We’ve been on tour for the past couple of months, recording live episodes in some of the manufacturing hot spots around the country. Indiana is our current stop, where Guggman Haus Brewing hosted us for an episode all about innovation, technology, culture, and, of course, Indiana’s manufacturing prowess.
Manufacturing makes up a huge portion of Indiana’s economy and culture, so we look behind the scenes at what the state is getting right to make it a manufacturing hub.
We welcomed Noel Hopkins, the Principal of Digital Growth at CliftonLarsonAllen and digital transformation expert, joins along with self-titled “private equity mercenary” Steve Martin, who sits on the board at Elevate Ventures. We also welcomed Kathy Miller, President and Co-Founder of YK2020 and OPSisters, plus co-author of the book Steel Toes and Stilettos.
Noel, Steve, and Kathy share their takes on local manufacturing and how it’s adapting to the rapid evolution of tech like AI. But it’s not just tech that’s shaping the industry. We also explore the human element of manufacturing and why we need leaders who are open to change and growth (even if it means making some mistakes along the way).
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3 Quick Things from this Episode
- The best way to adopt new technology into an organization isn’t a tech-first approach. It’s to find problems and then look for the best tech to fix it.
- We need leaders who can embrace change and execute on it, who are flexible and accepting of mistakes on the path to innovation.
- In this age of rapidly evolving tech, it’s easy to lose sight of the thing that matters most: the people. Manufacturing is all about the people, and any changes and new tech adoption should always consider the impact on people.
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Tweetable Quotes
- ”If we create a culture that basically penalizes thinking, then we’re never going to get any new ideas.” – Steve Martin
- “ I think the most dangerous thing manufacturers could do right now is pause or wait, or be overly cautious and risk falling way, way behind.” – Noel Hopkins
- “No matter what technology we’re working with, what inventions, manufacturing is about people. And so, we can’t lose sight of that.” – Kathy Miller
Please Scroll Down for Recommended Resources from this Episode
Do you want to connect with other leaders that are moving the needle in manufacturing everyday? Then make sure to join us in the Manufacturing Happy Hour Industry Community on LinkedIn.
Fortinet secures the world’s largest enterprises, service providers, and government organizations along their digital transformation journey. The Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protections across the entire digital attack surface. They secure critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the production floor, to the data center, and to the cloud.
Znode is a B2B ecommerce platform created for managing complex ecommerce. In the industrial world, you’ve got manufacturers, you’ve got dealers and distributors, and of course you have the customer. Znode brings all of this together through its API-first architecture, resulting in a seamless experience for your customers. If you’re looking for an ecommerce solution that’s built to scale across multiple channels, then tune into Episode 187 featuring Znode’s Tom Flierl today.
What We Discuss with Noel, Steve, and Kathy
- What can manufacturers learn from Indiana
- The role of digital transformation in manufacturing and the best ways to implement it
- Why leadership is key to driving transformation and the top characteristics good leaders need
- The challenges facing Indiana’s manufacturing industry from a private equity viewpoint
- Why you should always look at the problems facing your organization first, then find tech to solve it (not the other way around)
- Why fewer companies are using tech for the sake of it and are becoming more intentional
- Lessons learned from past experiences and why manufacturing is all about the people
- Areas where technology is making the most difference and how it impacts the people working with it
- How to build scale and transferability within organizations with the three Ps – people, planning, process
- The importance of having a vision and the ability to execute on it and why leaders are central to this
- Why hesitancy is the most dangerous thing manufacturers could do right now
- Innovation’s impact on psychological safety in the workplace, plus why we need to be open to making mistakes
Recommended Resources
- CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), an advisory, audit, tax and consulting firm
- Industry Trends: Lessons Learned from Florida Manufacturing Days
- Guggman Haus Brewing, a family-owned microbrewery and coffee Haus in the northwest side of downtown Indianapolis
- Elevate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Indianapolis
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