Business
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Manufacturers, Focus on Recovery and Grooming the Workforce for 2021
- December 9, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
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I recently read an article in the Hartford (Connecticut) Business Journal (as one does, when you live in Central Texas) recommending that manufacturers should focus on recovery, technology, and grooming the workforce in 2021. While the numbers are specific to Connecticut, they represent a larger trend in the United States. Their big concern in January
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Building Relationships and Partnerships are More Important Than a Transaction
- November 11, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
An email from my friend, Richard Croyner, reminded me about some advice I had given about how building relationships and partnerships are more important than transactions. He said, “I have spent 35 years in the transportation and supply chain industry and so many people look at this segment of business as a transaction — you
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How Do You Make Data-Driven Decisions for Manufacturing?
- October 28, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Manufacturing, Measurement
There’s a big push in a lot of different industries, especially in marketing, that they have become solely data-driven. They look at all their past performances and make decisions about new initiatives based on what their old efforts did. They either throw more resources at a flagging campaign (or product) or drop something that just
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3 Places to Cut Costs That Won’t Hurt Your Bottom Line
- September 30, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
Companies looking to save money and trim the fat without affecting salaries can cut costs in a few key areas that can help you reduce your overall costs without hurting your bottom line or the people who work for you. There are a few places where you can make cuts to your outside expenses without
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Why You Should Keep Marketing in an Economic Downturn
- August 5, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Innovation, Management
One of the biggest mistakes executives make during an economic downturn is to make cuts to their sales and marketing staff. Those are the two departments that actually make the money that your company runs on, which means there are fewer people helping you make money, which means you make less money. Sales have to
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How Do You Replenish a Decimated Workforce?
- July 22, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
With unemployment up and the economy facing some serious difficulties, many companies have furloughed or laid off their workforce, if only to protect their assets and hope for a recovery when they can bring those associates back. In the meantime, one of two things has happened: 1) the furloughed staff have been receiving unemployment for
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Employers May See Lawsuits Filed by Associates Who Become Sick
- June 17, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Safety
We’re going to see a surprise growth industry as employers being calling their associates back to work: I think we’ll see more lawsuits filed by people who become sick. Given the litigious nature of our society, I have absolutely no doubt we’re going to see more plaintiff lawsuits and retaliatory lawsuits. Because of our tort
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Five Strengths Every Leader Needs as We Resume Operations
- June 10, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership
I read a recent article in Industry Week — Five Strengths Every Leader Needs as We Resume Operations — that discussed what leaders at every level need to bring back to their manufacturing operations even as states open up and try to return to normal. As the author, Jay Richards said, “where some see doom
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Billie Traywick: Lessons Learned From a Career in a Male-Dominated Industry
- May 13, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership
I recently had a chance to ask some of my old colleagues to contribute a guest article to my blog. “What do you want us to write about?” they asked. “How about something you’ve learned in our years working together?” I said. Billie Traywick was the Controller at Duoline Technologies and VP of Operations at
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How Do You Quickly Pivot During a Crisis?
- April 25, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
When you think of an aircraft carrier, you tend to think of them as slow-moving, unwieldy vessels that are best suited to going in a straight line and needing half a day just to execute a turn. But you would be wrong! A Nimitz-class aircraft carrier can make a 180-degree turn in a matter of