As we close out 2023, I find myself, yet again, compelled to pause and reflect on another year’s journey. This year’s canvas was painted with a myriad of challenges and experiences for our manufacturing community but also splashed with more world news and topics that we couldn’t have foreseen.
A very smart man (my dad) once said, “Ben, don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.” Over the years, I have come to fully understand and appreciate what he meant. Especially in these times of selective narratives, AI-driven news, and manipulated reality, you often cannot trust what you hear or see. People are being driven apart by their beliefs or opinions on many levels.
It is startling, at least to me, that in 2023 all-out wars are being waged as you read this. I know what the news says and what floats to the top of social media, but I also know what I believe. I believe in human kindness and compassion for others, whether in business or my personal life. I believe that right will always overcome wrong, even if wrong can’t be fully stopped. I hope these conflicts get resolved quickly and that the right side of history will again prevail. The power of good lies in its ability to inspire and transform on all levels, geo-political, business, and personal. Ultimately, right over wrong and good over evil will always prevail.
While I don’t influence world conflict, I do influence my business and employees. I stress the importance of our core values, and I live and die by them. Does your workplace have core values? What do those core values say about your organization? In our case, it means integrity, excellence, and goodwill for those around us.
On the more tangible side of things, in 2024, I recommit myself and our company to providing efficient solutions to your material challenges, backed with a promise of high quality and excellent support. I want our relationship with you to serve as an example of how people and companies should interact.
Efficiency and productivity are some of the top challenges shops face today. A common theme is how to get more out of current resources and only invest in new equipment if it can provide better, faster results than the equipment being replaced. This is where we need to work together to effectively manage expectations. Our job is to understand your job (production run or short run) and provide efficient materials designed to increase machining throughput, reduce scrap, and improve quality without adding additional equipment or personnel.
Our ability to do this consistently is what keeps us in business. We appreciate the opportunity and trust every one of our customers places in us. We will always do what is right.
I would like to personally wish you a Happy Holiday and Productive New Year.
Thanks for reading –
Ben