Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Supporting FIRST

Here are my top reasons for supporting FIRST® — my company has been an official program sponsor since 2007, and I recently attended the 2012 championship in St. Louis, MO with part of the BWC team.

1. Kids learn how to work productively in groups
2. Creating a functional robot from a bunch of parts is pretty darn exciting
3. Kids learn why they want to stay in school
4. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) matters
5. Girls get a chance to get actively involved in STEM
6. Yes, girls can grow up to own and run engineering/manufacturing companies
7. Raising money for something you believe in is a great skill
8. How you play the game can be as important as winning the game — gracious professionalism
9. Being smart, creative, nerdy or geeky is cool
10. Dean Kamen is my kind of rock star!

Psst — Get the infographic my creative team made about this year's program... we've got a PDF download on our website. Check is out and let me know what you think!

[ infographic ]

We’re Fools For Being Number One

Just in time for April Fools, on April 1, the United States became the country with the highest corporate tax rate in the world. This was triggered by Japan reducing their rate. As cited by The Daily Caller, “Our top corporate tax rate has hovered at 35 percent for years. Meanwhile, other countries have gotten the message that lowering corporate taxes encourages growth. Canada has engaged in a series of cuts, ultimately reducing its corporate rate to 15 percent. Great Britain recently announced it will drop its corporate tax to 24 percent next month and then 22 percent by 2014.”

I know some of you are going to say, well what about all those big companies that pay no taxes? Well you are right. The effective tax rate for the large companies drops us to about sixth highest in the world, according to some economic pundits. The problem is that most companies are not operating like those big guys and it is the small and medium size businesses that are really the economic engine of our country. When you figure that most small business are filing as S corps, then I have heard that the effective tax rate could be as high as 50 percent.

In my state it is even worse since California is broke. There is no plan in sight to create any sort of economic development. Instead we pass the most stringent environmental laws IN THE WORLD that cost billions to California based businesses. Now we have two proposals to increase income taxes, once again, a direct hit to all those small businesses that file as S corps.

For those of you who complain about U.S. jobs moving off-shore, this tax burden is a huge part of that equation, along with the fact that US companies carry about a 20 percent regulatory cost burden above any other country in the world.

Personally, I would love to see the tax loop holes closed up and a movement toward a flatter tax rate. There is definitely a problem when I am in a meeting to discuss tax issues for small business and the two IRS representatives can’t even agree on what the tax law is or how it should be applied.

I know this is a hot topic right now, so share your creative ideas on how you would solve our country’s tax code problems and once again make us competitive with the rest of the world.

Someone help! Is there a machinist in the house?

I fly often, and often enough, that I have actually been on several flights where the call for a medical expert had been requested. The good news has always been that the call was answered in each of these instances.

As many of you know I get pretty passionate about the state of manufacturing in the United States, sided with a deep care for STEM education opportunities we are providing for our kids. The fact that as a nation we tend to no longer value skilled labor is a crime. It has severely affected our ability to remain the largest manufacturing economy in the world, but more disturbing, is that we have limited the opportunities for our children to exploit their talents and entrepreneurial spirit.

I was recently listening to some talking heads on television that said manufacturing was dead because we are now about the use of technology. What an ignorant statement! But unfortunately that is the belief still held by too many Americans. They still think of manufacturing like it existed in the days of Henry Ford — dirty, low wages, oppressive environments, relying on massive amounts of unskilled labor. We have come so far from that!

Almost every machine on my production and machining floor is run by a computer. Guess what, computers don't program themselves. Someone has to write the program that can create the final part needed, and if that’s for a multi spindle or axis machine, that starts to get fairly complicated.

Making chips fly and producing something out of raw materials is an art form as well as a technical skill and we are losing both at an alarming rate in this country.

The impact of this really hit home during my last quarterly sales meeting with my regional sales managers. As each one reported on their top priorities, they talked about the key issues with each customer and what was needed for the project to go to production. Over and over I heard them report that customers can't find the skilled labor they require to make their product. Granted, this is more than just machinists; their request for help includes needed support from mechanical engineers, CAD specialists, technical sales people, protection workers, programmers etc.

How sad that with the rate of unemployment we have in this country, we still don't have the skill sets we need to capitalize on the manufacturing opportunities we have available. How scary it is that when we call out for skilled and technical employees, the response is mostly silence.

Shame on us.

Have You Thanked Your Mentors Lately?

In the spirit of National Mentoring Month in January I spent time looking back, thinking about the people that helped shape me into who I am today. This is by no means a complete list but I found this exercise really interesting. It would be great if I could somehow thank all of these people for their help along the way.

