Elevate Edge Consulting

► Design and execute strategic growth initiatives, enabling clients to achieve 3–20% revenue gains through operational optimization.
► Implement performance frameworks and KPI dashboards, improving decision-making speed and accuracy for executive teams.
► Lead business process and systems transformations, reducing costs by up to 25% and increasing organizational agility.
► Advise CEOs and boards on market expansion and scalability strategies.

Principal Consultant

BPS Technology, LLC

► Spearheaded operational strategy, successfully leading corporate expansion, manufacturing facility development, and multi-sector growth initiatives.
► Developed and successfully executed corporate vision, effectively leading cross-functional teams in R&D, operations, and supply chain.
► Led strategic M&A activities, acquiring complementary businesses and seamlessly integrating them into a cohesive operational structure.
► Achieved ISO 9001 certification for enhanced quality and regulatory compliance.
► Led the transformation and strategic scaling of an advanced materials manufacturing company, developing a proprietary chemical additive while consistently spearheading excellence initiatives across R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain functions.

Chief Executive Officer 

► Implemented ERP and data analytics frameworks for real-time decision-making.
► Cultivated relationships with key stakeholders, vendors, and strategic partners to drive growth.
► Drove the acquisition of strategic intellectual property for the chemical manufacturing strategy.

Vice President of Operations 

FALCON Technologies & Services Inc.

► Developed KPI systems to track and optimize performance across departments.
► Transitioned core operations to SAP ERP, seamlessly integrating real-time performance tracking and data-driven decision-making.
► Launched operational training programs, standardizing best practices across multiple locations.
► Designed and launched a company-wide "Boot Camp" training program, covering QA/QC, operations, safety, and DOT compliance, ensuring teams adhered to operational and regulatory standards.

Director of Operational Excellence

► Created a accountability system for field operations, improving on-time project completion rates by 35%.
► Spearheaded a KPI-driven management system, aligning operational execution with strategic objectives.

South Central Regional Manager & Advisor

United States Marine Corps

► Developed leadership, operational planning, and process improvement expertise while overseeing mission-critical aviation operations and logistics.

Aviation Operations Manager (Sergeant)

I Help Professionals Put Their Passions to Work | Leveraging Leadership Capacity | Connections with a Purpose | SDVOSB | USMC VET

Results-driven executive with extensive years of leadership experience across operations, manufacturing, oil and gas, and industrial technology sectors. Proven track record of building, scaling, and optimizing businesses while driving revenue growth, operational excellence, and financial performance. Adept at leading cross-functional teams, executing strategic plans, and leveraging AI, automation, and data analytics to enhance efficiency. Skilled in M&A activities and executive recruitment within fast-paced, high-growth environments.

Areas of Expertise:
★ Concept to Commercialization | ★ M&A Strategy & Integration | ★ ERP & KPI System Integration
★ Business Growth & Scaling | ★ Supply Chain Optimization | ★ Strategic Partnerships
★ ISO 9001 Implementation | ★ Facility Development | ★ Regulatory Compliance
★ P&L Management | ★ Culture Development | ★ Process Improvement

Bravis Brown, MBA

Seems our post have driven interest in additional information.  Please see the details below! Feel free to reach out to us for any additional questions you may have.

Official launch is December 3rd @ 8:00 a.m. CT.

Veteran Executive | Fractional COO | Driving Scalable Growth for Manufacturing & Industrial Companies Through Systems, Automation & Servant Leadership

THE Manufacturing Forge Alliance

We’re committed to partnering with leaders who are rebuilding American manufacturing, strengthening the great companies here now and helping new ones scale with precision. If you're driving innovation, reshoring, and operational excellence, let’s collaborate.

The Manufacturing Forge Alliance Chapter of Success Champion Networking (SCN) kicks off December 3rd. 8:00 AM CST. 

Here's what we're building:  A Manufacturing Ecosystem where manufacturers don't get one specialist. They get a trusted team. Packaging automation. Finance systems. Workforce development. Process improvement. Technology strategy. All working together. Zero competition. Pure collaboration.

When a manufacturer walks into our ecosystem, they have access to everything they need to run leaner, automate smarter, and compete with offshore competition. That's the vision.

American manufacturers are fighting an uphill battle. Rising costs. Labor shortages. Fragmented specialist networks. Processes that bleed money.
But they can compete when they have the right partners helping them execute. That's what this chapter is about.

