COCKTAIL FOR STRESS -Putting a business bow on 2024 -Family gatherings and politics -Gifts -Weather/Shorter Days -Over eating/drinking -Preparing for a new year You feeling it too? 🥹 In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Alison DeFord is joined by our resident expert, Lalith Gunaratne. He’s an engineer, serial entrepreneur, educator, parent, and mindfulness expert and one of our most popular guests. You’ll gain a better understanding of WHY you’re feeling anxiety or stress right now and how to overcome it (no therapy or special shoes required). Topics include some basic science behind your Circadian Rhythm, why Season Affective Disorder is real, and the things you can do to weather the stress and really tune in to yourself, your team, and even your customers.
Vision, mission, and values…how do they become more than just words on a poster hanging in the lunch room? Mindful leadership…that’s how! Living those values daily. And not just the leadership team, but everyone in the company. A high performance company requires a high performance culture. This starts at the top and it begins with awareness. In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord has brought back (by popular demand) our resident mindfulness expert and former engineer and manufacturing owner, Lalith Gunaratne. What’s in it for you? 1. Understanding the value in becoming more aware and in taking a breath before you react 2. How to create an appreciative culture and what that actually means 3. How to create psychological safety for your team 4. How to turn your mission and values into a living thing Before you sit down with your team to plan for next year, give this a listen. But only if you want to improve, create a healthier culture and customer experience. Not to mention profoundly affecting your bottomline.
The absolute sexiest and most interesting topic to dip into is HR and compliance…no? But wait, it can be, especially when it’s laid out in a compelling way and it helps you steer clear of litigation and a bad rep! In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord dives in headfirst with our resident expert, Gayle Wadden, co-founder at Compliance Works. In a brisk 30 minutes, you’ll have a clearer understanding of WHY this is such an important topic to understand and HOW to tackle it in a proactive way. Takeaways: 1. Why you should care 2. How to be proactive and avoid costly litigation or a class action lawsuit 3. How compliance is a lot like insurance 4. Protect your reputation and make recruiting easier by creating a culture of compliance POWERFUL. TRANSFORMATIVE.
Would it surprise you to know that the #1 constant in manufacturing is CHALLENGES? With every sale, employee, season, and SKU. You can’t stop them from coming. But you can lead differently to transform those challenges into changes that move your team and your business forward. In this EXTENDED CUT episode, Allison DeFord goes 90° below zero with prolific storyteller, speaker, and leadership expert, ‘Antarctic’ Mike Pierce. He shares a real-life story that happened in 1914 that altered his trajectory and took him on an adventure that involves: 🥶 a 59’ freezer in San Diego 🏃🏻♂️running not one but two ultra marathons on an ice shelf in Antarctica 💔 heartbreak and healing Takeaways: 1. How to see difficulty differently 2. How to lead by letting go 3. How to get your people from good to great POWERFUL. TRANSFORMATIVE. MIC DROP MOMENTS. You’ll be mesmerized and better equipped to practice harder so the race feels easy and those around you will be enabled to rise to the occasion.
According to Deloitte, manufacturing is looking at 1.9 million jobs that will go unfilled by 2033. Unless we do something about it now! Manufacturing Day is October 4th…a day when manufacturers open their doors to share with local communities and students the crucial role manufacturing serves in the economy, as well as the important and rewarding jobs it provide. In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord pulls back the curtain on your window of opportunity with expert Bill Padnos, founder of CTSG Strategies. Find out WHY you need to participate. Tap into a list of ideas on WHAT to do and WHO to invite. Working together, we’ll close the skills gap for good!
Isn’t automation all about the robots? NO. It’s so much more. And, it’s the way to get more done with less effort. The average company can improve efficiency by more than 30%. Without adding people. So, why aren’t we taking advantage of this? Tune in to this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast with Allison DeFord and “The Automation Guy”, Wilton Rogers III, founder of Simply Automate and host of Automation Nation podcast. Get the skinny on minimizing the manual tasks that are a time suck on your business and how to automate with software to improve efficiency and reduce your labor costs.
So many of you are interested in learning how to build a culture of problem solvers! (Head scratch here…2 questions come to mind) 1) Where do you start? 2) Can you buy a course or a GUIDE and do it on your own or do you need to hire someone to help? In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord gets LEAN and mean with our resident expert, Chad Metcalf, Founder and President of Value Stream Solutions. Tune in and get your questions answered so you can get your business flowing more smoothly (and profitably)! Get clear on the 4 LEAN FUNDAMENTALS and 3 Primary Tools to get started. And, don’t miss Chad’s expert advice in the close.
