It was a Manufacturing First keynote speech that helped bring Steve Jones to where he is today.
Jones, who spent 20 years in education as an elementary school and high school teacher, as well as a highly successful football coach, met Bob Chapman when the “Everybody Matters” author and legendary Barry-Wehmiller CEO keynoted the 2018 Manufacturing First Expo & Conference. That introduction over breakfast sparked a long, life-changing friendship that ultimately gave Jones the push he needed to leave education and create the leadership coaching firm Jadin Jones.
“Probably five years ago, Bob asked me a question that kept rattling in my brain,” Jones says. “He said, ‘You’ve been doing a lot of great things in the classroom and in your football program [at Kimberly High School], but what else could you do for this world?’ I think education makes a huge impact … but [Bob] really challenged me to make a larger impact at scale.”
Jones co-authored the book “The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams” with his now-business partner, Lucas Jadin, in 2021 when the pandemic’s postponement of the high school football season gave him the extra time he needed to contemplate his next career steps and fulfill a longtime goal of putting his leadership philosophies on paper.
Having grown up in a poor family with an abusive, alcoholic father, Jones says he just wants “to help people the way people have helped me.”
So for the last two years, Jadin Jones has worked with a wide variety of businesses — including the Green Bay Packers — on combating the “twin thieves,” which the book defines as the fears of failure and of judgment, and building winning teams. A second book on the topic of “growing greatness” is in the works, Jones says, and the experience of working on the ground with a variety of organizations, including manufacturers, has opened his eyes wider to the universal truths of leadership.
“I think leaders today that can continue to grow into leaders people want to run through a brick wall for is a huge competitive advantage, regardless of industry,” Jones says, adding that he sees big opportunities to undo the leadership disconnect that sometimes occurs in large organizations. In a school, for example, it’s important for the principal to build strong relationships and support teachers so the teachers can show up for their students. On a football team, players’ relationships with their position coaches are more critical than their relationships with the head coach. And most people on the front lines in a manufacturing firm are not working directly for the CEO; their “position coach” needs to bring just as many leadership skills to the table as their CEO.
“How are we scaling and developing leaders across the board, so that people who have boots on the ground are being led by someone that cares about them?” Jones says. “How do you raise your level of empathy, connection and care without lowering the standard?”
In something of a full-circle moment, Jones will keynote Manufacturing First Oct. 30 at Resch Expo in Green Bay. His address, “Developing Leaders Who Grow a Winning Culture,” will aim to inspire attendees to grow their leadership skills at all organizational levels. Jones says he knows some participants from Northeast Wisconsin will have seen him speak before, but his keynote address contains lots of fresh content inspired by his and Jadin’s forthcoming second book.
“Once you experience success, there’s new challenges that arise that weren’t there before,” he says. “Things like entitlement and complacency sink their teeth into organizations, and [those] are obstacles and challenges we want to help people rise above in our new book.”
The opportunity to address a large group in his own backyard is exciting, Jones says.
“I believe there are a lot of amazing people that are part of Manufacturing First,” he says, “and I think it’s a huge opportunity to hopefully build a lot of great leaders who not only make an impact in their businesses, but in our communities.”
Jones’ keynote will begin at 8 a.m. on the main stage at Manufacturing First. It will kick off a jam-packed day that is also slated to feature 12 educational breakout sessions and more than 225 exhibitor booths with networking opportunities — as well as the “Power Hour” prize giveaway — on the expo floor.
Jones’ keynote is sponsored by R&R Insurance and Werner Electric Supply. R&R’s Jeff Szalacinski will present on the main stage on the topic of “Decoding Data,” and Werner’s Craig Wiedemeier will speak on the topic of “Leading with Innovation.”
In addition, Acuity Insurance will present a lunch and learn session on the topic of workplace safety, and Bryson Machonga of presenting sponsor First Business Bank will deliver the address “Secure Your Supply Chain: Preventing Payment Fraud in Vendor Relationships,” both also on the main stage.
“We have a full day of learning planned for this year’s Manufacturing First event,” says Ann Franz, executive director of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance, which organizes Manufacturing First each year in partnership with Insight Publications. “And that’s on top of the incredible networking opportunities this event affords. It’s definitely going to be the place to be October 30.”
General admission and exhibitor opportunities remain available at manufacturingfirst.com. All attendees who register before Oct. 3 will also receive an exclusive invitation to a Manufacturing Month kickoff event Oct. 3 at Werner Electric Supply in Appleton. This event will feature a live recording of NEWMA’s and IOM’s NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary; tours of Werner Electric; and a cybersecurity panel discussion. October is not only manufacturing month, but cybersecurity month, and the panel, Franz says, will be an ideal opportunity to focus on both topics.
“Technology has been a prevailing theme at NEWMA in the last year, and that means cybersecurity remains top of mind for our members,” Franz says. “We are grateful to Werner Electric for hosting this opportunity for additional learning and networking ahead of Manufacturing First.”
This year’s Manufacturing First Expo & Conference marks the 14th annual event, which moved to Resch Expo for the first time two years ago and has broken attendance records annually since.
“As always, we’re just so excited about the growth and opportunities around Manufacturing First,” says Insight Publisher Brian Rasmussen. “It’s going to be another great year for this event.”
More information and to register manufacturingfirst.com