I'm honored to serve as VP alongside President Bravis Brown, MBA and our leadership team: Lisa A Thomas, PMP, ACP, Benjamin Karrasch, and Tolani Lawson, CPA. We're building something special here.
—————————————————————
🗣️ Manufacturing leaders looking to scale? You need to know about this.
🗣️ Service providers who serve manufacturers with non-competing services? We're looking for founding members.  

Visit our launch on Dec 3rd! Link in the comments.
December 3rd. Wednesdays 8-9 AM CT. Zoom. LETS GO!!
—————————————————————
P.S. I help #procurement and #supplychain pros become heroes saving their companies money through #packaging #automation #machinery and materials solutions. #WinTheDay

The Manufacturing Forge Alliance - SCN Chapter:

We will need a business focused on providing repairs and maintenance to manufacturing equipment, see list below.  Please make introductions if you know anyone in the spaces below.

Extrusion Press Service & Repair Companies
Furnace, Heat-Treat & Oven Specialists
Die Shop & Tooling Specialists
CNC Machine Service Providers
Industrial Hydraulic Service Companies
PLC / Controls / Automation Integrators
Metal Finishing System Specialists

All the Best,
Bravis Brown

Chris Hardwick 📦, Lisa A Thomas, PMP, ACP, Tolani Lawson, CPA, Benjamin Karrasch, Jason Boslow, Ashley R. Sanders, Ph.D., Gina Tabasso, Sarang Kamalakar, Donnie Boivin, Jessica Gruber

Can you relate to this?  I try to speak things into fruition, meaning I talk as if they are happening or that I am doing/taking action.  This creates a deeper obligation for me and drives commitment.  Obviously, there are times where I'm trying to drive things where I don't have ultimate control, when I miss goals due to that it is emotionally difficult for me.

Does anyone have some recommendations or other ways to look at this?  Again, looking to get it right, not be right.  I've run into enough emotional setbacks that I am seeking external perspective.

That video I've been promising.

Strategy isn’t a poster, it’s how you run the business.
When your strategy, mission, vision, and values are clear and lived out day-to-day, they stop being words on a wall and start becoming the framework for how everyone makes decisions, communicates, and wins together.

The shift happens when every resource you’ve built, job descriptions, scorecards, onboarding plans, even bonus structures, connects back to why the business exists and how it grows.

A job description isn’t just a list of tasks anymore. It’s a direct link between what someone does each day and how the company succeeds.
That connection builds purpose, clarity, and ownership.

When that alignment is in place, everything changes:

Onboarding makes sense, people see how their role fits from day one.

HR stops chasing compliance and starts driving performance.

Reviews, bonuses, and growth conversations have context.

Everyone knows how their work supports the strategy and the team.

To make it stick, build these five tools:

A one-page strategy map that tells the story of your direction.

Operating principles that guide decisions under pressure.

Role scorecards that tie accountability to results.

A cadence map showing how the business runs week to week.

Onboarding and development paths that track back to strategy.

👇 In the video, I break down how to move your mission, vision, values, and strategy out of PowerPoint and into everyday operations so alignment isn’t a slogan, it’s a system that drives performance.

#Leadership #Strategy #Operations #Manufacturing #Culture #People #ContinuousImprovement #EOS #Lean

https://lnkd.in/gXEKhnd6

Open video: Videos | Library | Loom - 10 November 2025 on loom.com

Videos | Library | Loom - 10 November 2025

The Leadership Behind the Process - 30 Days of Discipline, Trust, and Systems That Work

Day 17: When the System Runs Itself (That’s the Win)

One of the most rewarding moments in leadership is when you realize you’re no longer the bottleneck.

I remember walking into a facility after being away for a week.
The production meetings started on time. The schedule updates were done. The metrics were current. No one had waited on me to move things forward.

That’s when you know the system works; when it’s not dependent on any single person.

It’s tempting for leaders to think being “needed” is a sign of value.
It’s not. It’s a sign the system isn’t finished. 

When people have clear expectations, documented processes, and decision-making authority, they don’t wait, they act.

Freedom as a leader comes when the business runs on systems, not on you.

Where do you still feel like the bottleneck in your business?

#Leadership 
#Manufacturing 
#ProcessDiscipline 
#TeamAlignment

The Leadership Behind the Process - 30 Days of Discipline, Trust, and Systems That Work

Day 19: Consistency Builds Confidence

Every great company looks boring from the outside, that’s a compliment.

Consistency is what builds confidence.
When teams know how decisions are made and what happens next, they move faster.

