EP01
There's no worker shortage
Rob Hillman · Queen City Robotics Alliance
Blind spot The shortage isn't people. It's what we don't invest in them.
The Makers Network · a video podcast
For everyone
For everyone
who makes things.
And everyone who helps them make things better. Season 1 is about blind spots: costs you don't see, people you don't hear, technology that does more or less than promised. Straight talk with the people who found one, and what they did about it. New episodes every Thursday.
See what's really happening
Stories from real floors, not slide decks.
Try it before you pay for it
Ideas you can test on Monday morning.
People first, then technology
Tools that help people do their best work, not replace the conversation.
Season 1 · Blind Spots
Seven blind spots. Seven people who found them.
Each guest names one thing that's hard to see at first glance, and what they did about it.
Oct 29
EP02
Accelerant, not autopilot
Jared Nichols · NuFuturist
Blind spot AI speeds up whatever you point it at, mistakes included.
EP03
AI can't shake your hand
Hans Hilgenstock · Cargo Modules
Blind spot What AI can't see: trust between the people moving the freight.
EP04
Adopt AI on purpose
Celestine Pressley
Blind spot AI rollouts fail on people, not on technology.
EP05
The not-paying-attention fee
Pat Weaver
Blind spot A currency fee that never shows up on the invoice.
EP06
Your team is scared of you
Jaime Lane · LINK Lake Norman
Blind spot Your hourly team is scared of you, and of the automation you bring in.
EP07
You're paying two salaries to train
Joe Little · Central Piedmont Community College
Blind spot The shortage is real, and we're looking in the wrong place, sometimes starting with our own job posting.
The show
One blind spot. A clear route through it.
Every episode follows the same shape, so you always know what's coming next.
Opening
The claim
We start with the guest's boldest line. If it doesn't make you stop scrolling, it doesn't open the show.
The route
Waypoints
Before the conversation starts, you see the map: three to five stops, one per chapter. Plain words, real examples from people who have been on the floor.
Coming up
The Next Waypoint
Before every new chapter, a short heads-up tells you where the conversation goes next.
The takeaway
Blind spot
The one line worth remembering, pulled out on screen when the guest says it.
Somebody made the chair you're sitting on and the phone in your hand. This show is for them: everyone who makes things, and everyone who helps them make things better.Your host
Torian Richardson
CEO, DBR77 USA. Born on the South Side of Chicago and the first in his family to graduate from college, Torian has spent more than 25 years running operations on four continents. He managed a P&L of $87 million and a team of 2,200 people at MV Transportation, led inclusive recruiting at NVIDIA, and built digital education programs in Lagos with the World Bank.
He calls his leadership style courageous vulnerability: open, candid and quick to act. On The Makers Network he talks with the people who run, staff and rebuild American manufacturing.
Harvard Business School GMP · Tsinghua University, M.A. · Former Board Chair, F3 Nation and GlobalMindED
Make more with what you've gotHands-onSimpleTell us straight
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New episode every Thursday. Subscribe where you watch or listen.
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Make things? Fixed something nobody else could?
We're booking Season 2. If you have a story about people, skills or a change that actually worked on the floor, tell us straight.
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For manufacturers
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