork in on that in January of 2020. We started an innovation lab; we already had some foundational technology blocks in place. And during covid, we've been able to expedite some of those by three x times advancement from where I expected us to be. But I still am nervous that they need to be able to do technology. We need to embrace it, and I want to stay ahead of that wave because I want to be around in 10 years. It keeps evolving because I think, unfortunately, change is the only constant. How do we keep being able to leverage the change and turn it into opportunities to grow and evolve?Lisa Ryan: Right. And again, I think it comes down to communicating with your team because they see all this technology coming in and maybe worried. Is this going to affect my job? Am I still going to have a job? And keeping them involved in the process to say no, you're still going to have a job. It just may be different because now we can do it better, stronger, faster than we've ever done before because of the technology that we're now implementing.Karen Norheim: Yep, exactly. And also, I'm a big believer in the concept that it's really about the human. Whether you're using augmented reality or Remote Assistance is a big thing we've been looking into and utilizing for training purposes. So we're looking at what they call augmented reality, some VR. And also, you know, traditional things too. But as we're going through those things, it's really to amplify our current employees - taking them to the next level and taking the core group that I have now and doing more, doing it better or doing it more efficiently and then locking them in there. I think that technology and digital transformation can be about marrying together where you're making superhumans who can do all these things because they've got the AI power. They've got technology tools for collaboration, and it's pulling it all together seamlessly so that we can then that brainpower that human resource can excel and advance, and I think it's if you go in with that kind of mindset. I think that's helpful.We're also not running to the shiny object while we have, we are doing some big strategic things, you know, we're very focused on it, and we play with things determine if there's something viable and then we'll go to the next step. It's like here, and we have to figure out how to handle that and handle change in general - not just digital transformation. There are other industry changes in the world and stuff that can affect us as with covid.Lisa Ryan: Exactly. Completely unexpected and out of the blue. Who would have thunk it? Yes. So as we're getting to the last couple minutes of our time together. What would be if you were thinking about people you'd like to network or learn from? What would be some of the ways you would like the kind of support you would like to get from other manufacturing colleagues.Karen Norheim: Well, I'm very obsessed recently with this idea of storytelling and sharing my story with you, and I think it's essential for all of us to share our stories because that's how we learn. It's so much easier to learn from watching someone else who's had a struggle and figuring out you know how they've done it. They share their best practices or what worked for them. There's always some piece that can help and integrate into your business. So I feel that knowledge sharing that storytelling.I love to hear the different stories of what's going on in our industry. And I think that that's an excellent way for us to learn and elevate each other.Lisa Ryan: What would be some of the things you could offer to support other manufacturing colleagues who may want to reach out to you?Karen Norheim: I'm happy to share my story - my evolution as both a leader, as President and CEO of our company, but also the transition as the boss's daughter. It's been 18 years, and there are some learning and things that I could share with someone else in the family business. So I always like to talk about those experiences of cultural transformation, which is ever-evolving. Everybody's a role model. Someone's always looking up to you. I think it's essential to put yourself out there and share what's going on. The good, the bad, and the opportunities to learn and grow. So I'm open to any of those types of conversations.Lisa Ryan: What's the best way for somebody to connect with youKaren Norheim: Probably LinkedIn or you can do certainly can share my email: knorheim@americancrane.com. I'm always open to new ideas, and you know I think as a leader. It's important that a portion of what you do we get stuck in. The financials of our business, our people's development, but some small amount of time I put it into like my 10 to 15% about of the time that I do is around scouting and seeking new ideas and looking out beyond the horizon. I've set the course. I've set the strategy. I've set a roadmap out, but I still am the captain of the ship, and I need to have that looking glass out saying , "what do I see around the corner, what's out there. What do I need to make sure we're aware of any filtering that in." So I think that's a great way to hear from others about what they're doing as part of that ability to scout and seek new ideas, which is fun too.Lisa Ryan: If you have one of your top tips, somebody listening to today could start moving forward, what would you suggest that they do to get started.Karen Norheim: Be focused on your goal but flexible in your methods. It would be best if you didn't get so locked in that it has to be done your exact way. Maybe there's another avenue to get you to what you want at the end goal. And I think that also comes down to giving your people the pleasure of solving the problems and empowering them. When real success happens, it feels like magic. As a leader, you get to watch your people come to that point where they get to bring something to fruition and see a project come together. It's all them, and it's all their own, and there's a lot of pride that goes along. Even the failures are opportunities for learning moments. You've got to give people the pleasure of solving problems.Lisa Ryan:  Karen, thank you so much for being on the show and sharing your insight and wisdom with us today. 

