October 1, 2025 • 21 mins
What if the most valuable tool on your shop floor isn’t a machine, but trust? We sit down with Katherine O’Toole of the Kansas City NTMA to unpack how humility, human-powered networking, and a smart partnership with the Missouri Association of Manufacturers sparked a new kind of regional expo—one that actually shortens supply chains, surfaces hidden capabilities, and helps local OEMs meet local suppliers.
Katherine brings a grounded, no-frills perspective shaped by growing up in a family tool-and-die shop. She shares why owning the “connector” role beats chasing perfection, and how the “Who Not How” mindset transformed event planning from a solo grind into a high-impact collaboration. We get into the nuts and bolts of the Kansas City Manufacturing Expo: a kickoff with NTMA’s national president Roger Atkins, two rounds of targeted breakouts for HR, purchasing, engineering, cybersecurity, and leadership, and an expo floor designed for real conversations, not just scans and swag. Small and midsize manufacturers learn to differentiate beyond capability lists, while OEMs discover the speed and clarity of working with suppliers they can visit over lunch instead of flying across time zones.
You’ll hear why abundance beats competition, how local partnerships let shops bid bigger jobs together, and what it looks like to build a culture where people don’t just tolerate each other—they trust each other. Expect practical insights you can use immediately: preparing your booth, clarifying your specialty, walking the floor with a sourcing plan, and turning introductions into purchase orders. It’s a blueprint for resilient, regional manufacturing that values people, proximity, and shared wins.
If you’re ready to meet the partners who will move your work faster and smarter, join us. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who needs a stronger local bench, and leave a quick review to help more builders find the show.
Expo Website: https://www.mamstrong.org/kc-mfg-expo-and-conference
Registration: https://portal.mamstrong.org/eventDetail?id=a0yPo000007tANhIAM
Ryan's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/circleof5
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:11):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the People in
Production podcast.
This is Ryan Nelson with Circleof Five Coaching, and I really
invest in relationships withpeople and help them develop
trust within their manufacturingorganization.
And in this podcast, we have theopportunity to have Catherine
O'Toole join us from the KansasCity National Tooling and
Machining Association.
(00:31):
And we're going to talk aboutCatherine's love for what she's
doing.
We are going to be talking aboutthe amazing partnership that
she's developed with anotherorganization to put on the third
thing we're going to talk about,which is the upcoming Kansas
City Manufacturing Expo.
And I think it's going to be alot of fun just hearing some of
Catherine's insight and her joy.
(00:52):
And so with that being said,let's bring Catherine on.
Hey Catherine, how are you?
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Hey, I'm well, Ryan.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (00:59):
Hey, I'm excited to have this conversation.
It's been a while since we'veconnected.
Life has happened, but it justreally seemed appropriate to
come back and connect with youand see where things are at.
And I just I want to just startwith just dialing into you've
been in your role now for Ithink this is your finishing up
your third year.
Is that about right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
I just hit two and a half years.
Yes.
Two and a half years.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
Halfway through two and a half years.
And you just seem to continue tobe going deeper and deeper into
what you're doing.
And there just seems to be alove for your job.
Tell me, I always love askingleaders, what gets you out of
bed in the morning?
Why do you get up and think Iget to work today?
Tell me a little about that.
SPEAKER_01 (01:44):
Well, I feel like my answer to that has really been
evolving, Ryan.
And I think as of late, I have avery comfortable answer that I
can share.
You know, I'm I'm a very averageperson.
I am very underprepared andunder equipped to be in a lot of
the situations that as of late Ihave been able to be a part of
(02:04):
or have been put into or askedto, you know, facilitate.
Um, but I think that's what Ilove is that as an average
individual, I represent mosteverybody else, right?
Like we're all kind of in thatboat together.
And I love planning events forpeople like myself, uh, who work
in small businesses, like theone that, you know, I grew up in
(02:25):
with my family's tool and dieshop.
And I love helping them.
And I love watching them findsuccess.
And I love celebrating thatsuccess.
And it truly brings me great joyto be that connector and event
planner when I know what I amdoing is bringing benefit and
value.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Yeah, Catherine, I love that so much.
And I'm just a few months aheadof my journey in this coaching
and consulting space, uh,specifically focus and
manufacturing.
I've been doing coaching anddevelopment for my whole career,
but just really feeling thisdialed perspective on focusing
on coaching.
And there's this process we gothrough in discovering our voice
(03:04):
in Elaine.
And like you were saying, you'vekind of started getting more and
more comfortable with that.
I think early on we try to doeverything we can.
And for me, I've realized thatmy primary voice is in
developing trust within theorganization.
How do we create a culture oftrust?
Because as you can probablyidentify with me, there's a lot
(03:25):
of manufacturing out there thatthe people just don't trust each
other.
They just tolerate each other,they're just going through the
motions.
But the new currency, I think,in leadership is really building
trust.
And so I think where I'm saying,And you know what I love about
that, Ryan?
What's that?
SPEAKER_01 (03:41):
And somebody can disagree with me.
Go ahead.
We'd love your feedback, butthat's not AI powered, that's
human powered.
And that relationship-basednetworking is what I love, and
that is why I love the job thatI have.
SPEAKER_02 (03:54):
That's awesome.
