June 9, 2025 • 33 mins
Jay Timmons is president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers and one of the longest-serving trade association leaders in America. Under his leadership, the NAM has doubled in size and helped manufacturers achieve sweeping wins on tax reform, infrastructure, regulatory certainty—and in reshaping the perception of manufacturing and manufacturing careers. Jay is a respected voice across the political spectrum, trusted by CEOs and policymakers alike to anticipate challenges and deliver results. He also chairs the Manufacturing Institute, the NAM’s nonprofit workforce development and education affiliate for building the modern manufacturing workforce.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I was born in a small mill town in southern Ohio, Chillicothe, Ohio,
and I grew up there for about ten years. It's
where my grandfather worked in the paper mill. He stood
in line for six months during the Great Depression trying
to get a job in manufacturing because he knew that
would be a way forward for his family. I was
(00:21):
the only only child and the only grandchild, so I
spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My dad
was he was a division manager at Sears, but then
he opened his own appliance store, Timmins Appliance and TV.
And my mom is an amazing leadership story all on
her own. She ascended the ladder at the Chillicotha Gazette.
(00:43):
It was our local newspaper, a Gannet newspaper, and she
started out as a secretary. And she was told when
she became pregnant with me back in those days, well
she'd have to leave because you couldn't you couldn't be
pregnant work if you were a woman. That wouldn't be acceptable.
And she was going to go along with the plan
until they said, hey, we've had a person leave and
(01:04):
we need you to stay. Would you stay, and she said, sure,
I'd be happy to well, they cleaned out of closet
and they made her stay in that closet for the
entire time. She was pregnant and she had me, and
then she came back to work. She worked away up
the ladder, and she became the president and CEO of
that organization in nineteen seventy nine, and the entire town
was blown away that there was this woman who had
(01:24):
ascended the ranks to become the leader of the organization.
And her story inspired me every single day to just
keep working for what's really important. We moved when I
was tend to farm their Circleville, Ohio, which, of course,
as everybody who's listening knows, is the home of the
(01:46):
Pumpkins Show, the greatest free show on earth. That was
always fun for me and the band to be able
to march in the parades there. But I raised cattle
throughout my high school years and the grass and worked
at a fast food restaurant and a grocery store, and
then I went to Ohio State. Ohio State didn't work
(02:08):
out so well for me. Loved the school, love everything
about the buck Eys, but I wasn't exactly the most
studious person in the world. I wanted to get involved
in politics, and this was the advent of the Reagan years,
and man, did I want to do everything I could
to help Ronald Reagan succeed. So I started. I went
out and I started college Republican clubs all over the state.
(02:30):
Became the state chair of the College Republicans, and at
the same time thought, hey, I'm nineteen years old. I
think I had a run for office. So I ran
for state representative and won the primary, but did not
win the general election spectacularly, so and decided then I
just don't think I want to stay in college. So
(02:52):
I moved to Washington, DC and tried to get a job,
and the Reagan Revolution didn't succeed there, but ended up
going to Capitol Hill. So those were the early days
that got me here to Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, we're going to talk a lot about that in
your diverse resume, a j and all the incredible things
that you're doing now in the last almost twenty years
of the National Association of Manufacturers. But it never ceases
to amaze me, even though it's not exclusive that when
we grew up our parents can be incredible role models
and without any context, but the story that you're telling,
it sounds like they were wonderful role models for you
(03:23):
in the future that you dived into in your career.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Absolutely amazing role models parents and grandparents. My grandmother was
a stay at home mother grandmother, and I spent a
lot of time with her, watching my grandfather every single
day work hard. He had such a work ethic. I
used to go over there on the weekends and he
come home from overnight trick work, and I would sit
(03:50):
at the threshold at his bedroom door because I wasn't
allowed in because he was trying to sleep. I just
watched him snore. I don't know why that was so
fascinating to me, but I can still today, and every
once in a while, because I was a pretty rambuxious kid,
I'd make noise and he'd wake up, and it was
yell out to my grandmother, I get the boy. I
can remember that like it was yesterday. Then my dad,
(04:14):
you know, he there wasn't there wasn't you know, a
job he wouldn't do. He was always always working, always
trying to succeed. And then to watch my mother was
fairly amazing. In fact, my mother, who's eighty nine now
at age seventy one, after she retired, she decided, you know,
I'm kind of bored. I'm going to pick up a
paintbrush and start painting. And she paints the most amazing things.
(04:34):
She's at art shows. She sells all kinds of stuff.
At eighty nine. I mean, I hope I can't draw
straight line, so but I'm inspired that maybe there's something
afterwards for me too.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
That's great. And beside all the hard work that you
learn and that you've done over your career, it seems
like there's a theme of advocation. Where did that come
from about being an advocate, because we obviously do that now,
But where did that come from?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I'm not sure, but I know that from the time
I was probably ten years old, I got interested in
the news, and you know, when I was growing up,
there was some rough stuff happening. We had the hostage
crisis in Iran. We had a very bad economy. I
watched my parents' struggle as they tried to make ends meet.
(05:20):
I watched a lot of my friends and neighbors also struggle.
I watched a lot of people lose their jobs. I
watched farmers who went bankrupt, some of them actually ending
their own lives, and I just thought, you know, there's
got to be a better way, and what is that right?
How does that? How does the world work, how does
(05:41):
the economy work? And so I really just tried to
figure out how public policy intersected people's lives, and that's
why I became interested in politics. For me, it was
not really about political party or power. It was really
about policy that enabled people to live their best lives.
And that's what I think. Frankly, I think that's what
(06:01):
makes America so incredible, is that we have this thriving
democracy and this contest of ideas and end goal is
to improve things for folks who live here.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So you've done so many many things, and as I
take a look at this diverse resume, you've been a
chief of staff, You've been an executive director, chairman of
the board, now president and CEO at National Association and Manufacturers.
Was there something that you wanted to attain? You know,
as I talked to so many leaders out there, sometimes
there's a plan, sometimes there's not, and sometimes we go
on a road and it takes us another way. But
(06:35):
was there a plan as you were doing all of
this I.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Would say that I was probably taking the road less
traveled by Robert Frost's pome. Right. I didn't really know
what I wanted to do. I just it sounds cliche,
But I always wanted to make a difference, right. I
always wanted to be able to do something significant that
would help a large group of people, and certainly Americans,
just because I had that American spirat. So when I
(07:03):
came to Washington, I worked on the hill for a while.