Connect with Kevin: kevin.johnson@bhamfast.com Show Transcript:Lisa Ryan: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan of the Manufacturers Network podcast. I'm excited to introduce you to Kevin Johnson. Kevin is V.P. of manufacturing at Birmingham Fastener. He has 25 years of experience in steel and steel products. He has worked for Nucor, Fontana Grupo in increasing responsibilities. And his current role is responsible for sales, manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, shipping, and quality. He studied metallurgical engineering at Purdue University and is the chairman of the Industrial Fastener Institute chairman and is also on the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club board. Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife Cindy and their two children, Amani and Jada. Kevin, welcome to the show. It's good to have you here. Kevin Johnson: Thanks, Lisa. Glad to be here. Lisa Ryan: Well, you and I had the opportunity to meet at the Industrial Fasters Institute, and now you are in charge of that. So not only dealing with manufacturing at your plant but also I'm sure that you hear many things from your members. So when it comes to your background, please share with us a little bit about what brought you to manufacturing and how you got where you're at. Kevin Johnson: OK, well, you know, I come from a manufacturing family. I'm the third generation. My grandfather was in aluminum. My dad was in steel, and I ended up in steel as well. That kindled my interest in metallurgical engineering. So I received a scholarship for that. I attended Purdue. It was in-state. And from that, I went to my first job, which is an Otakupu, and started in their lab. They moved me up to the lab supervisor, then over quality control. I went over to Nucor, hired in as a metallurgist, and again had a similar thing. I went over quality and then went over all manufacturing and had a wonderful career with those guys. I went to Fontana Gruppo, where I was director of operations and plant manager and had a great relationship with the team here at Birmingham fastener, so I took a vice president of manufacturing job with them. And it's been great. Getting to see all of the sides of it helped me project through various roles of increased responsibility. Lisa Ryan: What are some of the things that you're doing right now at Birmingham fastener that are working well for you? What are the retention efforts you're doing? What's going well? Kevin Johnson:  Well, I'll tell you, we've focused on incentivizing people to try to keep some more walking the talk. I mean, at the end of the day, we want to give people the best job experience we can. We also know what goes in your pocket has a little bit to do with your happiness. In one particular area where we do our performing, we instituted a pay for performance plan. And this plan has just been great. Production is up about 30 percent. And for the people that are into numbers, to be candid, the payroll has roughly stayed the same, even though those guys are making more money themselves. And you say, well, how can you do that? Well, overtime has just totally disappeared in the area and the productivity there. So we look at what's the speed of a machine and what's the best output that it can get. Can somebody do that through the day now? So we take an arbitrary number of, say, 80 percent of that goal, and that 80 percent will pay you X amount they hit. That amount will virtually double what you're currently making. So, of course, we drop their base rate when we interviewed them in this program. But it does probably pay them twenty-five percent more than what they made in prior years. And they're working fewer hours. So you have to find that win-win. That's what we looked at. We've also looked at attendance, and we say, hey if you're going to have perfect attendance, we get pretty handsome rewards for those who achieve that. Lisa Ryan: Awesome. So when you were talking about the pay for performance and lowering their base, tell us the process of how that worked, and because I'm sure you had some haters right off the bat saying the man's trying to take advantage of us. Kevin Johnson: That's the scary part of these things, is the implementation when you can see the long vision, but everybody else is saying, I'm not seeing it because I do not see that immediate gratification. So, to share a little bit about your process. You hit that one on the head. When you tell a guy that his base rate from what he was making a guaranteed number and say, hey, that drops 30 percent or 40 percent, he's going to say, hey, what's going on here? And there's going to naturally always be a little bit of apprehension. They're going to be there's a concern. I'm taking care of my family. So, you know, we understand that. We took what you made on that plan that we said will, based on your production and what you were making before. And for about four or five months, we let the guy know this is what you would have made off the production bonus plan, and this is what you're actually making. So he had a clear reference to say, hey, I'm saying that I would have been better off on the new plan every week than just this hourly rate I was on. And it happens over time. Now, the employees might have a bad week. And if you just did it over a week, of course, he's going to have a sour taste in his mouth. But after three or four months, you can clearly see that you're going to be 20 percent, maybe twenty-five percent better from that. Most guys that I really care about making money and all that stuff, they got the opportunity, and it's worked out pretty well. I mean, at times, we have guys say, hey, I can watch his machine while he goes and eat lunch. And so I will try to run what I can. You can't do that all the time, but you probably can for 15 or 20 minutes. It depends on where you have set up. So they've got creative in themselves, finding ways to stay on top of things and be productive. The other thing you'll find is that bonuses to make should be a better manager. And you say how if I don't give them those tools and resources that they need, they will definitely come into my office or their boss's office and say, hey, you can have your tools here. We need to have these tools. And you know what? I need one spare of this because I want to make sure that I'm running all the time. And this is the feedback that you wouldn't usually get. But when you align, everyone that makes you a better manager makes them a better employee. Lisa Ryan: There are so many good things that you just said in there. Number one, the amount of time that it wasn't just a, hey, we're changing the comp plan overnight. Here it is. And you are dealing with people who are just fighting that. But you took that time that three or four months to prove to them that this system was going to work. You're also empowering them to get creative instead of micromanaging everything. Sometimes, as leaders, you want to make sure that everything's doing well, and you don't necessarily trust your employees. And it sounds like not only are you trusting them to figure out how to do their job because you're seeing the production levels going up. But now it's OK because maybe before you would have said, what do you mean you're going to watch that guy's machine while he's off eating lunch? Who do you think you are? And now you're seeing that employees are trusting you, and they're buying into the process. But this is certainly not something that happens overnight. So I'm just such a good reminder to people who are looking for that immediate gratification. Kevin Johnson: They won't be. I'll tell you one more thing. After a year of doing it, we compared their W2s. I sat down with each person. Even though there's a manager and a supervisor there, I sat down with each one of those guys individually; H.R. put together how many hours they work, how much they made, overtime hours, and the bonus, versus what they were the year before. And I was able to sit down and show all of them these are the differences and work this many fewer hours. You make this much more money, more time with your family. More time to do what you want to do instead of here, and it was pretty rewarding. Now, always recommend that step because I did have one guy say, oh, man, I didn't realize I made this much more. Some guys don't look at their numbers may be the way that they should, but it's worth investing that time. Lisa Ryan: And how many employees do you have working there that you sat down with? Kevin Johnson: Approximately twenty-five. Lisa Ryan: OK, so again, you're investing the time and being in management there, being the V.P., employees see you as a different level of person. So the fact that you're sitting down with your employees and talking to them and getting to know them and showing them the benefits also gives them a lot more confidence in the leadership. So that's just that that's great work that you're doing over there. Sure. The last thing to get is that a machine only makes money when it's run. OK, changeovers, all the stuff they hurt you. Right. Or if it's down, if our guys actually stay with maintenance, not go and get a Snickers or a Pepsi. When the machine goes down, we pay him his production bonus based on his average. If he's in there fixing the machine with maintenance, that gives me two things. One, he gets a little bit more confidence. Two, he can start fixing that machine himself, and we'll be less reliant on maintenance. So that's just another key point that we put in there. Our guys, to actually learn how to fix their machines. Lisa Ryan: Wow, that's awesome. So what are what's one thing that's keeping you up at night right now? Kevin Johnson: I'll tell you right now, the thing that worries me is how we have maybe some would call a changing