The Culture Playbook for Keeping Good People, Ep. #67

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I’m filling in for Brendon this week, and I decided to dig into the topic I probably know better than anyone on this team: shop culture. Not the stuff that shows up on a quote or a spec sheet, but the stuff that decides whether your best people stick around and whether your shop floor actually runs without you standing over it.

Joining me is Jason Davis, CEO of D&D Enterprises, a CNC machine shop that just turned 50 years old and is now three generations deep. His team runs 50 people through aerospace, firearms, defense, marine, and industrial work, and he’s also a co-host of our sister show, The Manufacturing Blueprint.

We get into why Jason hires for culture and character before he ever looks at a resume, what actually happens in an employee’s first few months that decides whether they stay, and why the size of a mistake matters less than whether someone owns it. We also talk about the gap between generations on the shop floor, and how leaders earn trust instead of demanding it.

If you’ve ever felt like your shop survives on a couple of heroes instead of a system, this one’s for you. I bring some of my own perspective into it too, from coaching youth volleyball to being one of the few women on a shop floor, because it turns out the lessons translate a lot more directly than you’d think.

What’s Covered in this Episode

• (0:00) Filling in for Brendon, I dig into shop culture with Jason Davis, CEO of D&D Enterprises and co-host of The Manufacturing Blueprint
• (2:13) Inside D&D: 50 years in business, three generations deep, and 50 people running aerospace, firearms, defense, marine, and industrial work
• (3:07) Why Jason hires for culture and character first, and will wait months for the right fit instead of filling a seat
• (4:47) Skipping formal apprenticeships in favor of a hyper-selective, relationship-driven hiring process
• (8:14) Win a fully tooled DN Solutions SDM4100 CNC machine, plus an IMTS scavenger hunt for extra entries
• (9:14) What actually happens in an employee’s first few months that decides whether they stay
• (10:11) The real cost of a mistake, and why taking ownership matters more than the dollar amount
• (12:16) My volleyball coaching rule: I’ll always take coachable over talented
• (12:51) Earning respect across generations instead of demanding it
• (12:51) The 40-to-130-parts story: coaching a young operator instead of just correcting him
• (16:07) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions
• (18:42) Why humility beats experience, and how D&D gets tribal knowledge out of people’s heads with ProShop
• (18:42) The instant-gratification problem, and why shrinking attention spans are making shop training harder
• (23:51) Why being alone with your own thoughts makes you a stronger leader
• (25:44) Breaking through the “how was your weekend” small talk to actually get real with people
• (26:45) Why I refuse to be a complainer, and how being open about my own struggles gives other people permission to be honest too
• (31:16) Losing a major customer to China overnight, and staying steady as a leader when the business takes a hit
• (31:16) Why you need to join us at IMTS, September 14-19 in Chicago
• (31:16) What Jason had to unlearn as a young, hands-off leader, and why he still resets on the production floor himself
• (38:42) My own leadership path, from running a gym team at 19 to starting over at the bottom in the union
• (39:32) What it’s like earning respect as a woman in a male-dominated shop
• (39:57) Knowing when to hold your ground and when to let it go, plus the father-in-law wisdom that ties it all together

Resources Mentioned

• Eagle Lasers
• Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions
• Enter to win a free CNC machine at the MakingChips Giveaway
• Why you need to join us at IMTS 2026
• ProShop ERP
• HireMFGLeaders

Connect with Jason Davis

• LinkedIn: Jason Davis
• LinkedIn: Manufacturing Blueprint Podcast