I saw the future of industry in a plant in Greensboro, North Carolina.

You would never know it from the outside. The plant is nondescript. It sits in an industrial park. Nothing distinguishes it from the other operations…until you get inside.

This plant runs on remarkable components built for continuous and measurable improvement.

The system continually self-corrects and adjusts easily to changing circumstance. It can even identify components that aren’t producing to standard and improve those elements on the fly.

The name of this incredible production element: people.

It’s a plant: there is a smell of solvents in the air. But the floors and the work stations are clean and bright.

This isn’t just a place where things get made, it’s a place where things are done right.

Much of the credit for that belongs to the team that works there including Matt, the Plant Manager who greets me warmly.   Matt shows me something amazing. He doesn’t just walk me through the plant, he walks me through the team in the office and on the production floor. Matt knows every one of the team members, not just by name and not just by their job description. He knows them as people. He knows who is a good harmonica player and whose kid is doing well in school.  “I think part of the success here is that we care about each other,” Matt said. “I know I care about every person who works here.”

Watching Matt in action, it’s easy to see that the trick to a great team is an honest, sincere connection with each individual in the team. That means recognition, lots of recognition, when a team hits a goal or a milestone. It means an open ear, not just for plant improvements, but in listening to each team member talk about how they are doing, on and off the plant floor. It also means clear and open communication about shared goals and responsibilities and a willingness to stress common values and a responsibility to one another.  An employee who is late or who does sloppy work isn’t just hurting themselves, they are damaging the collective by making the person who works alongside them less productive.

This is a team that runs on accountability.

When you speak to the employees in smaller groups, you understand that the thirst for challenge, the quest to make things better, to find small improvements, to bolster each other, to have each other’s back doesn’t just flow from management down. It goes east/west, between employees as well.

I think this plant holds the key to the future of industry.

Machines can’t fix each other. They can’t lead each other. They break down when one component fails. Machines can’t take care of one another.

When you leave the plant, it’s not the smell of the solvents that you remember. It’s the pride in the workplace, the “can-do” perspective among the employees and the warmth of the welcome.

People deploying technology works best. The world would do well to study this plant in the middle of an industrial park in Greensboro, North Carolina. It has much to teach the rest of us.