Today on Working Man we are joined by a mender of soles. Petr Kovarik is a bootmaker and owner of Liberty Footwear in Grand Rapids, MI. Today he talks about how he sees his work as the opportunity to serve those around him, and how trusting in God in everything you do is at the core of your work. If you are looking for a good pair of boots head over to libertyfootwear.com and check out Petr's work.

If you listen to this podcast, you likely know already that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has declared this to be the Year of St. Joseph. Our guest today, Fr. Donald Libby, is the pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan, and he will give us an introduction to the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, and help us understand how St Joseph shows us what fatherhood is all about.

We've been waiting to have this conversation for a long time...

Today we’re talking with CNC Machinist Dan Grabinski. Dan and Dave talk about the state of modern manufacturing, the challenges of finding good people to fill good positions, the cultural side of learning a trade, and the attitude it takes to enter into a tradition of craftsmanship.

At the end of the episode, we’ll also share a short passage from John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens. That’s an encyclical we talk about a lot on this show, and sometime in the future, we’ll do a deep dive into what are sometimes called "the social encyclicals." But for those of you who have not had time to curl up and read these texts, we’d like to start sharing parts of them here for you to reflect on them as you get Working Man jammed into your ear-holes.

Today, a talk given by Harmel Academy’s President and Co-Founder, Brian Black. Brian gave this talk this fall in Traverse City, Michigan to a charitable organization named Martinus. In it, Brian does a deep dive into the meaning of work, and if you’re interested in taking a look at the philosophical DNA of Harmel, if you want to spend some time examining movement and gears of the cloak that is this Academy, this is the talk for you. 

Our guest today on Working Man is Phil Sotok. Phil is an entrepreneur and  businessman with over twenty years experience in the automotive industry. Phil is also the founder of DPMC North America, a firm that helps companies reorient their cultures around unifying purposes. On today’s episode, Phil and I discuss two core virtues for building a healthy, life-giving community in a business, how virtuous leadership is different than competent management, and why it’s important to make sure that what you say you value is reflected in what you actually do at work. 

Phil is a thoughtful guy who cares deeply about helping people remember that business is essentially a human enterprise, and you’re going to like what he has to say.