60: Trailblazing in Tech and Sustainability- with Terry Tuttle

[: 00:00:00

[00:00:48] Erin Courtenay: I just stole my final what I just learned question out of my mind, but that's okay. We can move it up. That's okay. No, no, no, no. This is good.

This is good. Because I really want to talk about this. Kris, I'm going to jump in. I was have just learned about, I'm, I'm still, Gemini has. It's kind of my, I don't know, me and Gemini are, we're just hanging. And so Gemini is the Google product that was previously known as Bard. And I listened to an interview and the guy was talking about training your AI through asking it to interview you.

So I have been asking Gemini to interview me as though it's people in history that I want to understand better. And it's been really cool. I've learned a ton. I've learned something about myself and I've learned also about those figures in history. That's my answer.

[: 00:01:42

Have you both heard of Hume. ai? Okay, so you can skip me on the I just learned that, but essentially Hume has an AI assistant created to have natural, empathetic conversations.

[: 00:02:01

[00:02:02] Kis Harrington: So I asked it about repairing a bike tire. This morning I brought it up with my wife and we opened it and I said, you've got to see this.

And I asked it about, I said, it's spring in Wisconsin. I'd like to plant a garden. What do you suggest? And it has this emotionally intelligent voice and it shows you on these emotional intelligence scales, how it's responding to you. And it's all over voice, so I'm not typing anything. I'm just speaking. And something that I think is really interesting is that when it typed what I said, it typed it perfectly, which I know we all use a lot of things that they're really not that good, but it was every question I asked answered perfectly. Now when it responds, there is a delay. So you can tell that it's AI and it's thinking or it's doing something to target its response.

But but it's really well done. And they mentioned that they have this Hume initiative that, the Hume initiative is a nonprofit effort charting an ethical path for an apathic AI. It's all relatively new. Very interesting. Like I said, last night, this morning, I played with it again.

Not sure exactly. I can see it being used for troubleshooting type things and manufacturing where from your phone, you're indicating the problem that you might be having and it's responding to you. All kinds of things, of course, but that's mine, Lori.

[: 00:03:38

Has anyone heard of that? No. Yeah. So what I like about it is that it gives you, it cites the source of the information it's providing. So it provides links to the info. Based on the answer that, or the output that it's generating. I mean, you still need to validate the source that it's coming from there too.

But one of the biggest fears that I had initially with chat was like, how do you trust this information? How do you validate it? So that's been really nice. I like every sentence basically has a link or two that it's, it's sending you to say, this is where I generated this info from. So I think that's awesome.

VP of sales and marketing in: 2009

She had held advisory positions with the Federal Reserve of Chicago and board with Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast. Tuttle also is a keynote speaker and panelist. She is a wife and mom currently of a high school senior and also enjoys traveling, biking and theater. Terry, welcome to the show.

[: 00:05:02

[00:05:05] Lori Highby: Very excited to be here or have you here. And that, that little note about the keynote speaker, this is where and why and how you're on the show today. Kris and I attended the Women in Manufacturing event that was hosted at HellermannTyton and you just knocked everyone's socks off with your presentations.

Kudos to you to that. But I'm curious, why was it so important for you to host this event, this Women in Manufacturing event on, you know, Women's History Month, basically?

[: 00:05:33

And why it was important for us to host the Women in Manufacturing event for International Women's Day, and I really push that ahead, is because I know that our organization has stories to tell. We can showcase what good looks like in terms of women in manufacturing. Plus as a component manufacturer, HellermannTyton, continually people don't know what we do because we sell into the largest other manufacturers in the world where their brand names.

So, I, wanted people to know how polished sophisticated, modern, our businesses and how important we are to making, I always say, making people's lives work. There's nothing that when you think about it with wire and cable, if you don't have good cable management, doesn't work and big costs and quality issues.

And we also have great facilities and people who are used to hosting these events in a good way. And I thought it would be a very good experience for the organization.

[: 00:06:56

You had both men and women present. Everyone was there both in the speaking engagement, but also when we were learning about the different products, which, you know, as a local to the area, and having heard the HellermannTyton name frequently in the area, but not really understanding what you do.

I left with a new understanding. So you did a wonderful job.

[: 00:07:30

[00:07:37] Kis Harrington: Yeah, you are welcome. Terry, you've been at HellermannTyton since 1988, and building a career at a single organization is not common for younger generations today.

Can you talk a bit about your time at HellermannTyton and perhaps some of the decisions along the way and maybe advice to those building and advancing their own careers today?

[: 00:08:02

And then I thought, oh, I'm going to go to a really large city and work in an ad agency. So I love the communications aspect of it. I'm naturally inquisitive. And when this job came up, it was just a small little company, but it was hard to get your first job back then. I think it's a little easier now.

But so I took it and I thought, Oh, I'll be here a year, maybe. And then I'll leave. But what captured me about this organizationis that we were really entrepreneurial, you know, you have a good idea, do it. And that fit me in a way that I have now come to understand.

