Manufacturing's Best-Kept Secret: How the MEP Network Helps Mid-Market Manufacturers Scale with Keith Gammill

WEBVTT
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:13.039
Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of the Allied Advisors Podcast, a podcast from men market manufacturers looking to scale operations and improves at Ever Important.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:13.919
Bottom line.
00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:15.279
Today I'm joined by Mr.
00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:16.239
Keith Gammel.
00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:28.320
Keith is the director of Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions, part of the Arkansas Workforce Connections and the National MEP Network, where he leads transformational support for manufacturers across the state.
00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:43.520
With nearly 30 years of experience spanning operations management, human resources, corporate quality, and continuous improvement, Keith has built a proven track record of leading operational turnarounds and serving as a trusted advisor to Arkansas manufacturers.
00:00:43.679 --> 00:01:06.000
Prior to joining AMS in 2014, he spent over a decade at Anchor Packaging, most recently as director of quality and product safety, where he led a team of 20 quality professionals across nine manufacturing units, and earlier as AutoPAC Division Manager, where he drove a successful turnaround that took the division from last to first place in the company.
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:17.760
A Gestalt professional, certified coach, and DDI certified facilitator, Keith holds dual BS degrees from Arkansas State University in Industrial Technology and Leadership Management.
00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:27.439
And his work today focuses on helping manufacturing leaders strengthen operations, adopt new technologies, and build the leadership capacity needed to grow and compete.
00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.799
Keith, again, thank you so much for coming on the show.
00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:31.840
Justin, thank you.
00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:40.879
And as you were reading through that, I felt the need to have some, maybe some walk-up music or run in, you know, run into this podcast through a tunnel with some balloons and and smoke flying.
00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:41.920
But yeah, thank you for that.
00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:43.519
That that sounds great.
00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:47.200
Uh the way I describe myself is I am an old manufacturing puke.
00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:56.239
So as you were relaying my bio, I was reliving some of those times and a lot of the joy and the challenges that going into being in industry manufacturing for a long time.
00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.439
Yeah, I like to think of myself as a manufacturing guy as well.
00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:06.000
You know, it's uh it I don't know, it's something that what should do it kind of gets in your system, and you just can't do anything else.
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:12.080
You know, I've had other jobs where it wasn't really focused on around manufacturing, and it's I just didn't enjoy it.
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:12.960
So here I am.
00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:21.840
Quick story back sorry, back in my college days, you know, we had to do a speech, and even in that era, that's where I was curating my aim in my career.
00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:28.240
And, you know, we were in one of those management speech classes, and I talked about, you know, how I preferred manufacturing.
00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:31.919
And my professor asked me, Why, why do you want manufacturing?
00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.560
You know, I gave an answer like, well, I've been in retail for the last four years and I know what that's about.
00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:41.439
You know, I gave an answer that caused him to give me a B, but it still resonates with me today.
00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:44.960
And manufacturing and making things is is you know what's in me.
00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:46.080
It's in my DNA.
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:51.199
Yeah, and I mean, from a national perspective, I think it's one of the three ways you grow an economy, right?
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:53.840
Either mine it, make it, or grow it.
00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.719
So I I like to spend my time trying to make things.
00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.080
So I think I think it's great.
00:02:58.240 --> 00:02:59.199
Yeah, for sure.
00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:16.479
For anyone listening who's never heard of the MEP network, which we I brought up uh earlier in your bio, can you walk us through what it is, how it's structured nationally, and where Arkansas Manufacturing Solution fits into that picture as the boots on the ground affiliate for the state?
00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:20.159
Certainly, and thanks for the opportunity to talk about the MEP.
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.719
It started, I'll give you a quick history lesson.
00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.039
The MEP started in 1988.
00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:29.120
And Justin, I'm reflecting on 1988.
00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:30.719
I was a junior in high school.
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:46.719
That was almost 40 years ago, which is crazy for me to say out loud and here, but we've been continuously funded uh since 1988 and our you know, founding our forebears uh they did a really wise thing with the MEP.
00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.560
They made it a cooperative program, a public-private partnership.
00:03:50.639 --> 00:04:00.479
So basically what that means is the the Fed you know has a stake in in the program, but also each one of the states, the award recipients, has a stake in that as well.
00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.680
Uh, and I think that's a great way to structure a program.
00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:08.240
And in fact, it was modeled after what I think of as the Ag Extension Network.
00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:16.399
You know, the formal name is the Cooperative Extension Service, uh, which, you know, in a rural state like Arkansas resonates, people kind of get what that is.
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:19.920
Oh, yeah, you guys are the county agents basically for manufacturing.
00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.560
So it was modeled after the cooperative extension service in 1988.
00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:29.120
And AMS is the MEP center for Arkansas.
00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:33.199
So there's an MEP center in every state of the union, including Puerto Rico.
00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:34.399
And Justin, I've been there.
00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.879
I don't know why I didn't expect it to be nice.
00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:50.560
It is super nice for anyone uh that's been to Puerto Rico, but AMS is the MEP Center for Arkansas, and we are the boots on the ground, the local agents, the county agents, if you will, for manufacturing in Arkansas.
00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:51.519
Good deal.
00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:57.680
Well, you know, like you mentioned, every state has an MEP center, but they're certainly not a monolith.
00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:04.000
Um, what does the national MEP network do well consistently across all 50 states?
00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:10.639
And where do individual centers like AMS have the freedom to differentiate based on what their local manufacturers actually need?
00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:15.680
You know, I work a lot with the MEP network here in South Carolina, and those guys are great.
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:22.399
And I've actually spoken to others from other states um that talk about you know South Carolina being a strong MEP center.
00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:24.480
So, you know, how does how does that come about?
00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:29.360
How do states get to differentiate themselves in such a you know huge national network?
00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:30.160
Yeah.
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.079
First, it's really good to know that you're working with the South Carolina MEP.
00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:38.399
They are very highly regarded within the MEP system and that you know about us.
00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:46.560
You know, I hear sometimes, hey, you guys are the best kept secret in you know the the country or in the state, you know, depending on what level of system you're talking about.
00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:49.040
Certainly not because we're trying to keep it that way.
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.439
We're trying to get the word out, and certainly this helps, you know, get an opportunity to talk about it here.
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:55.519
So it's a it's a multi-parter.
00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.759
So I'm gonna try to hit each one of these parts and feel free to interject as I'm going through.
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.959
Um, but thinking back to your question, so what do we do?
00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:04.959
We the MEP do well.
00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:12.240
The bread and butter of the MEP looking back into the late 80s and the early 90s is traditional lean services.
00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:13.759
You know, they're considered traditional now.
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.959
In that era, they were very cutting edge.
00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:23.360
And, you know, even today, as I look back, I'm impressed with what was developed and created during that, during that era.
00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:29.680
There is a workshop that we have literally run thousands of times in our state.
00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:39.040
Uh, and we have a team member, Bill Krause, who's been there for almost every one of those since 1995, but it's called the Lean colloquially, it's known as the Lean 101 workshop.
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.319
The formal title is Principles of Lean Manufacturing.
00:06:42.480 --> 00:07:05.360
But still to this day, Justin, I don't know of anything out there that does a better job of talking about the 15 tools and uh the house of lean and explaining what each one of those is, the eight-part definition of uh the eight-ways, the five-part definition of lean, and doing that in an experiential way where they're learning a few of the tools and taking them into a simulation.
00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:12.079
It's impressive that our that you know our predecessors came together and and built this thing, developed this thing.
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:13.920
It's uh still applicable.
00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.360
We still do it today.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:27.519
Lean services have lost a little bit of the cachet, let's be real, uh, you know, since the 90s, and that's unfortunate because they're just as relevant and applicable as they, you know, today as they were then.
00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:37.439
Uh, there's not a manufacturer out there that doesn't need to be more lean, eliminate waste, uh, and do the things that you know lean manufacturing does for a business.
00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.480
It's just as applicable today as it was then, unfortunately.
00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:42.639
It has lost a little bit of the cachet.
00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:47.920
But that's something, obviously, that I think the MEP system still does well and that we do well.
00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.959
Beyond that, what does the MEP system do well?
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:59.839
I think uh information sharing within the system, and maybe more importantly than information is best practices and distinctive practices across the network.
00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:05.040
And a lot of that's just based on how we are structured having an MEP center in every state.
00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.759
We have regional nodes, and those are grouped, you know.
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:20.079
We we have similar cultural needs, you know, it's not a monolith like you share, you mentioned, and you know, like we've talked about previously, but we tend to have regional, you know, needs.
00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:26.560
So we are grouped in regional nodes that meet whatever the frequency is, often quarterly, if not monthly.
00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.759
And we come together, we share best practices inside of those nodes and talk about them on calls.
00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:40.879
And we have yearly or every other year we get togethers where each center is invited to submit a proposal and talk about best and distinctive practices.
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:59.039
So there's really nothing else exactly like that out there that has state, regional presence, and also is in a cohesive network where we're all meeting the needs of individual companies in the state, but also connected across the system and we're able to leverage all those resources.
00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:05.120
So we've got, you know, you're not just dealing with 10 or 11 or 12 or however big the center is.
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.679
You know, you've really got access to 1,250 professionals across the system.
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.279
So I think that's another strength of the system and something the MEP does well.
00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:18.320
And that there's really nothing else out there that replicates that in the United States.
00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:20.320
I can keep going if that's okay.
00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:21.279
Feel free to check in.
00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:22.159
Yeah, sure.
00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:23.919
Don't yeah, don't let me stop you.
00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:32.559
Um, I think the MEP does a good job of customizing services for the needs of the manufacturers, and we focus on that in our state.
00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:54.480
Uh, for example, we have the coastal states in, you know, we don't build a lot of ships in Arkansas, you know, or New Mexico, but in South Carolina, North Carolina, and those coastal states, that's something that obviously is happening and that the MEP centers in those states are able to specialize and focus on based on whatever the needs are, you know, regionally or geographically for them.
00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:59.200
And then uh the MEP does a good job of evolving services over time.
00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:00.720
I mentioned lean services.
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:05.039
Lean services, as we talked about, are still, you know, important or applicable.
00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:13.360
But since the pandemic, we had this tiny thing that maybe you haven't heard about um called the pandemic, COVID-19 in the 2020 era.
00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:30.799
And what obviously got put on our radars and manufacturing uh and across sectors is hey, we need to make stuff here, we need near shore and onshore, reshore things here, uh, particularly critical, you know, supplies and uh medical devices and that kind of thing.
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:44.480
So being able to evolve and move more into that space and build up muscle and capacity in that area in terms of what we're uh you know, services that we're you know, supplying or supporting to the to uh the different states is one of the ways we've evolved.
00:10:44.639 --> 00:11:03.679
Technology, technology services is something that in the DNA of the MEP, you know, that we were commissioned to do was tech transfer technology from the NIST labs into manufacturing, but beyond that, building up those support services around automation, AI, technology, et cetera, is something we're leaning into.
00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:12.240
Yeah, it'll be it'll be exciting to see the impact that AI has on manufacturing.
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:18.320
You know, I think when when you think of lean, lean lean incorporates the entire business, right?
00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:19.919
From the office to the shop floor.
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:26.480
But I think most folks apply lean or think of lean as a shop floor tool.
00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:34.879
Uh AI, in my opinion, that's not going to have the biggest impact on the shop floor.
00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:37.519
It's gonna have a huge impact on the shop floor, don't misunderstand.
00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:39.759
But the biggest impact is gonna be in the office.
00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:48.960
So it'll be interesting to see how that how that develops over the course of the next, I mean, I would say three to five years, but it's probably more like one to two, right?
00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:50.960
It it's a good point.
00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:57.759
We do, we being manufacturers, tend to traditionally think about lean as being a shop for activity.
00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:06.879
And you you know, you're in this lane with me, and you know that where most waste is total waste in the business is in those administrative functions.
00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:14.879
And I know that's probably hard for the white-collar sector to hear, but that's where most waste and most opportunities when you think about lead time and other things exist.
00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:20.960
Um, so yeah, it cuts across the business and it's it's wholesome and I think and helpful to see it that way.
00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.360
In terms of AI, it's a hot topic.
00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.840
Everyone, you know, talks about it, it's become ubiquitous.
00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:52.320
And uh, I think the most exciting thing in AI is the opportunity to collect information and uh connect systems and business processes in ways that before we had all these disparate systems and we were trying to roll out, you know, reports, and very little was done with that information, um, you know, because you only have so much time and so much attention.
00:12:52.480 --> 00:13:06.720
So, you know, what I'm seeing in AI is, you know, the most exciting thing lately is you know, AI sitting on the top of all these systems and pulling things together so that it's flagging uh things that maybe we wouldn't have connected the dots in the same way.
00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:14.080
It's helping us optimize processes and to steal down to the critical few things that we need to be focused on to improve process and move the business.
00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:14.639
100%.
00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.879
You know, you mentioned about the the network, uh the MEP network.
00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.639
And there's one thing that South Carolina does that I really love.
00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:33.759
Um, and I was wondering if if it's this is something that uh Arkansas does or other states do as well, or if it's unique to South Carolina, and that's the operational exchange program, the OFEX program.
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:42.320
You know, when I was working uh for Bosch back in the day, one of the things that they did was they would do benchmarking trips.
00:13:42.480 --> 00:14:04.799
So I would leave the Charleston plant here in South Carolina, and I would fly to Germany and I would go see, you know, two or three German plants, or I would go to Italy and see the Italian plant, and you would see how they were solving the same problems that you were struggling with, and it would, you know, spark ideas, and you would come back, and and it really drove a lot of improvements for us going and seeing how others do that.
00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:10.480
So South Carolina, the SCMEP has the OffEx program, the Off Exchange program.
00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:15.519
Mike Demos leads that, and it has meetings at member organizations.
00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:28.240
I think they're monthly, I could be wrong, but and then they I they do tours and and and it's a it's an opportunity for others to come and see how a different company approaches process improvement, uh process control.
00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:44.879
And I just think that's that's that's such a wonderful opportunity for some of these companies who are just starting with lean, who who maybe don't have a mature CI program to go and see how others are doing it, take some notes, learn from their mistakes.
00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:46.720
Uh, did Arkansas do anything like that?
00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.559
Or is that like a national program, or is that just South Carolina?
00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.360
So, Justin, first, I could not agree more.
00:14:53.519 --> 00:15:05.120
That is something that the MEP system and and anybody, you know, in our lane can and should do for manufacturing is to help them identify um a network.
00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:12.320
And I think it is something that the MEP does well, um, writ large, if you will, because you know, all we know is what we know.
00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:19.759
And I joke with, you know, when I'm in in front of people, these there's a few little things that I say that no one ever leans over and writes down, and that's one of them.
00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:27.200
Uh all we know is what we know, but it's great to get exposure to use cases, to ideas outside of ourselves.
00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.559
Uh, I think South Carolina does an excellent job with that.
00:15:30.720 --> 00:16:00.799
We don't have anything formalized like that, but I will tell you that what happens in every MEP center in the union is we have exposure to what's going on in manufacturing in the state and can make, you know, we can convene in different ways the different, you know, manufacturers and across sectors and across, you know, ideas like lean or whatever it is, uh, even if it's just, hey, we know of this XYZ manufacturer over here, and they're a little further along on this one thing, and we we would really love to bring you two together.
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:06.399
One thing that we do in Arkansas that we started last year that I'm pretty proud of is the Arkansas Manufacturing Showcase.
00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:22.000
And it is the vision of that event is an event by manufacturers for manufacturers, where we're convening, you know, the ecosystem, what I call the ecosystem, which is people who want to exhibit products, people who are uh in in the service support end of that.
00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:32.399
And it creates those matchmaking, serendipitous opportunities where I'm looking across the aisle to Justin and I say, oh man, you guys are making this thing, and you know, we're buying that from Asia or we're buying that from somewhere else.
00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:34.320
I didn't even know that was in Arkansas.
00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:35.840
So we started that last year.
00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:36.639
It was a big hit.
00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:47.279
We expect that to continue to get better, and it's kind of in the wheelhouse of what you're talking about matchmaking and case studies and use cases that we can help broaden the horizons and the awareness of manufacturers.
00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:51.759
Yeah, and I think what you said about you only know what you know, that's so true.
00:16:51.919 --> 00:17:04.799
And and my opinion, and others can disagree with it, but I honestly think the difference in good management and great management is great management has seen great at some point in their career, right?
00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:11.839
They've worked at a mature organization that does continuous improvement well, that does strategy deployment well, right?
00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:18.720
Um, and they're able to translate that experience into the operations at their current um employer.
00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:21.680
Uh, and if you've never seen that, it's it's not a knock.
00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:29.200
I'm I'm not trying to knock anybody, but if you've just never seen it, it's really hard to have that complete vision and then been able to carry it to the shop floor.
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:38.160
And I think that's one of the reasons why lean gets a little bit of a bad raff is folks try to implement it without ever having seen it.
00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:47.119
And there's they mistake the tools for the goals, and then you know, when the tools don't work or they break down, you know, they just throw the whole thing out.
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.039
They say, Well, this is just a waste of time.
00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:53.440
Um, and and I really think that stems from just lack of exposure.
00:17:53.759 --> 00:18:05.920
And and and that's why I really think the the the benchmarking trips and and and going and seeing, you know, Toyoto give you a tour of their their every factory I think they have in the nation, Mississippi, Kentucky.
00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:07.119
You can go look at it.
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:19.519
Um, I think that's so important to go see it because once you see it, then you then you can kind of say, okay, well, I understand a little bit better now how this works, how this can work, and you can think about how to fly it in your own situation.
00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.839
If you've never done that, it's just really hard to to come up with those ideas from scratch.
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:27.440
Kudos to, you know, the uh I think it's Mr.
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:34.319
Taiichi Ono or who who who thought of this because I can't imagine coming up with this vision out of thin air, right?
00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.799
I mean, it's it's really amazing when you stop and think about it.
00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:39.039
Well, necessity is the mother of invention.
00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:44.799
So it happened post-World War II in Japan based on based on need, and then we started copying tools.
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.559
Probably everyone listening knows the story there.
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.079
You said a couple of important things that I would foot stomp on, if that's okay.
00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:50.640
Yeah.
00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:52.079
One of those is vision.
00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:59.359
I mean, you you so I I came from the, you know, I came from the street, so to speak, first in manufacturing and then delivering for our team.
00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:04.400
And I was in this lane of leadership development and and planning, strategic planning, among other things.
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:06.799
But those are the things that for me are like recess.
00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.039
You know, if I could do them all day, every day, I would.
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:15.920
But the idea of vision is so important because that is the beyond the horizon compass heading that draws us forward.
00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:23.920
And yes, I agree that getting exposed to other people who are doing it better or a little further along is super important to help us inform our visions.
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:34.160
But man, vision is just a key thing for the business because it again, it it is how we set our compass heading and what tethers us to the path so that we know when we're deviating.
00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:39.200
Okay, well, you know, we're going off the path because we can clearly see that it is a path based on our vision.
00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:41.039
I could talk about that a lot.
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:54.880
Uh the other thing that you you know you talked about was hey, we start our lean journeys, and you we we see this, you know, often where you know we we we start with a 5S event, we don't start with a vision and then understand where we're at and then iterate towards a challenge.
00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:00.079
Uh, and you know, we get just enough of it to get inoculated from it, you know, or resistant to it.
00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:20.319
And I think along with vision, that's another one of those key success factors in in continuous improvement in this lane of organizational effectiveness is you know, involving the stakeholders, not just your immediate leadership team, but down as much as possible through the value, the value change, the value adders on the floor, because that's where commitment lives.
00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.960
You know, when you involve people, that's where commitment lives.
00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.799
So having that vision, staying with it, having committed stakeholders that you're bringing along are key.
00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.799
Yeah, the game is won and lost in the corner office, not on the shop floor, right?
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:38.880
You've got you've got to have a leadership team that understands the vision, is bought into it, and then drives it.
00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.039
You know, when I first started with Bosch, I was a lowly logistics engineer.
00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:46.319
Uh, and I had a colleague who I've interviewed on the show.
00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:50.880
He was actually my first interview, still the most downloaded podcast episode, uh, Chris Monona.
00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:56.240
And Chris would always ask me, I would, I would, you know, we had to present our projects every week or present the status of them.
00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:59.680
And I would always present, and Chris would be like, Well, why are you doing that?
00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:00.640
What's the vision?
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.519
And it used to get under my skin to no end.
00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:05.359
I was like, What do you mean what's the vision?
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.799
It's a project and I was assigned and I'm doing it, you know.
00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:13.279
But but now looking back at it, I'm like, yeah, he's right.
00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:14.000
What's the vision?
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.039
What am I working towards?
00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:15.920
Why am I doing this?
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:16.720
What's the benefit?
00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:17.920
Where am I heading with this?
00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:18.240
Right.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.079
I mean, I can work on a thousand things.
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:21.680
Why am I working on this thing?
00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:29.119
Um, and and I think that's another reason that makes lean so difficult is it's such a paradigm shift for folks, right?
00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:33.759
You you're used to looking at things a certain way, and lean requires you to shift that.
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:34.880
And that's not comfortable.
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:36.400
It wasn't comfortable for me.
00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:42.079
You know, I went through some, you know, some troughs in when I was just starting out on this journey.
00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.920
And I think everybody goes through those.
00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:49.440
And you gotta have, you gotta have buy-in from that leadership team that's really pushing you to get through it.
00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:52.799
Like, hey, yeah, you know, yeah, but this is the way we operate.
00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.160
So you're either going to get on board this train or it's leaving without you.
00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.839
So yeah, it's a um it's a much more difficult transition.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.119
That I think folks give it credit for uh for a lot of reasons.
00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:03.759
But anyway.
00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:05.440
That's got my brain, Justin.
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.279
That's got my brain working on a lot of things.
00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:12.400
And we could talk about vision for the rest of the podcast, but if you'll indulge and you can you can cut this out or whatever later.
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.440
But it's such an important topic.
00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:17.759
Um I will be honest with you.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:30.319
This this idea, this this topic intimidated me earlier in my career because Justin, I didn't feel like I had vision, you know, and when we're younger and we're we don't have as much because we don't have as much context, to be honest with you.
00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:35.680
But I I was worried that that would be the lid of my leadership because I didn't feel like I had it.
00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:41.200
But what I tell leaders now all the time is if you've ever been on vacation, you've got vision.
00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:44.319
Because Justin, what are you doing in those weeks leading up to that vacation?
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.640
Let's say we're going to the beach, which I'm doing in late July.
00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:48.000
I'm already looking forward to it.
00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:48.400
Yeah.
00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.440
We're thinking about it.
00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:50.559
And about your days.
00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:50.799
Yep.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:51.920
Well, we're doing that.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:23:05.920
And I would put that kind of on the manager side, but over on the leader side, you know, the vision side, we're thinking about all the fun things that we're going to do and how we're going to plop down in that chair on the beach and push our feet down into that, you know, warm sand, the cooler sand, and let that breeze blow over us.
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:07.519
And what that really is is vision.
00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:11.200
It's a picture, a mental picture of what could be and should be in our future.
00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:12.720
And everybody has that.
00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:13.519
Yeah.
00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:14.720
Yeah, absolutely.
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:19.839
And it's really what separates, you know, success from from mediocrity.
00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:20.319
Yeah.
00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:28.960
But, you know, Keith, for a mid-sized manufacturer who's never engaged with their state MEP Center, what does a real engagement actually look like?
00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.000
What should they expect?
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:32.319
And what results are realistic?
00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:35.440
Okay, well, that's another two or three part.
00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:37.440
So I'm going to dissect this one at a time.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:40.880
And um, I'm going to give you first the typical consultant answer.
00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:41.680
Are you ready for this?
00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.400
Yep.
00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:43.759
It depends.
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:44.799
I joke.
00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:45.680
It does depend.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:47.920
It depends on factors, like you know.
00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:56.079
Um, obviously, it depends upon your industry or your sector, but it depends upon the size of the organization.
00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:08.799
Um, but you could have two companies of the same size, and it would still the typical engagement would look different even between those two organizations based on other factors, like what is the culture of the company?
00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:17.279
You know, you're starting into, let's just say company A, company B are almost exactly the same in terms of sector, size, whatever.
00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:23.599
It's still two completely different engagements because of cultural factors and what do they value?
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:30.720
What are the goals, the vision, like we talked about for the organization, where they're at in terms of maturity of systems and all of those things.
00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:38.319
So the answer is a typical engagement always starts with uh a listening session, is what I would call it.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.480
And that is, you know, what can a client expect?
00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.920
They can expect us to come in and ask questions.
00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:54.079
You can call it uh a plant visit or a discovery call, you know, but uh it's we're listening for what are the pain points, what are the support needs in the business.
00:24:54.640 --> 00:25:11.519
And what a client can expect is for us to lean in and to listen, you know, and what any good consultant or resource provider to do is to lean in, listen, um, and expect for the whatever we come back with to be based on what those specific needs are.
00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:19.599
And, you know, sometimes I'll have, I tell this story, I'll have a hard-charging plant manager who'll plop down in the conference room and say, What do you got for me?
00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:26.079
You know, and I as much as possible, and I teach the team to do this as well, uh, and I've been that person, okay?
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:29.119
They're they're busy, everything's competing for their time and attention.
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:30.480
I totally get this, Justin.
00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:38.160
So what you can do on that side of the table to have the best experience is to just be ready with pain points.
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:45.119
And on my side of the table, what I try to do is resist just telling them, well, we can do X, Y, and Z, because that's a push.
00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:50.079
And anybody that's familiar with lean manufacturing knows that really what you want to do is pull.
00:25:50.319 --> 00:26:02.000
So we're listening and we're listening for those pain points and coming back with something that's specific, a proposal that's specific to their needs in their industry, their maturity, life cycle, uh, all of those things.
00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:05.119
So that's one of the things that they can expect.
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:11.039
Um, you know, what I hear just in terms of the needs, it typically falls into a few categories.
00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:16.000
We hear a lot more, frankly, in the last, you know, 10 years around leadership development.
00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:20.480
This is a lane I started early on, getting back in you know, the time machine.
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:25.759
Um, I thought that, you know, other people had this nailed down when I joined the team out of industry.
00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:29.359
And what I found out is no one really had it, you know, really nailed down.
00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:42.079
So that's something that's been a really big uh need and a big portfolio for us over the years is is leadership development, you know, strategic planning, but also helping leaders get from point A to point B.
00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:46.319
So it's something that we hear a lot of in addition to lean services.
00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:50.480
I could say other things, but I want to give you a chance to back in there.
00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:55.200
When you talk about leadership development, I recently had Pat Eardley on the podcast.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:58.720
Pat owns uh Shift HR, a uh HR consulting firm.
00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:27.599
And one of the things we talked about a lot was developing shop floor leaders because I think that's still a huge gap in small, medium, large organizations where you're trying to take somebody who started off as a shop floor associate and then promote them to a leadership position without ever giving them any coaching around what they can expect because that's a hard transition to go from colleague, coworker, friend to boss, right?
00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:33.039
I mean, that that is so easy to to to not be successful with that transition.
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:43.519
So does does does I guess MEP network more broadly, or maybe just Arkansas, do you have anything that really kind of hones in on that transition specifically?
00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:44.240
We do.
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:47.359
And again, we're we're in we're in the sweet spot for me, Justin.
00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:49.440
So I could talk the rest of the day about this.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:53.200
But yes, those leaders, those frontline leaders, they're in the X.
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.759
They're responsible to everyone above them and for everyone below them.
00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:11.279
And what I hear, you know, going around to that hard-charging plant manager and the HR professional is hey, we have promoted these people because they were technically uh skilled, experienced, they were great operators.
00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:15.440
And we have done them a disservice because we have not taught them how to lead.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:17.519
I kept hearing that over and over and over again.
00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:28.079
And what I just started curating was for our team, which now is codified in this thing that we call transformational leadership improvement, is a suite of services to address that.
00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:32.480
It works at every level of the organization from you know the executive and C-suite down.
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:41.039
But where we are engaged often in industry is in that frontline leader, you know, center of the X that you're talking about.
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:44.480
And uh it's not a management development journey.
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:45.839
Nothing wrong with management.
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.480
You know, management makes the trains run on time.
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:58.720
I tell leaders, you know, efficiency and effectiveness are two things near and dear to my heart, certainly as a plant leader, you know, um, but leadership development is really a different thing.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:00.480
It's about what we talked about, vision.
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.559
And it's always going to be a people-focused thing.
00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:10.079
And it's about um, you know, how we meet the needs of our team members, our constituents that we're leading.
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:14.880
So everything that we've built in that regard is really focused on the leadership development journey.
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:15.519
Yeah.
00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:16.400
Good deal.
00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:34.640
You know, you and I talked a little bit earlier about AI and kind of our thought, your thoughts on where where AI was headed, but how is the MEP network specifically working to help manufacturers who already have technologies baiting their equipment actually leverage it using AI?
00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:42.079
Um, you know, do we have resources already headed down that road or are we just trying to ramp up and get going?
00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:52.160
Well, the answer is again, it depends and yes to all of the above, Justin, I guess, because you know, the MEP is not a monolith, just like manufacturing is not a monolith.
00:29:52.400 --> 00:30:02.480
You have MEP centers that are further along on this, but all MEP centers, including Arkansas, are focused in this lane because of obvious reasons.
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:09.519
And, you know, so we have small manufacturers to mid-sized manufacturers who don't have anything going.
00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:17.119
And, you know, the needs, what every center will do, including ours, is we'll do that discovery visit and figure out where they're at.
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:22.880
Uh, and for some, they're gonna have old equipment, or we would just say, let's say, legacy equipment.
00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:33.359
And the need there is gonna be hey, let's get some sensors on this equipment and start rolling up data, and we can use AI, you know, to help us with that based on individual equipment.
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.480
That's sort of maybe a phase one way to think about it.
00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:40.480
We in Arkansas, and I think most centers would do that through a third party.
00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:46.160
We've got a great network of third parties uh in the state, and I know other MEP centers as well.
00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.799
So you can think about that as kind of a phase one.
00:30:48.960 --> 00:31:04.480
I would pause and say that what I believe I speak for every MEP, I know I speak for Arkansas when I say is what we're not interested in doing is really just focus on on optimizing some part of the process and potentially sub-optimizing the old the whole.
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:18.400
So for your listeners or the other MEP centers out there in you know, this conversation, I would say our focus and what I think a wholesome focus would be is to make sure you're doing it in the context of a bigger vision or a bigger, a bigger plan.
00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:27.440
And the way uh tactically we might do that is to lead a company through a value stream mapping exercise where we're able to define the current state.
00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:30.720
I know that's an oldie but a goodie, but it still works just like lean, man.
00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:32.400
Yeah.
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:33.920
So where are we at right now?
00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:35.440
Where do we want to be?
00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:53.359
But also in that future state, let's think about technologically, you know, how are we going to support that future state from a technology and from an automation standpoint, and then develop a roadmap, not just a road a roadmap of how to get from point A to point B in terms of layout and things like that, but also from a technological standpoint.
00:31:53.519 --> 00:32:10.720
So I think that's a really wholesome way to uh to uh approach any automation or technology implementation, is within the context of looking at your overall value stream, your lead time, and making sure that we're optimizing the whole instead of optimizing the parts and suboptimizing the whole.
