I spent 32 years proving it on the plant floor and in my own life. Now I teach it to business leaders, churches and schools.
Lost in Translation, live at the Prometheus Group User Conference 2026. How operations and maintenance align around what matters most. Watch five minutes or the whole thing.
We've heard wonderful feedback from people who attended.
Noah MintonDirector of Marketing, Prometheus Group
A conference hall in Melbourne. A room full of reliability engineers. A crowd waiting on a rock band. Same message, built for the room.
"Maximizing the Effectiveness of External Partners to Drive Success"
"How Reliability Leaders Can Sell the Dream to CFOs"
Excellent scores from the folks who attended the session. We say anything over 4.20 is very good, so you really did excel.
Ian CollierHead of Content, Mainstream · attendee ratings, Melbourne 2024
What keeps a plant from running on emergencies is what keeps a family, a church and a young person from running on them too. I've lived both sides. Every talk is built for the people in your seats.
Conferences, leadership teams and company events. Operations, reliability, turnarounds.
Business talks
Faith, purpose, marriage and family. The story behind the career.
Faith & life talks
Discipline, direction and the habits that hold up when life gets hard.
School talks
Half-day to multi-session programs that keep working after I leave.
TrainingHe did just fantastic. And the reason he did so fantastic is because he actually cares.
"Men are going through two things at the same time: recovery and discovery. If you don't take care of your recovery zone, you won't enjoy your discovery zone."
Tim StoreyThe Original Comeback Coach. Recorded right after Steve's talk at an event where both spoke. Who is Tim Storey?Each talk is tailored to your audience and your goals. These are where most events start.
Freedom isn't the absence of systems. It's built by the right one.
Most people think freedom means doing whatever they want. Steve shows the room the difference between being released and being free, and gives them Position, Aim, Train, Hold: a simple path they can run on their worst day. Loud, interactive, and the room is shouting "Freedom" by the end.
All speaking topics
I started on the plant floor as an operator. Thirty-two years later I'd run maintenance, carried reliability responsibility for 42 plants at a Fortune 250 manufacturer, and served twice as a plant General Manager, with multimillion-dollar turnarounds along the way.
For a lot of those years, I was winning at work and losing at home. 320 pounds. A marriage nearly gone. What turned it around wasn't working harder. It was building a system and living by it.
Read the full storyFour years of honest conversations on leadership, faith and building a life that holds. Hosted by Steve.
Watch on YouTubeWhether you need a partner who understands manufacturing from the inside or a speaker who will move your audience to action, Steve Baumgartner is the real deal.
Kevin HarringtonOriginal Shark, Shark Tank
Tell me about your audience and your date. I read every inquiry myself.