Last week I was in Chicago for several strategic marketing meetings which went wonderfully.  What I didn’t expect was that I would have one of my favorite weeks in my favorite city.  Why? Because each time I visit I discover something new and amazing.  With so many sights, sounds, and fabulous meals, it never disappoints. My trip this week was unique because I was in discovery mode, and my mission was to learn as much as I could about my existing clients, potential future clients, and the local event scene…ok so now you know why this trip was so good!

Understanding my clients business and marketing Strategy has become such a big part of what we do at Empowering Brands.  It enables us to develop strong marketing plans for our existing clients and to support their on-going needs. It also helps us better understand how to create great custom partner programs for potential clients, something which is at the heart of EB.

I have so many things to write about from my week, but let’s start with my tour of PeopleFlo – an awesome pump design engineering company with a key strategy that integrates two value drivers – product design and production technology – as if they are one…very cool! 

I got to meet their team of amazing Engineers. The group’s focus is developing new pump designs, and every day they come into work with innovation on their mind.  They have a process they go through that allows them to look at a pump design and create changes that will not just “improve” the performance of the pump but completely redesign it to provide a better solution.  I can’t go into the specific projects but I can say they are groundbreaking innovations that will change the way you think of improving your pump design. 

The best thing about this is they will share the process with you.  They can come into your engineering department and help you recreate the environment that is conducive for thought and action in the design process. This process is based on lean practices and reducing energy costs with sustainability in mind, creating with fewer resources and less waste. 

As I look around the shop I think… This is an Engineers playground.  Pumps, Pump Parts, Charts, Testing equipment, and Computers. They get to go through the Engineering Design process… ALL DAY EVERYDAY! And y’all know just how much I LOVE engineers and pumps – I was so in my happy place!

I was amazed at the vision of William Blankemeier, Founder of Peopleflo, a fellow
entrepreneur and past pump manufacturer.  A unique theme throughout the company is flow…. Beginning with the name of the company PeopleFlo, it gives me chills as I think how that fits with our Connect part of EB.  The projects in the shop are named after rivers, Nile, Mississippi, Amazon… as it symbolizes that a project should flow, as well as provide customer confidentiality… I’ll let William explain this in more detail; you will want to hear the passion in the explanation!  Believe me… its worth a visit to see what this amazing team is doing!  

I can’t wait to share more and more about William’s personal story and the Peopleflo team! This visit touched on my core beliefs and made me want to further #ThankanEngineer and encourage young engineers to #BethatEngineer because engineering is really cool!