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Kristin Russum is a Director of Human Capital Services at TriNet. Having spent almost 2 decades as an HR leader across a number of companies, at TriNet, she’s now helping small and medium size businesses implement full-service HR solutions tailored by industry.In this episode, Kristin takes us through her journey in the HR world and shares some of her best tips HR tips that every manufacturing leader should keep in mind. From succession planning to creating workplaces that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive, Kristin makes it clear that creating a people-centric organization doesn’t just stop and start at the HR department.About TriNet:TriNet is a professional employer organization that provides small and medium size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. To free SMBs from HR complexities, TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll and real-time technology. From Main Street to Wall Street, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters most—growing their business.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Kristina Harrington is an eCommerce expert with no shortage of experience when it comes to easing the process of doing business with manufacturers. Having moved up the ranks with large equipment companies like Bucyrus and Caterpillar, she is now the President and COO of GenAlpha, a B2B eCommerce software business for equipment manufacturers.In this episode, we hear about Kris’ career journey and how her work experiences took her from Wisconsin to Latin America and back to cofounding GenAlpha. She gives us a rundown of GenAlpha’s Equip platform and how manufacturers should be leveraging eCommerce and analytics to grow their business. Finally, we’ll get to hear about Kris’ agricultural side hustle and the lessons she’s learned from farming that have helped her in her career.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Paul Van Metre is a machine shop owner-turned-entrepreneur. After starting Pro CNC in Bellingham, WA in 1997, he recently went on to co-found ProShop, a cloud-based ERP software system that combines elements of an MES (a manufacturing execution system) with a QMS (a quality management system) into a single platform.In this episode, Paul shares his story about starting a company right out of college some Formula SAE buddies and how the challenges they faced as machine shop owners inspired them to create ProShop. In addition to hearing some of the lessons that Paul has learned throughout his entrepreneurial career, we discuss why systems, documentation, and business processes are the key differentiator for manufacturers – particularly machine shops – in today’s market. We even get into a little car talk before the interview wraps up, so make sure to stick around until the end!Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Curt Anderson has been rocking the eCommerce world since 1995. As an early adopter with 2-and-a-half decades of experience leading multiple businesses in this space, he's now sharing that experience as an eCommerce evangelist for manufacturers through webinars, his website b2btail.com, as well as his new book Stop Being the Best Kept Secret! Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Lisa Ryan has one of the most unique trajectories that you’ve ever seen in the industrial sector. She’s gone from welding to med device sales to where she is now as an author and keynote speaker that helps manufacturers solve their employee engagement and retention challenges. In addition to writing books like Manufacturing Engagement, she’s the Founder of Grategy, a training & coaching business dedicated to helping leaders keep their top talent from becoming someone else’s.In this episode, Lisa shares the ups and downs of her career and the lessons learned along the way. We also cover the importance of empathy and communication when it comes to employee engagement before wrapping up with a conversation about trade skills and career paths.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Chris goes solo in this episode to share a podcast version of a keynote he recently gave at Content Marketing World 2020. While the majority of podcasts have less than 1,000 listeners per episode (and that's okay!), today you're going to learn how to make tens of thousands of impressions with every episode you release.Whether you're a brand or an individual that's considered adding a podcast to your content strategy - or maybe you already have one within your content repertoire - today's show contains the foundational skills and tools you need to create a goldmine of highly-sharable audio, visual, and written content. That way, you can meet your audience wherever they are spending their time, whether that’s on social media, YouTube, or your website.

We have a short episode for you this week folks, and it's because there are some exciting updates coming to Manufacturing Happy Hour! Tune in to hear all the details on Chris' latest career move, a new partnership, and an honest reflection on 11 years spent working for Rockwell Automation.

We have another security episode in store for you this week. We’re talking to Mark Carrigan, the COO of PAS Global, a company that reduces process safety risks and delivers software solutions that prevent, detect, and remediate cyber threats.In this episode, we kick things off by defining what “OT integrity” means while taking on some misconceptions about cybersecurity. We also discuss establishing a culture of safety and security in the process industry before covering the impact that digitalization is having on the cyber threat landscape. All of this while giving a couple of shoutouts to our favorite Houston, TX pubs.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Andrew Johnson is a supply chain innovator, speaker, and the CEO of ShelfAware. After being raised in and working for his family’s industrial business O-Ring Sales & Services, ShelfAware grew out of that company and now provides an RFID-powered solution that gives wireless traceability to a manufacturers’ inventory.

Kiley Summers is a manufacturing leader turned financial services entrepreneur. He’s the Founder of SpenDebt, a financial technology company that helps people payoff debt through micropayments in every day transactions. But prior to that, he came up through the ranks in engineering, operations, and business unit leadership at PepsiCo.In this episode, Kiley takes us through his journey to becoming an engineer, a leader in manufacturing, and ultimately, an entrepreneur. Kiley shares stories about his background and the biggest lessons he pulled from his time working at Frito-Lay’s Rosenberg, TX plant that he now uses to navigate the challenges of running his own business. Plus, you’ll hear how SpenDebt is changing the game when it comes to paying off debt, along with a couple of other tasty conversations and takeaways.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

