EECO Asks Why Podcast

The next generation of industrial leaders are sitting in a classroom right now.  They are being taught many different subjects that will help them grow but too many never get the chance to learn about some of the exciting opportunities that exist in industry.  Amber Wilborne and Jody Woolwine are vocation advocates that have a passion for evangelizing to bring awareness to the many paths that exist on an industrial journey.

In this conversation they share their personal experiences that were each unique but which both led to serving in industry and making huge impacts.  They hit many of the topics head on that can start changing the game including:

• Evolution of Vocational Industrial Clubs of America - where it was and where it is now
• Perception of trades - why celebrating a trade school should be at the same level as a traditional 4-year institution
• Power of apprenticeships and co-op's
•  How parents can support and expose their children to vocation opportunities 
• Student loan crisis and how vocation programs combat head on

The passion you'll hear from Amber and Jody is incredible.  If you think they have a great chemistry together you can blame that on genetics.  Being brother and sister they love to have fun together and they even had a good time looking back during a unique lightning round!

It is important for the industrial leaders of today to lean in and start learning how to be an advocate for the next generation.  As more and more businesses decide to on-shore the opportunities will be expansive and the need great.  There are amazing opportunities to earn a significant income and make a huge impact on the world around you once vocations are learned.  It's our job to make sure those opportunities get the proper spotlight and this conversation hits that on the head.  

We are proud to call Amber and Jody our heroes and we highly encourage others to learn from their experiences and start helping those behind us see the paths they never new existed in the ever evolving industrial world. 

Guests:
Amber Wilborne - Co-Owner at TW Controls
Jody Woolwine - Leader at Mersen

Augmented Reality Demo

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

Do not leave culture to chance because it influences everything!  David Friedman literally wrote the book on how to design company cultures that make an impact and he shares some of the insights he's learned over the years that are sure to help you move forward.  

David leaves no ground uncovered and reviews areas such as:

• How culture can drift and what to do to correct it
• What a "culture plan" is and why most organizations miss this 
• Eight step framework for creating a winning culture
• The incredible power of rituals
• How to create fundamentals (behaviors) that you'll actually have buy in with
• Implementation and putting culture into practice

David is an award winning Vistage speaker and has poured his heart into the topic of culture.  It can be what separates the best from the rest and is now more critical than ever when it comes to attracting and keeping talent.  As industry evolves the importance of company culture keeps rising as a key differentiator and conversations like this are sure to set you on a path of success.  So will you design your culture or are you letting the environment around you define it for you?

We highly encourage others to connect with David and the team at CultureWise as they are the industry leaders in helping businesses take control and begin acting with intent to build a culture by design! 

Guest: David J. Friedman - Founder/CEO at CultureWise

David's Resources:
 Website
Culture By Design - Book


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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

Every journey is unique and what makes Bob Meads so special is the passion in which he unpacks his creation story that led him to the amazing world of augmented reality.  Beginning with his career in the Navy, Bob always had a passion for technology. 

That love for technology presented many opportunities for him to grow his skillset which included items such as computer and PLC programming.  From C++ to Java he never backed down from the challenge of mastering these platforms.  At the heart of what he always loved was software. 

So when the opportunity presented itself to solve problems that industrial manufacturers were facing with a technology like augmented reality Bob leaned in and hasn't looked back.  He's literally on the front lines of many industry 4.0 initiatives and helps people every day accomplish some of their most challenging modernization goals.

Bob's happiness comes from serving others and that resonates loud and clear in his story.  For fun you can find him brewing some of his favorite beers while manning a smoker full of seasoned meat.  Bob is hands down a hero of industry and we know his story will leave you inspired and ready to chase your passions.

We hope you enjoy and remember to keep asking why! 

Guest: Bob Meads - President at iQagent

Augmented Reality Demo

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

To create visibility for your business you must be able to position yourself and your company as expert resources.  Through that process you can earn attention, trust and visibility.  But how is that accomplished?  Welcome to the party industrial marketing!  In this idea episode Joe Sullivan from Gorilla 76 breaks down ways that manufacturers can take the lead and be in control of so much of their destiny in the future.