I worked at the RNC, but I ended up with
a fellow by the name of George Allen, and he
and I crossed paths before, but we didn't really know
each other. And he started running for in a special
election for Congress. He needed a campaign manager, and it
just so happened I was ending a job and I
(07:24):
needed a job, and I literally interviewed over the phone
with him, and he said, Hey, why don't you come
start next week? So I did. We were together fourteen years.
So I was his chief of staff when he won
that seat in Congress. Then he moved to the Governor's
office after he was redistricted out of that seat. I
was his chief of staff there, the youngest chief of
(07:45):
staff in the country and the youngest in Virginia history,
and a guy who knew nothing about state government in Virginia.
But he had the confidence in me. And I'll never
never be able to thank him enough for this. But
he had the confidence in me, but he knew I
would work really, really hard to learn everything I could
and do the best job I could to help the
(08:07):
people in Virginia. He went to the Senate, I was
as chief there, and then to your point about executive
director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, it's the campaign committee.
He was chair of that while he was in the Senate,
and I ran that and I was pretty proud of
the fact that we ended up getting the largest Republican
majority since nineteen twenty seven, and that number of stays
(08:29):
is the record up to today. Having said that, during
that time, it was also a pretty difficult time because
that was at a juncture where the culture wars were
really ratcheting up. President Bush had endorsed the marriage Amendment
marriages between one man and one woman, and I was
(08:52):
outed for being gay. I had been with my then
partner for I guess probably fourteen years. We've been together
now for thirty four years, and we're married. He's my
husband now. But that was a pretty difficult time. Back then,
you really couldn't be You couldn't be a part of
the Republican Party and be identified as gay. Some would
(09:16):
say today that's also a problem, but certainly back then
it was. And so I decided to do something else
because I didn't want to hurt George Allen politically. That
was I think a very difficult thing for both him
and for me. He was very supportive of me the
whole time. He didn't know either till I was out.
(09:36):
And I ended up making my way to National Association
of Manufacturers, and I was able to reconnect with my
roots in Chilicotha, Ohio and kind of what had fed
my soul growing up was manufacturing. So I ran the
policy and Government Relations division for six years and was
named CEO in twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Well, it's a great story, and I'm glad that this
this is a great segue because you've been there for
a couple of decades now, and with your diverse resume
that you've just briefly touched on, which is absolutely incredible. Jay,
I can see why Nam was interested in you, But
why were you interested in joining them.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So manufacturing is not a partisan issue, and the success
of America I don't believe is a partisan issue. I
know that partisans want to make it that, but manufacturing
is really infused into the fabric of all we are
as an American, As Americans. I mean, think back to
Alexander Hamilton when he created a manufacturing strategy, and all
(10:38):
of the inventions and products that we've produced here in
the United States, the fact that we were the arsenal
of democracy in I would argue both World Wars, but
certainly World War Two, that manufacturing helped us to build
the infrastructure system that made us the strongest, most connected
economy in the world in the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties.
(10:59):
The advancements in health and nutrition that were made possible
by manufacturing, all of that has made us so strong,
so vibrant as a nation. And our at the nam
Our Mission statement really focuses on the four values that
(11:20):
make our industry strong and make America exceptional. And those
are free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty, liberty, and equal opportunity.
And each one of those things kind of covers every
facet of our lives. And oftentimes you see political parties
focusing on two, maybe three of those, but rarely all four.
(11:43):
And we want our elected leaders to really focus on
advancing all four of those pillars. And when we do that,
and when it's all about policy, not politics, process or personality,
that's when America really wins.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Love that. So let's do this with a National Association
of Manufacturers in a thirty thousand foot view. If you
were to tell everybody what you do, what would you
tell them?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We advocate. We advocate for the success of the more
than thirteen million people, the men and women who make
things in America, and for a better future for all
of the citizens of this country. And we do that
through work on Capitol Hill, through the legal system, through
(12:30):
advocacy with the agencies and the White House, as well
as issue advocacy campaigns that inform more people around the
country about what manufacturers do and what they're responsible for. Oftentimes,
manufacturing has just kind of taken for granted. Well, you
want to go get a car, Okay, you go to
the car dealer and you cut the best deal you can. Well,
(12:53):
somebody had to make that car. And by the way,
it's not just a machine, it's people. People had to
design it. They had to they to construct it and
build it and then ship it out to the locations
where they'd be sold. Think about the same thing with
a washing machine or a plastic bottle, or you can
think about literally anything you touch is manufactured or mined
(13:15):
or farmed. But the largest part of the economy is
really in the manufacturing sector.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So, Jay, you've got hundreds of thousands, of nine millions
of basically constituents, all these members that are part of
the association. With that said, there's got to be so
many different ideas in things how people can improve and
things that they're dealing with every day. How does the
communication work and how do you execute what you want
(13:43):
to do what they want to do. So everybody's on
the same page, because I imagine that communication is paramount
with all these different manufacturers. But what is it like?
How does it work?
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, that's actually the beauty of a trade association. You
do have to listen to your members. And we have
thirteen thousand members here at the NAM and I think
we're blessed by the fact that they they like to
give us their thoughts and their opinions, and I like
to tell us specifically what works and what doesn't. One
(14:13):
of the things that we said in twenty seventeen when
Congress was debating the tax bill was, look, this is
about investment and jobs in the United States. And what
I have heard from my members is that if you
pass tax reform in twenty seventeen, I can guarantee you
you will see more investment, more job creation, and more
wage growth. That is a promise that we will make.
(14:35):
Then we executed our promises kept campaign where we collected
all the stories of manufacturers who did exactly that. We
had record investment, we had record hiring, and we had
record wage growth over the course in the next three
years because of that rocket fuel, as President Trump called it,
that rocket fuel and that tax bill that was passed.
(14:58):
We do the same thing when it comes to regulationtions.
We do the same thing when it comes to trade
and tariffs and how that may impact manufacturer's ability to
compete here in the United States. We do the same
thing when it comes to workforce. We have five hundred
thousand open jobs in manufacturing. We want to make sure
that people know the great opportunities. But to your point,
we try to make sure that we are we're providing
(15:21):
the broad based issues set that will be helpful to
manufacturers of all sizes, in all sectors, in all regions
of the country. That tends to be very broad based
tax policy, very broad based regulatory policy, very broad based infrastructure, trade,
energy policy. And those are things that frankly, nearly all
(15:46):
manufacturers agree on. So we don't have a lot of
we don't have a lot of different opinions when it
comes on to the things that will actually make the
entire sector successful.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You had mentioned tariffs are in the news. I'd be remissive.