It’s the final episode of our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! Chris is responsible for hosting duties this week, and he’ll be joined one last time by 5 other sales & marketing experts to take on the topic of leadership in 2020.In this last installment of our 4-part series, we’ll be sharing our observations about leadership since the world changed in March 2020. Our panelists will each boil leadership down to a single word, share stories of where they’ve seen leaders emerge, and wrap things up with advice that anyone can use to step up and lead in this brave new world.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What are the top solutions for manufacturers that we’ve come across in our first year of this podcast? This week, we’ll be sharing the best technologies and companies we’ve come across through our podcast interviews and virtual events since we started the show last summer. From technologies that address the workforce skills gap to those that reduce your bottom line without sacrificing new business and revenue, these companies are taking on the biggest issues facing manufacturers in 2020.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Welcome back to another episode of our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! The third edition of our 4-part panel discussion features Chris and 5 other sales & marketing gurus sharing their thoughts on the most pressing topics for B2B business leaders in 2020 and beyond.Are there things getting in the way for you and your organization to make sales? Part three is all about identifying and eliminating those roadblocks impacting sales and marketing. We share our perspectives on the top roadblocks, how to detect them, and wrap up with pointed tactics on how to reduce them.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

We’re moving right along in our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! In the second edition of our 4-part panel discussion, Chris is once again joined by 5 other sales & marketing experts to take on some of the most pressing topics for B2B business leaders in 2020.In part two, we’re shifting the focus from marketing to sales as we discuss the importance of listening, tracking outcomes, and creating a marketing strategy that is all about the customer. Said another way, it’s not about you! We’ll all share 1 thing that leaders can change to not only impact sales, but gain a ton of authentic customer feedback in the process. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a conversation about leveraging data so that you never have to “sell naked” ever again.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Jason Ray is the CEO of Paperless Parts, a company on a mission to make manufacturing more accessible. After spending 8 years in the Navy in leadership roles ranging from Supply Corps Officer to Additive Manufacturing Lead, Jason co-founded Paperless Parts, and through their cloud-based sales and quoting software solutions, he's helping job shop manufacturers quote faster, win new customers, and increase revenues.In this episode, Jason takes us through his story as a military leader and how it ultimately led to the creation of his current company. On the surface, this episode is about Paperless Parts’ software solution that’s streamlining the quoting and sales process for job shop manufacturers. But beyond the ins-and-outs of their software, we’ll cover bigger topics like customer experience, digital transformation, and the workforce skills gap. Whether you’re in a job shop or not, this one is jammed with lessons for leaders across the manufacturing sector.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Welcome to the Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series, a 4-part bonus edition of Manufacturing Happy Hour where we’ll be tackling the most pressing topics facing B2B business leaders through weekly panel discussions. Your host Chris Luecke is joined by 5 other B2B sales & marketing experts to take on some of the most pressing topics for business leaders in 2020.In our first edition of the Game Changers, we’ll be focusing on authentic, modern marketing. We start by debunking some of the biggest misconceptions about marketing before hearing multiple perspectives on what effective marketing looks like today. Finally, we share actions you can take right now to make your marketing more impactful.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Wendy Covey from TREW Marketing rejoins us for a bonus episode where we get into the details of content marketing to a technical audience. In this short episode, we’ll cover the specifics of both publishing and promoting content. We start by focusing on a company’s website as the primary publishing platform and why it needs to be an effective marketing tool, from responsiveness to frequency of updates, even to the code behind it. We also cover why having a marketing automation platform and an integrated CRM is essential for measuring how marketing is performing. Finally, Wendy covers inbound and outbound strategies, including how to attract people to your site and move them through the buyer’s journey, as well as working with industry publications and LinkedIn strategies for pulling in new clients.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Wendy Covey is a maven of technical marketing. She is the CEO & Founder of TREW Marketing, an agency that educates middle-market engineering companies on technical buyer behavior and how to utilize inbound marketing and sales methodologies to generate more demand. She is also the creator of Content Marketing, Engineered, a podcast, book, and now a digital training course focused on building trust and converting technical buyers with compelling content.In this episode, Wendy shares plenty of tips for engaging a technical audience, but not before she shares her own story that got her to create a marketing agency of her own. We’ll discuss the type of content that technical buyers are looking for, as well as how to make technical content cool, interesting, and informative. Wendy has plenty of stories to share from her decades of experience, and we’ll even walk you through the steps companies should take to start creating better technical content.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Joe Sullivan has been making his mark on B2B marketing for well over a decade. He's the Founder of Gorilla76, an industrial marketing agency that helps mid-sized B2B manufacturers identify, attract, engage, and drive sales opportunities with ideal-fit customers. Most recently, he launched The Manufacturing Executive Podcast, a show focused on conversations with passionate manufacturing leaders who have compelling stories to share about their successes and struggles.In this episode, Joe gives us a thorough crash course in marketing for industrial clients. We debunk some common misperceptions around marketing before Joe shares Gorilla76’s Industrial Marketing Roadmap strategy. The best content comes from the minds of your experts, and we’ll cover how to extract knowledge to create material that solves your customers’ problems and draws in new clients. From budgeting to pillar content to social media, we’ll cover plenty of strategies that will turn your marketing from an expense into a sales-generating machine.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

We’re back with the Q&A segment of our live fireside chat in this bonus episode on the brewing industry. This time, the attendees from one of our recent “virtual happy hours” with our Manufacturing Happy Hour Industry Community get to ask the questions. We discuss why people, process, and technology are so critical to digital transformation in brewing, while tackling recent events and their impact on brewers. From COVID-19 & remote work to flexibility in markets like Germany where purity law is king, there’s more great discussion amongst our panelists from the Canadian beer market.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.