Great, great insights, greatfeedback.
And thanks for letting meexplore that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01 (04:00):
And yeah, I'm I'll I'm gonna go one bit further,
Ryan.
And I think you're right ondoing too much, right?
I really used to eat myself upas well.
I still get very nervous when Ihave to publicly speak.
I'll stutter, I'll sweat.
I don't like that.
And I in the past would feellike I failed an event, right?
Because I didn't open it in my30 seconds in the spotlight.
(04:21):
Well, I I'm not the mainspeaker.
Like I don't have to be that.
My job is to bring peopletogether.
So I think I've allowed myselfto accept, you know, really what
my position is, and that I don'thave to be perfect across the
board, but that that's okay.
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
Well, let's talk about that because you've been
incredibly effective at buildingpartnerships, and then you've
surrounded yourself with otherpeople who have a mindset of um
not scarcity but abundance.
And you know, I think of uh ourpresident Fred Stipkovitz, who
Fred's just like, guys, there isplenty of business out there,
(04:56):
we're not in competition witheach other.
If we know our fellow industrypeople, we can support each
other and we can lift each otherup.
And I love that mindset.
And you did something, and thishas been brewing over time, but
in February, you courageouslyreached out at the Missouri
Association of Manufacturing'sum annual conf uh trade show
(05:19):
Midwest, yeah, manufacturerstrade show.
Yeah, yep, the trade show, anduh it was a great event, and you
just said, you know what, we'regonna be there.
We need something like this inKansas City.
Let's let's see if they'd bewilling to meet with us after
the conference to share.
So you took the whole board, um,I think almost the whole board
was there, and you all sat withthe leadership from Missouri
(05:41):
Association of Manufacturing andsaid, What does it look like to
put on a trade show?
Because we need to give moreexposure.
And then as I understand it, umin that conversation, they were
just like, Wait, so where areyou doing this in Kansas City
and in the Missouri side?
And you're like, Well, that'swhere we think.
And they're like, Can we helpyou with it?
So here, just that next level,you developed a relationship
(06:04):
that could some people could seeit adversarial, but you you
welcomed their desire to beinvolved.
Tell me about the beauty of thatcollaboration uh with Missouri
Association of Manufacturers.
SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
Okay, yeah.
You know, I think first andforemost, uh it starts with
humility.
So, like you, we mentioned in aprevious conversation, you know,
looking at what what you dobest, you know, our niche is
precision metal manufacturing.
When you look at other largerassociations that exist on both
sides of the state line here,they're manufacturing centered.
You know, we we're asubcategory, and I truly believe
(06:39):
our members are gonna find greatvalue from what we do because it
speaks it speaks to their dailyactivity.
Sure, we need to be a part ofthese other things also, and
they're doing unique things aswell.
But just as you shared, let'scompliment one another.
Let's not compete.
Let's look at what we do bestand let's bring our best
together for something epic.
And ma'am was so excited topartner with us.
(07:01):
You know, we appreciate theirorganization, um, their website
generation, their name tagprinting, just how they put all
the pieces together in a veryfabulous and professional way.
And those are all things that Iwant to learn, but that is not
something that, you know, um,again, I have a degree in or
anything that I had experiencedbefore, but they were willing to
(07:22):
support that because they sawthe great energy amongst the
people we have here in KansasCity and the collaboration
amongst our members.
And that really stood out.
So I think that speaks to ourCasey manufacturing community
and what we're doing to merge uhMissouri Association of
Manufacturers with NTMA.
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
Yeah, Catherine, that is so great.
And I think you're you'resharing an important principle.
There are the things that wecould learn, but honestly, you
sitting at your computer in yourdining room or office or
whatever and trying to figureout how to make name tags and
how to bring QR badges whenthere's somebody that that's
already doing it, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (07:57):
And yeah, you could try to figure it all out.
And you know, when you have agenuine relationship, which is
what the events that I plan areabout building and what we have
done with ma'am, you know, we'veco-hosted an event, Ryan, um,
that you actually uh led.
Uh uh and we've done some othergreat things together as well.
But I generally, genuinely,excuse me, want their team to be
(08:21):
successful.
And yeah, why if they are doingit and it works, then let's let
me learn from you.
SPEAKER_02 (08:26):
And guys, that is that is leadership.
We think leadership is figuringit out by yourself, but great
leaders figure out who they needaround them and they fill their
gaps with people who are smarterthan they are, better than they
are at the things that they needto be doing.
And if anyone wants to readabout that, there's a great book
out there by Ben Hardy and DanSullivan called Who, Not How.
(08:49):
And it literally says, quitasking the question, how do I
get this done?
But who do I need to get thisdone as effectively as we need
it to get done?
And the truth is, once you handit to someone who knows how to
do it, you're gonna get waymuch, way more impact out of
that than if you tried to do ityourself.
And that's really important, Ithink, for us as leaders to
(09:12):
understand that getting theright people to the table will
accelerate what you're doing inyour organization.
So I want to give you props fornot saying, no, I gotta do this
myself, and then in the finalsprint, you like create drama
for everyone else to come in.
SPEAKER_01 (09:30):
I do, I think I'm um just hearing what you're saying,
I need to give a big shout out.
Um I'm sorry, I just I got avery important note here um that
a chicken is out of the coop.
