Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Understanding how to create an employee development plan can be difficult if your company is not striving towards constant improvement. Guest speaker Jess Giudici is back with the MakingChips team to discuss the importance of taking the time to focus on each employee’s goals and dreams and how to foster alignment between their goals and your company’s vision. Developing your team can help you better understand why people leave your company and why they stay. Listen to this episode for insightful advice on how to best strategize your development plan and build an ever-improving team! Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact Fostering a united vision to constantly improve through excellent employee development While a lot of people look at employee development as getting someone to the next level or role in a company, Jess encourages business leaders to view their development plan as a tool to foster continual growth in the individual. A good strategy is to diversify the development process. Don’t make your development plan entirely made up of formal meetings between you and the employee. While you should have planned discussions with documented goals and deadlines to meet those goals, you should also make an effort to informally engage in conversation on the floor. Learn about who they are and what they want from life, from work, from their skill-set. Jim and Jess agree that having a standard set of questions and procedures as a base to employee development is an excellent place to start - but allow space in the personal conversations you have as well. Documenting the conversations you have can help clarify future meetings, goal-making, and accountability. What motivates you? What is your passion, and how can we help? Each person is unique and will be motivated in different ways. The goal should be to align the skills that a person is motivated to learn and their aspirations with the goals and vision of the company. Ask your employees what they are passionate about. Ask what they find challenging in work and how you can help them overcome those challenges. What if someone doesn’t want to “move up the ladder” and take on leadership? Jess says that such an answer is perfectly okay - as long as your company can sustain the current position. The goal is to engage with your employees and make sure that they are feeling fulfilled in their positions. The Annual review: drawing the line between performance and pay Annual reviews are often a combination of performance review and pay review. Jess suggests that the two be separated and discussed independently of one another. While the pay may be influenced by performance, excellent performance doesn’t always mean a raise in salary. The focus should be on the employee, not the pay. This elevates the importance of performance and sends the message that you care about how the employee is doing and feeling in his or her job. When dealing with individuals who feel they should be paid more while being allowed to stay in their current skill-set and position, Jess encourages company leaders to be frank and honest about the company’s expectations and salary caps. Supporting your employees is key, but be clear about the policies. Listen to the entire episode for more advice on how to evaluate your employee performance and foster a thriving company culture! Why do they leave? Why do they stay? Understanding and evaluating retention and attrition can be confusing. Jess explains that employees leave for a wide variety of reasons, and you shouldn’t be surprised when you hear that someone is leaving your team. If you are surprised, then something probably went wrong in the development process. You should be self-evaluating your company’s processes to make sure you are doing your best at developing your employees and the company’s goals. Jess suggests having interviews with people who are leaving - as well as with people who love their work and want to stay long-term. Understanding why people want to stay can help you understand why some people may not be a good fit and want to go. Creating a company culture where everyone has a voice is vital to a thriving and happy atmosphere and excellent work ethic. Jason points out that a great culture comes from truly loving and caring about the business and the people who work it. Jess reminds leaders to understand who they are as an employer and to take the time to understand their employees’ voice. Here’s The Good Stuff! Uniting your team under the goal to constantly improve. Manufacturing news: Millennials’ perspectives on manufacturing jobs. Jess Giudici is back with the Metal Working Nation! Fostering a love of personal and company growth through HR development. Understanding the individual: what drives your employees? What if someone doesn’t want to climb the career ladder? Balancing formal and informal development conversations. Separating performance and pay reviews. Understanding why people leave and why people stay. Creating and cultivating a great company culture. Bonus interview about compensation techniques with Jess Giudici. Tools & Takeaways Millennials Skeptical About Manufacturing Careers Halogen Software Bonus Interview with Jess Giudici on Compensation Techniques This Week’s Superstar Guest: Jess Giudici Jess Giudici Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