I didn't ask you, and I know you and I
could go for hours about tariffs. I know a lot
of people find it complicated. Some things are easy to understand,
some aren't. But when you talk to the manufacturers and
the association and we hear about tariffs right now, and
I know things are changing and it's very fluid every day,
But you running as president and CEO of the NAM,
(16:20):
what do you hope in the end happens and the
resolutionists for everybody to be the best possible scenario. What's
going on right now?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
You know, one of the things that has been the
greatest joy in this job, or the greatest joy in
working at the NAM for the time I have worked
here is we've had tremendous relationships with all of the presidents,
So President Bush, President Obama, President Trump, won, President Biden,
President Trump two. All of them want to improve manufacturing
(16:48):
and they all have a different way of approaching that.
My personal preference is to listen to manufacturers and find
out from them how they can succeed and what allows
them to hire more. And I will say this, we're
working really hard right now on that tax bill. We're
working very hard to get regulatory rebalancing done. The tariff issues,
(17:12):
it's a little complicated for us, and I wouldn't be
shooting straight if I didn't say that there's a lot
of concerns among manufacturers about whether they're going to be
able to handle the continued back and forth on tariff policy.
I don't think there's anything wrong at all with wanting
to make more things here in the United States. I mean,
(17:34):
my gosh, I represent the National Association of Manufacturers. I
want to make more stuff here in the United States. Unfortunately,
that's not always possible. We can't make everything. Ninety five
percent of the customers in the world actually reside outside
of the borders of the United States. So we want
to sell as much stuff as we can from here
in the United States to them, which means we've got
(17:55):
to have we've got to have a positive relationship with them,
and we don't need any retaliatory tariffs coming back at
US which would impede our ability to sell our products there.
I also think that it would not you know, we
have to acknowledge the fact that there are some countries
that they don't treat the United States very well. They cheat,
(18:17):
and I'm looking at China in particular, so intellectual property theft,
dumping subsidization. I think manufacturers fully expected the Administration to
go after that. There have been some surprises though along
the way, where some of our allies are receiving or
are now having tariffs imposed on them that we didn't
see that coming. So for manufacturers, we're very hopeful that
(18:40):
the Administration really is going to be able to settle
in their ninety day window all of these potential trade
agreements throughout the world get that done, so manufacturers actually
can have the certainty they need to again invest, hire
and increase wages and benefits. We also have things that
are not manufactured here, so I think of critical minerals
(19:02):
that go into to silicon chips, for instance, other things
that are mined machinery that we don't have the capacity
to make here at least yet, hopefully someday. But if
we're going to build manufacturing facilities and we have to
import those machines, if we get a forty percent tariff
on that, well, a small business can't afford to build
that factory. So we're going to have to have some
(19:25):
sort of a policy that sets those aside from tariff
policy as well. Our hope is that that's what the
administration is working on, and we're providing them with all
the information we possibly can to help them make an
informed choice.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And without super inferring a while you're talking about and
I know you don't have a crystal ball, but it
sounds like you're encouraged about the future.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
I'm always encouraged about the future when you're talking about it.
From the American perspective, I think Americans are incredibly resilient.
And I got to tell you, of all the Americans
that I've ever had the great privilege of meeting, manufacturers
are the most resilient of the resilient. And that's because
(20:04):
they you know, they've they've got to make ends meet,
they've got to figure out their whole job is to
figure out how to make things work. And they're so
important to our communities. So failure is not an option
for manufacturers. Now. You know, we hit bumpy times in
the road economically sometimes as well, but we want to
(20:27):
work with whoever the American people give us in the
White House or Congress to make things more successful for manufacturing.
By the way, manufacturing pays more on average than any
other sector of the economy. So when you create a
manufacturing job, you're supporting five more jobs in other areas
of the economy. When you invest a dollar in manufacturing,
you create almost two dollars of economic spinoff activity outside
(20:53):
of that particular facility. So that's why I elected officials
both Republican and Democrat want to see manufacturing succeed because
they know that that's important to the success of the
economy and their communities, their state in the country.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Jay, you kind of talked about some of the challenges
in the industry, What about some of the great things
are going on there. I realized that thirteen thousand members,
there's a lot going on there that's great, But is
there a common theme of some incredible things that are
happening with some of the members out there right now?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah. I think of the potential of AI and what
that is going to be able to do for manufacturing
in the United States, and we're at the very very
beginning of the AI revolution, and I don't think we
(21:43):
really to have any idea where that's going to be.
And I was actually talking to somebody last night who said,
can you imagine ten years from now when we look back,
and we'd say, these decisions that we made today had
the impact that they had on where we are in
ten years. And those decisions are who gets it and
(22:03):
who gets to use it? And will our allies be
working with us or will our adversaries be working against us.
When it comes to artificial intelligence and the development of it,
I think about all the incredible uses that it could
(22:24):
have for our national defense. I think about what it
can do for productivity in a manufacturing facility, and then
I immediately will have a comma there, because the first
thing that you're going to hear from from folks who
may be a little bit skeptical, is, oh, but it
(22:44):
will take jobs away. No, it will not. It will
actually create the need for more jobs, but different jobs
in the manufacturing sector, more highly skilled and technical jobs
that I believe our schools need to really focus on
over the course of the next decade or two. So
(23:04):
that's one thing. And then, of course a host of
new medical discoveries. We're seeing tremendous therapies being developed for
cancer and Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. Certainly the vaccinations
(23:26):
that and there's always controversy with all of that, but
I pushed that aside because I just think of how
many people were saved because of the COVID vaccine and
the new technology, the m RNA technology that was utilized
for that. And trust me, I speak from my heart
on that because my father died of COVID before the
(23:48):
vaccine was developed, and no family should have to go
through that. So I'm eternally grateful that science and manufacturing
enabled us to have that that development. And there's so
many more things like that out there that it's just
the possibilities are endless.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, they sure are, and I appreciate you sharing all that.
