Manufacturing Leadership + Engagement for Operations Managers: Using Your Business as a Vehicle to Serve Others and Build Stronger Teams with Joel Davis #54

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 www.manufacturinggreatness.com and click here to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter.

Now, let’s jump in!

Like me, Joel Davis grew up on a farm, starting his business as a small project at 17 and growing it into a multi-division family company in South Carolina with over 100 employees.

In this episode, Joel joins the podcast to share lessons on manufacturing leadership, authentic leadership, and growth mindset for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors.

We talk about how putting people first, investing in community, and building trust drives real results. Joel shares practical insights on accountability, communication skills, and culture, and why strong relationships are not just the foundation of his company, they are the outcome.

2:05 – spending more time with your people than you do your family, and when you look forward to helping your people personally and professionally, it no longer feels like a job

4:30 – sometimes things evolve on their own, neighbour to neighbour

5:10 – changed 10 years ago our mission, from providing quality construction service, to wanting to have a positive influence, insight from John Maxwell – 15 invaluable laws of growth

6:10 – challenges turn into growth opportunities, with turnover less than 5% extremely low for the industry, care for the employees!  Not the highest paid, but fair, honest, and enjoyable to be around

8:30 – life is too short to put on a show, what transparency looks like in an owner

10:00 - start the morning with a devotional, keep the big thing the big thing

11:00 – Values, respect, innovation, safety, and ethics RISE

11:50 – Hard to find employees like ours – ask Chick-fil-A – Stopped focusing on the resume and skills, and now hire people that want to be part of a team and the right culture fit

14:35 – Referrals from employees still number one, and encourage team members to share and use social media

16:15 – When you are engaged you can grow – Challenge is not getting the business, getting more great people- watch the video focused on their employees the video is real

18:05 – Whole lot easier to be yourself, what is the impact you are having on other people.  To break down the walls, you must be open yourself

19:10 – have a positive impact on as many people as we can

19:30 – can deal with mistakes, not a lack of integrity

21:01 - on-boarding new employees is like your relationship with your wife, create opportunities for fellowship and personal interactions to build relationships

22:30 – Community dedication started from the Bible, keeps the mindset of doing for others

24:46 – What do you want your tombstone to say between the dates?  What do you want to be remembered by? 

Joel's website

https://jdavisgc.com/#about-3

 

Watch the great video on Joel's culture!

https://jdavisinc.com/culture/