Streamlining and optimizing your company’s hiring and onboarding processes can be difficult and sometimes daunting. Hosts Jim Carr and Jason Zenger bring helpful and common questions to the table with guest speaker Jessica Giudici - manager of organizational development at Smalley. Jess gives practical and engaging advice on how to approach your hiring process and create efficient, job-unique procedures for finding the best individuals for your company’s needs. Learn how staying true to your company’s vision and values can help save you time in the hiring process on this episode of the MakingChips podcast! Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact The hiring process: taking it back to the roots Where should manufacturing leaders start when assessing their company’s hiring process? Jess emphasizes that understanding who you are as a company is key. Branding isn’t just something that you talk about with the marketing team; who you are should permeate everything you do, including hiring and onboarding. Identify and establish who you are as an employer. What is your commitment to your employees and team members? Jess explains that when you understand who you are as a company and employer, it helps narrow down who you want to join your team and who will make a good fit. Create an optimized process centered around your company’s values Recognizing your identity is just the first step. The next is understanding who your audience is when marketing an open position. A cookie cutter approach to hiring won’t attract the unique candidates that you want to see applying for your specific job opportunities. From there, you can hone down which platform you will use to market the job. After you have identified who it is you need - and for what job - you need to walk through what the first conversation will look like. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes and think about what they will find and feel when they walk through the door at the first meeting. Are your processes outdated? Is it all paper and work? Is it boring? Think again about who you are as a company and create an atmosphere that highlights your strengths, values, and vision. Interviewing: a process of identification Jess discusses why speed to hire must be executed within the framework of quality over quantity. You don’t need 10 or 20 candidates; you need one excellent candidate. Create an interview process for your company that focuses on finding the right fit. Jim and Jason agree, saying that making sure the candidate is aligned with your core values is essential. Jess recommends training your hiring managers to effectively engage the candidate and to listen to the entire team’s perceptions. She discourages the 2 on 1 interview, explaining that it is needlessly intimidating to the candidate, and it is easy for the emphasis of the interview to shift from the candidate to the communication between interviewers. To learn more about the best practices for interviewing and whether or not money should be discussed in the process, listen to the full episode! Breathing life into your onboarding process Having an optimized onboarding process is just as important as having solid hiring procedures. Jess recommends walking through the goals and desired impressions of the onboarding experience. She reveals that it only takes about 45 days for a new employee to decide whether or not they wish to stay with a company long-term or begin looking for new opportunities. The first few months are vital! Training your leadership on how to engage effectively with new recruits will quicken learning and make for a positive experience for all participants. The focus should be on creating an environment in which the new employee can thrive as a learner. For more excellent tips on how to streamline your manufacturing company’s hiring and onboarding processes, listen to the entire episode! Jim and Jason encourage you to not become overwhelmed but to take things one step at a time, leading to effective success. Here’s The Good Stuff! Carr Machine & Tool secured a finalists position for some exciting awards! Bill Gates invests in carbon-free steel manufacturing. Guest speaker, Jessica Giudici - a MakingChips veteran. The importance of a streamlined hiring and onboarding process. Where to start in assessing your company’s hiring process. Creating a step-by-step process that highlights your company’s vision and values. Best practices for the interviewing process. How to optimize the onboarding process and boost long-term employee retention. Don’t be overwhelmed! Improve one step at a time. Tools & Takeaways http://fortune.com/2019/01/09/boston-metal/ This Week’s Superstar Guest: Jess Giudici Jess Giudici Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

The word is out - the economy is changing, and you should probably start planning for a recession. MakingChips hosts Jason Zenger and Jim Carr help take the intimidation out of a looming recessional period by offering some practical advice based on their own personal experiences with leading manufacturing businesses during economic recessions. Learn how you can get a head start in your business and personal life by making just a few - and not too frightening - changes to your company’s lifestyle in this important episode of the MakingChips podcast! Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact Preparation prevents poor performance Jim and Jason explain that recessions in the economy are inevitable. While we can’t ever know for sure when or how harshly recessions will hit, we can take steps to prepare for the strike. There are difficulties in every season of the economy - even in the good times. Recessions simply provide a different set of challenges that can be weathered more effectively by those who plan accordingly. Jim and Jason point out that the manufacturing economy is at a booming national high, which makes now the perfect time to save and plan for a dive. The money game: where to spend and where to save A looming recession raises numerous questions on how to best manage company and personal finances. Jim and Jason give helpful starting points for long-term effectiveness, beginning with the important step of keeping your debt low and under control. The probability of needing to cut job margins is high, and there will not be as much room in the profit margin to play with. Keeping debt thin will leave more room for necessary funding. Saving money is also vital. Jim and Jason recommend bulking up the savings account to create a buffer for yourself and your company for when times get tight. Saving now can help counter the possible need to cut employment levels. A third way you can take precautions now is to be prudent with your company and personal spending. Determine what you can cut out of your business and personal spending and make a budget. Learn how sacrificing now can save you later by listening to the full episode! Building up your team and your machine Don’t leave your employees and team members in the dark on what is happening in the economy and of the changes that you will likely need to make in your business when the recession hits. Encourage your team to not overextend themselves and to prepare themselves. Build up morale by explaining the cyclical nature of the economy. Recessions don’t last forever! Give them tools to help them prepare (such as this podcast!). Refrain from purchasing new machinery leading up to the recession and during. Invest in your current machinery by making necessary repairs and keeping up on maintenance. Today’s machinery will be tomorrow’s money-makers. Invest now while you have the monetary means. Seizing the opportunity in a recession Jim and Jason point out that opportunity is available in every season of the economy. Diversify your customer base now so that when things get rough, your company’s well-being won’t be compromised by the collapse of just one or two of your clients. Not all of your customers will be affected by the recession in the same way. When the recession does hit, don’t sit back and wait it out. Look for ways to build your business by observing what is available when other companies are struggling. An example Jim and Jason give is acquiring your competition’s businesses or bringing them onto your team. Look for ways you can help yourself by helping others. For more tips and tricks on how to lessen the pain of a recession and effectively prepare your manufacturing business for the coming times, listen to the full episode! Here’s The Good Stuff! A recession is coming. Exciting news about national growth in manufacturing and Jim’s new trunnion table. Changes in the economy call for changes of plan: how to be prepared. Why you should keep debt low. Why you need to diversify your customer base. Communication with your team is vital. The importance of maintaining your current machinery and equipment. Building your savings account so it can do its job. How being prudent in company and personal spending NOW will save you later. Opportunities are abundant - even in a recession. Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

In this episode of MakingChips, Jason Zenger and Jim Carr introduce a new team member, Christine Schmitz - an experienced editor and writer who explains why storytelling matters to manufacturers and their businesses. Having long been connected to the manufacturing world through her husband, Dr. Tony Schmitz (featured in a previous episode), Christine has an intensely valuable viewpoint on how and why it is important for leaders to be able to tell good stories. “Communications is the foundation of who I am,” Christine shares. To communicate well, one must build relationship, and relationship is founded in the sharing of stories. Want to know what makes a great story and how knowing how to write one can boost your game in the manufacturing business? Listen to the whole episode! Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact Bringing process and art together Just as in manufacturing, there is a process of writing a good story. Christine shares the process of how to take your story and vision and work it into a compelling and useful tool. The process begins with the reader - the intended audience. Identify who your audience is and ask, “What do they want to know that I can share?” Identify what expertise you can share with your audience by knowing what problem you solve through your business or work. Your audience’s interest lies in the application of your knowledge and profession. Find an editor or another person you trust to give you feedback on your writing. Another set of eyes is invaluable and a vital part to the success of your story. Always reread your writing. Trust your professional intuition and make sure that your work, vision, and story is conveyed honestly and effectively. Creating a shared vision through your story Christine points out that most people only think of themselves when communicating. To build a lasting and effective relationship, however, one must think of the other person - in this case, the manufacturing leader must think of his or her business, employees, customers, and possible recruits. All of these categories are readers of your story who want to know, “What’s in it for me?” It can often be difficult for manufacturers to share the story of their work, the challenge of their highly technical fields, or the processes they use. Christine reveals that relevance is key to building the bridge between writer and reader. “When it’s hard to explain what you are doing to another person,” she explains, “it dramatically impacts the relationship you can have with them.” To learn