Welcome to the Industrial Executive!

I’m super glad you’re here.

Let’s get to it!

Another week, another batch of policy whiplash hitting manufacturing.

The administration dropped new tariffs on EU, Mexico, and Canada imports… 30% to 50% starting August 1. Your procurement teams are probably having a great time with that planning exercise.

Meanwhile, Panasonic's shiny new $4B battery plant in Kansas is already scaling back production before it even hit full capacity. Turns out building for the EV boom when policy support is evaporating isn't the smartest bet. Who could have seen that coming?

On the bright side, Rolls-Royce is doubling down on their South Carolina engine plant with a $75M expansion. Data centers and industrial engines—boring, reliable, profitable. There's a lesson there.

Intel's cutting 500+ jobs in Oregon, and we're watching the sixth major containerboard facility close this year. The supply chain reshuffling continues, and the companies that can adapt quickly are the ones that'll survive this mess.

Bottom line: If you're not stress-testing your supply chain assumptions right now, you're behind.

Most manufacturing leaders I know are drowning in meetings. But here's one that's worth protecting: the daily operations standup.

Not the bloated hour-long production review.

Not the PowerPoint parade from corporate.

The real deal.

Here's what actually works:

Stand in front of the production board. Five minutes max.

Three questions only:

That's it.

No status updates on projects that won't matter until next quarter. No deep dives into problems that need separate meetings anyway.

The magic happens when you:

Let the floor supervisors talk first.

They know where the real problems are hiding.

Skip the fancy digital dashboards and use the whiteboard where everyone can see yesterday's actual numbers versus plan.

Most importantly: end every standup with one concrete action and who owns it.

I've seen this format cut morning coordination time by 60% while actually improving communication. The trick isn't more meetings - it's better meetings.

Bottom line: Your plant floor doesn't need another status update. It needs decision-making speed.

Try this format for one week.

You'll never go back to the old way.

This week’s executive is Jim Vinoski!

Jim brings over 30 years of executive manufacturing operations experience (in Fortune 100 companies) and is host of the Manufacturing Talks Podcast, Forbes contributing writer, and owner of Cosgrove Content.

Let’s just say he knows a few things about being an industrial executive.

You can sign up for his excellent newsletter here: sign up

Enjoy this Q&A with Jim:

1. What's one belief about leadership or operations that you held for years that you now realize was completely wrong?

I used to believe people with titles were experts. But that's not necessarily the case, and in a great many areas today we see how very wrong our "experts" have been. Question everyone.

2. What's the most effective way you've found to get buy-in from plant floor operators when implementing new systems?

Meet people where they live and have a genuine interest in them as people. Pulling floor operators into a conference room is not a good first step. Talk to them on the floor where they work, and truly understand the problems they face every day.

3. How do you communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders without losing them or oversimplifying the problem?

Don't assume people know what you know. Break things down into basic explanations, and use examples that people can relate to. And for God's sake, ditch the technical jargon.

4. You've been in manufacturing for a while. What's one piece of conventional wisdom that's completely wrong in today's environment?

There's this notion that's been around forever that when a country grows wealthy, it automatically and necessarily becomes a service economy. But that's nonsense. Businesses exist based on economics, incentives, and disincentives. Western countries have become hyper-regulated and have systematically made it more and more difficult for manufacturers. That's not automatic or necessary - it's because of educational and policy decisions we've made over decades, many of which have been almost economically suicidal.

5. What's the best way to improve communication breakdowns between siloed groups of people, leadership to operations, etc?

Communication breakdowns happen because of expectations and rewards. You can bridge the gaps between silos by setting the expectation that people will work together and be part of one team, and by rewarding those who keep the communication lines open and functional.

6. What's your process for staying current with industry trends without getting distracted by every shiny new technology?

I look for active voices that bring clarity to their corner of industry, and who constantly question "accepted wisdom." That can mean journalists, executives, consultants, authors, bloggers, or just knowledgeable company insiders - the best sources can be anywhere these days. Those are the ones I love to feature on my show and in my writing, and once I find them I continue to rely on them for insights.

7. If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don't be intimidated by titles. Some of the most incompetent, destructive, and corrupt people I've encountered in my career were way up in the corporate food chain, and some of the most brilliant, productive, and virtuous people have been at the very bottom of the ladder.

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And that’s all folks!

Till next week,

The Industrial Executive