Listen Now

Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Today, I’m going to tell you a story about how dots in my past came together serendipitously to help me solve problems and [...] The post Connecting the “Right People” at the Right Times: Seeking Serendipity–EP 188 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today’s Swarfcast is part one of an interview we did with David Wynn, CFO of ABF Engineering and Machining, a third generation screw machine shop in South Fulton, Tennessee. After earning an MBA, David joined his family’s business 17 years ago. His stated mission is to run a machining business composed of old cam screw machines as though it were a tech company. The post Running a Machine Shop like a Tech Company, with David Wynn–EP 63 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today’s podcast is part two of an interview we did with David Wynn, CFO of ABF Engineering and Machining, a third generation screw machine shop in South Fulton, Tennessee. Dave makes a lot of his profits on mechanical screw machines that are older than him, but he emphasizes using advanced technology to automate his business’s [...] The post Automating a Machining Business with David Wynn–EP 64 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On today’s episode, we’re shaking things up. We’re playing an episode from a podcast I guested on, the Business Growth on Purpose podcast with Jose Palomino. One of the topics we focused on in the interview was how I discover new leads and opportunities in our used machinery business by using strategies that create serendipity. [...] The post How I Discover New Leads and Deals–EP 187 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On April 1, Budweiser ran an ad on Instagram with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoting March Madness, as well as celebrating one year since she transitioned to becoming a woman. This one short ad caused a mass boycott of Budweiser and brought out the worst of the intolerance and divisiveness that plagues my country. I [...] The post Having the Courage to Become Your True Self, with Jackie, owner of PXR Machining–EP 116 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Spinner is a German CNC machine tool brand that’s been around for 73 years. The company sold 1,200 CNC mills turning centers, and automation systems in Europe last year, yet in the United States, a large amount of people in the machining industry have never even heard of them. At the 2023 Precision Machining Technology [...] The post Getting Customers to Buy an Unfamiliar Brand, With Salim Awad–EP 186 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today’s episode is extra fun for me because I had the pleasure of interviewing my brother, Dr. Ari Graff. Recently, Ari has shifted his career focus from practicing psychotherapy to life coaching. His coaching focuses specifically on helping men who feel unhappy and stuck in romantic relationships. It also helps single men who have difficulty [...] The post How to be a Better Man, with Dr. Ari Graff–EP 185 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

For those who don’t know, I am a used machinery dealer, with a specialty in selling Screw Machines. I like to romanticize the used machinery business by referring to it as treasure hunting. We specialize in selling rare models of machinery, located in remote locations, owned by esoteric folk, serendipitously stumbled upon. Every used machine [...] The post Tale of a Used CNC Machine–EP 184 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On today’s show we’re talking about what you do if your business’s growth becomes stagnant or even stops all together. Our guest is Jose Palomino, host of the Business Growth on Purpose podcast and founder and CEO of Value Prop, a consultancy that gives established B2B companies strategies to jump start growth when it has [...] The post How to Revive Your Company’s Growth, With Jose Palomino–EP 183 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

I know you will enjoy this favorite past episode, whether or not it’s your first time hearing it. As Swiss machines continue to improve, so does the capability of the accessories and tooling to aid you in the machining process. This episode will hopefully illuminate some ways you can improve your efficiency and accuracy by [...] The post Live Tooling and Accessories for CNC Swiss with Jim Gosselin–EP 114 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

I am a treasure hunter for a living. I pay my mortgage by finding obscure used machines from all over the world and then finding people who want to buy sexy-ugly/high-tech equipment. The best way to do that is by interacting with customers in ways that create serendipity. Today, I’m going to tell you how [...] The post How to Make Conversations Profitable: Seeking Serendipity–EP 182 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today’s interview is an old favorite. It’s a story about a young entrepreneur and his father producing minuscule parts with no other employees than themselves and Dan’s wife. On today’s podcast we continue our season about Swiss machining. Our guest is Dan Rudolph, co-owner and founder of Rudolph LLC. Rudolph LLC produces medical parts as [...] The post Producing Tiny Parts with a Tiny Workforce on Swiss with Dan Rudolph–EP 111 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today’s podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops low cost, damage resistant aerospace components. When Onome does engineering research, he fuels his creativity by embracing resource constraints and what he calls the “fail fast” mentality. The fail fast mentality means [...] The post (Part II) Thinking Like an Artist to Solve Engineering Challenges, With Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor—Ep. 181 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On today’s podcast, we talk about how you can apply the artistic side of your brain to solve engineering challenges. Our guest is aerospace engineer, Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops new advanced aerospace components for the Department of Defense and other clients.  Onome’s family immigrated from Nigeria to Lansing, [...] The post Thinking Like an Artist to Solve Engineering Challenges, With Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor (Part I)—Ep. 180 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

With the latest news that unemployment is at its lowest in 54 years, we thought it was important to post this favorite episode about how to hire the employee who fits correctly for a specific position. Our guest on the podcast today is Brian Balasia, CEO and Co-Founder of TalentEi, a company that produces a [...] The post How to Hire the Right Person for the Job, with Brian Balasia—EP 148 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

One of my favorite machinery dealers we work with is from Brazil. He specializes in sending machine tools to South America.  A used machinery deal is usually a challenge to close—even if a customer says they need it. Even if it’s an excellent machine that’s rare on the used market, at a good price, it [...] The post How Optimism Will Lead You to Luck in Business: Seeking Serendipity–EP 179 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On today’s show, Lloyd Graff and I are discussing our observations of the machining industry in 2022 and our instincts about where the industry is headed in the coming year. As used machinery dealers at Graff-Pinkert, we saw trends in 2022 such as reshoring, the resurgence of old school cam screw machines, and a growing [...] The post Opportunities for Your Machining Business in 2023 EP–178 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

During my career as a used machinery dealer, I’ve met many successful companies in the machining business who have no social media presence and don’t even have a website. Surprisingly they use some of the most advanced equipment and have more customers than they need.  Today we’re pulling out a favorite podcast episode about a [...] The post Finding Customers Using Old-School Networking, with Jay Sauder–EP 121 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On today’s podcast I interviewed Trevor Blondeel, the founder of Operations Kickstart and the host of the podcast, Mindfulness Manufacturing. Trevor uses mindfulness techniques to coach manufacturing executives so they can better lead their companies. The idea is that if his clients become more conscious of their feelings and their current behavior, it will inspire [...] The post You Can Connect With Your Shop When You Know Yourself, With Trevor Blondeel–EP 177 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Today we are starting a new podcast show and blog on the Today’s Machining World Podcast Network called “Seeking Serendipity.” Click the following links to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. As our regular readers and listeners know, we talk a lot about serendipity in Today’s Machining World and on Swarfcast. Serendipity is [...] The post Seeking Serendipity: A Machinery Deal Gone Right–EP 176 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.