how to best create a shared vision through your story, listen to the full episode! Connecting yourself and your audience through problem-solving Tailoring your message to your audience is vital for the survival of your story. But how should you convey your manufacturing story to capture your audience? Christine points out that manufacturing is something that permeates everybody’s lives. Manufacturers produce something tangible every day, whereas most other people do not. People want to know how and why you create the things you do - as long as the application applies to them. Your audience wants to know what the problem is that you solve and how and why you solve that problem. Connect yourself with your audience by concentrating your story on the end result of your work. Quality is always better than quantity Christine warns against the temptation to simply flood your readers and audience with information that they may not be interested in or need. Always take quality over quantity. One way you can ensure the quality of your writing is through an editor. While your professional expertise is needed to correctly tell the story, an editor can help you build the strongest and most effective bridge between your story and your audience. Also, realize that there is no one way to write. Find a process that works for you and don’t be afraid to change that process when it’s not working. To learn more about writing as a process and why storytelling matters to your manufacturing business and skillset, listen to the full episode! Here’s The Good Stuff! Manufacturing is storytelling. Manufacturing News: changes in tariffs. Introducing the new MakingChips member: Christine Schmitz. Why is it important to convey a good story? Storytelling as a process. Clarity in storytelling. What’s in it for me? Relevance in storytelling. Why should manufacturers write? Getting started: Connecting with your audience. Common storylines: everyone is touched by manufacturing. The importance of an editor. Quality over quantity in writing. Tools & Takeaways https://www.thestreet.com/technology/apple-considering-moving-china-manufacturing-14809167 https://storybrand.com/ This Week’s Superstar Guest: Christine Schmitz Christine Schmitz Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

The MakingChips podcast welcomes guest Tony Schmitz, professor at UNC Charlotte and assistant director, energy production and infrastructure center to talk about machining vibration. Tony teaches mechanical design, helping students design and build useful technology like robots. He also teaches mechanical vibrations, structural dynamics, and advanced manufacturing. He says, “At the end of the day, when you’ve made something, you never feel like you didn’t accomplish something that day.” During this episode, Tony gives helpful information about how to measure and mitigate machining vibration in manufacturing. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact The 3 pieces of the machining dynamics puzzle Why are machining dynamics important for manufacturing leaders? Knowing the variables within a tooling machine and being able to adjust them appropriately can increase the longevity of the tool and increase productivity. Tony Schmitz explains that there are three pieces of the machining dynamics puzzle. Listen as he explains why considering these three factors are essential for manufacturers. Feel the machining vibration Whenever a force is being applied to a nonrigid structure, there will be vibration. The problem, according to Tony, is that CAD/CAM software encourages you to ignore vibration and the variables within the machining tool. CAD/CAM always drafts the cutting process perfectly. However, it doesn’t take into account the reality of a machining tool that vibrates. Vibration means displacement of your cutter that changes over time. However, Tony says that the math equations you learned in school can actually be applied to the shop floor. Hear how differential equations can actually be used in CAD/CAM software to help get higher axial depths of cut without chatter. Good vibrations v. bad vibrations “Just like we all have fingerprints, every cut has a fingerprint as well and it’s the frequency content of that sound signal,” says Tony Schmitz. Bad vibration, also called chatter, are unmistakable when you hear it in a shop. Tony talks about how he can analyze frequencies that a machine puts out and identify bad vibrations and problems in the chip making process. He also explains how viewing wave patterns produced by a machine can tell you how to adjust your spindle speed. Tony says, “The most powerful knob on your controller is not the feed override, it is the spindle speed override.” How to increase productivity in your shop In order to mitigate bad vibration and increase your productivity, Tony encourages collecting a minimum set of data. He describes how to select the 8-10 standard tools that you use the most and collect data on those tools, using an impact, or tap test. Results from a tap test can help you bid jobs more accurately. They can also help you make adjustments to your machines so that you can avoid chatter and be more efficient. Learn about that and much more on this episode of MakingChips. Here’s The Good Stuff! Manufacturing News: A Detroit entrepreneur applies lean auto manufacturing principles to build a beauty salon Introduction of guest Dr. Tony Schmitz, professor of at UNC Charlotte and Assistant Director, Energy production and infrastructure center Tony explains the three pieces of the machining dynamic puzzle How math and physics can be applied to the shop floor Analyzing frequency data to identify bad vibrations within a machining tool The correlation of feedback in a PA system and chatter in a milling tool How a tap test can help you measure your tools data, make adjustments, and increase productivity The pigskin professor and how Dr. Tony Schmitz put together videos for University of Florida football games This Week’s Superstar Guest Dr. Tony Schmitz Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