[: 00:08:55

[00:08:57] Terry Tuttle: Yeah. Not a lot of complexity, just good idea. Go for it. And really what I think allowed me as a platform to advance is, and I actually look for this sometimes when I'm interviewing for different roles is, were you ever a journalist?

Do you have inquisitiveness? Also if you have a degree in History or English or Geology, but you have some relevant experience, I'm more likely to want to hire you because I think you have a bigger brain and ability to, to connect the dots. That is, I think my overarching talent and success is connecting these dots, asking the right questions.

And. It was you know, it wasn't easy, but advice I'd give to people more in the beginning or mid stages of their career is don't judge your career day by day, try to play the mid or long game. And there are moments, rough moments, but if the organization is going in the right direction, you like the culture you feel you're being heard, then, you know, you might want to give it a shot.

[: 00:10:14

[00:10:33] Terry Tuttle: There, there's two ways to look at it for me. There's professionally and personally. And professionally, no, there really wasn't. I was the woman at any manufacturing event. But personally, I have always been, I'll say, very blessed to have a circle of friends that were professionals in their career, in their own individual careers. Very empathetic very warm, a soft place to land, if you will, that when I would come back with stories, they would be very supportive.

And I would not be where I am without that support. And professionally I'd have to say, no, I can't really think of anybody, but the turning point for me, I had many men mentors. But sometimes, it's like a glove, you want, it doesn't quite fit and they're giving you good business advice.

And then I read this book it's older now. I don't even know when it was published, but it's called Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman. And I felt like a light turned on.

[: 00:11:36

[00:11:37] Terry Tuttle: This person understands and they're giving me good advice, which I utilize. It could be outdated now, I don't know, but for me that was the bright light.

[: 00:11:47

And so how did you manage that? What, how'd that work out for you? And how is it still working out?

[: 00:12:37

[00:12:48] Erin Courtenay: Oh, we love.

[: 00:12:49

[00:12:50] Kis Harrington: Please tell. Please.

[: 00:12:51

And there are times, like I've never viewed my life as work and then personal family. It blends and I've been really fortunate sometimes all the emphasis has to be at work and then the family part, kicks in. Sometimes it's all about the family right now, I mean relatively, and with a strong dynamic at home you can make it work. And my daughter is so proud and couldn't see it any other way and always knew that, she and our family was most important if push came to shove, but it rarely does because it's blended.

[: 00:14:20

[00:14:48] Kis Harrington: Yeah. Well, and I think having that conversation upfront where somebody really knows you and knows your ambitions and there's a, there is a coming together where you're going to support each other's growth and the goals that they have for themselves. And that's really beautiful when you can do it. When we were at your facility, there was an individual that shared what you guys are doing on the sustainability side.

And they use the Fort Bronco and the story of the fishing nets. I'm just curious if you could share a little bit about that, but more importantly, what sustainability means to the folks over at HellermannTyton and specifically how your employees and customers respond to your actions and activities around sustainability.

[: 00:15:39

And early on, we worked with Ford Motor Company because they had a similar goal, and we were able to use old fishing nets that were retrieved from the ocean that could be made into a nylon six product for a Ford Bronco. Now we have different material sources and customers and and it helps the earth and our employees know that it's not just to sell more, it's to actually, live with purpose and to help the environment.

[: 00:17:00

[00:17:05] Lori Highby: I wish more companies were doing things like that. It is a great story. It is.

[: 00:17:10

Can you tell us more about the sort of pertinent question.

[: 00:17:29

It's the priority. So let's make sure it gets priority. And some people were grumbling because their project had to wait. And knowing that this was important, both for the earth, for our customer and to be able to launch it first in market commercially that merited the priority.

And now the ROI is really working with customers to say, you know, some of this comes at a bit of a higher price because we can't make it for the exact same exact same cost. And also working with our suppliers. So the ROI is working itself out as well as the acceptability because customers also have scorecards that they need to tick that box.

So it's that's how new things develop and that's how we'll go about it.

[: 00:18:44

Even in my home, let alone, out there in the world, go together like peas and carrots, like I can't have my tech without my cables. So keeping that in mind, what do you see on the horizon for technology and how that loops back to cabling? And what are some of the insights you have as a result of your specific niche in the industry?

[: 00:19:32

There's not abrasion on the cable because that's what get people. So the shot technology, it's not new technology and injection molding, but to apply it to our types of products, it's new. We look at automation, whether it's in the factory or anywhere, and look at more of the cables, whether it's on conveyors or in automation equipment itself.

And then we ask ourselves for us, the technology is, you don't have a really good product for this application. You're using something, but it's not ideal. So we have vertical markets that we assess and then we go in with we look at applications. We don't necessarily say, we ask, but it's not the end of the story.

What is it that we need? But instead we observe the applications and we come up with something that you couldn't articulate. The customer couldn't articulate that this is what we need, and therefore the technology is there. We're also working on some pretty groundbreaking things that I can't disclose at this time, but it will it suits the market and the needs of the customer.