of the guard. You have a potentially new president-elect. And the tariff situation is one that that worries me a lot. It was an advantage to the steel guys, but then the steel products guys didn't get all of the help to balance things out with China. So from that, we finally adjusted. We pushed through price increases, trying to keep our margins. We don't look at making more. We want to make the same. And that's what we focus on. And we got those through. So now what happens after you make all these changes to survive? If that all pulls away, then we're going to be back in another situation that will take another couple of years to adjust back. So that's the main concern for me because the tariffs are now staying up a lot. So. Another thing that worries me is just finding quality people. That's been a very tough thing. The skills gap, the people that are actually interested in manufacturing, the kids that actually want to work and get their hands a little bit dirty and have that that rugged satisfaction, that grit, a lot of them say, hey, I'll rather work at the local electronics store, or I want to work in the video game. So, I mean, it's slightly different. And that's been tough pulling talent and. Lisa Ryan: Yeah, especially since everybody's competing for the same talent. And that's why I talk about so much in my programs of just retention. Now, if you have good employees and there are so many things that we talked about, you are doing to keep employees as far as sitting down with them, allowing them to make more money, empowering them, and showing them their work results. That's how you keep them. But you're absolutely right. We're looking at the skills gap of just being able to have to change the conversation about manufacturing, to get more young people to look at it seriously as a career, and even more importantly, to get the guidance counselors at their schools and their parents to buy into the ideas as well. So if you were to think about creating a network of manufacturers and think about something that either question you have or support that you would like to get from other manufacturers, what would be something of that? Kevin Johnson: Well, I think many things right now with the current PPP situation. One of the people dealing with laws should discuss how this was originally going to come out and the questions. Now, the question is if that's are actually put out there, two totally different things, and especially with larger companies that might have had more than two million dollars and they're subject to an audit. And another thing so that, as you mentioned, employee retention is always going to be at the forefront. Working with people, doing job fairs, whether it's virtual, whether it's just joining forces and working on that, those type of things with different types of H.R. issues and situations. Then you have an administration possibly coming. So what can we expect? Are we going to handle reporting these things that we need to stick together? Because you could actually give a company name recordable injuries based on exposure, you can't prove they even happened at the workplace. So we need to make sure that we're all working together and have a unified voice. And that would be great to have manufacturers get together and share on these things. Lisa Ryan: And so from your experience, not only at Birmingham but in the rest of your illustrious career in the metals industries, where do you feel that you would best be able to support other manufacturers or help them out with some of their situations? Kevin Johnson: Well, I have worked with a lot of folks before. In areas, you know, somebody needs help with trying to implement an incentive program. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of feedback on it. Government affairs and I also have experience with the SBA side of it. Those are just a few. But there are so many topics that you manufactured. Yes, margin safety. That's even very important, even though the industry can be somewhat fearful. There are a lot of things you might say, hey, you know, I realize that this last year, this one does great in this environment we've been using for the previous five years. We compete on many things, but I'm not going to compete with anybody on say anything that I do directly. I'm going to share with you on the safety. Lisa Ryan: Awesome. I know that you're involved with the Industrial Fasteners Institute and now the National Association of Manufacturers. So really encouraging people to join your local trade association, get involved with that, because learning on things like this podcast is going to give you a general overview of manufacturing and things that you can use in your plant that may not be in a completely different industry, but it can still work for you. But when you are in your trade association, you get to learn from your peers. And like you said, there are things that, of course, you want to keep secret from a competitive point of view. But for the most part, there's enough work out there for everybody, and it's just really doing the job well and creating those connections. Well, Kevin, we're getting to the end of our time together. And I know that we are connected on LinkedIn, but if somebody wanted to reach out to you and connect with you, what's the best way for them to do that? Kevin Johnson: You can email me.

Connect with Hector Diaz-Stringel: hector.diazstringel@gmail.comTranscript from the show:Lisa Ryan: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan from the Manufacturers' Network Podcast. I'm excited today to introduce you to our guest, Hector Diaz-Stringel. Hector has spent most of his career in manufacturing. He's currently the President of ATA tools, and he's also been involved with chemicals, plastics, composites cutting tools in both Mexico and the United States and with companies working with companies both large and small. So, you're going to hear lots of different insights from different types of companies. So Hector, welcome to the show.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Thanks for having me.Lisa Ryan: Well, share with us a little bit about your journey and your career and how you ended up where you're at now.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Well, without boring everybody with many details, I did start in Mexico, where I'm originally from, as an engineer. I was there for a couple of years, and then the company was looking to expand in Mexico. The company based out of Indiana went to Mexico to look for an engineer to train and send back down to open the market. It was a chemical company, and the plan was I was going to come here for a couple of years and then go back to Mexico, and 20 years later, here I am, so that never actually happened, which has worked out very well. The company was doing well. But they saw more opportunity in the US than in Mexico. So I help them build our plant in Ohio. That's how I ended up in Ohio.I went there was a small privately held company. A larger organization acquired us. And then I moved to other places. I worked in companies public and private, tiny and huge, so I have different perspectives, including private equity at some point. So I got to a point about five years ago, an Irish company was looking for somebody to run their US business. We got connected, and I like what they were doing and where they want it to go. And here we are. Five years later.Lisa Ryan: Awesome. What are some of the things working right now, whether it be with your employees or your processes? Before the podcast, we talked about the toll that the pandemic has taken and how you've rebuilt your business. Why were you able to do that? Take us through that journey and what's been working for you.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Many different things. Fortunately, again, we went through the lows of the pandemic, like every other business in the US, We were coming out of it, but many things that helped us get through that one is our employees. The 75-80 people who work with ATA are committed to seeing us succeed from a safety and health point of view and a customer service point of view and make sure that customers were not going to see a service disruption.But we also have the product side of things. When the pandemic started and we realized it is a health issue, it will quickly become an economic issue. Having gone through the 2000-2009 collapses, we looked back to learn from what happened ten years ago and what we could apply to the situation we did. We put our plan together. It was clear to us that if we had a strong product and have a strong track record with our customers' quality and service, we were in an excellent position to make it through the crisis. We are also fortunate that we have a good financial footing. Not that 2020 was easy to get through with a drop in business. But we were on a solid footing, so we didn't have to worry about whether we would be able to pay our bills or have the cash flow to manage our business.That allowed us to get down to basics. It was about quality tools and software. Let's make sure that whatever orders we have coming in that we are servicing them.And let's make sure that we're ready for any other opportunities because companies that we compete against that may not be in that same situation where they may have a weaker position to begin with.We were bound to make their customers nervous, and we saw some of those opportunities coming our way. We generated a lot of new business opportunities that are in play. In 2021, we will see a full year effect because we were ready to take on that new business. Many things had to come together, but we didn't put them together in 2020; they were already there. We just needed to be mindful of where our priorities needed to be.Lisa Ryan: So in a market where you're talking about your competition and from a sales standpoint, it's hard because you weren't allowed in the plants. You know it wasn't easy to maintain those customer relationships that you had. So what were some of the things that you did or your sales team did your service team did to take care of the customers you had and put in those processes to attract new customers to you.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Yeah, I think it started back in 2016-2017 after I joined the business. A new Director of Sales came on board, about a year later, and we spend those first couple of years putting a sales team together. We have salespeople dispersed throughout the US and Mexico. But then we have a network of manufacturer representatives as well as an extensive distribution network. So we spent a couple of years, putting all of that in place, making sure that we have the right people in the right places. And we're aligned with the right external partners. It all came to fruition. As you point out, even though our salespeople haven't been able to travel and see customers, other than those that they can go and drive to see if those customers are seeing vendors.They had such good relationships that technology helps: zoom and cell phones help us stay close to those customers. So we were ready to start doing many webinars that we were already going to do in 2020, but this accelerated the effort for us. So we were able to reach many people that our salespeople had a hard time getting in touch with in the past. But, but now nobody could go anywhere. Everybody was staying home and doing these types of interactions over zoom or the same kind of technologies, so we found that we could reach many more people than we would likely have been able to get have we've been traveling all over the US. So we generated a lot of business. The highlights for ATA, especially for the US business for 2020, were the number of new opportunities we could identify. Still, we were able to close business while being remote. I kept telling this to the Salesforce throughout the year, "I don't know how you're doing it. Keep doing it."Lisa Ryan: Many positive things came out of this whole thing. It's not only the amount of money saved in time, in not getting on airplanes and traveling over the country and all over the world. But you now had the opportunity to connect with new customers that maybe it wouldn't have been worth your time to get on a plane and see and make that effort. So it sounds like you and your salespeople were buying into that and weren't afraid of the technology. So what a positive that was for you.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Yeah, and I give them a lot of credit because they are salespeople. They want to be out there. They want to be talking to customers, and they want to see how the product works and troubleshoot issues that a potential new customer may be having. They can physically do any of these things, but they found a way to do it remotely and succeed. So that was one of the highlights of our business last year.Lisa Ryan: Now, you mentioned that when you assembled the sales team five years ago when you came on board, you were looking for the right people. That's so important when it comes to culture. But what helped you determine who was the right person and getting that right fit for your company. So you do have those long term dedicated salespeople.Hector Diaz-Stringel: Yeah, we had a Salesforce, and some of them were good individuals, but they were thinking more about retirement than what the next step in their career was going to be. So when you were going to have openings, regardless. But I was new to the business. I have to learn what type of business we had and what the opportunities were. But it was clear that we needed dynamic people - people who were hunting for new opportunities. We looked for motivated and incentivized people by finding a new opportunity and closing the business while maintaining the current business. We already had relationships with those customers and found opportunities for those customers as well. So it was more about driven individuals, not individuals that could be good at maintaining a sales territory.We needed somebody that can maintain our territory. But more importantly, that was dynamic enough to learn whatever new products we keep introducing. We added a lot of new products to our portfolio. They needed to learn those products and become experts at them, but then go out and find opportunities where we can close sales, and it was a unique set of skills that we're looking for. It took us a few tries to find the right individuals, and we found them by going out and hiring people external people. We also took flyers on internal individuals. For example, we have a marketing coordinator that wasn't in the commercial area, but a man sales at all. But we saw potential in here, and we will do the challenge of her, and she was very reluctant at the beginning because, again, sales can be scary. She's been very successful over the last three years, so it took a lot of experimenting and taking calculated risks. So far, it's worked out.Lisa Ryan: Yeah, it sounds like it was something that has still kind of there that's keeping you up at night, what are, what are some of the things may be struggling with?Hector Diaz-Stringel: Well, it definitely that the pandemic. I mean, we're struggling with it. We've been able to manage it successfully so far. And we're going to continue to be very vigilant about it, but it's all around us. And if that were to come into the facility. Of course, I'm going to be concerned about our employees and making sure that they can get through it without any significant issues, but their families and what that effect is going to have in our business and how we serve as a business. We have to manage and potential outbreak. So that has kept me up at night for the last ten months or so.And the economy that the resulting economic issues that have come because of the pandemic. We are much more optimistic now than we have been over the last few months. We believe that in 2021 especially with the vaccines being available and the vaccination rates, things will start opening up, and the business will get back to normal levels. The new administration coming in, hopefully, will have some infrastructure, a plan put in place that will help our business. So there's a lot of things that we're hopeful are going to happen. These things do keep me up at night because the US economy needs these things.Lisa Ryan: Right, exactly. And when we look at this podcast from a networking standpoint of just connecting manufacturers, what would be something that maybe you would either like support or ideas from your manufacturing colleagues to share with you.Hector Diaz-Stringel:  One of the things that we learned as we went through the pandemic was how our network helped us. Hopefully, we also help other companies figure out how to deal with something that nobody has seen since 1918. Nobody in the world was ready for something like this. So are we doing the right things? Are we overdoing it, or we're not doing enough? All we had was ourselves, and we're an Irish based company. So we have, I have counterparts in Ireland, Germany, and the UK. We have the facilities that we could bounce ideas off each other. But again, it's all within the ATA world.But we reached out to our network and just tried to have a call. We can have a beer with the President of our company. What are you doing here, and what have you done that generated more connections with other companies? I probably have met somebody in the company, but never had any interactions, but found out that they were open because they were also trying to figure it out. So, those, those type of it. They were quasi-informal networks that became more formal out of necessity but had those interactions in place. I like what you're doing with this podcast in connecting companies. The next time any of us has any challenge that we have never seen before, having that network to reach out to and being comfortable doing that is another thing that I thought to tell somebody that we don't know what to do. Well, sometimes, you have to be vulnerable. It was very valuable to talk to our companies and, in some cases, validate that we're on the right track. In all cases, we get new ideas that we can think of and, in other cases, provide them with ideas. I think it made for a better situation for all.Lisa Ryan: Awesome. When it comes to your areas of expertise or insight regarding sharing with your manufacturing colleagues, what would be a good tip or a good reason to connect with you?Hector Diaz-Stringel: I have been in chemicals and plastics and cutting tools now. I like going into manufacturing facilities, even if it's something that I have never seen before, because you never know what kind of ideas you're going to extract from that that could apply to your own business or your own life. You don't know what you're going to find out.Anyone who wants to connect is more than welcome to bring them over to see what we're doing. And, you know, maybe we'll give those people an idea that they didn't think of before that that I find valuable.Lisa Ryan: Because sometimes we get so focused on just our industry where you could learn something from somebody in a completely different industry that's like, ooh, that's transferable, and that's the whole point of making those connections. If somebody wants to reach out and connect with you, what's the best way to do that?Hector Diaz-Stringel: hector.diazstringel@gmail.com Lisa Ryan: Alright. Awesome. Well, Hector. It was an absolute pleasure having you on the show today. Thank you for being here. I'm Lisa Ryan from the Manufacturers' Network podcast, and we'll see you next time. Thank you.

