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Moderna Doubles Down on Domestic Production

Moderna just committed $140 million to finalize its domestic mRNA production facilities.

The play here is straightforward: more capacity for vaccines and therapies, built for scalability and resilience.

The supply chain chaos of the past few years exposed what happens when production capacity lives too far from demand.

Moderna's move signals that the math on domestic production is starting to look different than it did five years ago.

Here's the deal.

The advice that got you here probably won't get you where you're going next.

We've all heard the greatest hits of manufacturing leadership wisdom. Low turnover is good. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Work harder than everyone else. Trust the experts.

Sounds reasonable. Even safe.

But safe is expensive right now. And a lot of what passes for conventional wisdom in our industry is actually holding operations back.

So I asked six industrial executives one simple question: What's one piece of conventional wisdom that's completely wrong in today's environment?

Their answers might make you uncomfortable.

They challenged assumptions I've held for years.

And at least one of them hit close to home in a way I wasn't expecting.

Here's what they said:

"Low turnover within an organization is good."

Often low turnover means that the organization is too comfortable and not challenging status quo.

When a business is content it is often behind the competition and change adverse which means that nimbleness is unlikely.

That being said, too much turnover is debilitating for allowing the evolution and results to "stick".

The current trend that Globalism is wrong and dead is very misguided in my opinion. What people fail to realize is that what you pay for things is as important as what you make in income. There should always be geographic areas of strength that are able to produce at rates that cannot be matched anywhere else, and that is a good thing. While it sounds like the smart play to say that we will make everything here in the US. If we do so by alienating the rest of the world, then we will kill opportunities abroad, and that is just plain silly.

How did that work out for pre 1980s China? We should focus on the emerging trends and stay on the right side of technology and encourage local investment, while others do the same. For those that cannot do so, celebrate their success in excelling at the low technology capability that they can leverage. Its time to let go of the pearl clutching, in my opinion.

Competition is a great thing, Americans can talk about leveling the playing field, but stacking the deck, irrespective of consequence or equivalency is lazy and foolish.

"If it's working, don't change it."

I hear this a lot, especially in manufacturing, but in today's world, it's risky.

Just because something is running doesn't mean it's running well.

It could be outdated, inefficient, or holding the team back from growing.

In automation, staying the same can cost more than upgrading.

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.

For years, I didn't believe in a no-win scenario.

I thought I could fight against the odds with sheer will and force of personality.

But I was wrong.

You can't rescue every project, or every person. As a leader, it's tempting to step in and carry the weight when things go sideways. But that's not scalable, and it doesn't build trust or resilience in your team.

The hard truth is that sometimes you need to let things fail—gracefully, transparently, and with accountability— so people can learn, adapt, and grow.

That's how strong teams are built.

I used to believe success was about putting in more hours than everyone else.

Working late nights. Weekends. Always being available.

But I missed my Dad's last phone call because I was working late at the plant on a Saturday at 11 PM. And that moment taught me everything.

Success isn't measured by hours logged.

It's measured by being present for the moments that actually matter. At home and at work.

Focus on the stuff that matters. Because 80% of what you spend your time on right now probably doesn't.

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And that’s all folks!

Till next week,

The Industrial Executive