Reopen? Goodwill and some Wisconsin pragmatism, please!
The COVID-19 virus plunged us into a health and economic crisis two months ago. Now, we need to plot a reasonable course that reopens our economy without sacrificing our health and safety.
WITH BUCKLEY BRINKMAN
Don’t waste a crisis, part 2: Is your company ready to restart?
In the coming weeks, we will be in position to safely restart our economy. If you are not thinking about what’s next, you are wasting this crisis and the opportunities it will create.
Critical time for Wisconsin
We face a critical time in Wisconsin. Demographic change threatens healthy economic growth and we must act collectively to meet this new challenge.
Don’t waste a crisis!
Once again, we’re learning the vital role our manufacturing base plays in our resilience and ability to maintain a strong economy in the face of a health emergency. Our current demands put tremendous stress on the system, exposing its strengths and weaknesses.
Cyberattackers are literally coming after YOUR BUSINESS!
Cyberattacks are the most serious existential threat to Wisconsin’s small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs). Most of our SMMs remain complacent and aren’t taking action to improve their resilience.
Future workforce growth requires collaboration with everybody — EVERY. BODY.
Wisconsin faces a serious obstacle to our economic growth aspirations. An aging population and historically low fertility rates combine to create a huge shortage of the people necessary to keep our workforce strong.
Leaving athletic leadership models on the field
We define our best leaders by the number of wins they deliver and their relentless focus on that goal. This model leaves little room for ethics and empathy as critical success factors.
Unheeded warnings about cybercrime nearly result in financial ruin
You may remember several months ago I wrote one of my pieces about cybersecurity and talked about a businessman who wasn’t particularly worried about his computer systems. “I don’t have anything they would want,” he told me.
An abundance mindset is part of our workforce problem
A thriving talent ecosystem demands tighter cooperation. In an era of abundance, companies could go it alone. Now, it’s critical to collaborate to build an ecosystem that develops our talent and keeps skills up to date — especially in an era of exponential change.
Ready for the soft side of technology
Almost ubiquitous technology access and worldwide connections open channels that create opportunities that weren’t possible even a few years ago. These changes and capabilities create more promise for the future and for making unprecedented progress … but technology advances are creating change we may not be ready to handle.
About This Blog
Buckley Brinkman is executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity and writes about the manufacturing sector in Greater Madison and throughout Wisconsin. He has a breadth of experience in helping companies drive growth, world-class competitiveness, and performance excellence, and has led efforts to save dozens of operations in the U.S. by finding new ways for them to compete. A Wisconsin native, Brinkman holds a business degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
