Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom

Jay and Andrew discuss the true cost of doing business with “big name” clients who act like bullies. You know the ones. They demand unfair terms, they're slow to pay, they're quick to add red tape. Jay shares a personal story about walking away from a prestige customer that wasn’t worth the stress, cost, or collection headaches. Andrew adds cautionary tales, including lessons from a fellow shop owner who took the bait on a massive PO and paid the price in blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. They also talk about the power of peer advisory groups like Vistage and Convene. How do you avoid flying blind in your business? Get in a room with people who’ve already made your mistakes, and who won’t let you keep making them. Plus: hear about their strategies for preventative maintenance, visual controls (including genius 3D-printed “No Touchy” signs), and the delicate balance between food trucks, team morale, and post-lunch productivity crashes.

Jay and Andrew dig into the difference between organization and orderliness, unpack how simply arranging clutter isn't true organization, and how failing to eliminate what’s unnecessary leads to inefficiency, wasted time, and blocked flow. From red-tagging unused bandsaws to preserving museum-worthy prototypes, the conversation explores the emotional and practical side of decluttering. Jay shares a maintenance wake-up call involving a long-forgotten gearbox and walks through how proactive systems (like Trello and SOPs) can prevent downtime disasters. Then the duo touch on their favorite tools, ranging from $20 Japanese nippers to precision CMMs. You can get those amazing Fujiya pliers Andrew mentioned here [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L46DSR5/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=A2PJPF1OFB6YA8&psc=1] and here [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PR1MUO/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A3GZEOQINOCL0Y&th=1&psc=1].

As this episode begins, Andrew shares the lessons learned from a recent Matsuura mishap—how a forgotten chip fan caused an unexpected repairs and expensel—and how these bumps in the road are part of owning the machine, not just using it. This leads to Andrew and Jay digging into the balance between pushing limits and preventing crashes, using real-life examples of breaking tools (sometimes on purpose) to discover the edge of performance. The conversation also touches on company culture and the psychology of failure in machine shops, including the value of giving employees permission to experiment—and even fail—in healthy ways. Later in the episode, the discussion pivots into leadership philosophy. Drawing inspiration from Perry  Maughme's The Relentless Few podcast and Simon Sinek’s thoughts on measuring success, they challenge the traditional obsession with long-term goals. Instead, they advocate for direction, momentum, and principle-driven decision-making. The episode ends with a preview of a future conversation on healthy workplace conflict—and the importance of “normalizing awkwardness.”

Andrew and Jay trade stories and strategies around one of the most pivotal parts of entrepreneurship: risk. Jay recounts signing the papers for a commercial building just weeks before the world shut down in 2020—and how faith, clarity, and conviction helped him stay the course. Andrew reflects on leaving his teaching job, taking out his first major equipment loan, and learning to distinguish between high-stakes risks and small, reversible bets. Together, they explore: * How to tell if a risk is worth it—and when it’s not * The difference between existential bets and strategic discomfort * Why every major leap should be built on a bedrock of small, disciplined moves * Learning from others’ scars instead of earning your own * How lean thinking shapes their approach to change, investment, and uncertainty

The first half of this episode is all about Inbox Zero (riffing on this blog post): what it really means, why it might not matter, and how to manage information overload without wasting time or energy. From there, Jay and Andrew dig into tool change times, Matsuura automation quirks, solenoid-driven air savings, and the oft-overlooked cost of compressed air. They also get nerdy about vacuum workholding—explaining the science behind efficient setups, the inevitability of leaks, and why not all vacuum systems are created equal.