And it's been my personal experience in this series. I've
had an opportunity right here locally to talk to Montgomery
County Economic Development. The biotech industry right in the Rockville,
Maryland area is exploding. They're all moving here. And it's
really you know, because NIH is close and it makes
a lot of sense why, but just that industry itself
(24:28):
is just booming here in this area.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Your Governor Wes Moore is in Maryland is an absolute
salesman trying to recruit as many as he can, and
my Governor Glenn Youngkin is competing with him, and I
think it's fun to watch them both talk about all
the great things that the states have to offer.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Yeah, it really it listened to a healthy competition, right.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
That's right. It's a good thing. You know. Look, if
we get all the policies right at the national level,
that just opens it up for fifty dates to compete
against each other to attract those jobs.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, that's right. Well, Lis, I want to put a
pin in work just for a second, if you could
indulge me and talk about philanthropic and charity work. And
when you do have the time, Jane, I know you're
busy because the job, you're a family man, but when
you do have time to be a part of something.
What do you like to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Look, I've seen over the course of my time in
the workplace the things that really can impact people that
you work with, things like difficult diseases. So I was
able to be involved in the Alzheimer's Vision Gala a
few weeks ago and tell my grandmother's story and also
(25:42):
to work to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association I've
been involved. I think one of the most profound things
that can happen to a family is for them to
get a new pet. So I was the chair of
the Washington Humane Society it's now the Humane Rescue Alliance
for I think seven years and encouraging the adoption of
(26:03):
companion animals. But I think the thing that really hits
closest to my heart our children's issues and family issues.
I mentioned I've been with my husband for thirty four years.
We have three wonderful children. I have a freshman in
high school, I have an eighth grader, and I have
the girl girl and then a third grade boy, and
(26:27):
they're all just fantastic kids. They were all born through
surrogacy and the two oldest or biologically related to either
my husband or I, and the third was a snowflake embryo,
and by that I mean the family that he was
a part of had completed their family. They had four children,
(26:50):
and they asked if we would accept accept the embryo
and adopt or take it as our own, which we did,
and we found an amazing in Wisconsin. A few weeks
before the baby was born, we went to court to
get our pronal rights. We were granted pronal rights. Weirdly,
another judge came in, swooped in, took those parnal rights away,
(27:12):
apparently didn't like the look of a gay family. I
don't know what it was. And this went on for
ten months. Thank god, we never lost our temporary custody.
But at the end of that his ruling said that
we were human traffickers for bringing an embryo into existence,
(27:33):
and that he was taking away our pronal rights, he
was taking away the pronal rights of the surrogate, and
he was leaving our child an orphan and an award
of the state. After that disgraceful ruling, he resigned. No
no surprise there, but we had. We were tangled up
in courts in Wisconsin for three four years while we
(27:56):
ended up getting our pronal rights back rather quickly. We
came after Guardian ATLTEM so that he wouldn't want to
do this to others. And at the end of all
of this, our local legislator in Virginia ended up introducing
a bill and in order for other same sex families
(28:17):
not to have to go through the same thing. And
I lobbied Republicans, he lobbied Democrats. We got about a
third of the Republicans, all the Democrats. We got that
bill through and the Governor, Ralph Northam at the time,
signed it at our preschool at our church, Walker Chapel
United Methodist Church, and he had Jacob on his lap,
(28:39):
our son, and our daughters Catherine and Ellie were standing
there watching. And it's now known as Jacob's Law. So
that kind of advocacy for children and families and equality
really matters a lot to my husband, Rick and I.
We've been involved in family equality for a number of
years where we started Jacob's Fund to help other families
(29:00):
who might find themselves in similar situations for no reason
or no fault of their own.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well, it's a remarkable story. I appreciate you sharing it,
and I think you're also showing us as we listen
that you're a fighter when it comes to advocating professionally
and personally, which I think is very cool. I did
want to ask you about leadership, so I hope you
indulge me because we have a lot of presidents, CEOs, entrepreneurs,
but also young people futures that want to get into
(29:27):
whatever turns them on and what they want to be
good at. So when it comes to leadership, Jay, what
does it mean to you?
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I think the number one thing about leadership is being
authentic and telling your story and kind of what you
just said, actually fighting for what you believe in. When
I actually hire people, and I've gotten to hire lots
of people over my career, I have kind of three
priorities and they seem to be different than a lot
(29:54):
of other people's. But my first priority is that that
person is going to have loyalty to the team, not
loyalty to the boss. That's the easy part, right, It's
got to be the person has to be loyal to
the entire team. They have to be willing to accept,
you know, all of the pros and cons, the positives,
(30:15):
the challenges with the entire team. The second thing is
they kind of have a really strong work ethic. They've
got to be willing to be willing to work hard
to get the job done and know that there's probably
more jobs than the job that they were hired to do.
And the third, and actually the least important thing to
me is their experience in actually doing the job or
(30:38):
their ability to do the job, because I kind of
figure if you've got those first two things, then you're
going to be able to pick up the third. So
those are the things that are important to me. And
as far as leadership goes, just being yourself, being approachable
and being authentic and being a fighter for your beliefs,
it's critical outstanding.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Thanks for sharing. Well, let's do this. I really enjoyed
the conversation, but I do want to get some final
thoughts from you, Jay about what we've talked about. We're
going to give a website to everybody, folks. There's a
lot of information on there. It's easy to navigate it.
Some beautiful website. With that said, Jay, some final thoughts
from you to recap what we've talked about. The floor
is yours.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yeah, I appreciate that, and you're right. Nam dot org
is where we're housed, and we invite people to take
a look at that. Really, I think what is so
important for America right now is, look, we're divided. There's
no question about that. Manufacturing is one of those things
that can bring us all together, but so can our
(31:38):
communities and the things that we want to see for
our kids' future and the success of our communities, and
all of that revolves around policy. It doesn't revolve around politics, personality,
or process. And in today's environment, especially with social media,
it is so hard to remember that. As long as
(31:59):
we stay focused on the policies that improve people's lives,
then what that does is is is it really strengthens
the soul of our country and it allows America to succeed.
For us, it allows manufacturing to succeed. And we know
here at the NAM when manufacturing succeeds, when manufacturing wins,
(32:22):
America wins. So the bottom line is everybody has to
hold their elected leaders accountable for the things that they
want to see happen. They need to they need to
hold their elected officials accountable for cutting through all the
talk and the chatter and the abloviating and the promises
and make sure that they vote correctly on the things
(32:43):
that truly matter in their lives. That's not easy today
is there's a lot of there's a lot of clutter
out there in the political world. But there's a lot
of good people who serve in Congress and in elected office,
and we've got to we've got to appeal to who
they are as human beings and get them to do
the right thing.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Very well said well, Jay, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time, not only what you do,
but all the people on your team. It's an incredible story.