I once helped an organization that kept reinventing the priority every quarter, new product focus, new market, new messaging.
It was chaos disguised as urgency to market.
Once we committed to one go to market strategy, everything settled.

Productivity went up. Meetings got shorter.
Confidence returned.

People don’t need new every quarter, they need dependable.

Consistency doesn’t limit speed to market; it supports it.

How consistent is your business rhythm from week to week, quarter to quarter?

#Leadership 
#Manufacturing 
#ProcessDiscipline 
#TeamAlignment

The Leadership Behind the Process - 30 Days of Discipline, Trust, and Systems That Work

Day 20: The Next Generation of Leadership

The best sign of a strong culture isn’t the leader’s performance; it’s the next leader’s success.

I’ve seen too many organizations stall when a key person leaves because their systems lived in their head, not in the company.
That’s not leadership. That’s dependency.

Great leaders build people who outgrow them.
They create structure that doesn’t crumble when they move on.

The real legacy of leadership isn’t the title you held.
It’s the team that keeps winning long after you’re gone.

If your organization couldn’t thrive without you, it’s time to build one that can.

Who’s the next leader you’re preparing to hand the keys to?

#Leadership 
#Manufacturing 
#ProcessDiscipline 
#TeamAlignment

The Leadership Behind the Process - 30 Days of Discipline, Trust, and Systems That Work

Day 16: Building Leaders Who Own the Process

Early in my career, I thought leadership meant being the one who or could fix everything.

If a process broke down, I jumped in.
If a deadline slipped, I stayed late.

It worked, until I realized that by solving every problem, I was also owning every problem.

The system couldn’t scale because I hadn’t built people who could carry it.

That shifted my focus.

Instead of just teaching the process, I started teaching the thinking behind it; why we do it this way, how to spot drift, and when to make adjustments.

I watched team members start anticipating issues before they became problems.

They took ownership, not because they were told to, but because they understood the “why.”

Leadership that lasts isn’t about control.
It’s about creating clarity and ownership that outlives you.

If your systems still depend on you to run right, it’s time to start building the people who can.

#Leadership 
#Manufacturing 
#ProcessDiscipline 
#TeamAlignment

The Leadership Behind the Process - 30 Days of Discipline, Trust, and Systems That Work

Day 18: Clarity Creates Calm

Ever notice how chaos spreads faster than clarity?

When people don’t know what’s expected, they fill the gaps with assumptions.
That’s how confusion grows and why consistency starts with communication.

In one facility, production, maintenance, and QC each had their own version of “done.”
Schedules clashed. Priorities shifted mid-shift. Tempers flared.

We fixed it by doing something simple: aligning definitions.
We created shared language for what “ready,” “complete,” and “approved” meant across all departments.

Suddenly, what used to take debate took seconds.

Clarity doesn’t slow you down, it stabilizes everything around you.

When people know the plan, they stop reacting and start performing.

Where in your operation could more clarity replace more meetings?

#Leadership 
#Manufacturing 
#ProcessDiscipline 
#TeamAlignment

Mark Hernandez is #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested?

CEO @ SigmaPro | Injection Molding, Medical Device Manufacturing

Hey everyone, I cannot say enough about how critical this role is.  I truly believe the right person in this position can help our entire team be the best version of themselves and be a part of our company's upcoming growth.  

Because of that, I am very hopeful that this role can be filled by someone who I am connected with or who comes with a recommendation from within my network.  

If you know of anyone who would be a good fit for a startup environment with the key ability being to bring rigor to the role of Principal Engineer in a medical device manufacturing environment, please send them my way!

Otherwise, I'm going to be stuck sitting at a table in a high school gym with a single sheet of paper just hoping for the best.  (Office reference, iykyk)

Fort Worth, Texas, United States (On-site)

Job by SigmaPro Engineering & Manufacturing, LLC

Crestcom International

Are You a Senior Leader Facing Management Team Challenges?

Imagine having a leadership team that consistently drives results, inspires employees, and executes your strategic vision with precision.

Leadership Challenges You Might Be Facing:

❌ Managers with technical skills but weak leadership abilities
❌ High turnover impacting productivity and morale
❌ Inconsistent execution of strategic initiatives  
❌ Training investments creating little lasting change

How I Transform Your Leadership Team:

✅ Identify Critical Skill Gaps: I pinpoint exactly which leadership competencies your teams need to strengthen for maximum business impact.

✅ Create Sustainable Change: I implement Crestcom's proven 12-month development process with built-in accountability - not just another one-off training.

✅ Measure Real Results: Our Learning Portal tracks how leadership improvements directly impact your bottom line.