On this week’s episode of MakingChips, guest Noah Goellner talks about lean process improvement for manufacturers. Noah is the Vice President of Continuous Improvement for Hennig Inc. He is also a lean expert with who presents lean practices in his role at Hennig and as a member of the board of directors of QRM. During this conversation with Jim and Jason, Noah shares why focusing on lean process improvement is important for manufacturers and how it can help transform their companies. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact Why do manufacturers need to focus on lean process improvement Manufactures should devote time to integrating lean into their companies for many reasons. There are cost saving benefits, improvement of throughput, better problem-solving skills and employee development and much more. Failure to have a lean process can put you behind the competition Noah says, “You can’t improve without changing and you can’t change without improving unless you are going the wrong way.” Listen as Noah explains the benefits of lean process improvement during this podcast. How lean flows value to the customer Success doesn’t begin on the shop floor. Most of what determines success happens upstream before the work ever reaches a machine. Quality engineering, supply chain, and employee development all determine whether or not your company can serve your customers well. Lean process improvement is all about flowing value to the customer by eliminating waste or white space, increasing efficiency and consistently improving in all areas of the business. Listen as Noah Goellner shares more ways that lean flows value to the customer. How can you start implementing lean into your company? As with any new process implementation, the key is to take the first step. You don’t have to wait until you have everything figured out. And you don’t have to do everything at once. Consider your pain points and areas of inefficiency and start with one challenge. Noah Goellner talks about taking a cata approach to solving problems. He encourages manufacturing leaders to avoid the shotgun approach and instead take a focused approach to implement lean. Lean process improvement over the natural approach Manufacturing leaders can fall into the habit of operating their companies under natural or organic processes and expectations. However, growth and improvement must be intentional. Noah explains that taking the natural approach allows you to work in your areas of strength while your weaknesses remain unaddressed. Lean process improvement can be an effective agent of change, especially in the areas of weakness. As you identify the challenges within the business, you can then start to implement strategies to change for the benefit of the company and the customers you serve. Hear all about that and more on this episode of MakingChips. Here’s The Good Stuff! Manufacturing News: Manufacturing’s mixed messages aren’t helping to close the skills gap. Why do small machine shop owners need to devote time to implementing lean into their businesses? How Noah Goellner defines lean and how it helps companies provide value to the customer Real-world practices for implementing lean into your manufacturing business How to work backward through the manufacturing process to set expectations and evaluate process to achieve those requirements. What is cata and how does it help with problem-solving? Noah Goellner shares some stories of success for companies have implemented lean processes. What is the best reason for implementing a process rather than allowing it to happen naturally Tools & Takeaways This Week’s Superstar Guest Noah Goellner Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

On today’s podcast, Jim and Jason share a very special announcement about MakingChips 2.0. Four years ago, MakingChips started with the goal of equipping and inspiring manufacturing leaders. The mission has not and will not change. However, what started as a hobby has now turned into something much more. And now there is an exciting new partnership that is going to take MakingChips to the next level. Listen to this episode to hear all about MakingChips 2.0 Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact A strategic partnership that is reshaping the future for MakingChips On this episode, Nick Goellner joins the podcast to reveal a new strategic partnership for MakingChips. Nick is the Marketing Director of Advanced Machine & Engineering and is now a Partner and Managing Director at MakingChips. He is joining the team to propel the company from a simple podcast to a media agency that can serve the metalworking nation. Hear about the bright new future that lies ahead for MakingChips and how you can be encouraged and equipped even more by joining the journey. The impact of content marketing for manufacturers Marketing has changed dramatically in the last twenty or thirty years. Companies used to talk to the consumer and tell them what they wanted. Now the key to marketing success involves interacting with your audience and talking with them, not at them. Content marketing isn’t a new strategy. Nick Goellner talks about how two companies that have leveraged it to help grow and solidify their brand. Listen to hear how content marketing can help your company expand