Contact Jay Foran at jforan@teamneo.org Show Transcript:Lisa Ryan: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan. Welcome to this episode of the Manufacturers' Network Podcast. I'm excited to introduce you to our guest today. Jay Foran. Jay helps businesses discover exciting growth opportunities in the Northeast Ohio region, which is why I chose him because, of course, I'm from northeast Ohio. He works with corporate clients and site consultants to navigate the Regional Economic Development Framework, connecting them with state and local resources and emerging technologies.Before joining Team NEO, Jay was vice president of business development for the Lake West Group, a management consulting firm. He also served in a variety of key leadership positions with Procter and Gamble. So Jay. First of all, welcome to the show. It's great to have you here.Jay Foran: Thanks so much; I appreciate the invitation.Lisa Ryan: Good. So, share with us a little bit about your journey and what ultimately led you to serve the people of northeast Ohio as well as you do.Jay Foran: Sure. So, as you mentioned in my bio, I had spent a lot of time with Procter and Gamble, 25 years to be exact, and 20 of those years were on the west coast. But I am a native of Cleveland, Ohio area Northeast Ohio and my wife and I were in California for years. So then we started having children and decided we wanted to be closer to family. So we came back to the region. In 2000, as you mentioned, I joined a consulting firm but upon re-entry into the region. I connected with two good high school friends and others in key leadership positions in the community. And through that those connections, I found myself getting involved in some of the school rehabilitation programs and the city of Lakewood. They were looking at their school buildings and how they could get those buildings in better shape. More conducive to education, etc., ultimately ended up leading the effort to convince the taxpayers that it's worthy of a $200 million investment. So that was a great experience. Along the same timeline, I got involved again locally with the formation of a Community Development Corporation called Lakewood Alive. It's all about engaging citizens in the health and well-being and betterment of their local community. That organization is still thriving here 15 years later.Well, I was consulting. I was traveling a lot. And basically, it came to a point where I said, "Wait a minute, I moved back to northeast Ohio to be involved." I find myself on an airplane, leaving the region, and I certainly enjoy what I call the Community and Economic Development aspects of the things I was doing on a volunteer basis.So when the position of Team NEO came open in 2007, I thought it was a great match with my interest and how I wanted to create that Capstone situation for myself in the latter part of my career. And so that's how I found my way to Team NEO. I've been there since again 2007 - now beginning my 15th year.Lisa Ryan: Wow. Tell us a little bit, for those people outside of our region who may not be familiar with Team Neo, your mission.Jay Foran: Sure. Well, Team NEOs stands for Team Northeast Ohio, and we are a private nonprofit Regional Economic Development Organization serving the 18 counties of Northeast Ohio - basically going from the Pennsylvania border west to Cedar Point or Erie County and then south to Mansfield and Richland county and then back over to Pennsylvania. So this area makes up about 20 to 25% of the state's geography but about 35 to 40% of the state's economy. So Team Neo's been private and the nonprofit was stood up by the major Chambers of Commerce across the region. Back in the early 2000s, but in 2011 we became the network affiliate of Jobs Ohio. Our organization's role is to help companies and the economy grow. So we work with companies in the region to assist them with those impediments that may hold back the growth, or if they've got expansion plans, we can assist that way, tying them into jobs, Ohio, and the state as well as local incentive programs. But we can also provide services in talent development technology adoption, helping them find a site that sort of thing. We don't just restrict ourselves to companies in the region. We're interested in bringing greater business investment into the region as well. So we work to attract companies, so we travel around the world and tell the Northeast Ohio story. It's a very compelling story of why they want to have an operation here and how that will best serve their business and help their company succeed.Lisa Ryan: So, and as you're doing that and trying to help companies relocate to Northeast Ohio? What are these companies looking for when they're determining where to relocate their business?Jay Foran: Well, they all have different requirements. They all have different things, to some degree, that they're looking for, but they can boil down into what I call three areas. One is, "Can I make money?" And that's what companies are supposed to do, right, is to make money. And so what are the things that are assisting them here. Is this a good location for that from a logistics standpoint? Is there access to customers or access to a supply chain - all things that contribute to money?And then there's risk. Is there a lot of risk with this site versus another site in another state or another part of the country?And finally - time. How long is it going to take? How much capacity is required of their organization? So again, I think it kind of boils down to money, can I make money. Is there an opportunity there? Or can I save money by operating there, how much time will it take, can I do it faster there or with less capacity?What's the risk involved - downward or upward risk - that I had to consider as I think about my location. So usually, that's where companies start to weigh these regions of the country against each other and start to score them against their more individual requirements, but they all tend to fall into time, money, or risk.Lisa Ryan: I also think you've probably seen this a lot more than me when it comes to people being surprised when they come to Cleveland. We see this when other sports fans come in to watch games in Cleveland. They are much more surprised than they originally thought they would be about what a great location, it is. I'm sure that that also plays a part in willing people to come here.Jay Foran: Right. It's incredibly valuable and is actually a requirement to be successful. We have to find a way to get leaders of organizations to come to the market to be here, to see what's available, and to see how easy it is to drive across the region, from a transportation standpoint. The options that are available, the sites that are available, etc. - I think once we get them on the ground, our success rate grows, you know, threefold, fourfold, and this is just as true when it comes to talent.Many companies here will tell you, "Our biggest challenge is getting people to think about relocating here. But once we get them to relocate here, we asked him, maybe five years later to relocate somewhere else. They don't want to leave." Yes, they're