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
Uh well they need to pause this to address the issue.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Excuse the interruption.
Okay, we'll deal with that in aminute.
Hopefully the chicken doesn't gotoo far.
But I want to come back togiving a big shout out to my
board.
I feel that, you know, throughinvitation and through watching
their involvement with theircompanies, um, you know, I I
really got a great board.
We've built a wonderful groupthat is forward-thinking,
(10:07):
progressive in how they want todo business and interact with
others.
And so I just want to shout themout.
Uh, Casey and T-May board, youguys are awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
That's awesome.
They are awesome.
Every one of them is is on boardwith where the organization is
going.
And it's been great to see.
SPEAKER_01 (10:23):
Yeah.
And you know, I think it's hard,Ryan.
When you join a board, yourepresent, in our case, the
precision metal manufacturingcommunity, no longer your
company.
And that's hard to shag off attimes when you're so used to
thinking about your role, yourdaily task, what you need to do
to help your yourself, yourcompany succeed, but really
switch it off and let's look atthe larger community.
(10:46):
And they do such a great jobwith that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
Yeah, that's great stuff.
That's great stuff.
Let's shift gears for a littlebit here.
So let's talk about the upcomingexpo.
And there's really two areasthat I want to explore this with
you.
Number one, why do we need thisexpo?
And then number two, what do weexpect out of this expo?
So let's tackle number onefirst.
Why is this even necessary forthe Kansas City shops?
SPEAKER_01 (11:10):
Well, uh, you know, the majority of our KCMTA member
members, excuse me, uh are smalland medium-sized enterprise.
They're doing great things.
They are they're very key to themanufacturing community at
large.
Um, but you know, unfortunately,they don't always do the best at
putting out there the greatthings that they're doing.
You know, our smaller shops withsix to ten employees and owner
(11:33):
president is working on the shopfloor, um, handling all of the
finances, sales.
So, you know, for them to createa blog or to post or to do X, Y,
or Z to really market themselvesin in addition to everything
else that they have going on istough.
So the first thing this expolets us do is show off our
members.
And I am so excited, Ryan, toshare that of the 61 companies
(11:55):
exhibiting, 36 are NTMA members,and at least another handful
have regularly attended ourevents.
So these are, you know, reallife small businesses that are
gonna be getting the attentionthat they deserve by showcasing
themselves.
And then secondly, it lets ourOEMs also manufacturing
facilities, and for those thatare maybe not familiar with that
(12:15):
term, the original equipmentmanufacturers, the ones that
take the parts and the piecesand the components and they put
them together into that finishedgood that goes out for sale, uh,
they can meet local suppliers.
They can save time, they cansave on shipping, they can build
a local relationship.
It lets them see who is herethat can do the metal
fabrication work that they need.
(12:36):
And we've got all kinds ofexhibitors, plastic injection,
molders, uh, welding facilities,uh uh tooling.
So there's it's it's not justyou know machine work.
SPEAKER_02 (12:47):
Yeah, and Catherine, you know, I was talking with a
local company that I wasinviting to be a part of this
recently.
And they were talking about thedynamic of this is if they're
working with a vendor in Utahand there's a trouble in
production, they literally haveto send someone on a plane to go
out there, spend a few daystrying to figure it out.
(13:08):
And here, shops can literallyinvite the local person to hey,
come on over, we'll do lunch,and I'll bring you into the shop
and we'll show you what we'redealing with.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
So that's the way that let me show you my
equipment, let me show youexactly where it's gonna be
made, how it's gonna be made,and who's gonna be making it.
Yeah, and then you have thatrelationship to troubleshoot
anything.
You're gonna you're gonna save alot and gain a lot that way.
SPEAKER_02 (13:29):
Yeah, and I think so.
That's that's facet one of whatthis is event, what this event
is.
We're giving exposure to localcompanies to be able to um work
and collaborate with other uhlocal companies who are needing
the services they provide.
And then the other side of thatis that many of our members are
(13:51):
going to be having people fromtheir shop coming and attending
to A look at what's availableand B to grow their own capacity
in that type of thing.
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat's gonna happen at the event
that's gonna benefit those whoattend.
SPEAKER_01 (14:07):
Well, first and foremost, we have a great
kickoff on the 28th, which isTuesday evening.
Our national NTMA presidentRoger Atkins is gonna be flying
in and joining us, gonna be kindof giving us some national
updates.
And um, we are so excited tohave him here to meet so many of
our members.
And I'm also working on a reallygreat um, just a brief uh
(14:30):
speaker uh moment with somebodythat is really um gonna stand
out.
And once it's official, I can'twait to share it.
But uh, I'm like 99% sure it'sgonna be there, and I know
people are gonna want to hearfrom him.
So we'll have both of them.
We'll have a happy hour and anetworking time.
So exhibitors can meet other umshops.
We've welcomed, I believe, 16 uhnew members this year to our
(14:50):
local chapter.
So there are a lot of new faces.
So members can meet new members,they can meet people that they
didn't know were members becauseagain, we have a lot of folks
exhibiting who might not be ableto otherwise attend some of our
events.
You know, they're they're alittle further out um on either
side of the state line.
And then on Wednesday, our bigday will start with breakfast.