✅ Build Leadership Consistency: Develop all managers with the same methodology, creating a common leadership language across your organization.

What you gain:
▪️ Leaders equipped to handle change, drive innovation, and build high-performing teams
▪️ Measurable ROI from your development investment
▪️ Reduced turnover as employees feel properly led
▪️ A strong leadership pipeline supporting growth

Let's transform your management team into true leaders who drive sustainable results. Connect with me to elevate leadership throughout your organization.

Chief Strategy Officer - Crestcom, The Woodlands

Global Recruiters of Chattanooga (GRN)

Are you a Senior Leader facing Employee Retention Challenges? 

Imagine consistently filling your critical supply chain roles with top professionals who can immediately impact your operations.

Here’s how we transform your recruitment process:

➡️ Identify the Best Fits for Your Unique Needs:
❌ No more sifting through unqualified candidates.
✔️ We pinpoint professionals who match the technical and cultural specifics of your roles.

➡️ Accelerate Your Hiring Cycle:
❌ End lengthy processes that delay your projects.
✔️ With our streamlined approach, experience faster placements of high-quality candidates.

➡️ Optimize Your Recruitment Strategy:
❌ Stop struggling with recruitment challenges that hinder your growth.
✔️ Leverage our two decades of expertise to craft a recruitment plan that scales with your business.

What you gain by working with us:

▪️ Access to a curated network of professionals in manufacturing supply chains.
▪️ Custom recruitment solutions that focus on rapid and precise talent placement.
▪️ Personalized service that understands and meets your industry-specific demands.

Let’s elevate your recruitment approach and fill your team with industry-leading professionals. Connect with me to redefine how you recruit for your supply chain needs

Executive Search Strategist

Employ Mint Inc.

• Holding Company of diverse assets related to Staffing and Recruiting services.

Chief Executive Officer

International LEAP Network

• An exclusive network of leaders and high-achievers creating a lasting impact on a global scale.

Executive Member

MFG Chemical, LLC

• Managed Commodity and Contract spend with 150+ suppliers, RFP processes yielding a 24% cost reduction amid inflation and a challenging economic climate.
• Categories managed: Alcohols, Amines, Acids, Solvents, Monomers, Initiators, Specialty Chemicals, and Customer Supplied Materials.

Sourcing, Procurement & Planning Manager

TechnipFMC

• Managed $150M+ supply chain, reducing costs by 8% and improving on-time delivery to 98%.
• Successfully delivered 7.5M pounds or 25 miles of Subsea Umbilicals from Houston to Angola on time and in full.  Vessel cost savings of 30% ($300K). Global cross-functional team execution.
• Categories Managed: Stainless Steel Tube, Electrical Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, Plastics, PE Fillers, Hardware, Flexible Pipe, End Fittings, Forging, Machining, Cladding, Welding, 3PL, and Customer Supplied Materials.

Senior Procurement Manager

INVISTA

• Managed $100M+ supply chain, collaborated via functionally centralized Sourcing and Procurement teams to achieve 10% ($8M) cost reduction.
• Categories Managed: CapEx, OpEx, On and Off-Site Services, Professional Services, Logistics, Material Handling Equipment, Bulk & Cylinder Gas, and Maintenance Operating Supplies (MRO).

Manager Site Procurement

Total Polish Solutions

• Identified cutting-edge technology as an industry trailblazer, installing polished concrete flooring globally for TPS. Cut COGS 14% through aggressive price negotiations, maintained EMR of 0.84, held A/R turn at 28 days and A/P at 35 days. Empowered the team to traverse challenging economic times. Successfully divested.

Pfizer

• Executive on Loan: mentored over 50 MBEs in strategic planning, risk mitigation and business continuity planning.
• Increased supply chain diversity through creative sourcing approaches increasing spend by 150%.

Manager - Supplier Diversity Worldwide Procurement

Toyota North America

• Oversaw $8.5B annual spend through strategic procurement planning processes for 5 N.A. plants.
• First in the automotive industry to implement make vs. buy decision to outsource tire and wheel assembly to an MBE ($200M).
• Categories Managed: Steel, Bar, Plastics, Chemicals, Stampings, Exterior Plastics, Injection Molding, Airbags, Bulk & Cylinder Gas, Service & MRO Contracts, and Service Parts Packaging.

Manager - Supplier Diversity & Strategic Planning

Helping Leaders in Manufacturing Recruit Supply Chain Excellence

Transforming Your Leadership Potential into Organizational Power

Are you a C-suite executive watching promising talent struggle to deliver their full impact? Do you see untapped potential in your management ranks that could be transforming your organization's performance?

I unlock your organization's hidden capacity by transforming managers into high-impact leaders.

As a Leadership Development Practitioner and Executive Search Strategist with over 30 years of operational leadership experience, I stand at the intersection of human potential and organizational success. 

My approach delivers concrete, measurable results that directly impact your bottom line:

•	Structured leadership development that creates lasting behavior change, not just theoretical knowledge
•	High-caliber talent acquisition that identifies professionals who drive strategic objectives, not just fill positions
•	Performance-driven methodologies that connect directly to organizational success metrics

Unlike consultants with purely HR backgrounds, my operational leadership experience across multiple industries (chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive, oil & gas) combined with formal project management discipline (PMP, ACP certifications) allows me to address your human capital challenges with practical, results-oriented solutions.

What this means for you:

•	Reduced executive time spent managing underperforming teams
•	Accelerated execution of strategic initiatives
•	Enhanced operational effectiveness through improved leadership capabilities
•	Measurable ROI on your leadership development investment

"I don't create brilliance—I simply clear the path so that the inner light of human potential can shine through."

When you're ready to transform your management team into a true competitive advantage, let's connect to discuss how we can unleash your organization's full potential.

Lisa A Thomas

“If you have a purpose, you will always be profitable.”

That line from Dana Linnet hit differently.

We talk so much about revenue, scale, margins, and growth…

 but Dana reframed profit in a way most leaders forget:

 ✔ Financial profit
 ✔ Happiness profit
 ✔ Family profit
 ✔ Life profit

 Because money matters - we all know that -
 but without a North Star, it never feels like enough.

 Fulfillment is profit.

 Serving something bigger than yourself is profit.

 Growing, creating, and contributing is profit.

 This clip is a reminder worth saving.

Lisa A Thomas, PMP, ACP

Helping Manufacturing Organizations Elevate Leadership & Teams | Host of The 96% Perfect Podcast

Most manufacturers don’t have an AI problem.

 They have an awareness problem.

In Fortune 500 boardrooms, AI is already embedded into daily operations. 

Dashboards. Predictive models. Automated workflows.

 Executives speak about it like it’s electricity.

But step into the mid-market manufacturing world—the real heartbeat of American industry—and the gap becomes obvious:

 👉 Only ~20% have even begun experimenting with AI.
 👉 Most are still fighting noise, pressure, and pace with manual systems.
 👉 And the assumption is often: “AI is for the big players.”

In this week’s episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast, Rahul Gangulee breaks it down perfectly:

AI doesn’t start with a full transformation.

 It starts with a pilot, a single use case that takes you from theory → practice.

And here’s the part leaders tend to miss:
AI isn’t here to replace your people.

 It’s here to remove friction:

 • Reduce machine downtime
 • Predict maintenance before it becomes chaos
 • Cut through the noise of operational firefighting
 • Give your teams room to think, not just react

 Mid-market manufacturers aren’t behind because they lack capability.
 They’re behind because they’ve never been shown what’s possible.

 This clip is a reminder:

 AI doesn’t belong in Silicon Valley. It belongs on the shop floor.

If you’re a manufacturing leader who wants less pressure, less noise, and more performance, start with one pilot.

 Everything unlocks from there.

Stop calling it “turnover.” Start calling it “lost throughput.”

When we label attrition as an HR problem, we underplay its operational cost. The truth: every regretted departure shows up in scrap rates, line downtime, rework, delayed POs, missed ship dates, and ultimately margin.

I’ve sat in meetings where leaders debate a $40k equipment upgrade for months… then accept a six-figure annual loss from attrition as “the way it is.” It isn’t. The hidden cost is often 1–3x salary once you add training, overtime, quality drift, freight, and customer confidence.

Reframe your next KPI review:

List the top 5 defects or delays from last quarter.

Circle the ones tied to recent role changes or ramp-ups.

Put a dollar figure next to each—then treat retention like a constraint in your throughput model.

Retention is an operations strategy, not a perk strategy. If you wouldn’t ignore a bearing failure on a critical asset, don’t ignore the human ones either.

What changes when your plant treats retention as a primary lever for throughput?

🚀 New Episode Released: The Future of Mid-Market Manufacturing Isn’t Coming - It’s Already Here.

Most manufacturers don’t have a technology problem.

They have a speed, visibility, and decision-making problem.
And that’s exactly what today’s guest is solving.