enjoying that not only are they enjoying a rich career, but their families are also enjoying a great quality of life. So that combination is what we're all looking for a good career, great opportunities, and enrichment, but at the same time, we want our families, the people we love, to be successful, too. And so that's where it all works for Northeast Ohio.Lisa Ryan: Yeah. And as somebody who is a native Clevelander, I've actually never lived outside Cuyahoga County - completely by choice. I like to joke about the fact that my husband has lived in both Cuyahoga AND Summit Counties.Jay Foran: So he's a man of the world.Lisa Ryan: Yeah, my whole family has flown the coop and lives across the country. But, for my husband, Scott and me, it's such a pleasure to see the expansion of people discovering the secret gem that we have here in Cleveland.Jay Foran: Some of our best, most loyal residents have lived in New York or Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, all these exciting places they're exciting. I love San Francisco. How could you not, right. Right, like I was traveling the west coast in great cities, but at the same time, I thought about what is offered here. It called me home. I think about how much house I can get from my money, how far my dollar goes, how many things my family can enjoy due to being here are just greater than any of the other places that I played.Lisa Ryan: So what do you think about what you've seen the economic development future looks like for Northeast Ohio?Jay Foran: I think it's incredibly bright. I'm very encouraged. I am in the latter stages of my career; I won't be doing this for that many more years but in many ways. I wish I could be part of it 10 years from now. Because I've been at it for almost 15 years, when I first went out to talk to companies in Silicon Valley or Japan or other parts of the world. I spoke about Northeast Ohio or Cleveland Akron and there was a little concern because of what they had heard about the area. Well, I have seen over those 15 years that change dramatically.I'm not saying that the world knows everything they need to know about Northeast Ohio; there's still a huge opportunity there. And that's where a lot of our emphasis going to be is helping people understand the narrative. But I can tell you that the shade is much further up than it needs to be to bring Cleveland Northeast Ohio.And again, I think there's a lot of things going on on the ground. Whether it's University Circle or what's happening in Akron Canton and Youngstown, there's a lot of activity. Companies are succeeding.We're just in a great location that's always going to serve as well. And some of the movement towards remote workforce as a result of the pandemic, I think we're going to serve this region. Well, when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, which is usually for most companies' minds.Lisa Ryan: So when it comes aside the fact of picking up your business and moving to northeast Ohio to increase business or have a more successful business. What are some of the things that you're seeing with the manufacturers you're working with that they're doing really well?Jay Foran: Well, there are many manufacturers in Northeast Ohio - 7700 to be exact - 97% of them would be what we consider a small or medium-sized enterprise. I see them doing exceptionally well in providing a workplace that allows for additional responsibility and personal growth. Training. Most of these organizations have strong, very solid processes in place. A strong example is just how Northeast Ohio responded to the pandemic's onset back in March of 2020. It was determined that manufacturing was essential. And you saw leadership from these companies that were so impressive and the response of the workforce. The employees were providing our society at a critical time.I think in many ways, it was somewhat of a renaissance for manufacturing. It really brought to the surface just how critical, how valuable manufacturing is, and just how strong our region is. Again, in this region, we're about 20 25% of the geography and about 35 40% of the economy. Well, that's because of in factoring. That's because of the multiplier effect and the supply chains and the fact that we're feeding the region's supply chains and worldwide. I think because of the pandemic, we answered the call and continue to answer the call. That's a strong endorsement for the manufacturing community.Lisa Ryan: In the pandemic, employees had the opportunity to contribute to that mission. One day they're making beer, the next day, they're making hand sanitizers. One day they're making plastics. The next day, they're making shields. I shouldn't have been surprised, but it was really cool to see the changes that just flipped overnight, and we're able to be that flexible, which we offer here.Jay Foran: Right. No doubt about it. The company, the employees, the personal investment in the solution was so obvious. There are so many success stories. We could go on and on and on about these companies. Lisa Ryan: So if it was to come down to your best tip or hint that you would like to share with other manufacturers, or the best reason for them to come to northeast Ohio, what would that be?Jay Foran: Okay, well, for manufacturers in particular, I think there's still opportunity, lots of opportunity in the area of what it called technology adoption, you know, Internet of Things. Some of these new applications of advanced AI, artificial intelligence, other technologies, etc. The global marketplace is very competitive, and it's going to be imperative for our companies to begin to bring on these technologies to automate to a greater degree to remain connected. We want to be a leading-edge community. The good news is on two fronts: one is that there's strong movement afoot, and the region much of which Team NEO is involved. And if anybody wants to learn more. I'm happy to chat with them. But there's a big movement in the region to begin to take on these technologies to adapt them to incorporate them to integrate them to be successful in them.And the good news, relative to technology adoption is that you don't have to take on this monstrous project. You can begin small, and as you are successful, you can add on to it, reinvest some of those savings and then continue ratcheting up your organization to be more technically proficient.Going forward, there's an opportunity. I also think there's a reasonable pathway for companies to employ without disrupting their business or, you know, bringing a lot of risk to their business by incorporating these technologies.Lisa Ryan: Awesome. Well, Jay. It has been an absolute pleasure having you on the show today. What's the best way for people to get ahold of you if they'd like to continue the conversation?Jay Foran: Best way is through my email, jforan@teamneo.org Lisa Ryan: All right. Well, again, Jay. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight and really giving props to our wonderful city of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. So thank you for being here. I'm Lisa Ryan, and this is the Manufacturers' Network podcast. See you next time.

