Leadership, Getting Advice, New Hands on the Tornos, Dedicated Machine Tools, Inventory Tracking & PO Software, & How to Make Credit References Easy.

Business of Machining

"You're in the business of being in the business of a business!"

TOPICS:

• Leadership & Internalizing Advice
• Self-Reflection & The Last Dance
• Grimsmo's Delegating & the Tornos
• Lean Manufacturing
• ERP systems
• Credit reference tips

Leadership & Advice Making the plans, the decisions, and having to steer the ship without a detailed map has its own set of unique struggles. The Johns mull over the abstract concepts of feedback, advice, and how timing and experiences affect their ability to receive and process it. Conviction behind the advice turns out to be a key concept.

A Flowery Moment of Truth Fresh as a peach on the couch watching The Last Dance (a documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls), Saunders finds himself doubting Michael's empty gas tank. While digging up a rose bush, Saunders gets hit with some serious self-awareness. Click here for NYC CNC's Movie Recommendation List.

Hardcore Machining Stuff...Well, Sort Of. The Johns usually get into nitty gritty machining detail but today, they find themselves inevitably back on the subject of business. The deeper they get, these topics seem less and less mutually exclusive!

Delegating, Teaching, & Administering Responsibility Last week, Skye took the reigns of the Tornos; Grimsmo's definitive proof that he's growing as the leader of Grimsmo Knives. While he admits that handing responsibility over is difficult, he's very happy and excited about what this means for the future. Not to mention, Skye is crushing it!

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Lean Manufacturing Has Nuance (just like everything else)

After a night of lights out machining, Grimsmo arrives to find an oil spill and that brings forth discourse about chip conveyors and possible solutions. Lean manufacturing can be tricky to pinpoint. Being proactive about potential problems is certainly a part of it but going overboard is easy.

The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," certainly applies here.

Even more, the solutions MUST be simple, scalable, and sustainable. In other words, "the juice must be worth the squeeze."

The Scope of Inventory Tracking Part of entrepreneurship is defining the scope of problems your business can handle versus the problems it should handle. Conflicted about investing time to develop custom inventory and PO tracking software, Saunders reaches out to the lean master, Jay Pierson, and gets a surprising response. Kanban cards, bar codes, and simple PO generation are tossed around this theoretical ERP skull session.

Fusion 360 & Dr. Phil Experience (the awesome machinist, not talk-show host) Stay tuned for in-depth adaptive CAM troubleshooting videos from NYC CNC. Speaking of Fusion 360, how the heck does Dr. Phil do that!?

Prompted by an IG story with "automate simple tasks" plastered on it, Saunders and Grimsmo can't help but marvel at Dr. Phil's ability to rapid prototype & machine complicated parts. Grimsmo's planning a YouTube video where they sift through his Fusion file--stay tuned! In the meantime, watch this incredible, free, Autodesk University Course by Dr. Phil on 5-Axis rapid prototyping.

Click Image Below For Dr. Phil's Awesome AU Course

Touch Points of Business - Interactions ARE Messages Every interaction a client has with a business is considered a touch point. They can be anything from calling customer service to how easy it is to order products.

For instance, at the mention of ordering material for the KERN, it's abundantly clear that Grimsmo has stumbled upon a negative touch point surrounding credit reference forms. Luckily, Saunders has great tips on how to handle it!

The Bigger Picture

Negative interactions with other businesses tend to make you look more closely at your own. There is a clear difference in companies that care about customer experience and ones that don't. Each interaction, whether positive or negative sends an important message about who you are and what you value.