Bud Wisecarver – My dad. He taught me several great lessons. First off – do what you love. If you really love what you are doing it isn’t really work. To this day my Dad, at 84, is still working four days a week. I saw firsthand the value of being a hard worker and being dedicated to your craft. He was always telling me, “A job worth doing is worth doing well.” He also told me all the time that, “The machine is only as good as the operator.” I could write a whole other blog on that one!

Mrs. Black – My kindergarten and fifth grade teacher. This woman just got me, and she understood how to support me but challenge me at the same time. I was so lucky to have such an amazing teacher twice. She made me feel normal and OK with who I was at the time. Not an easy task. She was really the first person to tell me it was OK for a girl to be smart and express her opinions. Boy, did she open the floodgates!

Mr. Costello – My high school teacher. He was known campus-wide as the toughest teacher the school had on staff (an ex-military guy with really strict rules of conduct in his classroom).  No one escaped their homework duties in his class. He taught me the value of doing your homework, being prepared, and that I did not always need to express that I know the answer. That was tough to learn and I think I still struggle with not always sharing the answer or expressing my opinions.  It was the start of learning how to read your audience and adjust your style.

Coco Chanel – Designer. Obviously I never met her, but Coco's story has always been one that I admired. She really did liberate women in so many ways and was comfortable in just being true to herself and her craft. I am thankful every day for her, and the fact that women wear knits and that's it's okay to be comfortable in your clothes. She was also a masterful marketer and her brand is just as strong now as when she was alive. Coco was the brand but she created a business that was able to live beyond her, just as strong and true to her original ideas. She was truly an early adopter of ideas and technology and she used that to her advantage.

Madame Curie – Scientist. Another person I never met but admire. When I learned about her, it changed how I thought about science. I fell in love with chemistry, and she made me feel okay that I loved my science classes. The realities of college level math took that career off the table for me but I still find the sciences fascinating.

Jane Goodall – Anthropologist. I haven't met her in person but have heard her speak many times, and after my dreams in chemistry died, I turned to anthropology. My focus was cultural and linguistic but I was inspired by all that Jane did with her work. Like my father, Jane really lives through her work, and her research was game changing for the science of anthropology.

In my time with Bishop-Wisecarver, I have been really blessed to have several fabulous mentors. I currently have an advisory board that helps to mentor me every quarter and challenge me to grow in ways that better refine my skills. We all have so many people in our lives, that when we take the time to look back, we realize who helped shape us and change the course of our lives for the better.

I feel lucky to now have the resources to help do that for the next generation through the company’s support of local science and tech fairs. I am proud of our on-going support of FIRST robotics and other STEM based programs.  If I can help keep one student engaged in school, I have served a purpose. If I have helped one student feel it is a true and valuable skill to be able to work with your hands and make things, I have served a purpose. I hope more people take the time to focus on the upcoming generations by passing on their skills and knowledge because it is the most important asset we all can share.

Is Your Baby Ugly?

I recently sat in on a session led by Tim Ash of Site Tuners, who opened up the session by stating, “The baby is ugly.” Well, that got everyone’s attention. Tim went on to say that so many of us are so emotionally tied to our websites that we can’t objectively admit when they aren't working anymore.

We had just launched an update to our own website, and as Tim went through his seven deadly sins I had to confess to myself that we violated several of his concepts.  I realized that he is right in so many cases about the real functionality of most sites. Too many sites are built by designers to look pretty, but are terrible when it comes to the usability of the customer. 

It made me wonder if many of the same truths apply to social media. You always hear that "content is king.” I agree that rich, relevant content is crucial, but as I scan my Tweetdeck channels I see so many that post things only relevant to them. Is that really what followers want to read over and over? I think not. I also struggle with how to post the right content for all the different types of followers I have on Twitter. I think, like with websites, that some people have to admit their 140 characters just look ugly — no call to action, bad or broken links, strange shortening and poor content.

So, for 2012 I am taking off my rose colored glasses and making an effort to really look at our online marketing from our customer’s point of view. I hope we can consistently birth beautiful babies!

A Different Kind of Christmas Story

This is a time of year that many sit down and share traditional holiday stories with their children. Families reminisce and tell tales of past family members and of times gone by. As I sit here at my desk in my factory in California I also think of stories; one where California had a GDP larger than most countries, and one of where the United States had the best skilled workers in the world and could make anything the country needed or wanted.