I know you've got a lot of work to do,
but last couple of decades have been incredible and I
know there's good things ahead in the future for you
and your team. Thank you so much, and I'm glad
we could feature you on CEOs. You should know.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Dennis, thank you so much. It was great to be here.
I was born in a small mill town in southern Ohio, Chillicothe, Ohio,
and I grew up there for about ten years. It's
where my grandfather worked in the paper mill. He stood
in line for six months during the Great Depression trying
to get a job in manufacturing because he knew that
would be a way forward for his family. I was
(00:21):
the only only child and the only grandchild, so I
spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My dad
was he was a division manager at Sears, but then
he opened his own appliance store, Timmins Appliance and TV.
And my mom is an amazing leadership story all on
her own. She ascended the ladder at the Chillicotha Gazette.
(00:43):
It was our local newspaper, a Gannet newspaper, and she
started out as a secretary. And she was told when
she became pregnant with me back in those days, well
she'd have to leave because you couldn't you couldn't be
pregnant work if you were a woman. That wouldn't be acceptable.
And she was going to go along with the plan
until they said, hey, we've had a person leave and
(01:04):
we need you to stay. Would you stay, and she said, sure,
I'd be happy to well, they cleaned out of closet
and they made her stay in that closet for the
entire time. She was pregnant and she had me, and
then she came back to work. She worked away up
the ladder, and she became the president and CEO of
that organization in nineteen seventy nine, and the entire town
was blown away that there was this woman who had
(01:24):
ascended the ranks to become the leader of the organization.
And her story inspired me every single day to just
keep working for what's really important. We moved when I
was tend to farm their Circleville, Ohio, which, of course,
as everybody who's listening knows, is the home of the
(01:46):
Pumpkins Show, the greatest free show on earth. That was
always fun for me and the band to be able
to march in the parades there. But I raised cattle
throughout my high school years and the grass and worked
at a fast food restaurant and a grocery store, and
then I went to Ohio State. Ohio State didn't work
(02:08):
out so well for me. Loved the school, love everything
about the buck Eys, but I wasn't exactly the most
studious person in the world. I wanted to get involved
in politics, and this was the advent of the Reagan years,
and man, did I want to do everything I could
to help Ronald Reagan succeed. So I started. I went
out and I started college Republican clubs all over the state.
(02:30):
Became the state chair of the College Republicans, and at
the same time thought, hey, I'm nineteen years old. I
think I had a run for office. So I ran
for state representative and won the primary, but did not
win the general election spectacularly, so and decided then I
just don't think I want to stay in college. So
(02:52):
I moved to Washington, DC and tried to get a job,
and the Reagan Revolution didn't succeed there, but ended up
going to Capitol Hill. So those were the early days
that got me here to Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, we're going to talk a lot about that in
your diverse resume, a j and all the incredible things
that you're doing now in the last almost twenty years
of the National Association of Manufacturers. But it never ceases
to amaze me, even though it's not exclusive that when
we grew up our parents can be incredible role models
and without any context, but the story that you're telling,
it sounds like they were wonderful role models for you
(03:23):
in the future that you dived into in your career.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Absolutely amazing role models parents and grandparents. My grandmother was
a stay at home mother grandmother, and I spent a
lot of time with her, watching my grandfather every single
day work hard. He had such a work ethic. I
used to go over there on the weekends and he
come home from overnight trick work, and I would sit
(03:50):
at the threshold at his bedroom door because I wasn't
allowed in because he was trying to sleep. I just
watched him snore. I don't know why that was so
fascinating to me, but I can still today, and every
once in a while, because I was a pretty rambuxious kid,
I'd make noise and he'd wake up, and it was
yell out to my grandmother, I get the boy. I
can remember that like it was yesterday. Then my dad,
(04:14):
you know, he there wasn't there wasn't you know, a
job he wouldn't do. He was always always working, always
trying to succeed. And then to watch my mother was
fairly amazing. In fact, my mother, who's eighty nine now
at age seventy one, after she retired, she decided, you know,
I'm kind of bored. I'm going to pick up a
paintbrush and start painting. And she paints the most amazing things.
(04:34):
She's at art shows. She sells all kinds of stuff.
At eighty nine. I mean, I hope I can't draw
straight line, so but I'm inspired that maybe there's something
afterwards for me too.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
That's great. And beside all the hard work that you
learn and that you've done over your career, it seems
like there's a theme of advocation. Where did that come
from about being an advocate, because we obviously do that now,
But where did that come from?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I'm not sure, but I know that from the time
I was probably ten years old, I got interested in
the news, and you know, when I was growing up,
there was some rough stuff happening. We had the hostage
crisis in Iran. We had a very bad economy. I
watched my parents' struggle as they tried to make ends meet.
(05:20):
I watched a lot of my friends and neighbors also struggle.
I watched a lot of people lose their jobs. I
watched farmers who went bankrupt, some of them actually ending
their own lives, and I just thought, you know, there's
got to be a better way, and what is that right?
How does that? How does the world work, how does
(05:41):
the economy work? And so I really just tried to
figure out how public policy intersected people's lives, and that's
why I became interested in politics. For me, it was
not really about political party or power. It was really
about policy that enabled people to live their best lives.
And that's what I think. Frankly, I think that's what
(06:01):
makes America so incredible, is that we have this thriving
democracy and this contest of ideas and end goal is
to improve things for folks who live here.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So you've done so many many things, and as I
take a look at this diverse resume, you've been a
chief of staff, You've been an executive director, chairman of
the board, now president and CEO at National Association and Manufacturers.
Was there something that you wanted to attain? You know,
as I talked to so many leaders out there, sometimes
there's a plan, sometimes there's not, and sometimes we go
on a road and it takes us another way. But
(06:35):
was there a plan as you were doing all of
this I.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Would say that I was probably taking the road less
traveled by Robert Frost's pome. Right. I didn't really know
what I wanted to do. I just it sounds cliche,
But I always wanted to make a difference, right. I
always wanted to be able to do something significant that
would help a large group of people, and certainly Americans,
just because I had that American spirat. So when I
(07:03):
came to Washington, I worked on the hill for a while.
I worked at the RNC, but I ended up with
a fellow by the name of George Allen, and he
and I crossed paths before, but we didn't really know
each other. And he started running for in a special
election for Congress. He needed a campaign manager, and it
just so happened I was ending a job and I
(07:24):
needed a job, and I literally interviewed over the phone
with him, and he said, Hey, why don't you come
start next week? So I did. We were together fourteen years.