its reach. How do you build a brand? How can you build your brand? Nick Goellner says that you build a brand by building an audience. That’s exactly what MakingChips has done over the last four years. By consistently creating quality content that educates your audience, you become a thought leader and expert in the industry. During this episode, Jim and Jason share with Nick how they have approached content marketing with MakingChips. They also discuss some of the exciting new opportunities that lie ahead. The future of MakingChips 2.0 MakingChips has provided interviews, information and inspiration for the last four years. Realizing how challenging manufacturing can be led Jim and Jason to seek out wisdom and knowledge from other leaders. Now, MakingChips is becoming an agency to serve manufacturers so they can experience greater success through marketing. Utilizing video, written content, and the brand new Chip-In program, MakingChips will continue to strive toward the mission that has driven them from the very beginning. Here’s The Good Stuff! The big announcement of MakingChips 2.0 with a very special new partner Manufacturing News: 2019 Manufacturing Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report The mission of MakingChips when Jim and Jason started and where it is today Two classic examples of content marketing. Nick shares the six steps of building a brand by building an audience. How partnering with Nick will help MakingChips expand and grow. Ways that the metalworking nation can be a part of encouraging and inspiring manufacturing leaders. Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

Jim and Jason are back in the studio to start their new series on process by talking about the Entrepreneurial Operating System. This podcast series on process is designed to help you evaluate your current processes and determine where in your company new ones can or should be implemented. During this episode, Jason talks about the EOS process and how he has applied it at Zenger’s Industrial, Black Industrial and Safety Supply, and at MakingChips. As they discuss EOS, Jason and Jim also give some helpful tips for starting your own process journey. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact What is the Entrepreneurial Operating System? EOS is a set of concepts and tools designed to help leaders and organizations get better. It includes the best business practices and process, combining them into a single system. EOS focuses on vision, traction, and health to help companies solve their problems and experience progress. Listen as Jason shares how the Entrepreneurial Operating System has benefited his teams during this podcast. The 6 components of EOS During this episode, Jim and Jason discuss the six components of the EOS. Each component is vital to growth and health. The first component is vision. Everyone in the company needs to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. Vision gives your company a common objective and defines success. EOS helps by giving eight questions for leaders to answer that will help them cast a vision. Right people, right seat The second component of the EOS is having the right people in the right positions on your team. In order to move forward, you have to have a team that is aligned with your core values. Hiring the right people first requires creating an organizational structure. Many companies structure their companies around the personalities already on the team. Jim and Jason talk about the importance of conflict management and solving problems methodically. Hear more about all 6 of the components during this episode. How to implement a process like EOS Knowing about a process like EOS isn’t enough. If you want to experience the benefit of such a process, you have to take a step and start implementing it. So how do you do that? Jim and Jason give some advice for how to begin utilizing a process like EOS. They also discuss how to experience the best results and how quickly change can happen. Be inspired to take a step in evaluating and upgrading your processes as you listen to this episode of MakingChips. Here’s The Good Stuff! Jason introduces the process system that he uses at Zenger’s Industrial Supply, Black Industrial and Safety Supply and at MakingChips The process that Jim uses at Carr Machine & Tool, Inc. Manufacturing News: Volvo upends U.S. manufacturing plans in reaction to China tariffs 6 components of the Entrepreneurial Operating System Having a vision that is compelling and well communicated Getting the right people in the right position The importance of gathering and utilizing data Solving issues methodically Running your business like a franchise How are you achieving your vision on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis Tools & Takeaways EOS Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

