Giving Employees the "Pleasure of Solving Problems" in Manufacturing with Karen Norheim

<p><strong>Connect with Karen Norheim:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>LinkedIn: </strong>https://www.linkedin.com/in/karennorheim/</li><li><strong>Email: </strong>knorheim@americancrane.com&nbsp;</li></ul><br/><p><strong>Show Transcript:</strong></p><p><strong>Lisa Ryan</strong>: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan. Welcome to the Manufacturers' Network Podcast. I'm excited to introduce you to today's guest Karen Norheim. Karen is passionate about all things manufacturing as a second-generation coming into the leadership role for her family's company American Crane and Equipment Corporation. Karen has sought to solidify the founder's legacy while putting her stamp on the company culture.</p><p>There's so much more in your background. Please share a bit about your journey and how you got to where you're at. So, welcome to the show, Karen.</p><p><strong>Karen Norheim</strong>: Hey, thanks for having at least I'm excited to be here. Yeah, so my introduction to manufacturing came through my father. I work for our family's business. And so I have. I am the second generation coming in. What's interesting is I wanted nothing to do with it. I did not think any factoring was all that interesting or cool, and he recruited me to come work for him. And I very reluctantly said okay, Dad. I'll get I'll give it a shot. Well, thank goodness. I did because it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Manufacturing is now my passion. I've been with our company for 18 years: amazing people, amazing products, and a wonderful experience to work with my father.</p><p><strong>Lisa Ryan</strong>: I know that you are doing many things well when it came to your culture and keeping things going. So what did you see that worked best for you during these uncertain times</p><p><strong>Karen Norheim</strong>: Well, about, I think we're going on two years ago, maybe two and a half years ago, 2020 has warped my mind as far as, you know, I feel like I'm in time travel and I lost a year. But we put a lot of groundwork in as I took over leadership from my