Most regions have pockets of manufacturing strength. Very few have a manufacturing ecosystem. Matt Bogoshian has spent 15 years trying to change that.

In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, host Chris Luecke sits down remotely with Matt Bogoshian, Executive Director of the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC) – the nation’s only designated National Manufacturing Community of Practice.

Matt brings the on-the-ground experience of someone who has spent years helping communities across the US turn good intentions into real, durable systems change.

Together they dig into the Big Six elements that every thriving regional manufacturing ecosystem needs, the five steps to creating lasting systems change, and why trust is the one precondition that has to come before everything else.

Matt also shares the story of ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’, a program getting middle school students inside real factories and changing how the next generation sees manufacturing careers.

In this episode, find out:

What it takes to build a regional manufacturing ecosystem of support, and why it requires more than any single organization or initiative
Why the ‘American project’ can’t succeed long-term without a strong base of manufacturing priority products, and what that means for every community in the US
The five steps to creating lasting systems change: relationship building, storytelling, strategy, activation, and the critical step most initiatives never reach
Why trust is the precondition for every other element of ecosystem building
What the Big Six elements of a thriving manufacturing ecosystem are, and why most regions are underperforming in at least four of them
How the Big Six framework helps diagnose where any region stands, and what coordination looks like when it’s working
Why the gap between regions that thrive and those that don’t is rarely about resources, and what it’s really about
How ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ is changing how young people see manufacturing careers, and why there’s no ceiling on where those careers can go

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Tweetable Quotes:

“The American project is not going to thrive long term unless we have a strong cornerstone of manufacturing priority products.” – Matt Bogoshian
“Trust is the coin of the realm. Having trusted relationships is really a precondition to everything else.” – Matt Bogoshian
“There’s no ceiling on how high a kid could go in manufacturing.” – Matt Bogoshian

Links & mentions:

American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC), representing a coalition of nationwide communities with the shared goal of revitalizing American manufacturing
The Buena Vista, opened in 1916, this corner spot in San Francisco serves its signature Irish coffee alongside American staples

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

280: How to Create a Manufacturing Ecosystem of Support with Matt Bogoshian, Executive Director at the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC)