By Paul Hogendoorn
I have written many blogs over the last few years about why I love manufacturing. There’s a lot of reasons to be sure, but principal among them is, people. Manufacturing people are great people.
I was speaking with a consultant earlier today. She reached out to me because she wants to shift her practice towards manufacturing companies, and she knew I was well connected with manufacturing company leaders. I had to ask her why.
She said it was because of the people. They were straightforward, to-the-point, honest. She experienced them as hardworking people that never tried to convince you of anything that wasn’t true. My paraphrase of her explanation was manufacturing people are “salt-of-the-earth people”. She agreed.
I’ve always known this to be true, but I’ve never written about it. Hearing the praise of a recent convert was affirming, so here we go with a column I should have written years ago; here are my reasons for believing manufacturing people are the best.
They are genuine. They are real. Their actions speak louder than their words, and they know that outcomes speak for themselves. They are a complete contrast from politicians that offer nothing but new promises and old excuses to distract or explain away things they didn’t deliver.
We will be coming up to elections very soon again, in Canada and in the US, and the politicians will be spinning their yarn even bigger. None of them, save for a rare few (and none of those are in Canada), will be willing to let the outcomes of their parties’ policies stand up too any scrutiny. No, they will spin, bob and weave, come up with new feel-good slogans, and distract people by playing to their emotions instead.
Manufacturing people don’t do that. They say what they will deliver, and then they deliver what they say. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the office, the engineering department, or the plant floor. It’s about getting things done, on time, and right.
Our social media and entertainment industry has given a very disproportionally powerful voice to “influencers”, be they social media “stars”, movie “stars”, rock “stars”, late night talk show hosts, or even some athletes. What do any of these people really know about the things they speak of? They fly private jets, live in mansions, have multiple homes, and service staff to look after every aspect of their lives (and lawns, and homes, and pets, and sometimes kids). Why do they think they relate to the rest of us, and why do they believe their opinion is more important than everyone else’s?
Manufacturing people have opinions, but manufacturing people also know it takes a lot of them, collectively, to get things done. And its not just when the stage is set and the bright lights are on them – its every day, day in and day out, shift in and shift out. There’s nothing fake about them.
Manufacturing people don’t automatically assume everyone wants to know their opinion. If they’re confronted with something that needs a solution, they usually start thinking about what they can do and not wondering what is politically correct to say. And when they do do something, it’s not when the stage is set and all the bright lights are on. Its usually when the bright lights aren’t on and there are no cameras or microphones in sight.
I’ll admit that I’ve been becoming fatigued with the supposed “realities” of today. It’s hard to know truth from spin, and even fact from fiction. Politicians, the media, and all the outspoken “star” influences, they all have a polarized agenda that doesn’t just slant or skew information, they filter it and tilt it to an extreme and then keep repeating it often enough, and loud enough, to change how people feel.
Manufacturing people don’t try to change the way people feel. They don’t work to manipulate emotions and beliefs.
A manufacturer may have political allegiances and religious beliefs (as any individuals have a right to have), but as a manufacturer, they have a very simple agenda: 1) to deliver to their customer what their customer is willing to pay a fair price for; 2) to earn a living to put food on the table, a roof over their families’ heads, and put their kids through college; and 3) to protect a dream of prosperity that was earned by generations before them, and hopefully, by generations following them.
I trust a manufacturer’s agenda far more than I trust a politician’s, or “star’s”, or any media person’s – social media or broadcast media. Results should speak for themselves, and people that make promises and commitments need to be held accountable to them. Just like manufacturing people are, every day, every week, every year.
As much as I am discouraged by what I see on my media feed, I have also found many stories that encourage me. I have connected with thousands of people that work in, founded, or lead small and medium sized manufacturing companies in the US, Canada, Mexico and around the world. What I see them post encourages me. Stories about hiring and training young people; of helping out at homeless shelters; of tactile, tangible “hands-on” community service. Of restoring hope for some, giving dreams and opportunities to others, and passing the responsibility of stewardship from one generation to the next. As they come up on my feed, I share and repost them on my company’s LinkedIn page, TPI-3. Look for it (or me, if you can’t find it) and follow if you want to start seeing more of the inspiring actions and deeds of great manufacturing people come up in your feed.
I do love manufacturing – I believe it created and sustains our middle class, but I also believe that it’s people (with our Creator’s blessing) that have made it what it is.
Paul Hogendoorn can be reached at [email protected] Be sure to follow TPI-3 on LinkedIn
