Leadership is not about whether someone will lead, but rather how well the person will lead. The necessity of leadership is therefore the call to lead well.


progress depends on it. Leadership is demanded whenever a community of individuals must work together to make something happen. The group must at least have someone in place to direct activities, push things along by decision-making, and decide when a task has been done well enough to call it complete. If a leader does not step forward, typically the group will assign or cajole someone into the role. Lead- ership is not about whether someone will lead, but rather how well the person will lead. The necessity of leader- ship is therefore the call to lead well. Today, metalcasting fa-


cilities require the best leadership available, as the industry faces a simultane- ous series of crises through which only the best leader- ship can navigate.


Crisis of Image The metalcasting in-


dustry faces a crisis of image. Even today, when metalcasting facilities em- ploy some of the most technologically advanced solutions, when product quality and design creativ- ity are working together to meet the challenges of aerospace, alternative ener- gies and military custom- ers (to name just a few), the industry’s reputation is still darkened with im- ages of dimly lit caverns, dangerous molten metal, sparks and soot-covered workers. Instead of an industry known for its safety, its cleanliness and environmentally friendly status, metalcasting often is characterized as the


36


counterexample in all three areas. In part, this is because some facilities have earned this reputation. In other cases, the industry has not marketed itself effectively. With public perception as it is, why


should the community worry about metalcasters’ jobs going overseas? Aren’t those the kind of manufacturing jobs many don’t mind losing? The metalcasting industry must win back its communities, its local and state


leaders and its customers. It must estab- lish excellence in metalcasting facilities through leadership and fi guratively and literally open its doors to neighbors and business colleagues.


Crisis of Government The industry faces a crisis of govern-


ment. The credit markets’ collapse in the fall of 2008 signaled a signifi cant shift—or at least opened the door for a shift—in the role of government, es- pecially as it relates to fi scal policy and how companies manage themselves. The government of today is not only


The Essayist: Ted J. Schorn


big, but intrusive, highly regulatory and enforcement-oriented. This has shifted the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration toward a police-function rather than a cooperative function. The government has accepted the argument for global warming and its demands for greenhouse gas controls. This has led to regulatory activity at odds with effi cient and effective operations of metalcasting facilities. The current administra-


tion has enacted health care changes that, once fully im- plemented, could radically impact our small metalcast- ing facilities in particular. Small and mid-size plants may be required to pro- vide benefi ts packages or bear undue administrative costs out of line with their cost structure. These issues demand vigilance and stewardship. Without good leadership in our facilities, our days are short-lived. Metalcasting leaders must continue to promote an understanding of the needs of our industry within the legislature.


Crisis of Talent Metalcasters face a crisis


using an advanced and proprietary process. Schorn is one of a number of individuals who have been tasked with leading the American Foundry Society in its twin goals of advancing safety and leadership initiatives in the industry.


T MC


heodore Schorn is vice president, strategic planning and development, for Enkei America Inc., Columbus, Indi- ana, a company that makes diecast automotive wheels


of talent. As the country shifts toward a service economy and manufactur- ing is subject to pressures from within and without, it is diffi cult to fi nd well-qual- ifi ed people at every level to staff casting facilities. Fewer and fewer qualifi ed casting engineers are being minted, and the industry’s public image problems


MODERN CASTING / October 2010


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