On this special Thanksgiving episode of MakingChips, the Metalworking Nation shares what they are thankful for. While Jason and Jim usually address the challenging issues that manufacturers deal with, on this episode they step back and make some space to express gratitude for the good things in life. You wrote in and shared what you were thankful for and many of those are read many on the show. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact The struggle is real, but so are the blessings Jason and Jim kick off the show by sharing the things they are thankful for. While they admit that there are difficulties and struggles in life, they have great perspective to know that in the grand scheme of things, they are blessed. Jim shares how he has learned to make adjustments in life and leadership and the difference that has created. Even small changes can have a huge impact. They also give credit to their wives for their grounding and success. What would you be doing if not manufacturing? Consider for a moment what you would’ve done for a career had you not gone into manufacturing? Where would you be if you hadn’t started in this challenging industry? During this episode, Jim and Jason discuss that very question. Listen as they both guess what they think the other would’ve done for a career. Thankfully, both Jim and Jason became leaders in the manufacturing industry and started encouraging and inspiring manufacturing leaders through the MakingChips podcast. Giving thanks with fellow MakingChips listeners On this episode, you will hear several members of the metalworking nation share about what they are thankful for. As you listen, take some time to think about how you might give thanks during this Thanksgiving season. Kaleb Mertz shares some of the email responses from MakingChips listeners and past guests. While not everyone could be featured, the ones that are shared on the episode are inspiring and encouraging. The contagious gift of gratitude One highlight of the episode comes from Steve Zenger, Jason’s dad. He wrote in to share his gratitude for his family and friends. You can hear the emotions and sentiment in his response. There are many other great submissions that include gratitude for co-workers and teams, technology, success in business and family. Listen to hear some great people giving thanks on this episode of MakingChips. Here’s The Good Stuff! Since it is Thanksgiving week, Jim and Jason talk about what they are thankful for The metalworking nation shares what they are thankful for Tina Carnelli, Marketing Manager at MP Systems feels blessed by working with people she likes Bob Petrini, President of Chick Machine Company includes Making Chips in the list of things he is thankful for Steve Zenger, Jason’s dad, shares with MakingChips the things he is thankful for Todd Stukenberg is excited about robots and how they are making manufacturing safer and faster Shaun Bisordi owner/machinist at Rocky’s Wire EDM is thankful for the social community of manufacturers Matthew Guse is thankful to have been on MakingChips earlier this year Michael Pulizzi says he is thankful for his wife This Week’s Superstar Guest All mentioned resources LinkedIn Profile Never share an email address Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

It’s time for you to start dialing in manufacturing processes that can revolutionize your business. Manufacturing is challenging. But MakingChips is here to help through every aspect of running and growing your business. One of the best ways to jumpstart productivity and success in your company is by evaluating and implementing processes. Manufacturers are inherently process-oriented people. Once you understand the processes you have and the ones you need to add, you are on the way to taking your company to the next level. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact The new MakingChips series Edwards Deming said, “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process then you don’t know what you are doing.” Needless to say, processes are important. MakingChips is launching a series on the podcast that is all about dialing in processes for manufacturing leaders. Over the next few weeks, Jim and Jason will address how you market and sell, how you produce and how you manage your finances. Upcoming episodes will include discussions about the most critical areas of business that manufacturing leaders deal with every day. Facing your fear of processes Even the thought of processes for some manufacturing leaders can seem daunting. You may feel like you don’t have the time or bandwidth to deal with them because you are trying to run a business. Jim and Jason talk about the 3 Ps of running a successful company, which includes people, product and process. Each one of the three legs of the business stool is important. Failure to address one can lead a gap in your company that could cost you money and opportunity. However, optimizing core manufacturing processes can take your business leadership to the next level. The new MakingChips series will help you face your process fear. Steps to elevate processes for success What do you do once you’ve decided to jump in and start evaluating the value of manufacturing processes in your company? What are the steps to improvement? During this episode, Jim and Jason share how to implement core processes. One of the keys is to involve a team of people so that you aren’t trying to bear the load alone. Jim even encourages the smallest shops to get together weekly to talk about the difficulties and areas of growth in their shops. Dialing in your manufacturing processes with MakingChips So many companies have unwritten processes that are guiding their operations daily. Those undocumented processes can be streamlined. You can start dialing in manufacturing processes by beginning at the 30,000-foot view and zooming in as you get more comfortable. The purpose of the upcoming series is to help ignite the flame in manufacturing leaders to start implementing processes in their companies. Doing so can propel you to greater levels of success. Here’s The Good Stuff! Jason and Jim introduce a new series on the podcast that will address manufacturing processes What are the steps to implementing processes in your shop Is not having a process and indication that you don’t have confidence in what you are doing? The process checklist How to start evaluating and implementing processes in your company Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify