Creatively Efficient

Exhausted when you get home from work? I know I am. Fighting traffic, inhaling exhaust. Often, I am completing "just one more call" as I pull in the driveway. With RTO mandates in place, more people are driving, adding an emotional burden to the physical toll of the commute. So how are you managing the emotional transition from work to home? Try these 3Ps. --Partition: Creating a mental and physical space between home and work helps us align our energies and our emotions for each space. -- Pause: Take a second to breathe. Practice 7 second square breathing. -- Prepare: What is on the other side of the door when you walk inside? A puppy? A child? A working partner? Anticipating your next steps joyfully sets the tone for each reunion. These precious 30 precious could define the rest of your evening. How do you transition between work & home?

Building a Safe Space: The Case for External Workforce Evaluators

Work "optimizing machines first" is a beautiful lie. Hard lesson for manufacturing leaders... The organizations with better quality metrics aren't using better machines than you. They don't have better technology than you. They don't have luckier processes than you. They're just engaging their workforce so much better than you, you can't even imagine. The only thing separating you from them is: Human-machine integration + Psychological safety + SPIRIT acknowledgment When we optimize our human systems first, machine performance naturally follows.

Wondering how to create calm amidst these turbulent times? Today's Executive Leadership Briefing still has a few registration spots open. https://lnkd.in/gNm9H7h3

"Retention is always an issue" This is the most common phrase I hear from operations directors and managers, but you don't have to settle for 25-40% turnover. Looking to improve your bottom line? Let's talk. https://lnkd.in/g2wSEr_9

Unconventional traits of successful manufacturing leaders: - Most don't stay in their corner office. They're on the floor, engaged, curious, adaptive. Maybe doesn't have to be this way, but the best ones always are. - They implement small fixes quickly, they value workforce input, they acknowledge effort not just results. - Behind every quality improvement is a leader who recognized the humans behind the machines. - Their mindset is: quality and engagement are inseparable partners. - They're committed to psychological safety. More you empower your workforce to speak up, more likely your quality metrics will improve. - They do NOT have all the technical answers. Many rely on their hourly employees' expertise. - Most successful leaders have abandoned "they should be happy to have a job" thinking at some point. - They've tried suggestion programs that became "databases where ideas go to die" until they implemented SPIRIT acknowledgment. What would you add to optimize your human-machine systems?

6 ways to transform your manufacturing leadership: If you want quality metrics, you must optimize machines. But most sites never achieve sustainable excellence. Not because machines fail, but because leaders don't speak the right language... How to avoid being another statistic: 1. The Human-Machine Integration Rule 20% of your focus (human element) creates 80% of success. Don't just track KPIs. Create psychological safety. 2. Q1 Pull vs Q4 Push Thinking Pull engagement before problems occur instead of pushing feedback afterward. 3. The Small Fixes Principle Trust-building wins. Implement that $1000/month discretionary budget for employee-requested improvements. 4. Leave Your Corner Office Quality flows to engagement, not control. Walk the floor daily. 5. Find Your Gratitude Culture Replace "they should be happy they have a job" with "I recognize your daily hardships." 6. Learn the language of engagement SPIRIT acknowledgments + GEMBA walks + Cellular work systems = transformation.

The Human Element in Engineering

Creating the Vibe: Leadership in Change Management

Reminder to manufacturing leaders who still believe in command-and-control: -Behind every engaged workforce is a leader who recognizes the hardships employees overcome daily. -Leaders often don't improve culture because they "need more data," but the best data comes from walking the floor before problems arise. -The biggest win you get from implementing the SPIRIT framework is... you realize gratitude drives results, not just feelings. - Poor leaders blame workers. Average leaders tweak machines. But exceptional leaders optimize human-machine integration. Let's create manufacturing cultures that work in 2025.