00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:14.799
Golly, and that's that step is skipped so often.
00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:23.920
Uh, you know, I I laugh because that's everybody, you know, when clients reach out to us and and have a problem and they're asking, you know, what should we do about it?
00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.119
That's always my first answer.
00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:30.640
It's like, well, we need to do a value stream app and kind of figure out where this fits in the overall scheme of things, right?
00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:37.519
Where does this problem fit in the overall value stream and how is solving this problem going to affect you know all the other related processes?
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.599
Uh and and AI is no different, right?
00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:50.480
You need to understand how the material and information flows today and where the bottlenecks are before you can start figuring out what tool you need to start to use to fix it.
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:54.319
Um, you know, it's you know, it's just it's universally true.
00:32:54.400 --> 00:33:04.559
And that's what makes lean so important and so timeless is because its tools are applicable regardless of whatever the newest technology is on the market.
00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:05.039
Yeah.
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:08.480
And you caused me to think about something else related to that, Justin.
00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:20.799
You know, going back to how implementations can wither on the vine and how important commitment is, you know, and and I would say what really, you know, where commitment comes from is involvement.
00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:33.920
And that's why a planning process, whether that be more of a strategic planning process, which we work with clients on, you know, where you're nailing down mission, vision, values, and that kind of thing, or really value stream mapping is a planning process.
00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:42.400
Uh the the real value in that process is, you know, the output, the plan is really just a reminder.
00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:48.079
The real value in that is that experiential journey that the team goes through.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:54.559
So we're going through now and we're developing this value stream map, this picture of the future, this strategic plan for the business.
00:33:54.720 --> 00:34:03.599
And where commitment lives is the fact that that team has gone through that journey together, that you've involved them, that it's not some smart kid from university's plan.
00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:07.279
You know, the experts, you know, the expert is anybody more than 50 miles from the plant.
00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:08.320
I joke, right?
00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:09.519
It's their plan.
00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:13.760
They walked through that, they have that involvement, therefore, that you got that they've got the commitment.
00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:15.840
That's a key success factor for any plan.
00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:18.079
Yeah, getting everybody in the boat, right?
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:21.440
A lot, making sure everybody understands where we're headed with this thing.
00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:25.199
And it makes me think just as a tangent, really quick, about accountability.
00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:29.679
You know, I was on a uh, I was doing a webinar for Quality Digest.
00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:34.960
Actually, it was on the TLI, the leadership thing that we were talking about earlier, years ago, a few years ago.
00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:41.360
And one of the uh participants in the webinar asked about accountability, and it's such an important topic.
00:34:41.519 --> 00:35:03.280
But my answer then, and it remains now, is you know, accountability is important when it comes to leadership, but the need to enforce accountability goes down so much when we've done a really good job of truly leading, which means we've cast that vision, we've involved the stakeholders, we've got them um invested in the process and seeing a clear, you know, mental picture of the future.
00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:09.360
You don't you don't really need to enforce accountability when people have been a part of the journey and they're already committed to the cause.
00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:10.239
Yeah.
00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:10.960
Yeah.
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:11.679
I don't know.
00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:13.920
I'm I might push back a little bit on you there.
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:21.039
I seriously I agree, but it's my experience, and and you know, we do this a lot with our fractional CI management program.
00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:32.880
It's my experience to especially in the mid market, uh, a lot of the times we place the change, the change drivers, that change driver responsibility on the shop floor supervisor.
00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:47.920
And it's you know, it's just really hard to support to or to sustain those efforts when the guy's getting called 50 times a day because the line's going down or because the machine's broken or Jimmy called out, right?
00:35:48.079 --> 00:36:00.639
I mean, you know, it's to me, I think some of the the change management piece of it really requires folks with the time to dedicate to the projects.
00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:15.360
Otherwise, they just even if they were in this in the workshop, even if they do understand the vision, even if they want to achieve the vision, you know, it sometimes takes a back seat to the data they need, unless you've got that resource who look, man, this is your sole job.
00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:20.639
If you didn't get it done, I would like to know what what else you were doing this week because this is it.
00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:21.840
Um, I don't know.
00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:22.880
I don't know if you guys have to do that.
00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:25.519
Two things on that, Justin.
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:30.320
I I I would say that maybe we're in violent agreement because I couldn't agree more with what you're saying.
00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:37.599
In in successful implementations, where I find a key success success factor is dedicated, a dedicated resource.
00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:43.679
If you really want this thing to be successful, you need to resource it, whatever it is, whether it's through a person or whatever.
00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:46.239
So definitely that's a key success factor.
00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:56.239
Um, and it caused me to think of something else as you were talking there, and that is most in journeys, and and I think about it in terms of leadership development, but it applies to lean and other things.
00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:01.679
Typically, it starts with, hey, go to the conference room on Tuesday, you know, and we're gonna do a thing.
00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:15.280
We miss it right out of the gate because we're not setting that context for, hey, this is what I expect, and that's where can accountability can start to take root is here's an expectation, a core expectation as your leader that I have for you and whatever this endeavor is.
00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:17.599
But then beyond that, what do you need from me?
00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:24.320
I understand that I'm asking, I'm gonna ask you to trade in some of your time and attention that could be focused on a process for this thing.
00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:27.840
So, what do you need from me in terms of support and getting all that settled up front?
00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:29.280
Yep, absolutely.