Connect with Scott Mackenzie, Host of the Industrial Talk podcastScott@IndustrialTalk.comwww.IndustrialTalk.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E%99%EF%B8%8Fscott-mackenzie-mba-l-i-o-n-98846625/Program Transcript:Lisa Ryan: Hey, I'm Lisa Ryan and welcome to the manufacturers' network podcast, I'm excited to bring you my guest today. Scott McKenzie, the host of the industrial talk podcast and one of my very favorite people on the planet, and he will soon be one of yours as well. Scott, welcome to the show.Scott MacKenzie: Well absolutely honored to be part of this particular podcast. I love it. I love what you're doing. I love what you stand for. I love your purpose and your passion and everything's associated with it, you are adding value to a lot of people right now. I love it.Lisa Ryan: Well, we actually got together because I was on your podcast, which I know you've been doing for a number of years. I'd like for you to just kind of share your journey. And where were you were in your career and what got you to what you're doing today.Scott MacKenzie: Yeah, I have a strong industry background. I was with Price Waterhouse - did a lot of work there. And then I also then went into a terminal company took it public, retired and then I started my own maintenance company. I spent a lot of money on print from a marketing perspective and the attention perspective got nothing out of it. I was just coming back from a client. And I was listening to a podcast and for whatever reason, I decided I can do that. And all I wanted to do was just be able to open up a dialogue with companies that I could never get in through the door. Nobody wants to talk about industrial maintenance, but if they have something going on, I'd always say, “Hey, get on the podcast.  I think the listeners would love to hear about what's going on in your company,” and for the most part people would say “yes.” And that's how the door was open and it turned out to be just an absolutely incredible journey. And podcasting has just been a wonderful experience because I get to meet people like you and others around the world just because of this. It's good. It's cool. That's, that's it.Lisa Ryan: We actually met on the podcasts, of course, so we didn't meet live until a couple of months ago when you got to come to my lovely city of Cleveland to show us off and work with some of the manufacturing leaders in Cleveland, so just yeah props to you number one for showcasing one of the best cities in the world.Scott MacKenzie: Without a doubt, and, and boy that manufacturing base in that whole area Northeast Ohio - Team NEO, Manufacturing Works, Magnet. It takes incredible passion for that area to be successful, especially where we're going in this COVID. I don't have an answer. I don't have a crystal ball on that. However, you guys have got tremendous skills in that area manufacturing skills. Good stuff.Lisa Ryan: So what are some of the things that you're seeing right now that have just been some highlights some of the things that manufacturers are doing really well. As far as keeping up with the times and moving forward into the next year and into the next decade.Scott MacKenzie: Yeah, that's an interesting question because nobody in their business continuity plan had a global pandemic. So from a manufacturing perspective, what I saw was really positive versus some of the challenges which we all know. The challenges included how nimble manufacturers can be. They had to keep the lights on. They had to survive. Now I hope they're at a point where they can begin to rebuild it and then begin to prosper in whatever this next normal is, but what I really saw was that these leaders these manufacturing leaders figure out how to survive because when you start looking at their business, it wasn't just “here's the business” because that definitely got hammered, but “where is my supply chain? Where do I, where do I source my feedstock. What do I how it's it's been decimated? I was in Asia, and I was putting in and bolts and now that's all messed up. How do I reach or near-shore onshore what it, what are my strategies around that? And then once again what does the market look like? How do I manufacturer to those that the demands of the market? It was just absolutely all new and it just demonstrated a tremendous amount of leadership on the part of manufacturers.Lisa Ryan: Well, and just being able to see manufacturers that yeah one day they're brewing beer and the next day they're making hand sanitizer. Or one day they're making clothing and the next day they're making masks. So, not only to be able to turn on a dime like that but also to let their employees know that hey you're contributing to something that’s part of the solution in this pandemic that we're all facing. For lots of people, not only in my industry, but lots of other people I talked to this was going to be the best year ever. Everything was going so well and then March came and the bottom fell out. So it's been definitely an interesting year.Scott MacKenzie: I think one of the positives and I'm always gonna try to gravitate to the positive is that I think pre-pandemic. We were lazy. We were just, sort of, just going through the motion and economy and all of that stuff during the pandemic. I think that there were meaningful conversations, the realization that people - it's a people conversation. And so many of these manufacturers sat down with their team and said, “I need your help.” And there was a level of vulnerability that exists. You didn't have the answers you know why? Because you've never been through it and you needed that ability to collaborate, not just internally. Which is a good thing where you're creating that dialogue and you're valuable, but also externally and saying, “I don't have the answers, either.” So I need to collaborate with other individuals outside and there was this need to help everybody tried to survive. And that was a beautiful thing. And I hope going forward, that that is not lost. And that we continue to collaborate in a way that helps everybody succeed.Lisa Ryan: Well, also, it really helped us speed up technology because when we look at who runs a lot of the manufacturing companies, it’s like, “We've been doing it this way for 40 years, man. We don't need those apps. We don't need that video, and we're not going to do the zoom thing, whatever that is.” But you were forced into it. So from a technology standpoint, it seems that we just blasted five or 10 years into the future. Further than if we had just stayed put.And that level of communicating, especially with your millennial and Gen Z employees who are used to communicating this way. It's like, now we just really expanded our options as far as doing that which is super cool.Scott MacKenzie: So this is an interesting point that you bring up Lisa one there's that digital transformation and pre-virus. There were companies saying, “I hear this industry 4.0, I hear IoT, edge, cloud, jet - all of the things that are associated with industry 4.0  and they put it on their plan two to five years. We’re gonna start to deploy it right. Then there were companies that said, hey, this is important to us and so we're going to begin to deploy our digital transformation strategy, whatever that might look like.  