As I visit high schools in my area and talk to kids, they are not hearing the story that the USA is still the preeminent manufacturer in the world. A story that is OK and should be revered when someone can take raw materials and make it into a desired end product and that having such a skill will pay you on average $20K more a year than a service-based job. A story of how America makes products in the greenest fashion in the world — especially here in California.

So my wish for 2012? That California and the entire U.S. will write a robust and exciting chapter for manufacturing. That once again, young students (both male and female) will see the promise of working in the manufacturing sector. That every student will be given opportunities for hands-on learning within the high school environment. That we provide every means possible to promote a STEM curriculum within our schools. That we once again as a nation have pride in our craftsmen, trade workers, machinists and engineers.

This is the chapter I wish to write within the story of manufacturing. What’s yours for 2012?

Why California Manufacturers Need Flex Time

It may come as a surprise to you but in California the wage and hour laws for the manufacturing sector do not allow for flex time. We are governed by an eight hour day versus a forty hour week. I find this law so out of step with how business and personal lives work in 2011.  If a company is brave enough, here is the process they can try to go through to achieve flex time.

 

Currently, in order for employees to adopt an alternative workweek schedule, an employer must conduct a secret ballot election with two-thirds of employees in the work unit approving the proposal. The process is complex, and any misstep by the employer could lead to costly lawsuits.

Under current (and very detailed) Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders, employers may institute alternative work schedules only if a supermajority of affected employees agree to the arrangement in writing and by secret ballot. Employers must hold discussion meetings at least 14 days before secret ballot voting. Two-thirds of the company’s employees must agree to the change. Any deviation from the rigidly controlled process voids the election and subjects the employer to potential lawsuits that can seek up to three years of back overtime pay for affected workers, along with huge penalties and fines.

Moreover, variances in schedules or the use of more than one schedule—unless it was offered in the secret ballot election—are prohibited without repeating the voting process. This in effect eliminates most employers and employees from choosing schedule options such as compressed workweeks.

So today my HR Manager Katie Mendoza went up to Sacramento to testify in front on the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. I appreciate that the California Manufacturing and Technology Association is behind changing this law to help support manufacturing viability in our state. Below is the letter she will be presenting on my behalf.

November 14, 2011

Dear Senator Lieu, 

Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation (BWC) is a family owned manufacturing company incorporated in 1950, that in its second generation is WBENC certified woman-owned. We have made a variety of industrial products over the years and currently specialize in guide wheels and guided motion technologies. My father founded the company and I have been working for BWC since 1991.

Our product line includes quality made components and accessories, manual linear guide systems, actuated linear guide systems, and rotary guides and systems. Stainless steel, high temperature, and clean room compatible products are among Bishop-Wisecarver's more recent product introductions. Our more popular product offerings include the following trade names - DualVee®, LoPro®, UtiliTrak®, and GV3. New product development continues to be an ongoing process at the Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation, with innovative designs being introduced at regular intervals.

We have 51 employees of which 14 are part of Steel Workers of America.  We have a proud history that mixes both strong values and continuous improvement. Our commitment to quality and our customers has enabled us to achieve sustained growth with our various product lines since the beginning. We are also committed to the next generation of engineers and machinists. We are an active supporter of local STEM programs and FIRST robotics.

I value my employees and their feedback and feel it is important to ask for their feedback and implement their ideas.  At the end of 2010, I asked employees, several questions, but the one that stood out the most in regards to flexible work schedules was, “BWC would be a better place to work if…”  I received multiple responses like the ones below: 
   “The ability work 9/10 – to have every other Friday off”
   “Have more flexible hours – work 4/10’s and have Fridays off or 9/10s and have every other Friday off.” 
   “More flexibility with work time.”
   “Flex work hours or alternate schedules would be good.”

In addition, you will find a list of signatures of employees that support a flexible work schedule.  Unfortunately, due to business needs, they could not come to voice their support.

If as a company we were able to implement a flexible work schedule it would increase our productivity, employee morale and customer satisfaction.  I am a firm believer in providing exemplary customer service and being the customer’s first choice.  With this change, it would boost the morale of my workforce enabling them to provide even better customer service.

I truly thank you for your time and consideration of this important decision.  Unfortunately, due to business travel I am unable to attend, but my HR Manager, Katie Mendoza will be there to represent Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation and the employees.

If you need any additional information or you would like to meet or speak at a later date, I would be happy to help in any way possible.

Warmest Regards,

Pamela Kan

President

Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation

cc:           Senator Mark Wyland (Vice Chair)

                Senator Mark DeSaulnier

                Senator Mark Leno

                Senator Alex Padilla

                Senator Sharon Runner

                Senator Leland Yee