Productivity for Manufacturing Managers: Communicating with Clarity to Influence Teams and Drive Results with Patricia Fripp #70
Release Date: 07/27/2022
Workforce Development and Leadership Development: The Showing Up Gap That Is Undermining Your Manufacturing Productivity #172
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! Most manufacturing leaders believe that if they were clear, the message landed. But there is a gap that almost no one sees — the distance between how you think you show up and how your team actually experiences you. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, Trevor...
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Lean Manufacturing Leadership for Plant Managers: Why Kaizen Fails Without Curiosity with Dr. Debra Clary #171
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! What if the biggest obstacle to your lean manufacturing results isn't the process at all? It might be the person leading it. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, learn more with Debra Clary, author of The Curiosity Curve, about one of the most overlooked blind...
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Manufacturing Leadership Development: The 3 Conversations That Fix Accountability, Alignment, and Results #170
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! If you’ve ever thought “I already explained this” but still are not getting the results you expect, the problem may not be effort, it may be alignment. In this episode, Trevor Blondeel explores how gaps in communication skills and unclear expectations impact...
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Manufacturing Leadership Development: Why Connection Drives Productivity and Retention with Morag Barrett #169
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s manufacturing environment, the biggest barrier to productivity, talent retention, and employee satisfaction isn’t equipment or process, it’s connection. Organizations may invest in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and process optimization, yet engagement,...
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Why Productivity Problems Start at the Top: Manufacturing Leadership and Employee Retention: #168
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, we break down why manufacturing leaders plant owners, operations managers, and production managers continue to struggle with employee retention, manufacturing productivity, workforce engagement, and frontline performance on the shop floor. Even after...
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Leadership Resilience in Manufacturing: Leading Under Pressure with Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier #167
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s demanding manufacturing environment, frontline supervisors and plant leaders are expected to deliver higher production efficiency, stronger quality management, and better manufacturing productivity often while navigating workforce pressures and constant operational...
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Why People Leave Manufacturing Jobs — A New North American Research Study #166
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. If you have questions regarding workforce development in manufacturing operations in North America, email me at and we will propose it in the project scope of research. Why are manufacturing organizations struggling to recruit and retain great people? Let’s find out together! Manufacturing...
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Resilience for Frontline Supervisors: Building High Agency to Navigate Adversity and Improve Team Performance with Vickie Lanthier #165
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Vickie Lanthier author of High Agency Human: Navigate Adversity and Live Big and former military leader with four deployments shares practical strategies for building personal agency in high-pressure environments like manufacturing. Drawing...
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Defining Manufacturing Greatness: Help Me Choose the Subtitle #164
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In manufacturing, most leaders don’t struggle because they lack technical knowledge. They struggle because they’re not connecting with their teams. When skill gaps widen, labor shortages grow, and hiring challenges persist, it’s rarely an operations problem. It’s...
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Manufacturing Leadership Development for Plant Managers: Driving Continuous Improvement Through Curiosity on the Shop Floor with Bruce Mayhew #163
Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Bruce Mayhew, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, executive coach, and author, shares insights on manufacturing leadership, communication skills, and trust building for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors. You’ll...
info_outlineWelcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit www.manufacturinggreatness.com and click here to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter.
Now, let’s jump in!
Stuff, things, literally, simply. How often do these words sneak into your everyday conversations on the shop floor?
In this episode, Patricia Fripp joins the podcast to share powerful insights on manufacturing leadership, communication skills, and authentic leadership for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors.
As an executive speech coach and Hall of Fame keynote speaker, Patricia breaks down how small language habits impact credibility, trust building, and engagement. You will learn practical strategies to sharpen your message, strengthen leadership presence, and use clear communication to inspire action and improve team performance.
0:45 – The best manufacturing leaders are the ones with the best communication
5:45 - “7% is what you say, 30% is how you say it, and 55% is how you look” – is there any truth to this?
8:00 - If your words are well crafted and well-delivered, you can change your organization
8:11 – In a busy industry like manufacturing, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of words in our everyday lives
8:22 – When there’s a miscommunication, leaders might assume the other person just didn’t understand, but it’s often an issue with words and phrasing
8:36 – “Stuff” is a rubbish word
9:00 – By being specific with your word choices, you inspire confidence and build credibility
10:00 – “If it weren’t a thing, what would it be?” Use specific words to replace unclear words like stuff or things
10:30 – Specific communication is especially important when you’re speaking to someone who doesn’t speak English as their first language
11:57 – If it’s not fruit, it’s not a bunch! Use numbers and specifics instead
13:16 – When possible, use shorter sentences to communicate and keep your communications to one idea per sentence
13:40 – Speak with the aim of being remembered and repeated
14:20 – By taking a pause, you give yourself a chance to breathe and allow the other person time to process
15:11 – “Literally” and “simply” are also naughty words!
18:48 – To improve your communications, record yourself and listen to the words you frequently use
21:00 – Depending on their background and culture, people may express themselves differently
22:00 - To inspire commitment and quality, ask them if their work would be good enough to sell to their own mother
23:00 – Ask as an advocate for your audience
24:52 – Every leader needs to show the person they are beyond their position
Connect with Patricia Fripp