By Kristen George

It doesn’t take a big business with big money to succeed in today’s manufacturing industry. Small- and mid-size manufacturers also can generate growth and development with the right amount of ingenuity and know-how.

That’s the message corporate growth guru Doug Hall has for South Carolina manufacturers when he visits the Palmetto State June 12. Hall, inventor and founder of the Eureka! Ranch innovation think tank, will preview his Eureka! Winning Ways program in two separate sessions, one in Greenville and one in the Charleston area.

Hall has worked with such companies as Nike, Disney and Coca-Cola and now intends to show small- and mid-size manufacturers how to employ similar techniques to grow their businesses. With new aid for small- and mid-size manufacturers from both state and federal levels, Hall has been able to revamp his techniques that have been successful for larger companies to work for smaller ones as well.

An inventor and judge on the television program, “American Inventor,” Hall can offer insight on innovation, but is quick to clarify this program does not focus solely on innovation or unproven theory. Instead, Hall looks at corporate growth in a broader sense, employing verified methodology and techniques.

“Politicians like to talk about innovation,” Hall said. “But business owners don’t want to hear theories. They want growth. This program is based entirely on data—not theory. This is a blue collar growth program—it’s about doing stuff as opposed to theoretical charts and foolishness.”

One of the primary mistakes companies make is not treating their growth strategy with the same discipline they use for their manufacturing, Hall said. Companies use complex systems to chart, measure and monitor manufacturing, but when it comes to growth, often they rely on outside sources.

“Business owners need to learn to engineer their growth the same way they engineer their product—not simply hire a salesperson and hope for a miracle,” Hall said.

Hall adds that businesses can implement his techniques on their own without having to hire outside consultants. However, if further assistance is desired, Hall has personally trained several people from the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership who can coach businesses in the methods of Eureka! Winning Ways.

A focus on manufacturing, particularly small- and mid-size manufacturers, is vital to America’s future, Hall said.  If manufacturers don’t take an active interest in growing their businesses, America will be left to subsist on the service industry.

“The service industry doesn’t build the financial infrastructure of this country,” Hall said, citing lower wages as one example of why America cannot thrive on service alone. “If we gave up manufacturing, we’d all end up flipping burgers.”

Hall’s programs are now part of SCMEP’s new Innovation and Growth services. Hall’s Eureka! Winning Ways seminar will first be in the Greenville/Spartanburg area from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. June 12 at the BMW Zentrum & Gallery, and then in North Charleston from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. June 12 at the Embassy Suites. Tickets are $75 and include a copy of Hall’s book, “Jumpstart Your Business Brain.”