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Calling off work is the easiest thing to do, right?

Maybe not, and maybe that breakdown in communications is costing you a lot more than you think.

Sheila Stafford, co-founder and CEO of TeamSense, joined us for Episode 112 to explain how her company's platform to facilitate offtime call-ins for your team members can actually reduce absenteeism and improve productivity.

Sheila learned all this firsthand in her time on the floors of various manufacturing operations. The dysfunctional communication methods she witnessed for herself inspired her to help found and launch TeamSense.

Here are some highlights from our chat:
7:30 - manufacturing-specific design - careers vs. jobs
8:40 - it's not an app, so people don't get bent out of shape about you commandeering their personal devices
11:00 - remove manual processes and multiple different contact methods, and automate the data
12:30 - fix language barriers!
18:30 - it's an employee portal!
22:00 - facilitate schedule and vacation management
25:30 - future opportunity: leverage AI to add more automation

Tune in for an extremely educational conversation!

The TeamSense website: https://www.teamsense.com/

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Alex Krüger is the co-founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), our subject company, and Frank Thelen is co-founder and CEO of Freigeist, a venture capital fund that's backing them. They joined us for Episode 111 to explain all about why digitalization is now a must for manufacturing companies, and how you can best go about it. Here are some of the highlights:

5:30 - your digital use case and single source of truth
11:45 - how to build internal tech innovation - it has to become part of your company's DNA
14:00 - how to make your data actionable
19:00 - reduce complexity and try something out
24:00 - get manufacturing people and the manufacturing world involved

Find out how UMH is helping manufacturing companies become tech companies, and learn some specific changes you can make so you don't get left behind in this critical transition.

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Bruce Bigelow joins us for Episode 110 to share the latest and greatest in one of the biggest coming pieces of science technology ever. The Giant Magellan telescope, which is being constructed in Chile, will open up vistas of our universe we couldn't even have dreamed about a few years ago.

This instrument features some extraordinary designs and manufacturing methods that enable it to do what it will be able to do. Bruce tells us all about them, and about where things stand on the building of this amazing scientific tool.

Their website: https://giantmagellan.org/

The latest news: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/06/13/2898457/0/en/Giant-Magellan-Telescope-Enclosure-Ready-for-Construction.html

My Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2022/08/02/magic-mirrors-will-power-the-giant-magellan-telescope/

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Multiple generations of ownership of a family business make for a great story - but they also historically make for increasing difficulties in making the business work. Matthew Nix. President and CEO of Nix Companies, took the industrial company that his ancestors originally started as a blacksmith shop over 120 years ago and with the help of his wife and brother and others, grew it through acquisitions to include custom fabrication, maintenance services, real estate and other business areas.

In addition to creating a true success story with the family business, Nix also helps set the example of valuing people and doing good for society by doing well as a business.

Tune in and hear Matthew tell the whole inspiring story!

Nix Companies website: https://www.nixcompanies.com/

Making Chips website (where you can find Matthew's content): https://makingchips.com/

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Who knew the fast-growing car wash smash hit company Tommy's Express is also into manufacturing?

When you learn why, it makes perfect sense. Ed Ouellette, the company's National Franchise Development Manager, joined us for Episode 108 to explain how so many of the cool and user-friendly features you see at Tommy's are there because they make them for themselves!

Listen at around the 12:45 mark when Ed explains how that easy-to-drive-onto conveyor belt came from the carrot processing industry.

Stay for his explanation at around 26:00 about how consistency is the key!

There's a whole lot more before, in between, and after - check out the whole thing! And leave your questions and comments for us, and do please leave us a like, share the show, and subscribe!

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It should be job one for everyone, but especially for manufacturers, to ensure the people who work for us go home every night in at least as good condition as they were in when they showed up for the job.

Among other offeringss, Vector Solutions focuses on providing training that helps make that happen every single day. Clare Epstein, Vector's General Manager, Commercial Business Sector, joined us for Episode 107 to tell us all about it.

This one's important, folks - tune in the for the whole thing!

Link to the study Clare mentioned: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QFsPHT5LUpb9CW9TTckMBxkZty2VBm-/view

Vector Solutions homepage: www.vectorsolutions.com

** My apologies for the echo on my audio! Fortunately I was smart enough to let our awesome guest do most of the talking.

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Nothing like throwing yourself a challenge! Los Angeles Brands has its production of skin care and beauty products right there in the LA area, just to make things interesting. Then they launch their products against some of the biggest, best-known, and best-funded brands there are!

Lori Waiser and Brad Hollowaty joined us to tell us how they do all that successfully. There are a couple of big reasons we learn along the way, like how the two of them make a very powerful team by each bringing very different strengths to the mix, and how having a foot on both coasts (Brad and the HQ are out west, while Lori and her product expertise are in the New York City area) is a huge advantage.

Other highlights:
13:00 - ask a lot of questions
14:40 - in this area of corner of business, manufacturing in the US is critical
16:00 - cost and regulatory challenges
20:30 - finding areas of white space to go after, and their innovative business model
24:50 - product advantages and creating differentiation

It's one heck of a great story, and Lori and Brian tell it extremely well! Check out the whole show - you'll be glad you did!

Oh, and here's their business link: https://losangelesbrands.com/

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This is the most important episode we've done so far. That's because, if we don't heed the call to action from author Paul Tice in his book, *The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System,* our economy and our way of life are doomed. He joined us for Episode 105 to tell us why.

According to Tice, ESG - standing for environmental, social, and governance - investment mandates that were put together by a host of bad actors in the environmental activism and global governance realm are now being put into action by national regulatory bodies. And what they essentially do is commandeer everyone's investment dollars to serve their impossible net-zero agenda.

Here are some of the main points from the episode:
6:20 – ESG is “the corporate equivalent of inviting a vampire into your house.”
9:15 – ESG is the funding mechanism for the climate change agenda
10:30 – the illuminating example of the Dakota Access Pipeline story
17:00 – the lackluster response from the energy companies about the assault on their existence
23:30 – IEA says by 2025, no more investment in oil and gas
29:25 – the case for optimism
35:00 – aggressively going after the crowd who are destroying finance – antitrust and the Sherman act, RICO, and the like
40:55 – why logic won’t work

It's vital you learn all about Tice's warnings, because time is short and your future depends on it. Check out the whole episode, and do also check out the links for his books and his new place of research "residence" at the links below.

Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Sustainable-Investment-Scam-Progressive-Financial/dp/1641773472/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
National Center for Energy Analytics: https://energyanalytics.org/