As spring makes its early bloom (well, right after we get through this snow storm), it won’t be terribly long before students will be out of school for summer. Have you considered bringing on one (or more) of those students as a technical intern? If you haven’t thought about developing an internship program at your company, you absolutely should. Here are some reasons why:

•  It will help you later: A common concern throughout all of manufacturing is the lack of skilled workers. Bringing on an intern is one step toward building your own “homegrown” talent. They will get trained to your specifications, for the skills that you need.
• It’s “try before you buy”: When you hire someone off the street, you always take a risk that the person who seemed so great in your interview won’t really cut it on your shop floor. With an intern, you get a number of weeks to see how well they perform and fit into your company culture. They’ll know you, and you’ll know them. Come time for the intern to find a full-time job, they’re going to know and remember you, and you may just have the perfect hire.
• It’s low cost: Sure, if you can afford to pay your interns something, you absolutely should. Rules vary in terms of how much you have to pay, but the bottom line is that it won’t cost you as much as a full-time hire. (If you only offer bare-bones pay, however, or no pay at all, your schedule should accommodate the intern’s possible need to work another paying job. It’s true that you are paying them with real-world experience, but many of them still have tuition bills and living expenses.)
• Schools can help you find them: Some educational institutions require a certain number of experience hours for a student to earn a degree. Contact your local community or technical college to find out if they have such a program, or how you might get in touch with eligible students.
• They aren’t just limited to summer: If you can be flexible around class schedules, interns are often available year-round. Again, contact your local educational institutions to find out if they have a formal internship program.

MTCareers is the place to find the pipeline of newest talent coming into the manufacturing industry. Post your internships and entry-level job openings at MTCareers.org.

Spoiler alert … I finished the Disney marathon without the help of Goofy, performance enhancing drugs, or an ambulance. Jakestrong! However, my physical and mental limits were stretched further than I could have imagined. The saying “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” is factually true, but what is never mentioned is that, “it’s not a half marathon either - it’s two half marathons.” Which is to say it’s a really, really long way to run!

Sitting in a restaurant at Disney’s Wild Kingdom Lodge two nights before the race, two zebras eat their dinner outside the window, and I contemplate whether I need a drink or not. “Need” is the wrong word, as it had been a long day of work and travel with the added bonus of seeing Mickey’s face everywhere, and hearing his voice constantly since landing in Orlando. I opt for the mango margarita. Rationalizing that the benefit of the fruit puree would outweigh the deleterious effects of sugar and alcohol on my body 2 days before a marathon, I place the order.

Flash forward to mile 20 of the marathon and I realize I made the wrong choice. This is no Jimmy Buffett concert. My left hamstring is now so cramped I can barely walk and I am sure the Vitamin C from the mango is all used up. The first half of the race had gone by so smooth, but the last 6 miles were tougher than I could have imagined.

Around mile 13 I felt poised for success and kicked it in to high gear. Seven miles later the hot Florida sun began taking its toll, and all the cheery Disney characters along the course were replaced by their snarling, villainous counterparts, weird right?. With only 6 miles to go I was crestfallen, and wondered how I was going to finish. My leg muscles were shutting down after 20 miles of running in 70+ degree weather and 100% humidity. Every ounce of fluid I poured in to my body was being pulled out just as fast. My mind wanted me to go faster, but my body kept telling me that wasn't gonna happen. Cramps are no joke, and running the last 6 miles of the marathon was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. My goal was to finish the race in 4:20, and my total time in crossing the finish line was 4:51, but I did it.

As exhilarating as it was to finish my first marathon, I was humbled by the difficulty of the physical challenge and the huge mental effort it took to finish. A nice self-realization occurred slapping Goofy a high five at the finish though … I had run head long into my limitations and found I could keep going. It wasn’t pretty, but I didn’t stop. I know deep down that I will never stop, and that is some pretty powerful stuff. 


The choices we make have consequences. Choosing to run a marathon led to months of training, which had a huge positive effect on my life. Regardless of how I felt on any given training day, I couldn’t quit or slack off too much because the race loomed over my head, driving me forward. Choosing a margarita two days before the race contributed to cramping up at mile 20. For better or for worse, the amount of control we have over our lives is astounding. Signing up for a marathon, actually led me to run a marathon, so from now on, I chose to be awesome. I’ll let you know how it works out.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research recently published a study titled “What Attendees Want From Exhibitions.” It gives some interesting insight into why attendees plunk down their registration money – and what they expect to get in return.

The researchers asked its survey responders to give their top reasons for attending a show. While “shopping” was cited by 69% of surveyed attendees, “learning” followed a close second at 66%. Among shopping needs, “seeing new technology” was the most important reason given, while “industry trend insight” was given as the top learning need.

Other top reasons given among the shopper crowd: The ability to talk to experts; interaction with new products; having questions answered immediately; and brand comparison. On the learning side, they also wanted to develop their professional network and improve their job performance.

While IMTS 2014 might still seem like a long way off, this is a good time for exhibitors to begin asking themselves if their booth offerings are meeting these needs. Are you offering any kind of learning opportunity? What kind of ideas are your booth visitors going to take away with them? Are your booth presentations offering dynamic content that’s more than a product pitch?

One area of focus within the report is the people they label “scouts,” or someone that an organization sends out to gather information to bring back to others. Since this one person could ultimately be your “brand reputation” at their respective organization, it’s important to identify these people … and leave a good impression.

Remember, trade shows aren’t just a supermarket anymore … they’re growing into a mix of shopping mall, classroom, town square, and coffee shop. Evaluate your booth plans to see how well they fit into that mix.

As many of you know, at the end of January, AMT’s Team Disney was in Orlando to test their training, strength, stamina and will power as they attempted to complete the 26.2 mile Disney World Marathon. Ten members of AMT's staff participated in the challenge, most of whom never really had much running experience previously, but all focused on a common goal … to finish a marathon. They trained for more than 6 months, spent hours on the trails and roads logging the required mileage to ensure their success and swapped stories of tough runs, new gear, minor injuries and how amazed they were at their own progress and increasing fitness and endurance.
 
All 10 achieved the goal of finishing the course in the required time!  While the finishing times, of course, varied (especially on what turned out to be a VERY hot day for a marathon), the final result was the same for each runner … knowing they had worked hard with a specific purpose in mind, overcame many challenges, and achieved the goal they had set out to accomplish!
 
The reality is that this process is not much different if you are launching a new event, designing a new building, creating a new product, or running a marathon … a focused goal, clear objectives, structured planning, pushing through adversity, leveraging colleagues for support and guidance and the satisfaction of seeing your efforts pay off!

Watch the video about the AMT Marathon Challenge.