🎙 On this week’s episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast, I sat down with Rahul Gangulee - Founder & COO at CoreHelix - to talk about how mid-market manufacturers can use AI to move from constant firefighting to predictable, proactive operations.

Rahul has led global operations at Siemens, Brunswick, and Vantage Elevator Solutions…

but what he’s doing now is genuinely game-changing.

Here are a few highlights:

💡 Why mid-market companies can’t afford 3-year transformation plans — and how Core Helix stands up real pilots in just 6–8 weeks
 💡 How a Texas dairy processor saved $250K and eliminated invoice mismatches using AI-driven reconciliation
 💡 The truth about AI on the factory floor: it’s not replacing people — it’s reducing the noise so your people can think
 💡 Why psychological safety is a competitive advantage in transformation environments
 💡 The #1 leadership skill that matters most in the age of AI (and it’s not coding)

What I loved most about this conversation is Rahul’s balance:
 ➡️ Deep technical insight
 ➡️ Ground-level practicality
 ➡️ Real empathy for the people doing the work

If you’re in operations, supply chain, manufacturing leadership, or industrial technology, this episode is worth every minute.

👇 Listen here:
 https://lnkd.in/ebdH8GCZ

Let me know your biggest takeaway - always curious to hear how manufacturing leaders are navigating this new era.

Open article: The 96% Perfect Podcast - Rahul Gangulee - EP14 by open.spotify.com

The 96% Perfect Podcast - Rahul Gangulee - EP14

The most powerful innovation engine in manufacturing? Fresh eyes.

In my recent conversation with Vivian Allen, she shared something every leader should sit with:

“Young people need to see opportunity - open doors, blank canvases. Not ‘this is how we do things,’ but ‘here are the challenges… what do you want to do here?’”

The next generation isn’t here to preserve our systems.

They’re here to challenge them.

They haven’t normalized the inefficiencies we’ve learned to tolerate.

They haven’t inherited our blind spots.

They don’t have years of “that’s just how it’s done” shaping their view.
And that’s exactly why we need them.

The moment a young employee walks in with zero industry experience and immediately spots a problem an entire team has overlooked?

That’s not disruption - that’s progress.

As Vivian put it:

“The way we honor the people who blazed the trail is by giving the next generation the freedom to blaze it somewhere new.”

Whether it’s AI, new workflows, or ideas we haven’t yet imagined…

Their role isn’t to replicate our success.

 It’s to reinvent it.

 And our role isn’t to hand them a map.

It’s to give them the green light.

Leaders: What are you doing to make your organization a blank canvas - not a rulebook?

If you’re in the room… it’s your room.

Too many highly capable people - especially women - walk into important rooms and immediately shrink themselves.

 Sit on the outer chairs.
 Second-guess their contribution.
 Assume the “real table” is for someone else.

In this week’s episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast, Dana Linnet shared a moment that stopped me in my tracks:

👉 “If you’re in the room, you’re there for a reason… so own the room.”

Dana spent years in diplomacy and military circles - environments defined by hierarchy. And she noticed something subtle but powerful:

 - The men at her level sat at the table.
 - The women at her level sat around it.
 
So she made a decision:
 If they’re at the table, I’m at the table.

Confidence isn’t about being loud or forceful.

 It’s about recognizing that you’ve earned your seat - and acting like it.

 ✨ You’re in that room because you know something.
 ✨ You add value.
 ✨ You have skills no one else brings.

Stop sitting in the corner of rooms you’ve already earned your way into.

Take your seat. Own the space. Lead with confidence.

Timeless perspective from Warren Buffett on what leadership really means.

It is not about wealth, power, or titles — it’s about humility, kindness, and how we show up for others.

A reminder that the best leaders build people, not empires.

To say Warren Buffett's goodbye letter in his final annual letter today is laced with leadership, would be an understatement. 

Here is how he ended it, but it should be a start for most of us: 

"One perhaps self-serving observation. I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first. My advice: Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them. You can start with Tom Murphy; he was the best. 

Remember Alfred Nobel, later of Nobel Prize fame, who – reportedly – read his own obituary that was mistakenly printed when his brother died and a newspaper got mixed up. He was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior. 

Don’t count on a newsroom mix-up: Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it. 

Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior. 

I write this as one who has been thoughtless countless times and made many mistakes but also became very lucky in learning from some wonderful friends how to behave better (still a long way from perfect, however). Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman."

Leadership matters. Thanks for the powerful reminder, Mr. Buffett. 

