Executives reveal their top concern isn’t tariffs, but the struggle to retain a qualified manufacturing workforce.

A recent industry event included a session on managing through disruptive times. Toward the end of the session, a panel of industry leaders addressed audience questions, one of which was, “Of all the disruptive issues currently taking place, which keeps you up at night?” Surprisingly, the panel was unanimous in its response, and it was not tariffs, new technology or geopolitical events. What keeps these executives awake at night is far more basic: finding qualified employees.

The catchphrase used when discussing the challenges of locating, hiring and retaining qualified employees is “workforce development,” and the operative word is “development!”

Amid AI hype, true progress depends on the accuracy of sensor-driven data collection.

While the world is flummoxed over the up-and-down nature of tariffs and the political drama they create, one bright spot in the news the past year or so, and impacting our industry more than any, is artificial intelligence, or AI.

Indeed, if your investment portfolio lacks an AI stock, or your customer base doesn’t include a player in the AI world, pundits believe you are missing the boat. But I keep thinking, what exactly powers the boat?