So I was his chief of staff when he won
that seat in Congress. Then he moved to the Governor's
office after he was redistricted out of that seat. I
was his chief of staff there, the youngest chief of
(07:45):
staff in the country and the youngest in Virginia history,
and a guy who knew nothing about state government in Virginia.
But he had the confidence in me. And I'll never
never be able to thank him enough for this. But
he had the confidence in me, but he knew I
would work really, really hard to learn everything I could
and do the best job I could to help the
(08:07):
people in Virginia. He went to the Senate, I was
as chief there, and then to your point about executive
director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, it's the campaign committee.
He was chair of that while he was in the Senate,
and I ran that and I was pretty proud of
the fact that we ended up getting the largest Republican
majority since nineteen twenty seven, and that number of stays
(08:29):
is the record up to today. Having said that, during
that time, it was also a pretty difficult time because
that was at a juncture where the culture wars were
really ratcheting up. President Bush had endorsed the marriage Amendment
marriages between one man and one woman, and I was
(08:52):
outed for being gay. I had been with my then
partner for I guess probably fourteen years. We've been together
now for thirty four years, and we're married. He's my
husband now. But that was a pretty difficult time. Back then,
you really couldn't be You couldn't be a part of
the Republican Party and be identified as gay. Some would
(09:16):
say today that's also a problem, but certainly back then
it was. And so I decided to do something else
because I didn't want to hurt George Allen politically. That
was I think a very difficult thing for both him
and for me. He was very supportive of me the
whole time. He didn't know either till I was out.
(09:36):
And I ended up making my way to National Association
of Manufacturers, and I was able to reconnect with my
roots in Chilicotha, Ohio and kind of what had fed
my soul growing up was manufacturing. So I ran the
policy and Government Relations division for six years and was
named CEO in twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Well, it's a great story, and I'm glad that this
this is a great segue because you've been there for
a couple of decades now, and with your diverse resume
that you've just briefly touched on, which is absolutely incredible. Jay,
I can see why Nam was interested in you, But
why were you interested in joining them.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So manufacturing is not a partisan issue, and the success
of America I don't believe is a partisan issue. I
know that partisans want to make it that, but manufacturing
is really infused into the fabric of all we are
as an American, As Americans. I mean, think back to
Alexander Hamilton when he created a manufacturing strategy, and all
(10:38):
of the inventions and products that we've produced here in
the United States, the fact that we were the arsenal
of democracy in I would argue both World Wars, but
certainly World War Two, that manufacturing helped us to build
the infrastructure system that made us the strongest, most connected
economy in the world in the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties.
(10:59):
The advancements in health and nutrition that were made possible
by manufacturing, all of that has made us so strong,
so vibrant as a nation. And our at the nam
Our Mission statement really focuses on the four values that
(11:20):
make our industry strong and make America exceptional. And those
are free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty, liberty, and equal opportunity.
And each one of those things kind of covers every
facet of our lives. And oftentimes you see political parties
focusing on two, maybe three of those, but rarely all four.
(11:43):
And we want our elected leaders to really focus on
advancing all four of those pillars. And when we do that,
and when it's all about policy, not politics, process or personality,
that's when America really wins.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Love that. So let's do this with a National Association
of Manufacturers in a thirty thousand foot view. If you
were to tell everybody what you do, what would you
tell them?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We advocate. We advocate for the success of the more
than thirteen million people, the men and women who make
things in America, and for a better future for all
of the citizens of this country. And we do that
through work on Capitol Hill, through the legal system, through
(12:30):
advocacy with the agencies and the White House, as well
as issue advocacy campaigns that inform more people around the
country about what manufacturers do and what they're responsible for. Oftentimes,
manufacturing has just kind of taken for granted. Well, you
want to go get a car, Okay, you go to
the car dealer and you cut the best deal you can. Well,
(12:53):
somebody had to make that car. And by the way,
it's not just a machine, it's people. People had to
design it. They had to they to construct it and
build it and then ship it out to the locations
where they'd be sold. Think about the same thing with
a washing machine or a plastic bottle, or you can
think about literally anything you touch is manufactured or mined
(13:15):
or farmed. But the largest part of the economy is
really in the manufacturing sector.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So, Jay, you've got hundreds of thousands, of nine millions
of basically constituents, all these members that are part of
the association. With that said, there's got to be so
many different ideas in things how people can improve and
things that they're dealing with every day. How does the
communication work and how do you execute what you want
(13:43):
to do what they want to do. So everybody's on
the same page, because I imagine that communication is paramount
with all these different manufacturers. But what is it like?
How does it work?
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, that's actually the beauty of a trade association. You
do have to listen to your members. And we have
thirteen thousand members here at the NAM and I think
we're blessed by the fact that they they like to
give us their thoughts and their opinions, and I like
to tell us specifically what works and what doesn't. One
(14:13):
of the things that we said in twenty seventeen when
Congress was debating the tax bill was, look, this is
about investment and jobs in the United States. And what
I have heard from my members is that if you
pass tax reform in twenty seventeen, I can guarantee you
you will see more investment, more job creation, and more
wage growth. That is a promise that we will make.
(14:35):
Then we executed our promises kept campaign where we collected
all the stories of manufacturers who did exactly that. We
had record investment, we had record hiring, and we had
record wage growth over the course in the next three
years because of that rocket fuel, as President Trump called it,
that rocket fuel and that tax bill that was passed.
(14:58):
We do the same thing when it comes to regulationtions.
We do the same thing when it comes to trade
and tariffs and how that may impact manufacturer's ability to
compete here in the United States. We do the same
thing when it comes to workforce. We have five hundred
thousand open jobs in manufacturing. We want to make sure
that people know the great opportunities. But to your point,
we try to make sure that we are we're providing
(15:21):
the broad based issues set that will be helpful to
manufacturers of all sizes, in all sectors, in all regions
of the country. That tends to be very broad based
tax policy, very broad based regulatory policy, very broad based infrastructure, trade,
energy policy. And those are things that frankly, nearly all
(15:46):
manufacturers agree on. So we don't have a lot of
we don't have a lot of different opinions when it
comes on to the things that will actually make the
entire sector successful.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You had mentioned tariffs are in the news. I'd be remissive.