Check out the Optimistic Outlook Newsletter for one daily insight to fuel optimism and action https://lnkd.in/eU2kk-fp

#leadership #character #coaching

💧Rethinking How We Attract Young Talent to the Water Industry

For decades, utilities have relied on the same old playbook:
 ➡️ Post a job on the city or county website
 ➡️ Wait for applications that rarely come

But as this clip reveals, the most impactful organizations are going where traditional recruitment never goes - into communities that have been overlooked for years.

They’re partnering with:

- Local nonprofits and social programs
- Re-entry organizations helping first-time non-violent offenders
- Community groups supporting Latino and other underrepresented populations

Because sometimes, the best future operators, engineers, and water professionals simply don’t know these careers exist.

“Skills get people in the door. Behavior keeps them there.”

That line hit me during a conversation with a podcast guest; he measures not just what a candidate can do, but how they will lead when pressure shows up. 
After 30 years in manufacturing and supply chain, I’ve learned the same lesson the hard way: integrity, initiative, and attitude aren’t “soft” traits—they’re leading indicators of safety, quality, and retention.

When leaders anchor decisions in character first, competencies rise. Teams trust faster. Training sticks. And you stop paying the tax of rehiring the same role every 6–12 months.

Practical nudge for your next hire:

 - Define behavioral success for the role in one paragraph.
 - Write three scenario questions that surface judgment and resilience.
 - Decide, in advance, what’s a deal-breaker.
 - Hiring is capacity planning for culture. The longer I do this work, the simpler the truth becomes: hire for the person you’ll rely on in week 26, not just the resume you loved in week 0.

Where have character-led decisions saved your plant the most time or money?

People don’t burn out from hard work. They burn out from hard work that doesn’t matter.

On the floor, repetition is real. Patricia Casimir described loading parts all day-boring to some, essential to all. What kept their team engaged weren’t pizza Fridays; it was visible progress, cross-training pathways, and recognition that meant something (even a named parking spot after milestones).

Human-centered doesn’t mean indulgent. It means clarity, fairness, and dignity:

Clear standards and feedback loops.
A ladder—however modest, to grow.
Recognition that respects the work, not just the outcome.

When people see the line between their task and the customer, safety, or community, they bring more of themselves. That’s not a slogan, it’s a system choice.

🌊 What if water wasn’t just an environmental issue… but a business risk, a workforce challenge, and an innovation opportunity?

That’s the perspective that stuck with me after this week’s episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast with Melissa Meeker, CEO of The Water Tower - a leader who’s redefining how industry thinks about our most vital resource.

For decades, manufacturers have viewed water as a compliance cost - something to regulate, discharge, or treat.

 But as Melissa pointed out…

💡 “If water isn’t there, you don’t have a product.”

From Taiwan’s semiconductor drought to the Texas freeze, water disruption has quietly become one of the biggest operational risks manufacturers face. Yet few are asking the hard questions:

What happens to production if your water supply stops tomorrow?
How resilient is your facility to drought, flooding, or contamination?

Are you partnering with your local utility - or waiting for a crisis to start that relationship?

That’s exactly what leadership looks like in 2025:
 ✅ Acting on imperfect information
 ✅ Building redundancy into your systems
 ✅ And turning compliance into competitive advantage

If you’re a manufacturing or operations leader thinking about the next decade — this episode will make you rethink how you manage the lifeblood of your business.

🎧 Listen here → https://lnkd.in/eZhcKucG

 💬 Curious — do you see water as an operational risk or a sustainability opportunity?

“Begin with the end in mind” only works if you define the end.

One of our podcast guests shared how their success hiring 250–300 people at a time came from refusing to rush Level 3, the behavioral fit. The end wasn’t “staffed by Friday.” The end was having high performers still here in 18 months.

Here’s my reflection: 

When leaders agree on the job description but disagree on the person, mis-hires spike. I’ve lived this. The fix is a simple, disciplined baseline of behavioral expectations for the role, created together, before résumés hit the table.

Three questions to build that baseline:

1. What behaviors will fail in this environment (even if skills are gold)?

2. Which tradeoffs matter most under pressure (speed vs. precision, autonomy vs. collaboration)?

3. What will “good” look like on day 90?

Clarity is kind. It’s also profitable.

Where does your hiring team most often talk past each other, and how could you decide the baseline upfront?

Today’s episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast is one of the most meaningful conversations we’ve had on the show.

