Building Shops That Last: The Final Lesson of Machine Shop MBA, 501

As we close out 2025, we're wrapping up more than just a year. This episode marks the conclusion of the Machine Shop MBA series, a collaboration with CLA and Modern Machine Shop built around insights from the Top Shops benchmarking program. What started as a practical exploration of shop metrics ends with a much bigger question: what truly separates shops that survive from shops that endure?

For this final chapter, we're joined again by Brent Donaldson of Modern Machine Shop, who helped kick off the series earlier in the year. Drawing from hundreds of shop visits and years of benchmarking data, Brent helps us connect the dots across operations, finance, leadership, and strategy. Together, we reflect on a clear shift happening across manufacturing: moving away from pure "rise and grind" thinking and toward intentionally designed systems.

Throughout the episode, we revisit five deceptively simple questions pulled directly from the Top Shops survey. These questions challenge assumptions and expose where real opportunity lives. From RFQ response time and revenue per employee to reinvestment discipline, standardized scheduling, and succession planning, each one reinforces a central theme we've explored all year.

Rather than chasing the next machine or relying on one big customer, the most resilient shops we see are building repeatable processes, measuring what matters, and reducing dependence on tribal knowledge. This conversation serves as both a reflection on what we've learned through the Machine Shop MBA series and a call to action as we head into 2026.

If there's one takeaway we hope sticks, it's this: the shops that last aren't just collections of people and equipment. They are systems. Designed on purpose. Improved on purpose. And built to outlast any one individual.

Segments

• (0:00) Wrapping up 2025 and closing out the Machine Shop MBA series
• (0:36) Why we created the series and partnered with CLA and Modern Machine Shop
• (2:25) Why you need to head to the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
• (4:34) The shift from viewing shops as machines and people to viewing them as systems
• (7:52) Moving from survival mode to disciplined, systems-based thinking
• (12:33) Top Shops Question #1: RFQ response time as a competitive advantage
• (15:55) Top Shops Question #2: Revenue per employee as a true efficiency metric
• (17:15) What's Your Method? The unique financing process with Methods Machine Tools
• (26:47) Grow your top and bottom line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA)
• (27:37) How automation, workholding, and systems increase output per person
• (32:16) Top Shops Question #3: Reinvesting in equipment, software, and training
• (36:50) Why consistent reinvestment beats sporadic big spending
• (37:51) Top Shops Question #4: Standardized scheduling versus tribal knowledge
• (40:22) How poor systems create stress and constant firefighting
• (43:05) Top Shops Question #5: Leadership and ownership transition planning
• (46:01) The Top Shops 2026 Benchmarking survey opens February 1st, 2026
• (47:27) How benchmarking accelerates maturity and reveals real gaps
• (48:19) How we use the Top Shops survey as part of annual strategic planning
• (49:19) Looking ahead to 2026 and continued collaboration
• (50:00) Why we love the SMW