[: 00:21:06

[00:21:26] Kis Harrington: Yeah, keep getting things tidy.

[: 00:21:28

[00:21:31] Kis Harrington: Yeah, but you know keeping things tidy and clean and organized and so many of their products do provide the organization of where cable is going to go, making sure that they stay where they're supposed to stay and, and all of that. And what I find interesting in your answer to Terry is that you're talking about electrification and automation, which is top of mind for so many manufacturers that we work with today.

Those are just two aspects that even when it comes to cable management, it has an impact, right? These broad topics are impacting so many organizations as we move in different directions. So it's great.

[: 00:22:13

And it has to be done right or there will be issues and downtime and nobody wants that.

[: 00:22:48

[00:23:05] Kis Harrington: I just learned about Hume. That's the only thing I prepared for.

[: 00:23:11

[00:23:14] Kis Harrington: That's right. I always get stuck. There's probably a thousand things I learn a day and I just, whenever I start to think about this question, I can't find one.

[: 00:23:24

[00:23:28] Erin Courtenay: Now that you have Hume, you don't need to know or learn anything.

[: 00:23:34

[00:23:35] Erin Courtenay: Okay. We just had a really cool trip down to The Gulf, and we stayed in this really interesting place called Dauphine Island, not to be confused with dolphin.

And it's a little barrier island, very low key, very mellow, fascinating place. And while we were there, we visited a town a little up on the Gulf called Bayou Labatt, and it turns out that is the town, do you guys remember Forrest Gump? That's where bubba was from, because it is one of the world's leading shrimp, shrimping communities, and it has been for many generations and has survived all kinds of everything from Deepwater Horizon to Katrina.

It's seen a lot, but it's there and it's thriving. And it was just, it was fascinating to visit that shrimping area. And we just happened to watch Forrest Gump later that night. Yeah, it's really, it's a great piece of history and a great part of our country that I don't think a lot of people get to visit.

[: 00:24:42

[00:24:45] Erin Courtenay: I, probably. Although it's a real product. Yeah. I don't know if there's still, it was a restaurant who knows what they're, what they ended up doing there, but there were tons of shrimping boats. Yeah.

And it's just a fascinating history and it's been a shrimping community for almost 200 years. Like it's been in generations have passed down. So it's a neat part of our nation. Go check it out, people. Lori! What do you know?

[: 00:25:11

I went to the Field Museum, which I absolutely love. If you haven't done that, definitely do that. And I saw Sue. Who is the largest T Rex skeleton that was found in Sioux Falls or not Sioux Falls, but in South Dakota, western part of the state, which I didn't know that. But it makes sense because I feel like a lot of dinosaur bones are found there.

But what I thought was interesting, and I'm just so fascinated by science, is I think one of the reasons why Sue, which they don't know if is actually male or female, died is because there was some really bad teeth situation. So they thought that there was like an infection that made it very difficult for the dinosaur to eat food. So ultimately ended up starving. So I just thought that, like, how do you figure that out from things that are so old? It's fascinating to me.

[: 00:26:02

[00:26:11] Lori Highby: If you haven't seen Sue, go see Sue. It just that was my favorite part of the museum. There's a lot of really neat stuff there, but that was really cool. Awesome. Terry. Anything that you've learned?

[: 00:26:22

And, I love when we go on trips, he'll explain the science behind rocks and lava different kinds of landscape. And I always find that to be interesting.

[: 00:27:31

[00:27:40] Lori Highby: There's a whole section on rocks and stones at the Field museum.

So when you're visiting Sue...

[: 00:27:47

[00:27:54] Kis Harrington: I remembered something I just learned.

[: 00:27:56

[00:27:56] Kis Harrington: That there were more people who watched the women's final NCAA basketball game than the men's, and that is the, I believe, it's the first time in history. And I'm a big women's sports fan and I was of course watching and I just remembered that I learned that.

[: 00:28:18

[00:28:19] Kis Harrington: Sports are definitely having some momentum. It's always been on the rise. It's always been fun to watch, but it's so nice to see that so many others are participating and watching as well.

[: 00:28:34

[00:28:54] Kis Harrington: I've said that for years that when women play basketball, it's really a team sport that everybody has to participate, where in some men's it, there's an all star that gets all the focus.

Yeah. And that's not to say that Caitlin Clark didn't of course accelerate having an individual that takes the reins. That helps too. Anyway, I would share that.

[: 00:29:15

[00:29:17] Lori Highby: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks. So, Terry, if anyone was interested in getting in touch with you, what's the best way that they can reach you?

[: 00:29:23

[00:29:32] Lori Highby: Fantastic. We will include that in our show notes. Thank you so much for taking your time and sharing all your knowledge and information with us. This is great.

[: 00:29:40

[00:29:56] Lori Highby: Thank you so much. Thank you. All right.

This is three broads wrapping up. Go make something awesome.