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There is a widening disparity in the manufacturing industry: Insanely busy shops and shops that are barely treading water. In any business, there will always be companies that thrive and grow and those that don’t. But successful shops are doing something differently. In this episode of MakingChips, Kelsey Heikoop shares four things you can do differently to get more business and make more chips....

Steve Burkett has been in global aerospace manufacturing for 30 years. One year ago, he bought a well-established local shop and is now the President and CEO of Auto-Turn Manufacturing. Steve transitioned from being a big MFG leader to a small MFG owner. In this episode of MakingChips, Steve covers the good, bad, and the ugly of the transition. Is he MakingChips? Is he MakingMoney? There’s only...

Did you know that we all operate from one of three root motivations? The majority of the decisions we make are because we’re striving for respect, value, or approval. When you know your root motivations as a leader—and in turn learn your team’s—it can help you become a better leader. Dennis Humphrey Ph.D. LCPC joins us in this episode of MakingChips to share how to narrow down your root...

Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going? These three questions are a simple way to structure how we communicate the vision for our company. But to reach the goals we’ve outlined in our vision, we need a plan. And then we need to work the plan.  During our upcoming annual sales summit, I’ve asked my sales teams to create growth roadmaps for their goals and objectives. In this...

We know that 2023 is going to be a challenge. After all, a recession is being purposefully orchestrated. The Fed is trying to curb inflation. And truthfully, recessions are a normal part of the economic cycle. Will a recession negatively impact the manufacturing industry? Or will we be left untouched? Will a recession actually lead to new opportunities for the metalworking nation? In this episode...

Reflecting on the past and learning from it helps shape our future decisions as leaders—both personally and professionally. I’ve worked in my family business for 25 years and recently spent some time reflecting on what I’ve learned.  So in this episode of MakingChips, I share 10 things I’ve learned during my time at ZENGERS. You need to learn and grow alongside your team. If they aren’t learning...

As a manufacturing leader, one of the most important things you can do is hire the right people. As I’ve been working through the recruiting process, I started to realize that it closely parallels the sales process. And if you excel as a salesperson, you’ll find it easier to recruit than you think. In this episode of MakingChips, we talk about recruitment in manufacturing. Because if you can't...

Are you conducting performance reviews in your business? Have you found a way to structure them to be useful? In this episode of MakingChips, Jason and I talk about how we structure our performance reviews, why we do them consistently, and why they matter. Your teams need to be performing at a high level. Why? If they’re not achieving their goals, they’re not MakingChips, and if they’re not...

Are you looking for a way to give back to your local community? We started MakingChips as a way to serve the manufacturing nation with no strings attached. Mike Payne—the President of Hill Manufacturing & Fabrication—found a unique way to do just that. He and his team started fostering dogs last year as a way to give back to their community. How has it gone? How has it also benefited his team? We...

It’s official: Jim Carr is leaving MakingChips. He’s stepping back to take more time to focus on Carr Machine & Tool. Jim has been an integral part of the success of MakingChips. So in this episode, I’ll share six things I’ve learned from Jim that are impactful in both business and life. We’ll sure miss our banter, but we’ll keep MakingChips, because if we aren’t MakingChips, we aren’t making...

Have you read the book, “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin? The book talks about the mindset of Navy SEALS and how the techniques they employ in and out of combat can be embraced by leadership. So in this episode of MakingChips, we break down some of the facets of extreme leadership and share how they’re applicable to the manufacturing nation....

We believe that there are three components to running a great manufacturing company: People, process, and performance. And properly managing each of these areas will drive the success of your business. In this episode of MakingChips, we moderate a panel at the CV Manufacturing Conference with special guests Mike Allison and Ryan Howard. We cover everything from finding and retaining top talent to...