Hardware Podcasts

From Employee-Focused to Employee-Owned w/ Ashleigh Walters

The Manufacturing Executive · 21 Mar 2023 · 26m · Episode 145

What this episode covers

Ashleigh Walters, author of Leading with Grit and Grace, details her transformation of Onyx, a family-owned manufacturing company, from a command-and-conquer culture to an employee-owned enterprise. She explains how shifting from a punitive leadership style to a coaching approach, utilizing tools like value stream mapping and Kata, empowered employees and improved focus. The episode highlights the strategic decision to transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to ensure succession, resulting in a 325% increase in stock value within a year and a half.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Onyx, Gorilla 76, Pennsylvania Center of Employee ownership, University of Tennessee
Also
Leading with Grit and Grace, Industrial Marketing Live, EOS

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 28m

    How to Lead with Grit and Grace Featuring Ashleigh Walters

    Ashleigh Walters, President of Onex, Inc., discusses her journey transforming the culture of the half-century-old industrial furnace manufacturer from a command-and-control model to one based on trust, problem-solving, and employee ownership. She details the implementation of lean tools like value stream mapping and Kata to foster a 'freedom to fail' environment, and explains the strategic decision to transition Onex into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to ensure its longevity beyond the founding family. Walters also shares insights from writing her book, 'Leading with Grit and Grace,' emphasizing the importance of leadership resilience and the challenges of succession planning.

    Leadership, teams & cultureScaling production
    8 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 33m

    177: Strengthening Your Engineering Team through Co-Ops and Employee Ownership with Marcease Warren

    Marcease Warren, VP of Manufacturing at Sentry Equipment, joins host Chris Luecke to discuss scaling a manufacturing engineering department from a single role to a team of 65 using co-op programs and employee ownership. Warren explains how Sentry Equipment, a provider of sampling equipment for the power generation industry, uses automation and 'Industry 4.0' technologies like robotic tenders to handle high-mix, low-volume production. He also busts myths about ESOPs, emphasizing that employee ownership drives a competitive culture and cost-consciousness without requiring financial risk from staff.

    Scaling productionLeadership, teams & culture
    6 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 31m

    Greatest Hits: Top 3 Leadership Lessons from Manufacturing Happy Hour

    Host Chris Lukey compiles three leadership lessons from past Manufacturing Happy Hour episodes, featuring Dan Voight of Blend Tech, Dan Stutterheim of Casa Companies, and Galina of Clarity. Dan Voight explains how he stepped into leadership to preserve an innovative culture at Blend Tech, emphasizing the need to model desired behaviors. Dan Stutterheim details how Casa Companies balanced financial health with employee well-being during the pandemic through transparent communication. Galina discusses the importance of inviting underrepresented groups to power to address unconscious bias in the cybersecurity industry.

    Leadership, teams & culture
    5 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 38m

    Steel Toes and Stilettos (and everything in between) with Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels

    Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels, co-founders of OPSisters and authors of 'Steel Toes and Stilettos,' discuss their transition from corporate manufacturing roles at Parker Hannifin and Pentair to building a lean transformation advisory business. They detail their lean transformation roadmap, emphasizing the importance of involving frontline workers and communicating a meaningful mission to reduce the 'grind' of operations. The guests share advice on co-founding partnerships, highlighting the need for complementary skills and deep trust, while advocating for leading with empathy and high-quality connections to foster employee engagement and success.

    Leadership, teams & cultureStarting a product company
    10 chapters

  • How I Built This · 44m

    Live Episode! New Belgium Brewing Company: Kim Jordan

    Kim Jordan, co-founder of New Belgium Brewing Company, recounts how she and her husband Jeff Lebesch started the brewery in their Fort Collins basement in 1991, financing it with a second mortgage and bootstrapping through manual labor. Jordan details the early struggles of securing bank loans, the decision to reject outside equity to maintain control, and the pivotal hiring of Belgian brewmaster Peter Buchard to specialize in Belgian-style beers. She explains the company's evolution into a quarter-billion-dollar enterprise and its unique culture, culminating in the decision to sell 100% of the company to its employees through an employee ownership trust.

    Starting a product companyLeadership, teams & culture
    5 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Manufacturing Executive. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.