The Manufacture Houston Podcast

Being in a commodity business sucks. During my career, I've been lucky enough to sell both so called commodity products (like diesel) and non-commodity products (like specialized safety products). It is better to sell non-commodity products but it is also possible to add value to a commodity product to decommoditize it. A way to think about this is to: 1. Map out all the steps a customer has to take starting from how they learn about your company to how they pay you. 2. Give each item a score from 1 to 5. 1 is something that would create the most value if you improved it. 3. Give each item another score from 1 to 5. 1 is the easiest, fastest and least expensive for you to fix. 4. Multiply the two numbers and rank them from smallest to largest. This forced ordering will give you a list of things that create the most value that are easiest, fastest and cheapest for you to fix. 5. Pick the top item and go to work until you've made a significant and lasting improvement to it. 6. Keep raising prices over time until you meet resistance. #manufacturing #MFHouston

"If you are a smart manufacturing person, come to Houston". Every now and then I rewatch some of my podcast guest appearances. This is one from over a year ago with Digital Wildcatters. I like to check in on how well my thinking is evolving. Also, to see if my fundamental ideas are growing stronger and sharper. One of the things that is front and center in my mind is that talented people are THE thing that will make the most difference in America's re-shoring journey. I love what Collin McLelland and the team at Digital Wildcatters are doing including everything related to growing the talent base in Houston. #manufacturing #MFHouston #reshoring

This issue of Houston: The Economy at a Glance examines the current state of Houston’s economy, including trends in employment, energy, construction, foreign trade, home sales, apartment leasing and vehicle sales. ??Free download: https://ow.ly/17xF50Stbe4

I've been giving a lot of thought to how we compete with the pricing from Chinese supplied battery systems. The reasons China can deliver products so cheaply are varied. One of the structural reasons is that China has successfully built entire vertically integrated supply chains around battery supply. The advantage of this strategy is massive. I actually think Texas and, in particular, Houston has the potential for this kind of integrated supply chain system. It's unlikely we will take the same government driven path to this system but I see it happening over time. The Houston region has all the necessary ingredients to compete strategically for a number of different industrial product categories, including batteries. I f'ing love Houston! Peter Zeihan has a good video on this. Check it out! #manufacturing #HTX #MFHouston #reshoring Greater Houston Partnership Harry Moser Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) https://lnkd.in/eQmnJBnZ

Love this for #HTX!