The expo floor will be open, andthen we'll begin our breakout
(15:12):
sessions.
So we'll have two rounds ofbreakout sessions with four
options at each with a lunchbreak in the middle.
And Ryan, you're gonna bepresenting for us.
SPEAKER_02 (15:21):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
And it's gonna be a fun time.
I'm trying to remember, uh, I'mdoing a few different
conferences coming up, and Ibelieve for this one, I'm
actually gonna be talking aboutthe the difference between a
promotion and um and moving intoa leadership role and how we
sometimes confuse that and wecreate our own chaos in that.
And that's gonna be great.
I'm looking at it.
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
And what I love about those sessions, just like
yours, we could be targetingsomebody from HR, a purchaser,
an engineer, somebody who ishandling um the cybersecurity
side of things.
There's literally a breakoutsession for everyone who is
choosing to attend this event.
Of course, you know, we arewe're geared towards those who
are making, you know, supplierpurchasing decisions um or
(16:02):
engineers who are directlyinvolved with that.
But we want everybody to comeand learn more about our
manufacturing community and seewhat we have going on.
So we do have an option foreveryone.
SPEAKER_02 (16:12):
Yeah, that's great.
So those two breakout periodswhere they can choose from eight
different uh uh shop orworkshops, uh, and those are 45
minutes apiece.
That takes us up to lunch, andthen what's happening from
there?
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
Uh well, we'll we'll we'll run one round before
lunch, lunch, and then anotherround after and then we'll go
back to the expo floor so umindividuals can continue to make
great contacts and you knowreally learn you know what work
that they could save out tolocal suppliers.
SPEAKER_02 (16:44):
Yeah.
And so bring your businesscards, be ready to exchange a
business card, be ready to dropit into a bowl for someone doing
a drawing.
And and I want to point out thisuh Catherine, I know you and
your team uh with um MissouriAssociation of Manufacturers,
you've done training on how toprep your exhibit space, and
they've been talking throughsome things.
(17:05):
So this isn't just a throwntogether thing, this is a built
system that's equipped people toshow up with their best stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So um this is not back to our previous
conversation, identifying whatyou do best, right?
You know, people multiple timesI was asked yesterday at a lunch
meeting.
They're like, isn't that kind ofweird?
Like, I mean, most of thesecompanies kind of do the same
thing and they're just gonnalike set up and they're gonna
bring their customers to thisevent.
Well, yes, that is exactly whatis happening.
(17:36):
But the intent is to invitepotential customers as well, not
just, you know, your best clientor customer that you know you
deal with on a routine basis,but who who is your dream
target?
Who do you really think that youcould benefit in the greater
manufacturing community and showoff your specialty, which does
make you unique and differentbecause what is going on in your
shop is special.
(17:57):
And I think it's really neat tosee members seek to identify
that.
And I can't wait to watch themshow that off.
And really, our members want tocollaborate with one another, so
it's an opportunity for them aswell to learn more about each
other and how they can partnertogether to bid larger jobs as
well.
SPEAKER_02 (18:12):
In your shop, you might have capacity to do
fabrication and stuff, but youdon't have capacity to paint.
There might be another shop downthe road that has the capacity
to paint, but they're not doingenough to keep their line full.
So you might discover a partnerthat's wanting to bring in work
that can do it locally, and youdon't have to send it off
someplace else.
So just come with an open mindof how can I serve this
(18:37):
community and how can thiscommunity benefit me as well?
And you're gonna seeopportunities to grow your
business and your future, andjust see that there's other
people that are that areintentionally growing their
community with their companiesat the same time, and it's gonna
be a great event.
SPEAKER_01 (18:58):
Absolutely, yeah.
And I think you know, people, afew are like, yeah, should I
attend?
I just don't really know if thisapplies.
My answer would be absolutelyyes.
Show up in support of localmanufacturing and and then make
it fit for you once you getthere.
But I think there's somethingfor everybody, and it's gonna be
a great time.
SPEAKER_02 (19:15):
Yeah, Catherine, I'm excited about it.
Thanks so much for connectingwith us today and sharing some
of your story.
And uh, we're gonna have to letyou go and find your Chase the
chicken and cure the chicken.
SPEAKER_01 (19:29):
And uh we hope that uh people maybe I'll uh post a
great video of myself uh doingthat in the comments.
SPEAKER_02 (19:37):
We want people to be involved.
Hey, what do they need to do toget registered?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Yeah, uh it's very easy.
Jump on the website, which I canalso link um when we share this
um podcast out, and yeah, enteryour name, your company name,
and your email address.
It's really as easy as that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:54):
That's great.
Well, thanks for all you'redoing, Catherine.
Thanks for how you show up andthe value you have for building
the network.
And I'm looking forward to beinga part of this uh later this
month.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
Can't wait to celebrate all the connections
that are made.
SPEAKER_02 (20:08):
All right.
Thanks, Catherine.
SPEAKER_01 (20:09):
Thanks, Ryan.
SPEAKER_02 (20:11):
And that's what we've got.
Catherine is on fire, she'sdoing some great things, and I
think you're gonna love thisexpo.
Uh, if you're even remotelythinking about being a part of
this, be sure to go to the linkunder the podcast here.
Go check it out, be there, buildyour network of relationships,
build your future.