I sat down with Vivian Allen, CEO of SigmaPro Engineering & Manufacturing, LLC, a precision injection-molding company in Fort Worth producing some of the smallest and most technically demanding components in medtech, aerospace, telecom, and advanced manufacturing.
 
But this episode isn’t about machines or plastic parts - it’s about what happens when a leader decides that operational excellence and human dignity aren’t competing priorities. They’re the same priority, expressed differently.

Vivian shared:
🔹 How coming into manufacturing through HR gave her the freedom to lead without pretending to be the “technical expert in the room.”
 🔹 The moment she realized traditional HR was dehumanizing, and made the decision to build her own model.
 🔹 Why Sigma Pro never asks who failed - only where the process failed, and how that single shift changed everything.
 🔹 How psychological safety, emotional intelligence coaching, onsite childcare, and community support became non-negotiable infrastructure, not “nice-to-haves.”
 🔹 Her three-zone framework for people, community, and global responsibility, inspired by a surprising source.
 🔹 Her hope for the next generation stepping into modern manufacturing: see opportunity, see possibility, and don’t inherit the system, improve it.
 
This episode is a reminder that leadership is not just strategy or execution, it’s the courage to design a place where people can do their best work and still feel whole.

If you lead people, influence culture, build teams, or care about the future of American manufacturing, you will take a lot from this conversation.

🎧 Listen to the full episode:
https://lnkd.in/eEBtfQmH

Would love to hear what resonated most with you.

Open article: The 96% Perfect Podcast - Vivian Allen - EP 15 by open.spotify.com

The 96% Perfect Podcast - Vivian Allen - EP 15

College isn’t the only path. But mentorship always is.

We talked with Spencer Loveless, who advocated “future fairs” at high schools, alongside college tables, put hands-on careers front and center. Not as a fallback; as a first choice for the right minds and hands. Apprenticeships, technical scholarships, and one simple message: dignity in skilled work.

Gen Z isn’t allergic to effort. They’re allergic to vague promises. Show the ladder, the wage progression, and the training plan. Pair them with a mentor who actually has time. 

Then measure the program the same way you would a new press: throughput, quality, and uptime of people.

Make the factory a classroom with a paycheck.

If you hosted a “future fair” walk-through tomorrow, what three stations would you feature to win a 17-year-old’s curiosity?

Multitasking sounds great in theory, but not so much in practice. 

Right now, Crestcom participants are exploring how distractions affect our ability to focus on the task at hand with leadership expert, Paul Weston. 

They're learning the cost of these distractions and exactly how to minimize them, maximize focus, and complete their work without sacrificing quality. Sound like something valuable for your team?

Visit the link below to get started:
https://crestcom.com/

Planning 2026 budgets without calculating your turnover costs? 

That's a mistake. Every employee who walks out the door takes 6-9 months of their salary with them in replacement costs. 

Before you finalize next year's numbers, run the math on what poor leadership is actually costing you.

https://lnkd.in/ew_UwC4B

“This changes how I think about American manufacturing.”

Another episode of The 96% Perfect Podcast is live 

My guest? Dana Linnet - former U.S. diplomat, the woman who helped close >$40 BILLION in global defense sales at Lockheed Martin, and now CEO of The The Summit Group DC, guiding AI & quantum startups through the Pentagon’s “Valley of Death.”

In 60 minutes we went places most manufacturing podcasts are afraid to go:

▫️ Why diplomacy skills are the hidden superpower factory leaders need right now
▫️ The #1 reason innovative manufacturers crash and burn when they try to sell to DoD (hint: it’s not the tech)
▫️ How quantum optimization can deliver 30% ROI gains - on existing lines - starting THIS year (yes, really)
▫️ The trust framework your board needs before your first AI “incident” hits the headlines
▫️ Why geopolitical risk mapping is no longer optional - even if you’re a $20M machining shop in Ohio
▫️ The raw truth about staying calm when everything is on fire (war zones, boardrooms, or the plant floor - same principles)

This isn’t fluff. It’s the kind of unfiltered, high-level conversation I started the podcast to have.

If you lead people, run a plant, own a manufacturing business, or sell into defense/industrial markets - carve out an hour this week.

🎧 Link in comments

Are you ready to lead the conversation?

Year-end reviews are right around the corner. Our free Leadership Health Assessment takes the guesswork out of evaluating your team. Share it with your team members to measure their skills against 10 key competencies, then get comprehensive reports that pinpoint each person's strengths and development areas. Walk into every review with concrete data, not just opinions. 

Click below to get started: 
https://crestcom.com

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