S10E16: Ted Cowie Reflects on 40 Years in Industrial & Safety Sales
Release Date: 06/05/2024
S12E10: Unlocking the Secrets of Sales Compensation
The MDM Podcast
SHIFT 2025 speaker Donya Rose joins to discuss the intricacies of sales compensation plans, particularly in the B2B sector. We tackle the evolution of sales compensation, recent trends post-pandemic and common challenges and questions that companies are pursuing solutions for. Our discussion also emphasizes the role of analytics and human motivation in designing effective compensation strategies.
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S12E9: Be the Steve Irwin of Distribution and Rethink Team Dynamics
The MDM Podcast
Contrary to popular belief, culture isn't a soft skill. It's a competitive advantage, says executive leadership consultant Darcy Blessing-Williams, who is set to speak at MDM's SHIFT conference in May. She joins the podcast to discuss a zookeeper framework geared for understanding and fostering team behavior. This framework simplifies complex behavioral science.
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S12E8: Why Tech Fails Salespeople & How to Leverage it
The MDM Podcast
Former Wesco leader Ben Albu shares why so many sales tools end up in the "technology graveyard" in this preview to his SHIFT Conference session on leveraging sales technology for success.
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MDM Amplify: How to Navigate the Tariff Paradigm
The MDM Podcast
Amid a rapidly changing tariffs environment, a trio of experts from Grant Thornton stop by to discuss the strategic moves distributors and transporation providers can make to best position themselves to protect margins and supply chain operations no matter what comes next.
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S12E7: Imperatives Amid Evolving Go-to-Market Strategies
The MDM Podcast
Ahead of speaking at MDM's May SHIFT conference, Redwood Advisors' John Nantz stops by to discuss major industry changes driven by market forces, technology advancements and changing customer expectations. He outlines five key imperatives that high-performing distributors are using to stay competitive and differentiate themselves.
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S12E6: MDM Podcast: Talent Talk with Dr. Bharani
The MDM Podcast
We chat with talent recruitment and retention guru Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam - who leads Texas A&M's Master of Industrial Distribution program - about a range of vital talent topics and to preview his culture-focused roundtable discussions at our May SHIFT conference and a standalone session there based around fostering an environment where diverse teams can thrive.
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S12E5: MDM Podcast: An AI Research Primer Ahead of SHIFT
The MDM Podcast
Kevin Reid-Morris has led much of MDM's qualitative AI industry research over the past few years, and he's set to share the results of his major two-year project at our SHIFT conference. Here, he and Tom Gale discuss the transformative impact of AI in distribution and that project which identified over 50 practical AI use cases that distributors can implement to enhance operational efficiency and gain a competitive edge.
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S12E4: Scaling Smart - How an Industrial Distributor Grows From its Roots
The MDM Podcast
From Wall Street to the warehouse — twice. Two executives from A&M Industrial's leadership team share their parallel journeys back to their (now third generation) family-owned distribution business. Hear how innovation, value-added sales and market expansion are built on the foundation of deep company values that forged its reputation in industrial distribution.
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S12E3: Voices of NAW's 2025 Executive Summit
The MDM Podcast
At NAW's marquee annual event, we had mini-interviews with 10 different distributor executives about their company's biggest initiatives in 2025; the industry's top challenges and reasons for optimism; and what they get out of the event.
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S12E2: PT/MC Market Evolution and Product Information Sharing
The MDM Podcast
Two longtime power transmission/motion control industry veterans, Brian Short and Bill Shepard, join to discuss career retrospection; what’s changed in the market over the past four decades; their thoughts on AI; and the role of product information management, including how two leading associations are driving it forward.
info_outlineTed Cowie retired at the end of May after four decades leading distribution and manufacturing sales teams, including at Motion, Safety Today and Barnes. He and Tom Gale examine how sales strategies evolved during his career, particularly during his 10+ years at Motion, and reflect on the relationships that made his time in the industry successful.