Uh, thanks for taking some timeto watch us.
We really appreciate youlistening.
(20:33):
Take care.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
Thanks, Ryan.
SPEAKER_00 (20:51):
Uh, hey there.
Name's Mike.
Been working in manufacturingfor about twelve years now, and
they went and promoted me tosupervisor four years back.
Thought I was moving up in theworld.
Turns out I just got a front rowseat to all the dysfunction.
I'm not perfect, but I careabout my people, and I'm trying
to figure this leadership thingout without losing my mind.
(21:14):
Or my hair.
So, I've been asking Ryan sometough questions, and let me tell
you, the guy's got answers thatactually make sense on the shop
floor.
You ought to check it out.
Head over to his LinkedIn pageand watch him break it down.
He answers my questions in a waythat makes sense in the shop.
Alright, that's it.
I'm Supervisor Mike.
(21:36):
See ya.
Hey everyone, welcome back to the People in
Production podcast.
This is Ryan Nelson with Circleof Five Coaching, and I really
invest in relationships withpeople and help them develop
trust within their manufacturingorganization.
And in this podcast, we have theopportunity to have Catherine
O'Toole join us from the KansasCity National Tooling and
Machining Association.
(00:31):
And we're going to talk aboutCatherine's love for what she's
doing.
We are going to be talking aboutthe amazing partnership that
she's developed with anotherorganization to put on the third
thing we're going to talk about,which is the upcoming Kansas
City Manufacturing Expo.
And I think it's going to be alot of fun just hearing some of
Catherine's insight and her joy.
(00:52):
And so with that being said,let's bring Catherine on.
Hey Catherine, how are you?
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Hey, I'm well, Ryan.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (00:59):
Hey, I'm excited to have this conversation.
It's been a while since we'veconnected.
Life has happened, but it justreally seemed appropriate to
come back and connect with youand see where things are at.
And I just I want to just startwith just dialing into you've
been in your role now for Ithink this is your finishing up
your third year.
Is that about right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
I just hit two and a half years.
Yes.
Two and a half years.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
Halfway through two and a half years.
And you just seem to continue tobe going deeper and deeper into
what you're doing.
And there just seems to be alove for your job.
Tell me, I always love askingleaders, what gets you out of
bed in the morning?
Why do you get up and think Iget to work today?
Tell me a little about that.
SPEAKER_01 (01:44):
Well, I feel like my answer to that has really been
evolving, Ryan.
And I think as of late, I have avery comfortable answer that I
can share.
You know, I'm I'm a very averageperson.
I am very underprepared andunder equipped to be in a lot of
the situations that as of late Ihave been able to be a part of
(02:04):
or have been put into or askedto, you know, facilitate.
Um, but I think that's what Ilove is that as an average
individual, I represent mosteverybody else, right?
Like we're all kind of in thatboat together.
And I love planning events forpeople like myself, uh, who work
in small businesses, like theone that, you know, I grew up in
(02:25):
with my family's tool and dieshop.
And I love helping them.
And I love watching them findsuccess.
And I love celebrating thatsuccess.
And it truly brings me great joyto be that connector and event
planner when I know what I amdoing is bringing benefit and
value.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Yeah, Catherine, I love that so much.
And I'm just a few months aheadof my journey in this coaching
and consulting space, uh,specifically focus and
manufacturing.
I've been doing coaching anddevelopment for my whole career,
but just really feeling thisdialed perspective on focusing
on coaching.
And there's this process we gothrough in discovering our voice
(03:04):
in Elaine.
And like you were saying, you'vekind of started getting more and
more comfortable with that.
I think early on we try to doeverything we can.
And for me, I've realized thatmy primary voice is in
developing trust within theorganization.
How do we create a culture oftrust?
Because as you can probablyidentify with me, there's a lot
(03:25):
of manufacturing out there thatthe people just don't trust each
other.
They just tolerate each other,they're just going through the
motions.
But the new currency, I think,in leadership is really building
trust.
And so I think where I'm saying,And you know what I love about
that, Ryan?
What's that?
SPEAKER_01 (03:41):
And somebody can disagree with me.
Go ahead.
We'd love your feedback, butthat's not AI powered, that's
human powered.
And that relationship-basednetworking is what I love, and
that is why I love the job thatI have.
SPEAKER_02 (03:54):
That's awesome.
Great, great insights, greatfeedback.
And thanks for letting meexplore that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01 (04:00):
And yeah, I'm I'll I'm gonna go one bit further,
Ryan.
And I think you're right ondoing too much, right?
I really used to eat myself upas well.
I still get very nervous when Ihave to publicly speak.
I'll stutter, I'll sweat.
I don't like that.
And I in the past would feellike I failed an event, right?
Because I didn't open it in my30 seconds in the spotlight.
(04:21):
Well, I I'm not the mainspeaker.
Like I don't have to be that.
My job is to bring peopletogether.
So I think I've allowed myselfto accept, you know, really what
my position is, and that I don'thave to be perfect across the
board, but that that's okay.
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
Well, let's talk about that because you've been
incredibly effective at buildingpartnerships, and then you've
surrounded yourself with otherpeople who have a mindset of um
not scarcity but abundance.
