How Smart Manufacturers Are Winning with Customer Experience and AI | Brian Morrell | Ep 85

The Brand Moat Competitors Can’t Copy: Documentary Marketing for B2B & M&A | Peter Murphy Lewis | Ep 86

Many technically excellent B2B companies and manufacturers struggle to explain why their work matters to non-technical buyers, investors, employees, and acquisition targets. This week, Bill interviews Peter Murphy Lewis, fractional CMO, CEO, and documentarian, to discuss how documentary-style storytelling can help complex companies create trust, strengthen brand differentiation, and communicate value in a way that traditional slide decks, short-form content, and standard rebrands often cannot. Peter shares how long-form storytelling can support private equity and M&A outcomes by creating narrative control, building a defensible brand moat, improving recruitment and retention, supporting ABM efforts, and generating earned media. This episode explores why documentary marketing is not just a vanity project, but a practical tool for companies looking to explain complexity, de-risk growth, stand out in crowded markets, and protect enterprise value in an AI-saturated environment. 🎥 Peter Murphy Lewis is a creator, director, and host of People Worth Caring About, a nationally distributed documentary series and podcast that brings dignity, empathy, and visibility to the people who care for others every day. Through intimate, on-the-ground storytelling, Peter reshapes how society views caregiving by highlighting resilience, compassion, and the quiet heroes behind the scenes. The series has completed three state-based seasons filmed in Nebraska, Ohio, and New Mexico and continues to expand its national footprint.  Alongside his work as a filmmaker, Peter brings more than 20 years of experience as a fractional executive leader and CEO advisor, combining strategic leadership with narrative purpose to build media projects that are both meaningful and scalable. ➡️ Connect with Peter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermurphylewis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermurphylewis/]  Learn more about Strategic Pete: https://strategicpete.com/ [https://strategicpete.com/]  Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/] Follow 50 Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true] Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry experts, and let us know your thoughts below!

How Smart Manufacturers Are Winning with Customer Experience and AI | Brian Morrell | Ep 85

This week, Bill sits down with Brian Morrell, COO of Stern Engineered Woven Substrates, to explore how the 137-year-old manufacturer has evolved its go-to-market strategy. From eliminating traditional sales rep layers to building direct relationships with customers, Brian shares how modern manufacturers must adapt to meet the demands of faster decision-making, technical buyers, and increasing expectations shaped by consumer experiences. Brian also discusses how Stern is improving customer experience through simple but effective digital tools, the role of transparency in industrial supply chains, and how AI and data accessibility are reshaping how engineers source and specify products. With an extensive career in process optimization and operations leadership, Brian brings a practical, transparent perspective on what it takes to modernize without overcomplicating systems, and why people, process, and trust still drive success in manufacturing. Key takeaways this week:  • Direct-to-customer strategies improve speed, value, and relationships  • Customer experience is no longer optional in manufacturing  • Simple digital tools can outperform complex systems  • AI will reshape how buyers discover and evaluate suppliers  • People remain the most critical asset in manufacturing Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-morrell-608b9465/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-morrell-608b9465/]  Learn more about Stern EWS and see the product catalog tool: https://www.sternandstern.com/ [https://www.sternandstern.com/]  Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/] Follow 50 Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true] Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry experts, and let us know your thoughts below!

Private Equity Branding: The Missing Lever in Value Creation | Marc Rust | Ep 84

Private equity has evolved beyond financial engineering, but branding and messaging are still widely underutilized as value creation levers. In this episode of The Missing Half Podcast, Bill sits down with Marc Rust to explore how private equity firms and portfolio companies can use brand clarity, internal alignment, and audience-focused messaging to drive growth and increase valuation. Marc Rust is CEO and Founder of Consequently Creative, a creative strategist, TEDx speaker, and narrative troublemaker who helps organizations find their true voice and use it boldly. Known for bringing strategic clarity with a poetic edge, Marc works with private equity firms and portfolio companies to turn brand fog into messaging that drives alignment, growth, and differentiation. In this conversation, Marc introduces the concept of “acquisition turbulence,” explains why most companies lead with what they do instead of why it matters, and shares how better messaging can improve employee retention, customer clarity, and long-term business performance. If you’re a private equity professional, operator, or B2B leader trying to improve growth during the hold period, this episode will challenge how you think about branding and its role in value creation. https://www.50marketing.com/contact/ [https://www.50marketing.com/contact/] Connect with Guest on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcr [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcr] Learn more about Consequently Creative: https://www.linkedin.com/company/consequently/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/consequently/] https://consequentlycreative.com/ [https://consequentlycreative.com/] Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/] Follow 50 Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/] Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry experts, and let us know your thoughts below!

AI in Manufacturing: What Private Equity Operators Must Get Right in the Next 24 Months

AI is everywhere in manufacturing right now, but most companies are still stuck in pilots, hype cycles, and half-finished experiments. In Episode 83 of The Missing Half, Bill sits down with Sebastian Chedal, Founder & CEO of Fountain City and Co-Founder of TestFox AI, to break down what it actually takes to move beyond proof-of-concept and into repeatable, scalable AI outcomes inside mid-market and enterprise manufacturing companies . Sebastian has spent decades leading digital transformation initiatives and now works directly with manufacturing leaders implementing AI in real operational environments. Together, he and Bill unpack why so many AI initiatives stall after early wins, where executive expectations disconnect from technical reality, and how poor data hygiene and undefined processes quietly sabotage promising projects. They explore the importance of humility in AI adoption, why smaller, focused implementations outperform grand transformation mandates, and how leadership maturity ultimately determines whether AI becomes a competitive advantage or an expensive experiment. The conversation also dives into one of the most pressing issues in manufacturing today: capturing tribal knowledge before it walks out the door. With a generational workforce shift underway, AI presents a powerful opportunity to preserve institutional expertise, democratize it across teams, and accelerate onboarding for the next generation of engineers and operators. Bill and Sebastian also discuss how private equity and investors are evaluating “AI-enabled” companies, how to distinguish real operational leverage from performative AI branding, and why the asymmetrical upside of AI makes experimentation not just worthwhile — but necessary. If you’re a manufacturing executive, operator, or investor trying to separate AI signal from noise, this episode offers a grounded, strategic look at what works now and what will matter most over the next 24 months. Connect with Sebastian at Fountain City: https://fountaincity.tech Explore TestFox AI: https://testfox.ai Connect with Sebastian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianchedal/ Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/ Follow 50 Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/ Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe for more conversations with founders, executives, and investors shaping the future of manufacturing, marketing, and growth strategy. Let us know your biggest AI challenge in the comments below.

Private Equity’s Leadership Hiring Illusion | Ep 82

In this week’s episode, Bill breaks down a costly pattern inside private equity backed companies: hiring senior go to market leaders before defining the system they are supposed to run. Too often, slowing growth triggers a reflexive search for a VP of Sales or CRO without first establishing the clarity and structure required for that leader to succeed. This episode explores why leadership cannot compensate for an undefined GTM motion, how mis hires stall momentum for 12 to 18 months, and why adding headcount before repeatability simply multiplies inefficiencies. You will learn the difference between building a system and operating one, what foundational GTM elements must exist before scaling including ICP clarity, documented sales stages, aligned handoffs, and enablement infrastructure, and how PE operators and executive teams can shift from hiring as a shortcut to clarity first, system driven growth. Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-woods-i/] Follow 50 Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true] Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry experts, and let us know your thoughts below!