The Chicago teacher’s strike has a silver lining. It has gotten us talking about problems in education. These are problems metal fabricators are all too familiar with, thanks to the ongoing skilled labor crisis. Last weekend This American Life aired a show that asked a question that’s so basic it’s a little embarrassing that we have to ask it: What do our children really need to know to succeed?
Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
The power of positive thinking
October 13th, 2011
By: Dan Davis
By: Dan Davis
I've been in metal fabricating shops where company managers are open with information and make it a point to communicate regularly with their employees. Boy, does that make a difference.
Even in the most trying of times—the first half of 2009, for example—this type of commitment kept everyone on the same page. As incoming revenues shrunk, the team knew that everyone, including those who sat in the front office, was going to share in the sacrifice. That meant a reduction in work hours for some and temporary furloughs for others. Those companies that did what they could to soften the blow for their workforces bounced back stronger in 2010 than their competitors, who were scrambling to replace laid-off employees that decided to search for greener pastures.
Trying not to forget 9/11
September 9th, 2011
By: Dan Davis
By: Dan Davis
You won't see any special editorial section devoted to 9/11 coverage in the pages of The FABRICATOR or its sister magazines. Frankly, everyone is wrapped up in preparing the large issues that coincide with FABTECH®, Nov. 14-17 in Chicago.
Maybe that's a shame. I don't know. For me, memories of that day are more personal and have less to do with any impact on my professional life. (more...)
Wanted: Business leaders to run the country
August 10th, 2011
By: Vicki Bell
By: Vicki Bell
Several readers e-mailed their thoughts to me regarding the lead item in yesterday's "Fabricating Update" that featured another reader's comments about businesses being in business to make a profit. And then there was the anonymous caller who wanted to call attention to a mistake in the item.
Here’s the story … (more...)
Sometimes it pays to listen to the new guy
June 10th, 2011
By: Dan Davis
By: Dan Davis
I was chatting with Jeremy Riniker, a buyer/estimator/designer for Giese Manufacturing, Dubuque, Iowa, the other day for an upcoming story. I was giving him a hard time about his plethora of responsibilities, but he said the multitude of job duties keeps each day fresh and exciting, even if he doesn't know what to expect when he walks through the door each morning. (more...)
Looking for leadership
December 4th, 2009
By: Dan Davis
By: Dan Davis
If you didn't notice Emerson Electric Co. David Farr's comments made before the Thanksgiving break, take note now. The CEO voiced what's on the minds of plenty of manufacturing company leaders and managers.
"Washington is doing everything in their manpower, capability, to destroy U.S. manufacturing," Farr said in November at an economic forecasting conference. "Cap and trade, medical reform, labor rules."
Rethinking the knowledge worker
August 24th, 2009
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
I understand the term's intent, and that it describes workers who are ever-more-valued. I just have reservations about how the term is used. When people think of a "knowledge worker," they think of a white-collar IT professional, engineer, doctor, or others who think to innovate, using their knowledge to better an organization.
But who doesn't?
A recession takes no prisoners
July 7th, 2009
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
It seems Paul Gordon of the Peoria Journal Star hit a chord last week.
Two metal fabricators in Morton, Ill., southeast of Peoria, changed ownership on the same day: Friday, June 26. Morton Welding, previously owned by Michigan-based BHM Technologies, was brought back under local ownership by a group of small investors. Another firm—Morton Metalcraft, currently undergoing bankruptcy reorganization—was sold to a Canadian company.
'Work like hell to win now'
May 27th, 2009
By: Vicki Bell
By: Vicki Bell
If you read last week's blog post "Leapfrogging the competition," you know about the Barclay's Commercial survey cited in the May issue of "Tube Talk" that said 54 percent of UK businesses view the ability to leapfrog struggling competitors as their key opportunity in the current recession. You also know that 31percent view staff loyalty, retention, and productivity as their greatest opportunity during the economic downturn.
That post included remarks from a "Tube Talk" reader who agreed wholeheartedly with the findings, particularly about the opportunity to retain skilled workers. This reader shared his frustration with the trend to cut the work force to trim costs. He said, "We need to start looking for creative ways to cut back so as to keep our most valuable asset, our work force."
Another reader believes the work force-related opportunities that exist in a recession go beyond retaining your skilled workers—it's time to weed out poor performers and find the talent that can take you to the next level.
Attracting the positive
February 16th, 2009
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
The sky fell over the weekend. Well, not really. (What would the sky falling look like anyway?) But some stuff did fall from the sky. A Russian and American satellite collided, and in another apparently unrelated incident, a giant fireball streamed over Texas.
The stories read as apt metaphors for the gloomy economic news of late. I talked with business owners last week who heard stories of customers not paying bills; the credit crunch has spiraled into a cash crunch. When a company can"t get credit, it doesn"t pay its bills, and the late payments trickle up the supply chain. To put it mildly, it"s not a fun time to be in the metal fabrication business.
But don"t tell that to Don Begneaud.