And you know, I think of uh ourpresident Fred Stipkovitz, who
Fred's just like, guys, there isplenty of business out there,
(04:56):
we're not in competition witheach other.
If we know our fellow industrypeople, we can support each
other and we can lift each otherup.
And I love that mindset.
And you did something, and thishas been brewing over time, but
in February, you courageouslyreached out at the Missouri
Association of Manufacturing'sum annual conf uh trade show
(05:19):
Midwest, yeah, manufacturerstrade show.
Yeah, yep, the trade show, anduh it was a great event, and you
just said, you know what, we'regonna be there.
We need something like this inKansas City.
Let's let's see if they'd bewilling to meet with us after
the conference to share.
So you took the whole board, um,I think almost the whole board
was there, and you all sat withthe leadership from Missouri
(05:41):
Association of Manufacturing andsaid, What does it look like to
put on a trade show?
Because we need to give moreexposure.
And then as I understand it, umin that conversation, they were
just like, Wait, so where areyou doing this in Kansas City
and in the Missouri side?
And you're like, Well, that'swhere we think.
And they're like, Can we helpyou with it?
So here, just that next level,you developed a relationship
(06:04):
that could some people could seeit adversarial, but you you
welcomed their desire to beinvolved.
Tell me about the beauty of thatcollaboration uh with Missouri
Association of Manufacturers.
SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
Okay, yeah.
You know, I think first andforemost, uh it starts with
humility.
So, like you, we mentioned in aprevious conversation, you know,
looking at what what you dobest, you know, our niche is
precision metal manufacturing.
When you look at other largerassociations that exist on both
sides of the state line here,they're manufacturing centered.
You know, we we're asubcategory, and I truly believe
(06:39):
our members are gonna find greatvalue from what we do because it
speaks it speaks to their dailyactivity.
Sure, we need to be a part ofthese other things also, and
they're doing unique things aswell.
But just as you shared, let'scompliment one another.
Let's not compete.
Let's look at what we do bestand let's bring our best
together for something epic.
And ma'am was so excited topartner with us.
(07:01):
You know, we appreciate theirorganization, um, their website
generation, their name tagprinting, just how they put all
the pieces together in a veryfabulous and professional way.
And those are all things that Iwant to learn, but that is not
something that, you know, um,again, I have a degree in or
anything that I had experiencedbefore, but they were willing to
(07:22):
support that because they sawthe great energy amongst the
people we have here in KansasCity and the collaboration
amongst our members.
And that really stood out.
So I think that speaks to ourCasey manufacturing community
and what we're doing to merge uhMissouri Association of
Manufacturers with NTMA.
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
Yeah, Catherine, that is so great.
And I think you're you'resharing an important principle.
There are the things that wecould learn, but honestly, you
sitting at your computer in yourdining room or office or
whatever and trying to figureout how to make name tags and
how to bring QR badges whenthere's somebody that that's
already doing it, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (07:57):
And yeah, you could try to figure it all out.
And you know, when you have agenuine relationship, which is
what the events that I plan areabout building and what we have
done with ma'am, you know, we'veco-hosted an event, Ryan, um,
that you actually uh led.
Uh uh and we've done some othergreat things together as well.
But I generally, genuinely,excuse me, want their team to be
(08:21):
successful.
And yeah, why if they are doingit and it works, then let's let
me learn from you.
SPEAKER_02 (08:26):
And guys, that is that is leadership.
We think leadership is figuringit out by yourself, but great
leaders figure out who they needaround them and they fill their
gaps with people who are smarterthan they are, better than they
are at the things that they needto be doing.
And if anyone wants to readabout that, there's a great book
out there by Ben Hardy and DanSullivan called Who, Not How.
(08:49):
And it literally says, quitasking the question, how do I
get this done?
But who do I need to get thisdone as effectively as we need
it to get done?
And the truth is, once you handit to someone who knows how to
do it, you're gonna get waymuch, way more impact out of
that than if you tried to do ityourself.
And that's really important, Ithink, for us as leaders to
(09:12):
understand that getting theright people to the table will
accelerate what you're doing inyour organization.
So I want to give you props fornot saying, no, I gotta do this
myself, and then in the finalsprint, you like create drama
for everyone else to come in.
SPEAKER_01 (09:30):
I do, I think I'm um just hearing what you're saying,
I need to give a big shout out.
Um I'm sorry, I just I got avery important note here um that
a chicken is out of the coop.
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
Uh well they need to pause this to address the issue.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Excuse the interruption.
Okay, we'll deal with that in aminute.
Hopefully the chicken doesn't gotoo far.
But I want to come back togiving a big shout out to my
board.
I feel that, you know, throughinvitation and through watching
their involvement with theircompanies, um, you know, I I
really got a great board.
We've built a wonderful groupthat is forward-thinking,
(10:07):
progressive in how they want todo business and interact with
others.
And so I just want to shout themout.
Uh, Casey and T-May board, youguys are awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
That's awesome.
They are awesome.
Every one of them is is on boardwith where the organization is
going.
And it's been great to see.
SPEAKER_01 (10:23):
Yeah.
And you know, I think it's hard,Ryan.
When you join a board, yourepresent, in our case, the
precision metal manufacturingcommunity, no longer your
company.
And that's hard to shag off attimes when you're so used to
thinking about your role, yourdaily task, what you need to do
to help your yourself, yourcompany succeed, but really
switch it off and let's look atthe larger community.
(10:46):
And they do such a great jobwith that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
Yeah, that's great stuff.
That's great stuff.
Let's shift gears for a littlebit here.
So let's talk about the upcomingexpo.
And there's really two areasthat I want to explore this with
you.
Number one, why do we need thisexpo?
And then number two, what do weexpect out of this expo?
So let's tackle number onefirst.
Why is this even necessary forthe Kansas City shops?
SPEAKER_01 (11:10):
Well, uh, you know, the majority of our KCMTA member
members, excuse me, uh are smalland medium-sized enterprise.
They're doing great things.
They are they're very key to themanufacturing community at
large.
Um, but you know, unfortunately,they don't always do the best at
putting out there the greatthings that they're doing.
You know, our smaller shops withsix to ten employees and owner
(11:33):
president is working on the shopfloor, um, handling all of the
finances, sales.
So, you know, for them to createa blog or to post or to do X, Y,
or Z to really market themselvesin in addition to everything
else that they have going on istough.
So the first thing this expolets us do is show off our
members.
And I am so excited, Ryan, toshare that of the 61 companies
(11:55):
exhibiting, 36 are NTMA members,and at least another handful
have regularly attended ourevents.
So these are, you know, reallife small businesses that are
gonna be getting the attentionthat they deserve by showcasing
themselves.
And then secondly, it lets ourOEMs also manufacturing
facilities, and for those thatare maybe not familiar with that
(12:15):
term, the original equipmentmanufacturers, the ones that
take the parts and the piecesand the components and they put
them together into that finishedgood that goes out for sale, uh,
they can meet local suppliers.
They can save time, they cansave on shipping, they can build
a local relationship.
It lets them see who is herethat can do the metal
fabrication work that they need.
(12:36):
And we've got all kinds ofexhibitors, plastic injection,
molders, uh, welding facilities,uh uh tooling.
So there's it's it's not justyou know machine work.
SPEAKER_02 (12:47):
Yeah, and Catherine, you know, I was talking with a
local company that I wasinviting to be a part of this
recently.
And they were talking about thedynamic of this is if they're
working with a vendor in Utahand there's a trouble in
production, they literally haveto send someone on a plane to go
out there, spend a few daystrying to figure it out.
(13:08):
And here, shops can literallyinvite the local person to hey,
come on over, we'll do lunch,and I'll bring you into the shop
and we'll show you what we'redealing with.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
So that's the way that let me show you my
equipment, let me show youexactly where it's gonna be
made, how it's gonna be made,and who's gonna be making it.
Yeah, and then you have thatrelationship to troubleshoot
anything.
You're gonna you're gonna save alot and gain a lot that way.
SPEAKER_02 (13:29):
Yeah, and I think so.
That's that's facet one of whatthis is event, what this event
is.
We're giving exposure to localcompanies to be able to um work
and collaborate with other uhlocal companies who are needing
the services they provide.
And then the other side of thatis that many of our members are
(13:51):
going to be having people fromtheir shop coming and attending
to A look at what's availableand B to grow their own capacity
in that type of thing.
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat's gonna happen at the event
that's gonna benefit those whoattend.
SPEAKER_01 (14:07):
Well, first and foremost, we have a great
kickoff on the 28th, which isTuesday evening.
Our national NTMA presidentRoger Atkins is gonna be flying
in and joining us, gonna be kindof giving us some national
updates.
And um, we are so excited tohave him here to meet so many of
our members.
And I'm also working on a reallygreat um, just a brief uh
(14:30):
speaker uh moment with somebodythat is really um gonna stand
out.
And once it's official, I can'twait to share it.
But uh, I'm like 99% sure it'sgonna be there, and I know
people are gonna want to hearfrom him.
So we'll have both of them.
We'll have a happy hour and anetworking time.
So exhibitors can meet other umshops.
We've welcomed, I believe, 16 uhnew members this year to our
(14:50):
local chapter.
So there are a lot of new faces.
So members can meet new members,they can meet people that they
didn't know were members becauseagain, we have a lot of folks
exhibiting who might not be ableto otherwise attend some of our
events.
You know, they're they're alittle further out um on either
side of the state line.
And then on Wednesday, our bigday will start with breakfast.
The expo floor will be open, andthen we'll begin our breakout
(15:12):
sessions.
So we'll have two rounds ofbreakout sessions with four
options at each with a lunchbreak in the middle.
And Ryan, you're gonna bepresenting for us.
SPEAKER_02 (15:21):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
And it's gonna be a fun time.
I'm trying to remember, uh, I'mdoing a few different
conferences coming up, and Ibelieve for this one, I'm
actually gonna be talking aboutthe the difference between a
promotion and um and moving intoa leadership role and how we
sometimes confuse that and wecreate our own chaos in that.
And that's gonna be great.
I'm looking at it.
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
And what I love about those sessions, just like
yours, we could be targetingsomebody from HR, a purchaser,
an engineer, somebody who ishandling um the cybersecurity
side of things.
There's literally a breakoutsession for everyone who is
choosing to attend this event.