Would it surprise you to know that the majority of manufacturing sales people haven’t been formally trained in sales? Or that many sales people avoid the close because they don’t know how. And, that your C and D customers are actually happier with you than your A customers. 🤯 These are common sales problems and the good news is that they’re all fixable. No SMOKE AND MIRRORS required! On this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast Allison DeFord gets into the sales weeds with THE sales problem fixer. Mark Roberts is the CEO and Founder of OTB Solutions and the author of “Driving Explosive Growth” and “Voice of Customer." His no smoke and mirrors framework leverages three data sets to ensure your sales team is structured, trained, and coached to deliver value to your customers and shareholders. And, don’t miss the last 3 minutes for Mark’s 🎤 drop moment of advice for which manufacturer you can be during uncertain times. 🔥
Do you ever feel like you’re the leader or manager who regularly shows up with their hair on fire? 🔥 Or unable to focus because that monkey brain of yours is bouncing all over the place? Daily stress gets the best of all of us and how we deal with can be the difference between soaring success or dismal failure. Stress and emotional drain affects our bodies too. And, it seeps into relationships both at work and at home. Fortunately, there is a solution that’s both portable and free! And, it starts working immediately! In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord gets into the simple science and profound results you can get from mindfulness and meditation with our resident expert, Lalith Gunaratne. Lalith is a former engineer, manufacturing business owner and entrepreneur and he’s also a Director and coach at LGSE Partners. He’s going to teach you simple techniques to mitigate daily stress to improve your brain, gut, relationships and your business! You’ll learn what the 3 Arrows are and the one word and practice he uses every single day that will transform your life. 💯 www.manufacturing-masters.com/podcast
As Good to Great author Jim Collins suggests, “𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝟷% 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝟿𝟿% 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝.” And, alignment requires a good strategy. (Followed by buy-in and execution.) This can feel like a tall order! 💯 Good news for you, Manufacturing Masters expert Monte Pedersen, Principal of the CDA Group LLC, joins Allison DeFord in this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast to show you: 1 - What makes a good strategy. 2 - What happens when it breaks down. 3 - What “well-executed” looks like. 4 - How to get your people focused on better execution. Plus, how often to analyze your results!
If you’re attempts at marketing your business feel more like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks OR throwing good money after bad and still not sure it’s worth it… THIS is the episode for you! It’s time to stop being the best-kept secret (right CurtAnderson?!) or wasting money on marketing that doesn’t grow sales and your business in a sustainable way! Allison DeFord is flying solo today and spilling the secret sauce on exactly how to market with heart on behalf of and for your customers once and for all. She’s breaking down her Million-dollar Brand Building / Marketing-To-Make-Sales-Easy Strategy in 10 steps. So you can stop procrastinating, get in the ring, and stop being the best-kept secret. Your team and your customers will thank you! Remember, customers aren’t ChiaPets…they don’t grow overnight because you added a little water. They need nurtured before, during, and after the sale. 🌱 www.manufacturing-masters.com
You know all that equipment you’d like to buy, employees you’d like to hire and train, or major software purchase you’ve been putting off… What if we told you there are MILLIONS of 💰💰💰 available to help you pay for all of it?! As in, State, Federal, and other grant money and all you have to do is apply. TRUTH: First you have to find the grants and then follow their instructions to the letter and finally submit. (In all your free time) Lucky for you, we’ve got Micki Vandeloo, President of Lakeview Consulting on the pod today and she is an expert at funding the success of the manufacturing community! Allison DeFord and Micki break it down: 1 - Hire a pro or go it alone? 2 - Where the heck are these grants? 3 - What to do to apply! 4 - What to include for a successful grant application! After this episode you’ll be shouting, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!" www.manufacturing-masters.com/podcast
“All those people out on the shop floor…just don’t want to work OR all they do is make mistakes.” Ever uttered either of these out loud or under your breath? BUT. WAIT. (Symptom of a deeper problem here) What is management getting wrong about the shop floor? In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord and resident expert, founder of TheCryslerClub, and podcast host of Everyday Business Problems, Dave Crysler, are sharing the 3 things you can do to improve your culture and your KPI’s. Driving engagement between leadership and the shop floor will help you DO ALL THIS: 1) Improve Communications 2) Impact Your Culture 3) Impact Your Overall Financial KPI’s
If you hear the words PR or Public Relations and you automatically picture the press room at the White House and some catastrophic news, you’re not alone. The good news for manufacturers is that Industrial Public Relations is NOT THAT! In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord sits down with Rob Felber, resident expert, founder of Felber PR & Marketing, and veteran firefighter, to demystify PR and show you how to use it to your advantage. You’ll walk away finally knowing: - HOW to become newsworthy - HOW to choose the right industrial publications - HOW to turn one article into ten different conversations It’s not as hard as you might think, it doesn’t hurt and you don’t need special shoes.