Joe covers many areas including:

• Knowing your audience
• How to talk about and overcome "resistance" 
• New ways to conduct market research
• Marketing and sales convergence 
• How to engage subject matter experts to build value
• Knowledge extraction day
• Deliver value without selling
• The true purpose of marketing for manufacturing

Joe brought his A game in this conversation and it is chocked full of wisdom and insight that you can act on today.  The bottom line is that if you are trying to reach new levels of growth you need to know how your audience consumes information, how they make buying decisions and then meet them where they are rather than forcing the way you want to sell on them.

We highly encourage others to connect with Joe and the team at Gorilla 76 as they are making a significant impact on industry and their solutions could be the next move that sets you apart in the market.

Guest: Joe Sullivan - Thinker & Founder @ Gorilla 76

Joe's Recourses:
Gorilla 76 Industrial Marketing Learning Center
The Manufacturing Executive Podcast

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

"I enjoy what I'm doing" - that sums up the great journey that our hero Ron Thompson shares in this episode.  After serving his country as a marine Ron has made an impact in many industries and what makes him unique is that he's always got a desire to learn new things.  From PLC's, HMI's and even industrial networks Ron is always pushing himself to expand his areas of expertise.

He shares great advice including how critical it is to build a solid foundation of understanding before you go too far.  He finds that hands on learning is the way to go and seeking out mentors who are ahead of you is such a great way to grow your career.  Ron gets technical and even reviews how he labels tags inside his PLC code that others may find extremely helpful.

Ron has traveled the world and shares some great stories about his time in Australia and will have you running for the hills at the site of vegemite!   It was a delight to be able to sit down with this hero of industry and we highly encourage others to find a career path that brings you as much joy and fulfillment as it does for our hero Ron Thompson! 

Guest: Ron Thompson - Control/Interface Developer at Lampe & Malphrus Lumber Co.

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

As the industrial world evolves more and more attention is centering around data.  These days the plant floor has access to more data than ever before.  But it's not enough to simply have data - you have to use that to make better business decisions.  Enter the world of industrial analytics!  

In this episode Matt Hussey unpacks ways in which those in the industrial sector are acting to make more informed decisions and ultimately improve their processes.  He covers items such as:

• The four basic quadrants of industrial analytics
• Use cases that bring theory to application
• How predictive analytics has migrated from hand held routes to diagnostic systems
• Demystifying "Prescriptive" analytics - it's easier than you think!
• Sifting through the "fluff" to get to the heart of what matters
• Headwinds and ways to avoid them
• Company culture and the impact (good/bad) with this methodology

This was full of insight and tips that you can apply right now in your facility to start taking advantage of the data at your fingertips.  For support and to continue the conversation reach out to the EECO team as we would love to learn about your goals with industrial analytics and can help with resources to support your journey.

Enjoy, lean in and keep asking why! 

Guest: Matt Hussey - Industrial Digital Sales Manager at Eaton

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

Entrepreneurship, video and ministry - this hero episode covers it all!  Jeff Long is absolutely crushing it at True Focus Media and he stopped in to share his story and encourage others to pursue their passions.  As a fresh graduate from a Bible College Jeff quickly learned that his calling would be in digital marketing and he has never looked back. 

He is a natural problem solver and shares how stair-stepping an entrepreneurial journey helps you grow as your confidence and abilities do.  He shattered the mold that you cannot purse careers outside of your "degree" field and recognizes that ultimately businesses are looking for people that have passion and that can add value. 

As a life long learner Jeff is intentional about investing in learning new skills as if we are not constantly challenging ourselves we are never moving forward.  We talk about mentors a lot on EECO Asks Why and while Jeff finds value there he leans hard into mastermind groups and speaks to the value they can bring for those wanting to connect with others and to be challenged in their careers. 

He shares about an amazing 360 degree video project of a manufacturing site and how his love of helping manufacturing with marketing drives him everyday!  We talk about life outside of True Focus Media and Jeff shares about his amazing family and things they enjoy to do together.  The lightning round was a blast and we bet you'll never guess what his favorite music is...Christmas!!

 Sit back and be ready for an inspirational story from our hero Jeff Long!   

