# Jon Rennie | Nuclear Submarines & Engineering Leadership

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-01-20
- Length: 49m
- Episode: 3
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/jon-rennie-engineering-leadership/

## Summary

Jon Rennie, Co-Founder, President & CEO of Peak Demand Inc., discusses his journey from a U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer to leading manufacturing businesses and founding his own company. He details how he used Six Sigma to reduce product warranty by 50% at ABB and implemented 'Fridays on the floor' to bridge cultural divides between management and hourly workers. Rennie emphasizes engineering leadership lessons from submarine life, such as shared accountability, rigorous training, and the 'run to the fire' philosophy for addressing defects early. He advises new product companies to launch imperfect iterations quickly to gather customer feedback, citing his own experience with Peak Demand's utility components.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=0) Introduction: Jon Rennie and Peak Demand Inc.
- [1:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=89) Jon Rennie's Path to Mechanical Engineering and Submarines
- [5:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=355) Reducing Warranty at ABB Using Six Sigma and Data
- [10:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=650) Turning Around Manufacturing Plants and Union Relations
- [14:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=885) Bridging Management and Shop Floor with 'Fridays on the Floor'
- [19:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=1177) Leadership Lessons from Life on a Nuclear Submarine
- [26:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=1595) Building Customer Intimacy at Peak Demand Inc.
- [30:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=1829) Submarine Analogies: Qualification, Firefighting, and Accountability
- [36:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=2214) Increasing Engineer Engagement and Emotional Intelligence
- [43:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership#t=2614) Advice for New Product Companies: Move Fast and Get Feedback

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Peak Demand Inc. (company)
- ABB (company)
- Six Sigma (tool)
- Deep Leadership (other)
- Jonsrennie.com (other)

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- [DeepDive 1-on-1 Series: THE METAPHOR - Guest Rob Carl, Founder & CEO of Global NPI Solvers (14m32s)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/npi-sherpa/2026-02-03-deepdive-1-on-1-series-the-metaphor-guest-rob-carl-founder-ceo-of-global-npi-sol) (NPI Sherpa)
- [The Shared Responsibility of Upskilling the Workforce w/ Bill Berrien](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-03-14-the-shared-responsibility-of-upskilling-the-workforce-w-bill-berrien) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Leading by Empowering Your People](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-14-leading-by-empowering-your-people) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [180: Made in Missouri, Live from the 2024 Midwest Manufacturers Trade Show & Conference](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-04-09-180-made-in-missouri-live-from-the-2024-midwest-manufacturers-trade-show-confere) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-20-jon-rennie-nuclear-submarines-engineering-leadership. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.