I didn't ask you, and I know you and I
could go for hours about tariffs. I know a lot
of people find it complicated. Some things are easy to understand,
some aren't. But when you talk to the manufacturers and
the association and we hear about tariffs right now, and
I know things are changing and it's very fluid every day,
But you running as president and CEO of the NAM,
(16:20):
what do you hope in the end happens and the
resolutionists for everybody to be the best possible scenario. What's
going on right now?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
You know, one of the things that has been the
greatest joy in this job, or the greatest joy in
working at the NAM for the time I have worked
here is we've had tremendous relationships with all of the presidents,
So President Bush, President Obama, President Trump, won, President Biden,
President Trump two. All of them want to improve manufacturing
(16:48):
and they all have a different way of approaching that.
My personal preference is to listen to manufacturers and find
out from them how they can succeed and what allows
them to hire more. And I will say this, we're
working really hard right now on that tax bill. We're
working very hard to get regulatory rebalancing done. The tariff issues,
(17:12):
it's a little complicated for us, and I wouldn't be
shooting straight if I didn't say that there's a lot
of concerns among manufacturers about whether they're going to be
able to handle the continued back and forth on tariff policy.
I don't think there's anything wrong at all with wanting
to make more things here in the United States. I mean,
(17:34):
my gosh, I represent the National Association of Manufacturers. I
want to make more stuff here in the United States. Unfortunately,
that's not always possible. We can't make everything. Ninety five
percent of the customers in the world actually reside outside
of the borders of the United States. So we want
to sell as much stuff as we can from here
in the United States to them, which means we've got
(17:55):
to have we've got to have a positive relationship with them,
and we don't need any retaliatory tariffs coming back at
US which would impede our ability to sell our products there.
I also think that it would not you know, we
have to acknowledge the fact that there are some countries
that they don't treat the United States very well. They cheat,
(18:17):
and I'm looking at China in particular, so intellectual property theft,
dumping subsidization. I think manufacturers fully expected the Administration to
go after that. There have been some surprises though along
the way, where some of our allies are receiving or
are now having tariffs imposed on them that we didn't
see that coming. So for manufacturers, we're very hopeful that
(18:40):
the Administration really is going to be able to settle
in their ninety day window all of these potential trade
agreements throughout the world get that done, so manufacturers actually
can have the certainty they need to again invest, hire
and increase wages and benefits. We also have things that
are not manufactured here, so I think of critical minerals
(19:02):
that go into to silicon chips, for instance, other things
that are mined machinery that we don't have the capacity
to make here at least yet, hopefully someday. But if
we're going to build manufacturing facilities and we have to
import those machines, if we get a forty percent tariff
on that, well, a small business can't afford to build
that factory. So we're going to have to have some
(19:25):
sort of a policy that sets those aside from tariff
policy as well. Our hope is that that's what the
administration is working on, and we're providing them with all
the information we possibly can to help them make an
informed choice.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And without super inferring a while you're talking about and
I know you don't have a crystal ball, but it
sounds like you're encouraged about the future.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
I'm always encouraged about the future when you're talking about it.
From the American perspective, I think Americans are incredibly resilient.
And I got to tell you, of all the Americans
that I've ever had the great privilege of meeting, manufacturers
are the most resilient of the resilient. And that's because
(20:04):
they you know, they've they've got to make ends meet,
they've got to figure out their whole job is to
figure out how to make things work. And they're so
important to our communities. So failure is not an option
for manufacturers. Now. You know, we hit bumpy times in
the road economically sometimes as well, but we want to
(20:27):
work with whoever the American people give us in the
White House or Congress to make things more successful for manufacturing.
By the way, manufacturing pays more on average than any
other sector of the economy. So when you create a
manufacturing job, you're supporting five more jobs in other areas
of the economy. When you invest a dollar in manufacturing,
you create almost two dollars of economic spinoff activity outside
(20:53):
of that particular facility. So that's why I elected officials
both Republican and Democrat want to see manufacturing succeed because
they know that that's important to the success of the
economy and their communities, their state in the country.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Jay, you kind of talked about some of the challenges
in the industry, What about some of the great things
are going on there. I realized that thirteen thousand members,
there's a lot going on there that's great, But is
there a common theme of some incredible things that are
happening with some of the members out there right now?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah. I think of the potential of AI and what
that is going to be able to do for manufacturing
in the United States, and we're at the very very
beginning of the AI revolution, and I don't think we
(21:43):
really to have any idea where that's going to be.
And I was actually talking to somebody last night who said,
can you imagine ten years from now when we look back,
and we'd say, these decisions that we made today had
the impact that they had on where we are in
ten years. And those decisions are who gets it and
(22:03):
who gets to use it? And will our allies be
working with us or will our adversaries be working against us.
When it comes to artificial intelligence and the development of it,
I think about all the incredible uses that it could
(22:24):
have for our national defense. I think about what it
can do for productivity in a manufacturing facility, and then
I immediately will have a comma there, because the first
thing that you're going to hear from from folks who
may be a little bit skeptical, is, oh, but it
(22:44):
will take jobs away. No, it will not. It will
actually create the need for more jobs, but different jobs
in the manufacturing sector, more highly skilled and technical jobs
that I believe our schools need to really focus on
over the course of the next decade or two. So
(23:04):
that's one thing. And then, of course a host of
new medical discoveries. We're seeing tremendous therapies being developed for
cancer and Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. Certainly the vaccinations
(23:26):
that and there's always controversy with all of that, but
I pushed that aside because I just think of how
many people were saved because of the COVID vaccine and
the new technology, the m RNA technology that was utilized
for that. And trust me, I speak from my heart
on that because my father died of COVID before the
(23:48):
vaccine was developed, and no family should have to go
through that. So I'm eternally grateful that science and manufacturing
enabled us to have that that development. And there's so
many more things like that out there that it's just
the possibilities are endless.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, they sure are, and I appreciate you sharing all that.
And it's been my personal experience in this series. I've
had an opportunity right here locally to talk to Montgomery
County Economic Development. The biotech industry right in the Rockville,
Maryland area is exploding. They're all moving here. And it's
really you know, because NIH is close and it makes
a lot of sense why, but just that industry itself
(24:28):
is just booming here in this area.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Your Governor Wes Moore is in Maryland is an absolute
salesman trying to recruit as many as he can, and
my Governor Glenn Youngkin is competing with him, and I
think it's fun to watch them both talk about all
the great things that the states have to offer.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Yeah, it really it listened to a healthy competition, right.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
That's right. It's a good thing. You know. Look, if
we get all the policies right at the national level,
that just opens it up for fifty dates to compete
against each other to attract those jobs.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, that's right. Well, Lis, I want to put a
pin in work just for a second, if you could
indulge me and talk about philanthropic and charity work. And
when you do have the time, Jane, I know you're
busy because the job, you're a family man, but when
you do have time to be a part of something.
What do you like to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Look, I've seen over the course of my time in
the workplace the things that really can impact people that
you work with, things like difficult diseases. So I was
able to be involved in the Alzheimer's Vision Gala a
few weeks ago and tell my grandmother's story and also
(25:42):
to work to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association I've
been involved. I think one of the most profound things
that can happen to a family is for them to
get a new pet. So I was the chair of
the Washington Humane Society it's now the Humane Rescue Alliance
for I think seven years and encouraging the adoption of
(26:03):
companion animals. But I think the thing that really hits
closest to my heart our children's issues and family issues.
I mentioned I've been with my husband for thirty four years.
We have three wonderful children. I have a freshman in
high school, I have an eighth grader, and I have
the girl girl and then a third grade boy, and
(26:27):
they're all just fantastic kids. They were all born through
surrogacy and the two oldest or biologically related to either
my husband or I, and the third was a snowflake embryo,
and by that I mean the family that he was
a part of had completed their family. They had four children,
(26:50):
and they asked if we would accept accept the embryo
and adopt or take it as our own, which we did,
and we found an amazing in Wisconsin. A few weeks
before the baby was born, we went to court to
get our pronal rights. We were granted pronal rights. Weirdly,
another judge came in, swooped in, took those parnal rights away,
(27:12):
apparently didn't like the look of a gay family. I
don't know what it was. And this went on for
ten months. Thank god, we never lost our temporary custody.
But at the end of that his ruling said that
we were human traffickers for bringing an embryo into existence,
(27:33):
and that he was taking away our pronal rights, he
was taking away the pronal rights of the surrogate, and
he was leaving our child an orphan and an award
of the state. After that disgraceful ruling, he resigned. No
no surprise there, but we had. We were tangled up
in courts in Wisconsin for three four years while we
(27:56):
ended up getting our pronal rights back rather quickly. We
came after Guardian ATLTEM so that he wouldn't want to
do this to others. And at the end of all
of this, our local legislator in Virginia ended up introducing
a bill and in order for other same sex families
(28:17):
not to have to go through the same thing. And
I lobbied Republicans, he lobbied Democrats. We got about a
third of the Republicans, all the Democrats. We got that
bill through and the Governor, Ralph Northam at the time,
signed it at our preschool at our church, Walker Chapel
United Methodist Church, and he had Jacob on his lap,
(28:39):
our son, and our daughters Catherine and Ellie were standing
there watching. And it's now known as Jacob's Law. So
that kind of advocacy for children and families and equality
really matters a lot to my husband, Rick and I.
We've been involved in family equality for a number of
years where we started Jacob's Fund to help other families
(29:00):
who might find themselves in similar situations for no reason
or no fault of their own.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well, it's a remarkable story. I appreciate you sharing it,
and I think you're also showing us as we listen
that you're a fighter when it comes to advocating professionally
and personally, which I think is very cool. I did
want to ask you about leadership, so I hope you
indulge me because we have a lot of presidents, CEOs, entrepreneurs,
but also young people futures that want to get into
(29:27):
whatever turns them on and what they want to be
good at. So when it comes to leadership, Jay, what
does it mean to you?
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I think the number one thing about leadership is being
authentic and telling your story and kind of what you
just said, actually fighting for what you believe in. When
I actually hire people, and I've gotten to hire lots
of people over my career, I have kind of three
priorities and they seem to be different than a lot
(29:54):
of other people's. But my first priority is that that
person is going to have loyalty to the team, not
loyalty to the boss. That's the easy part, right, It's
got to be the person has to be loyal to
the entire team. They have to be willing to accept,
you know, all of the pros and cons, the positives,
(30:15):
the challenges with the entire team. The second thing is
they kind of have a really strong work ethic. They've
got to be willing to be willing to work hard
to get the job done and know that there's probably
more jobs than the job that they were hired to do.
And the third, and actually the least important thing to
me is their experience in actually doing the job or
(30:38):
their ability to do the job, because I kind of
figure if you've got those first two things, then you're
going to be able to pick up the third. So
those are the things that are important to me. And
as far as leadership goes, just being yourself, being approachable
and being authentic and being a fighter for your beliefs,
it's critical outstanding.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Thanks for sharing. Well, let's do this. I really enjoyed
the conversation, but I do want to get some final
thoughts from you, Jay about what we've talked about. We're
going to give a website to everybody, folks. There's a
lot of information on there. It's easy to navigate it.
Some beautiful website. With that said, Jay, some final thoughts
from you to recap what we've talked about. The floor
is yours.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yeah, I appreciate that, and you're right. Nam dot org
is where we're housed, and we invite people to take
a look at that. Really, I think what is so
important for America right now is, look, we're divided. There's
no question about that. Manufacturing is one of those things
that can bring us all together, but so can our
(31:38):
communities and the things that we want to see for
our kids' future and the success of our communities, and
all of that revolves around policy. It doesn't revolve around politics, personality,
or process. And in today's environment, especially with social media,
it is so hard to remember that. As long as
(31:59):
we stay focused on the policies that improve people's lives,
then what that does is is is it really strengthens
the soul of our country and it allows America to succeed.
For us, it allows manufacturing to succeed. And we know
here at the NAM when manufacturing succeeds, when manufacturing wins,
(32:22):
America wins. So the bottom line is everybody has to
hold their elected leaders accountable for the things that they
want to see happen. They need to they need to
hold their elected officials accountable for cutting through all the
talk and the chatter and the abloviating and the promises
and make sure that they vote correctly on the things
(32:43):
that truly matter in their lives. That's not easy today
is there's a lot of there's a lot of clutter
out there in the political world. But there's a lot
of good people who serve in Congress and in elected office,
and we've got to we've got to appeal to who
they are as human beings and get them to do
the right thing.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Very well said well, Jay, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time, not only what you do,
but all the people on your team. It's an incredible story.
I know you've got a lot of work to do,
but last couple of decades have been incredible and I
know there's good things ahead in the future for you
and your team. Thank you so much, and I'm glad
we could feature you on CEOs. You should know.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Dennis, thank you so much. It was great to be here.
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