Guest: Jeff Long - Owner of True Focus Media

True Focus Media:
Website
LinkedIn

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

Get ready for serious truth as Mike Weinberg shares his insight on how to simply sales for industry.  Mike is a consultant, sales coach, speaker and author on a mission to simplify sales. His specialties are New Business Development and Sales Management, and his passion is helping companies and salespeople win more new sales!   Forbes named Mike a Top Sales Influencer and other publications list him as the #1 Sales Expert to follow on Twitter. Mike has spoken and consulted on five continents and is the author of three Amazon #1 Bestsellers. 

In this episode he peels off several layers of the onion when it comes to sales and provides great insight to help both sales professionals and sales management in the pursuit of their personal best.  Some of the areas unpacked are:

• Why "Sales" gets a bad rap
• How many overcomplicate the sales process
• Importance of realizing that "Sales Follows Strategy"
• Power of stories
• Is the art of asking questions dead?
• What is active listening
• Is CRM a dirty word!
• Irony - COMPensation and COMPlacency start with the same 4 letters
• Blurring the lines between selling and managing
• Value of coaches and mentors

This is just a taste of what Mike unpacks and this is one you will want to be ready to take notes with as there are so many areas covered where you can take action today.  As industry continues to evolve it is extremely important to remain grounded on how to best serve others.  With the right mindset, training and attitude sales can be an extremely fulfilling career.  We thank Mike for sharing so much wisdom and we hope this helps others grow their skills and confidence to master the critical art of sales in industry! 

Guest: Mike Weinberg - Consultant, Coach, Speaker, and Author

Resources:
Mike Weinberg's Website
New Sales. Simplified
Sales Management. Simplified
Sales Truth

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Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor: Andi Thrower

The skills gap is a real issue in industry and there is a great opportunity to improve by encouraging and supporting women to join this sector.  To help explore this idea we brought in a power house panel of ladies to listen and learn from.  Mayuri Dahibhate, Alexus Hancock and Meaghan Ziemba are all EECO Asks Why Heroes and they brought a ton of wisdom and insight into what they see first hand and what should be considered in the future.  

They unpack many areas including:

• Why this topic matters to them!
• What can women do right now to make an impact in industry!
• Some of the biggest moves forward that are moving the needle!
• Advice for the next generation of ladies that will help them see the many different opportunities that exist and ways to start their journey!
• So much more!

The reality is that to improve the skills gap in industry will be a collective effort of both men and women working together.  This is a powerful conversation that will serve industry leaders, advocates and the next generation as we strive to make an impact on the critical issue of skills gap in industry! 

Lean in, support others and keep asking why! 

Guests:
Mayuri Dahibhate - Manufacturing Software Engineer at P&G
Alexus Hancock - Plant Support Engineer at Dominion Energy
Meaghan Ziemba - Creator and host of Mavens of Manufacturing

Host - Chris Grainger
Executive Producer - Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor - Andi Thrower

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Guests:
Mary Bruce Clemons - Industrial Controls Technician @ TW Controls
Taylor Smith - Creative Marketing and Sales Specialist @ PSNERGY
Linda Freeman - Industry Manager @ Rockwell Automation

EECO Asks Why is still celebrating the incredible women of industry! This week we discuss the families. There is a tremendous impact that industry has our family.  We brought in three heroes to unpack how they feel that impact firsthand.  Mary Bruce Clemons, Linda Freeman and Taylor Smith share their hearts as they explore areas such as:

• Family constructs and how the dynamics have evolved
• Headwinds that women in industry face directly regarding their families
• Advances forward that are supporting women in industry
• Advice for dads that want to support and be present more
• How leadership can embrace new ideas to attract more women

They also provide great examples of how their companies are embracing flexibility and trust within their employees to create a work environment that you want to be a part of. 

At EECO we fully support and recognize the importance of family.  It is an honor to present this thought-provoking discussion from true industry experts as it is through these conversations that we grow together.

Remember, keep asking why and share this with others for encouragement for industry and our families to flourish in the future. 

Guest Mentions:
First Robotics Competition
Rachel Hutter - SVP Worldwide Safety, Health, Engineering & Sourcing @ Walt Disney Parks
Ashleigh Walters - President of Onex
Rupi Kaur - Canadian Poet
Ram Dass - American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author

Host - Chris Grainger
Executive Producer - Adam Sheets
Podcast Editor - Andi Thrower

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