Step Out of Your Comfort Zone & Why the Future of Manufacturing Depends on Rethinking How We Work

Author: Susan Murray Carlock

October 20, 2025

Manufacturing matters, because without it, nothing else in our economy moves. We don’t just build products; we build possibilities.

As manufacturers, we’re living through a new industrial revolution. From automation and AI to dramatic workforce shifts, the next five years will reshape the next fifty. I recently had the opportunity to speak at an SME event about this topic, “Step Out of Your Comfort Zone & Change How You Look at Your Business.”

The Workforce Challenge Is Real — and It’s Also an Opportunity

Over 75% of manufacturers say workforce challenges are their number one barrier to growth. For many of us, that number isn’t surprising; we see it in our plants every day. 

Finding skilled workers, training new hires, and keeping experienced people on the floor has never been harder. Enrollment in vocational programs is down, and the experienced mentors who once passed along their knowledge are retiring faster than we can replace them. 

But this challenge is also an opportunity, an invitation to rethink how we attract, develop, and retain the people who keep our businesses running. 

Working On the Business, Not Just In the Business 

When I left nursing and joined my family’s company, Mursix, I started where many of us start — on the floor, learning the business from the ground up. Over time, I realized how important it is to step back and look at the business instead of constantly working in it. 

That perspective changed everything for me. I found new opportunities for growth, from exploring advanced manufacturing technologies to building relationships outside our four walls. 

Small and mid-size manufacturers often get stuck in the daily grind. But stepping out, connecting with your regional MEP, local economic development organizations, and peer networks like SME, Conexus Indiana, and trade associations such as the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), can help you see your business through a new lens. 

I’ve always said: surround yourself with people smarter than you. That’s how opportunity finds you. 

The Existential Crisis in Our Workforce 

We’re in a moment of true urgency. Across the country, I’ve watched critical knowledge loss happen in real time. The skilled workers who can hear a machine and know exactly what’s wrong, what I call “the knack,” are walking out the door with decades of experience. 

We can’t afford to lose that tacit knowledge. It’s what keeps operations safe, efficient, and productive. It’s what turns a company from capable to excellent. 

Yet, many of us are struggling to bridge the gap. Training programs alone can’t replicate that depth of know-how. And when the best doers are often the worst documenters, it becomes even harder to capture what they know before it’s gone. 

How Stepping Out Sparked Something New 

By getting out of my own building and talking to peers, I realized we were all facing the same problem — a workforce crisis with no easy fix. 

That’s when I met my co-founders, and together we created Murray Mentor: an AI-powered mentor that captures and shares the “knack,” the real-world knowledge that lives in the heads of our best people. 

It started as a solution for my family’s business, but we quickly realized it could help manufacturers everywhere. Murray doesn’t replace expertise; it preserves it, amplifies it, and makes it accessible for the next generation. 

Honoring the Skill. Building the Future. 

I believe that the future of manufacturing belongs to those who can honor the craft of the past while embracing the tools of the future. 

Stepping out of your comfort zone, whether that means networking beyond your company, exploring emerging technologies, or rethinking how you capture knowledge, is how you’ll build a stronger, smarter, more resilient organization. 

This conversation is just beginning. I’ll be speaking again in two weeks to continue sharing what I’ve learned and how manufacturers can navigate the workforce challenges ahead. 

Let’s keep the conversation going. Our industry’s future depends on it. 

See You at the Southeast Manufacturing Technology Series 

I’ll be sharing this message again at the Southeast Manufacturing Technology Series, hosted by SME, in Greenville, SC, on October 21 at 3:00 PM. 

Registration is free — I’d love to see you there: Register here