If implementing an ERP system is so great, why don’t people end up using it? As in the adoption rate can be as low as 20%. What the? There’s no one better to shed some light on this hot topic than our resident expert Sam Gupta, CEO and founder of ElevatIQ. With decades of experience, he and @Allison DeFord talk: - Trade off’s in ERP implementation - When and when not to use “Back-flushing” - Effectively onboarding your team - How to prepare BEFORE implementing - The three i’s to watch out for Sam stresses the need for patience, listening, teamwork, and maybe leave your ego in your back pocket.
Are you comfortable knowing that you’re leaving money on the table? Didn’t think so! Especially when you’re TIME TO VALUE could start in as little as 3 short months…hello ROI! In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord and resident expert Sam Klaidman (Founder of @Middlesex Consulting) dive into: - HOW TO build a strong aftermarket department - HOW TO hire the right Field Services Manager - HOW TO develop stronger Field Service Reps So, you can grow your aftermarket and specialized service revenue and profit faster! 💰💰 And, in a sustainable way that keeps the whole team informed, equipped, and excited.
What percentage of your distributor network would you say is HIGH PERFORMING? 1) 20% 2) 10% 3) 1-2% If your answer is 2 o 3, THIS episode is for you! Allison DeFord is joined by our expert Tom Paul, founder of BAM, and they’re serving up the 3 Ways to get more out of your dealer network. As in, transforming order-takers into consultative experts. 🙌🏻 JUST LIKE THAT! Tune in and see if you relate to the “typical” complaints about distributors…i.e. they’re lazy, don’t understand how to sell our products, take orders and don’t ask too many questions. Then write down Tom’s 3 step approach to equip and train them better and faster to 2X their performance and INCREASE your sales as a result! www.manufacturing-masters.com/podcast
Manufacturers should stop wasting money on trade shows! And, instead, start getting a bigger bang for your trade show buck by adopting a better strategy before, during, and after the show. In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, Allison DeFord is pulling back the curtain on her proven trade show strategy for manufacturers to help you increase your ROI, engage with potential customers in a more meaningful way, and analyze the outcome to continue improving the experience. 1. Fire on all cylinders: email, social media, snail mail, giveaways 2. Remove the WE-WE and flip the script 3. Draw more ideal fit customers to your booth and keep them there longer 4. At-show pics and video are key
Getting your staff involved in innovation is the fastest way to save money, improve efficiency, and boost your bottomline! (And, bonus, elevate your recruiting efforts) You might be thinking, “Sure, but it’s easier said than done.” Don’t worry, we’ve got you! 👊🏼 For over a decade, Bill Padnos, founder of CTSG Strategies, has had the privilege of visiting more than 100 manufacturing companies. In this episode of the Manufacturing Masters Podcast, he and Allison DeFord reveal three common traits Bill’s seen in companies where innovation is more than a tagline, but something that every single employee believes in. This episode is for you if you want to invite your team into a bigger story and opportunity, improve your team meetings, and incentivize employees to speak up and show up. It’s the little things that matter in getting your staff involved in innovation. You just have to implement them and watch the magic happen!
What do world class maintenance, continuous improvement, YOU, and Manufacturing Masters have in common? The Queen of world class maintenance, of course. Kim Wolf of Kim Wolf Coaching. Her expertise spans decades and for companies like Campbell’s and McCormicks. You get a 30-minute masterclass with her in this episode where she and Allison DeFord dive into turning your maintenance person into a planner. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? -Creating a culture shift and improved mindset -Ideal traits needed for this position -Mistakes to avoid -Ratio of Planners to Maintenance People -How to Measure Success And, how about a 25% ROI?!