Women In Manufacturing Summit

Save the dates: September 23 - 25, 2015

Attract!

Retain!

Advance!

It is hard to believe that almost four years have passed since I participated in the inaugural Women in Manufacturing symposium. In lieu of a blog post this week, I am passing on information about the upcoming 2015 summit and sharing a #ThrowbackThursday picture of the amazing women who contributed with me on the 2011 Best Practices Discussion Panel:

Women in Manufacturing™ is a nearly 500-member-strong national organization dedicated to the attraction, retention and advancement of women who are pursuing or have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry.  This group encourages the engagement of women who want to share perspectives, gain cutting-edge manufacturing information, improve leadership and communication skills, and participate in sponsoring programs and network with industry peers. - See more at: http://www.womeninmanufacturing.org/

The Women in Manufacturing SUMMIT will be held September 23 - 25, 2015 in Minneapolis, MN. This annual SUMMIT is geared toward women who have chosen careers in manufacturing and want to share perspectives and network with others in the industry. SUMMIT 2015 is expected to attract more than 300 professional women in manufacturing with titles ranging from production to CEO. The agenda includes optional plant tours of Medtronics, Valspar, Pentair, or Caterpillar; a discussion of Generations & Gender; Transforming Your Manufacturing Business for the Digital Age; Smart Girls in STEM; Workforce Development, and much more! – To register: http://www.womeninmanufacturing.org/summit2015/register-now

If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Influencing Good Works

Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.

(Proverbs 27:17)

 

Have you ever taken a look at the people in your LinkedIn, civic, or other professional networks to evaluate whether or not you have mutually beneficial business synergies? We were developing a marketing campaign for our workforce training solutions  and this question began our brainstorming exercise.  Why would key decision makers give us an audience to discuss our vision for educating and training through workforce readiness initiatives?


In this development process, one roadblock was evident: wanting to be an advocate for young people about careers in manufacturing and influencing the parents and community leaders of the value of our program required more than wishful thinking. To achieve success, our approach had to include a clearly defined direction, a disciplined doctrine/process, and above all else, a divine determination. Still, we needed someone to lay hands on us, or as I learned in SETX, someone whose endorsement could open doors one could not open alone…an influencer.


In today’s social culture, “friending” is an action verb, not to be confused with the more traditionally understood term of friendship. Friending has reciprocity, the practice of exchanging ideas and information with others for mutual benefit, allowing access, and sometimes, special privilege. Realizing that some efforts require access to people outside of a typical network, it is wise to “friend up” with leaders, or people with great influence.


When we finalized our proposal, we identified an influential community leader with whom we had an established relationship and pitched it to him. His immediate response was simply, iron sharpens iron. After a moment of reflection, he explained the mutual benefits, or synergies, that emerge when two blades rub together. The edges of the blades become sharper and more effective for the good works to be performed. Our children need more real world exposure to jobs and career opportunities available and our approach provided a hands-on, vocational, and valuable solution.

http://www.latrobellc.com/industrial-people.php

I still prefer face-to-face fellowship and meetings. In today’s social climate, I still value relationships and friendships, and feel that regardless of the size of the professional or civic network, people do business with those that they know and trust. I am guilty of “friending” to gain access to ideas and information, but my journey has revealed that no one achieves such alone. Iron sharpens iron, which sharpens our ability to deliver real value and mutual benefits in our purposed work. Who are you influencing by your good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Good NETWorking

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

(BRIAN ANDREW "DREW" CHALKER)

People come into your life for a blessing or a lesson. I have probably blocked or delayed many blessings because of my natural tendency: my preference is not to engage in idle conversation at the grocery story, social events, airports, etc. So when I make a networking connection, I do not take it lightly as mere coincidence. By faith, I believe that when a person crosses your path, there is a purpose. It may not be obvious at first. I have learned to seek direction and clear understanding on whether the meeting is meant for a reason, a season, or a lifetime***.

• A REASON is to help you with a need by providing direction or support. The relationship ends when the work is done.
• A SEASON is to help you with a transformation by growing or evolving through some temporary period of work.
• A LIFETIME is to help you with a foundation for building up all other relationships in your purposed work.

***To read Brian Chalker’s A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime Poem in its entirety, go to

 http://www.homebiztools.com/prayer.htm

I am becoming more pro-active at networking because I understand the value of letting people know what I do. I used to think that who I knew mattered most, but in today’s climate, who knows me is just as important.  My travel schedule has increased so I have perfected the delivery of the business card, elevator pitch, and tag line to leave an impression. A closed mouth does not get fed and I refuse to miss any more blessings because I did not speak up and ask for what I want.

Last week, I was at a customer site in North Florida where my host introduced me as an engineer from Arkansas. Someone in the office volunteered that he was still waiting on an invitation to go duck hunting. I never mentioned that I was from Stuttgart, home of world renowned duck hunting. I compiled the market information I was intended to gather, and prayerfully, left a positive impression. Yet I walked away from the meeting, knowing that this was not coincidental, that one day, I will have full understanding of whether the interaction is for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. It is not happenstance that someone mentioned duck hunting in my presence. I am seeking direction on the blessing or the lesson.

Networking is no longer an option; it is a requirement for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders. What do you do to leave an impression of your good works? Let us know by commenting or sending me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.