Of course, you know, we arewe're geared towards those who
are making, you know, supplierpurchasing decisions um or
(16:02):
engineers who are directlyinvolved with that.
But we want everybody to comeand learn more about our
manufacturing community and seewhat we have going on.
So we do have an option foreveryone.
SPEAKER_02 (16:12):
Yeah, that's great.
So those two breakout periodswhere they can choose from eight
different uh uh shop orworkshops, uh, and those are 45
minutes apiece.
That takes us up to lunch, andthen what's happening from
there?
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
Uh well, we'll we'll we'll run one round before
lunch, lunch, and then anotherround after and then we'll go
back to the expo floor so umindividuals can continue to make
great contacts and you knowreally learn you know what work
that they could save out tolocal suppliers.
SPEAKER_02 (16:44):
Yeah.
And so bring your businesscards, be ready to exchange a
business card, be ready to dropit into a bowl for someone doing
a drawing.
And and I want to point out thisuh Catherine, I know you and
your team uh with um MissouriAssociation of Manufacturers,
you've done training on how toprep your exhibit space, and
they've been talking throughsome things.
(17:05):
So this isn't just a throwntogether thing, this is a built
system that's equipped people toshow up with their best stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So um this is not back to our previous
conversation, identifying whatyou do best, right?
You know, people multiple timesI was asked yesterday at a lunch
meeting.
They're like, isn't that kind ofweird?
Like, I mean, most of thesecompanies kind of do the same
thing and they're just gonnalike set up and they're gonna
bring their customers to thisevent.
Well, yes, that is exactly whatis happening.
(17:36):
But the intent is to invitepotential customers as well, not
just, you know, your best clientor customer that you know you
deal with on a routine basis,but who who is your dream
target?
Who do you really think that youcould benefit in the greater
manufacturing community and showoff your specialty, which does
make you unique and differentbecause what is going on in your
shop is special.
(17:57):
And I think it's really neat tosee members seek to identify
that.
And I can't wait to watch themshow that off.
And really, our members want tocollaborate with one another, so
it's an opportunity for them aswell to learn more about each
other and how they can partnertogether to bid larger jobs as
well.
SPEAKER_02 (18:12):
In your shop, you might have capacity to do
fabrication and stuff, but youdon't have capacity to paint.
There might be another shop downthe road that has the capacity
to paint, but they're not doingenough to keep their line full.
So you might discover a partnerthat's wanting to bring in work
that can do it locally, and youdon't have to send it off
someplace else.
So just come with an open mindof how can I serve this
(18:37):
community and how can thiscommunity benefit me as well?
And you're gonna seeopportunities to grow your
business and your future, andjust see that there's other
people that are that areintentionally growing their
community with their companiesat the same time, and it's gonna
be a great event.
SPEAKER_01 (18:58):
Absolutely, yeah.
And I think you know, people, afew are like, yeah, should I
attend?
I just don't really know if thisapplies.
My answer would be absolutelyyes.
Show up in support of localmanufacturing and and then make
it fit for you once you getthere.
But I think there's somethingfor everybody, and it's gonna be
a great time.
SPEAKER_02 (19:15):
Yeah, Catherine, I'm excited about it.
Thanks so much for connectingwith us today and sharing some
of your story.
And uh, we're gonna have to letyou go and find your Chase the
chicken and cure the chicken.
SPEAKER_01 (19:29):
And uh we hope that uh people maybe I'll uh post a
great video of myself uh doingthat in the comments.
SPEAKER_02 (19:37):
We want people to be involved.
Hey, what do they need to do toget registered?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Yeah, uh it's very easy.
Jump on the website, which I canalso link um when we share this
um podcast out, and yeah, enteryour name, your company name,
and your email address.
It's really as easy as that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:54):
That's great.
Well, thanks for all you'redoing, Catherine.
Thanks for how you show up andthe value you have for building
the network.
And I'm looking forward to beinga part of this uh later this
month.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
Can't wait to celebrate all the connections
that are made.
SPEAKER_02 (20:08):
All right.
Thanks, Catherine.
SPEAKER_01 (20:09):
Thanks, Ryan.
SPEAKER_02 (20:11):
And that's what we've got.
Catherine is on fire, she'sdoing some great things, and I
think you're gonna love thisexpo.
Uh, if you're even remotelythinking about being a part of
this, be sure to go to the linkunder the podcast here.
Go check it out, be there, buildyour network of relationships,
build your future.
Uh, thanks for taking some timeto watch us.
We really appreciate youlistening.
(20:33):
Take care.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
Thanks, Ryan.
SPEAKER_00 (20:51):
Uh, hey there.
Name's Mike.
Been working in manufacturingfor about twelve years now, and
they went and promoted me tosupervisor four years back.
Thought I was moving up in theworld.
Turns out I just got a front rowseat to all the dysfunction.
I'm not perfect, but I careabout my people, and I'm trying
to figure this leadership thingout without losing my mind.
(21:14):
Or my hair.
So, I've been asking Ryan sometough questions, and let me tell
you, the guy's got answers thatactually make sense on the shop
floor.
You ought to check it out.
Head over to his LinkedIn pageand watch him break it down.
He answers my questions in a waythat makes sense in the shop.
Alright, that's it.
I'm Supervisor Mike.
(21:36):
See ya.
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