00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:38.000
So, you know, we've had a lot of conversation in this in this episode about the MEP network, all the great things that that it's doing and the services it provides.
00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:45.119
But for a mid market listener who who might not know about their state's MEP network, where should they start?
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:51.599
How should they how can they go about getting connected and finding out what resources are available to them in their state?
00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:55.199
Well, if you're listening in Arkansas, you're welcome to reach out to me.
00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:58.239
But nationally, Google is your friend.
00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:15.760
Uh, you can go to the MEP's website, which is nist.gov forward slash MEP, and then click on the connect with an MEP center, or you could just simply Google MEP Center in, you know, Alabama or South Carolina or whatever it is, and find it that way.
00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:19.599
Yeah, but just you know, you and I talked about it in the pre-meeting.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:23.360
I'm a really big uh fan of the MEP.
00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:36.000
I mean, maybe I know South Carolina has a really strong one, but I I just think the services they provide, the resources they can bring to bear, the vision that they can assist with developing or that they already have based on what they've seen.
00:38:36.159 --> 00:38:38.960
I mean, they're in and out of manufacturers all day.
00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:40.400
Um, it really is.
00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:56.400
If you're not using them and you're struggling with anything from IT security, the lean implementation, uh, the MEP network is is really a um, you know, it's it's it's a wealth of knowledge and it's a resource that you are sorry, you're foolish not to take advantage of.
00:38:56.559 --> 00:38:59.039
So there's my plug for the MEPs.
00:38:59.119 --> 00:39:00.159
Um, I think it's great.
00:39:00.320 --> 00:39:02.079
I think it's a great uh program.
00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:08.800
And I don't say that often about government programs, but but I think it's uh it's one of the ones where we got it right.
00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:12.079
So I'm happy to see it continue to thrive.
00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:16.320
And um I I like say if you if you're not engaged with them, you should be.
00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:17.280
Reach out.
00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:18.880
Justin, I appreciate that.
00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:20.000
We joke when we walk in.
00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:22.000
Sometimes we're here from the government to help.
00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.760
And we we know that that's that tongue in cheek in many cases.
00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:31.840
And uh I echo and agree with your sentiment and appreciate that that in this case that truly is the case.
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:37.199
And you ask sort of nested in that question hey, how could a manufacturer in the state engage?
00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:38.800
And we may be out of time.
00:39:38.880 --> 00:39:56.159
You could you can chop this out or whatever, but I, you know, I would encourage the listeners uh in small to mid-sized manufacturing out there, the best way to engage would be to it just invite that MEP Center representative to come in, make some time for that in a plant visit or discovery conversation.
00:39:56.320 --> 00:39:58.880
Uh, if you've got time, give them a tour of the plant.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:08.639
And what you'll find is you're gonna get a lot of value for, I mean, it's not for free because your time is what you're giving, and that's the most constrained and most valuable resource.
00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:09.280
I get that.
00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:17.440
But what you're gonna find is a lot of light bulb moments happen in that very first discovery uh visit, implant visit.
00:40:17.599 --> 00:40:24.719
And I would say be prepared to answer, you know, some of those, hey, what are what are your pain points and what's you know keeping you awake in that kind of questions?
00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:31.199
I like to use a magic wand question, usually at the kind of the top or the bottom of the the end of the the conversation.
00:40:31.360 --> 00:40:34.480
I'll give the leader, let's say Justin, you're the you're the plant manager.
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:36.000
I'm gonna give you the magic wand.
00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:44.639
You've got what you can answer, you know, you can have one one one wish here, and that is if I could change one thing or improve one thing in the business, what would it be?
00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:52.079
And that really starts to crystallize where the real opportunity is and the mind of the leader, obviously, for us and how we want to engage.
00:40:52.159 --> 00:40:54.320
So I would invite them in, spend a little time.
00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:59.599
You're gonna find that it's a valuable use of the time, whether there's anything downstream in terms of engagement there.
00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:02.000
Yeah, yeah, couldn't agree more.
00:41:02.159 --> 00:41:08.480
Like I said, I've I've never had anything but a wonderful experience with the with the MEP colleagues that I work with.
00:41:08.639 --> 00:41:10.719
Um, so yeah, I 100%.
00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:16.000
If you haven't engaged, give them a call, get them in there, let them let them take a look at it.
00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:24.159
Um, and they may have ideas and resources that you didn't even consider and you didn't even know were were right there in your own home state.
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:27.199
So, well, Keith, thank you so much for coming on the show.
00:41:27.280 --> 00:41:28.960
Like I said, this is a great conversation.
00:41:29.199 --> 00:41:32.079
Really, really respect and appreciate what you guys are doing.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:35.599
And thank you so much for being willing to come on here and share it with our audience.
00:41:35.840 --> 00:41:36.559
It's been a pleasure.
00:41:36.719 --> 00:41:37.840
Appreciate the opportunity.
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:38.639
Absolutely.
00:41:38.719 --> 00:41:44.800
And guys at home, if you enjoyed this conversation, if you got something out of this, please do like, subscribe, share it with a friend.
00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:57.280
Uh, we want to reach more people, we want to we want to spread the message and we want to help every mid market manufacturer out there scale operations, improve that bottom line, and continue to be successful and drive manufacturing in the good old US of A.
00:41:57.440 --> 00:41:59.039
So, thank you guys, really appreciate it.
00:41:59.119 --> 00:41:59.920
Thank you.