September 2025
Western Pallet Advertisers
American International Forest Products
North American Forest Products
Pennsylvania Lumbermans Mutual
Viking Engineering & Development
This publication is made possible through the generous support of our advertising sponsors. Please take the time to follow the links below to find out more.
May 2026
follow the trail and figure out how to help people succeed.”
I paused again to let it sink in and then finished.
“As much money as we’ve spent on all of this, our people are still our greatest asset. And as leaders, we lead people. AI, dashboards, robots, and software are just tools to help us do it all more efficiently.”
____________________________________________________________________________________
The most successful leaders in modern business operate with a Triple Bottom Line mentality: People, Purpose, and Profit.
Effectively operating with this type of mindset means properly balancing all three—in tension with one another. It’s a simple three-legged system. If one leg is too short (underemphasized) or breaks altogether (ignored entirely), the whole thing crashes to the floor.
An exaggerated focus on production numbers leads to the same result. And in a world filled with AI, robotics, software, and other automation, it’s easy to get caught up in “doing more with less.” But as smart as that sounds, focusing on it without holding the value of people in tension is one of the quickest ways for a values-driven leader to lose their way.
One of the greatest 20th-century management theorists and the father of what we know today as “Lean Manufacturing” once said:
“Focus on people; you get productivity automatically.” — W. Edwards Deming
Food for Thought:
As leaders, we don’t lead organizations. We lead people. Ultimately, as leadership expert John C. Maxwell said, “An organization cannot increase its productivity—but people can!”
A Triple Bottom Line mentality redefines results.
So—what’s your bottom line?
WPM