The ones that did it right beforehand or in a better position today than the ones that right just sort of planned it out. That's one. The other challenge that exists because of the pandemic, because of the challenges and the focus on digital transformation is the education gap that exists now so what used to be something that, “hey we're planning, we're going to have a grand time and we're going to learn a little bit this and little edge of this and really just sort of meander on into digital transformation.”Now we've realized that there is a necessity and in any of your young listeners out there anything that deals with IoT digital transformation AI. Edge robots get into it because now there's this major gap and the speed of technology is demanding that there's an educated workforce that can respond to that. You’re not going to go down the world of digital transformation if you don't have the resources, the people, the human element in doing that. It just, you're not so that education components massive especially now mess.Lisa Ryan: Well, and that also helps us to change the conversation because, for a lot of parents, a lot of guidance school counselors think of manufacturing the way it was back in the day when it was loud and dirty and greasy grimy and the technology that's taken over. I mean, you walk into some of these plants and it's clean. They're bright. It's exciting. You're seeing all these robots and just cool stuff around and a lot of people don't know that. So it's just really, how are you getting the word out. How are you showing off what you're doing? How are you, attracting people to your industry who may have never considered manufacturing before?Scott MacKenzie: Isn't that an interesting challenge because that is more of marketing into an attention type of strategy outside of the fact that you gotta educate - that's sophisticated stuff. It's cool stuff. And if you're in the game. If you're doing it. And if that's your profession, you're writing because technology is moving so fast. Version one is yesterday's news now is wearing version two. I'm already hearing about 6G and it's just so fast. But if you're in the game. You're in it, you get to hear it, you get in your learning curve is not a steep get in the game. And then secondly, you're right. You know, there's this preconceived notion that manufacturing is dirty, filthy, whatever. Now it's a sophisticated profession that is only getting more demanding when it comes to technology sophistication data analytics because there's gold in that skill set. Big time.Lisa Ryan: Yeah, and I think that COVID has also helped us to look at business and look at production differently. My husband just went back to work after being furloughed for eight months and they are actually basing their production on who shows up that day because they don't know if one of their workers has been exposed to COVID. They don't know if they have to be in quarantine because a family member was exposed.So, a year ago, you would have never thought, no, this is the production schedule this or what they're running but like you said to have that flexibility of being able to turn and say, okay, well, instead of making 100 units today. Maybe we can only make 75 because that's who we have- and it’s being okay with that because nobody knows what's what,  where we're going, and how these things are when we're going to get back to whatever that next normal is.Scott MacKenzie: Yeah it. See you bring up another good point. It's when we first started the conversation. One of the things that I was very fascinated with is the ability of manufacturers to be nimble. Because my understanding, prior to the pandemic is that manufacturers, they just they're into doing things in and honing that process over and over and over again. That's what they do. Right.And now you throw in a pandemic you throw in that. And then all of a sudden, they realize they need to be nimble. Here's the benefit - they're able to say, okay, “Been there, it’s been a pain.” This is how we've adjusted it only benefits them going forward. Now we have 100 people in today, tomorrow, we have 75. This is what we can do and we're still staying alive and moving forward and turning the wheels. That's a great thing. And going forward, people talk about the ability to be able to take a lot of things for granted in the manufacturing process. I about died when I went to the store and there was nothing on the shelves like toilet paper. And then I realized the importance of manufacturing, I realized the importance of the Supply Chain. I always knew it was, but I'm living it and everybody else is living it. But what's great about it is that there's this cafeteria type of mindset. If I can modify my manufacturing process to manipulate it and satisfy my customer even better. Instead of a red car, I want that green car. I want it now, you know, and it's just being able to do that real-time.Manipulation of your manufacturing process that's the data analytics, that is a Iot. That is a technology solution, but that's where we're going. And it only benefits us from a manual from a consumer perspective, it's, it's cool.Lisa Ryan: So what are you seeing as far as some of the main things that are keeping manufacturers up at night.Scott MacKenzie: I just think that the market. It's too squiffy right now. I don't know what the answer is. You know, you see the news out there is the demand up, have we seen the impact on business, the economy. It's just before the pandemic, you're really honing in on that data and how you're manufacturing, it's like, you get it. Your idea you're looking at it, you're seeing it. The pandemic hits and all things are just off the table.One of the biggest challenges is, “how do I make my capital investment when I don't know what the market looks like. I don't even know where I'm going. I'm having a hard time sourcing this. I'm not getting paid because they're having a problem and that's where that collaboration. It's a human solution. You're just going to have to collaborate with people, you're going to have to innovate and you're going to have to educate all the time. And you're going to have to make that commitment. So the biggest challenges. I don't know what the future looks like I don't know what that means when everybody gets the vaccine does business. Go back to usual, I don't know. If you come across somebody that does know, well question them because I just don't know. But you can have a conversation about what do you do here. Well, we had that problem and we did it this way. Thank you very much. That's helpful and being about each other. We've got to be we're all in this boat together. You've got to be about the other and helping them succeed if they succeed, you succeed. Bottom line, that's all about industrial talk that's all about what you do you want people to succeed. And if they succeed you succeed.We can sit there and piss and moan about the pandemic, but it really has opened up the opportunity to have meaningful conversations and people have to take that vulnerable position to say, “Yeah, I don't have all the answers. I used to, but I have now and that's a good thing to be.” I like that.Lisa Ryan: And I know from just from knowing you, one of your superpowers, is the fact that you are a connector. So as far as, you know, just really helping manufacturers to network to get together with each other. What are some of the ways that you have found to do that? If somebody struggling with a question and looking for that right person – how do you make those introductions and how have you been so successful connecting people?Scott MacKenzie: Oh, that's a great question. Outside of the fact that I've been doing this for about two and a half, three years, right, and I've had a really fortunate opportunity to be able to interview. I think the class of 2020 industrial top class of 2020 was far greater than, let's say 200 plus industry professionals industry heroes. Right. And so for me, I get the opportunity to interview and I do it intentionally to figure out what the challenges are and then I think there was like, oh, I know who it is you need to talk to Lisa. I do this quite frequently.I'll just say, stay on the line. So, and then I'll call the individual and say you need to do this right now, here, and I'll pull up my cell phone and I'll stick it on the mic and say you need to connect and then I'll do it. And then I'll create it and then I back away because, again, if we're not about the necessity to collaborate. We can't just hold our cards close to our chest. We just can't. We've got to be open. It's got to be an open kimono type of interaction. And so I do that real-time, because I'll get distracted. I'll contact that person and I will get them on the phone and I say that you got to contact them and that's how it works. I can't help facilitate the next step, but I will be a pain in the ass and I will always be it's like hey did you contact them. Did you contact them? Yes. You got to be that way. You got to follow up, you gotta do it.Lisa Ryan: That and that human connection. Yeah, that's the one thing that we really kind of took for granted and we're getting back to realizing how important that is.Scott MacKenzie: It, it, it is. And I agree with you, 100% it is at the top of that heap. It's that collaboration and being vulnerable and then always learning and educating. I think education is always up there too. That's leadership, you know, and you're big into leadership, you're big into the gratitude stuff, which is pretty damn cool. Lisa Ryan: So what is the best way for people to connect with you.Scott MacKenzie: Go to IndustrialTalk.com and you can see all of the podcast episodes there.Lisa Ryan: Thanks for being on the show, Scott!