LOAD IT OR LEAVE IT with Camp Jennings

About LOAD IT OR LEAVE IT with Camp Jennings

Welcome to Load It or Leave It with your hosts, Camp Jennings and Scott Smith. We’re diving into the world of material handling and industrial automation. The people, the products, and the ideas shaping what’s next. Expect honest takes, smart insights, and real conversations with the folks who make this industry move.

Publisher

Camp Jennings and Scott Smith

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Nov 2025

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Ken Frith on Professional Drivers, AI Powered Recruiting, and Staying Close to the Work

   Camp Jennings sits down with Ken Frith, President of ProDrivers, to explore the people, technology, and leadership behind one of the most critical parts of the supply chain. Drawing on nearly two decades at FedEx and his current role leading ProDrivers, Ken shares why professional driving is about far more than putting someone with a CDL behind the wheel and why safety, experience, customer requirements, and human connection all matter when matching the right driver with the right opportunity. In this conversation, Ken reflects on the career lessons that shaped his approach to leadership, including the importance of staying close to the people doing the actual work. He shares how taking opportunities in difficult markets helped accelerate his own career, why leaders can learn valuable lessons from bad bosses, and why temperament and respect become increasingly important as responsibilities grow. Ken also explains why tenure alone should never determine whether someone stays or leaves an organization. The better questions are whether you are still learning, growing, and being challenged. The discussion also explores the evolving driver market and how ProDrivers is using AI to improve recruiting without removing the human element. Ken explains how technology can help match qualified drivers to highly specific customer needs faster and more accurately, while relationships, communication, and understanding the driver's day to day experience remain essential. He and Camp also discuss automation, autonomous trucking, driver loyalty, rising compensation, and why professional drivers deserve greater recognition for the skill, safety, and customer service they bring to the supply chain. Chapters [00:00] What it really means to be a professional driver [01:23] Meet Ken Frith [03:06] Staying close to the people doing the work [03:48] What bad leaders can teach you [04:26] Notre Dame football and leadership [06:13] Ken's nearly 20 year career at FedEx [08:00] Why relocation can accelerate a career [10:41] Inside ProDrivers and EmployBridge [14:14] Building staffing solutions around customer needs [16:29] Talent challenges in the driver market [16:51] Using AI to make better recruiting matches [19:20] Driver loyalty and preserving the human element [21:03] Autonomous trucking and the limits of automation [22:48] Preparing the workforce for more automation [23:41] A quick break from Henry North [24:29] Why professional driving is more than having a CDL [27:06] Knowing when it's time to make a career move [29:22] The biggest mistakes candidates make in interviews [32:11] Giving back through Le Bonheur Children's Hospital [34:44] Load It or Leave It [35:29] Driver pay and the changing labor market [36:48] Is long tenure a red flag [37:53] Why how you make people feel matters [39:17] Notre Dame and the conference debate [40:03] Final thoughts and connecting with ProDrivers

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Jason Watson on Adaptable Leadership, Winning the Talent War, and Rethinking the Material Handling Playbook

   Camp Jennings and Scott Smith sit down with Jason Watson, Regional Vice President at GNCO, to explore what it takes to lead and grow in a material handling industry that looks very different than it did even a decade ago. Drawing on roughly 15 years in the industry, Jason shares his perspective on leadership, culture, talent, and why adaptability has become essential as automation, electrification, and changing workforce expectations challenge the traditional ways of doing business. In this conversation, Jason reflects on his unconventional path into material handling and the career advice that has shaped his approach to leadership. He explains why perception shapes reality, why leaders must understand how they are experienced by the people around them, and why communication, self awareness, and trust become increasingly important as responsibilities grow. The conversation also looks inside GNCO's aggressive growth strategy and its model of building a broader material handling organization through acquisitions while allowing individual businesses and leadership teams to maintain autonomy. The discussion also explores two of the industry's biggest challenges: technology and talent. Jason explains why electrification and automation are forcing dealerships to develop new expertise in both selling and servicing equipment, while a shrinking pool of experienced technicians and intense competition for top salespeople are changing how companies recruit, compensate, develop, and retain their teams. He shares why leaders need to recruit personally, create opportunities for technicians to expand their skills, and rethink traditional sales structures as the market evolves. Chapters [00:00] Why adaptability matters more than ever [01:14] Meet Jason Watson [04:03] The best career advice Jason ever received [04:24] Why perception shapes reality [07:09] Leadership, personal brand, and internal perception [09:30] Jason's path into material handling [11:58] Inside GNCO and its family of companies [14:08] Growing through acquisition [15:21] How GNCO structures its businesses [17:47] The biggest challenges facing material handling [18:10] Electrification and automation are already here [19:29] The battle for technicians and sales talent [21:05] Why leaders need to recruit personally [22:08] Technician shortages, wages, and competition for talent [24:00] Developing technicians for an electric future [26:01] Specialists versus the single sales rep model [26:44] Building a blended sales organization [29:07] Why the old material handling playbook is changing [30:25] Adaptability, compensation, and following the market [31:26] Lessons from the worst hires [35:40] Hiring for culture and fit [36:31] Personal favorites and productivity habits [39:38] Using daily outreach to stay connected with employees [41:59] Giving back through adoption and fostering [43:55] Load It or Leave It [44:22] Building teams with A players [46:00] Radical candor and honest leadership [46:52] Why pay and culture both matter for retention

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   Colin Stroud on Credit Card Rewards, Maximizing Points, and Turning Business Spending into Better Travel

   Camp Jennings sits down with Colin Stroud, founder of Go Somewhere, for a change of pace from the usual material handling conversation and a practical look at how business owners can get more value from the money they are already spending. After turning his own obsession with travel and credit card rewards into a business, Colin now helps clients build smarter card strategies and turn accumulated points into memorable travel experiences. In this conversation, Colin breaks down some of the most common mistakes people make with credit cards, including assuming that the most expensive card is automatically the best. He explains how spending habits, lifestyle, and personal goals should determine which cards make sense and why a card with a high annual fee or premium perks may still be a poor choice if it does not generate meaningful rewards from the purchases you make most often. The discussion also explores cash back versus travel rewards and why Colin generally prefers flexible points that can be transferred across multiple airlines and hotel programs. He explains the math behind maximizing travel points and how the same spending that might generate a few thousand dollars in cash back can potentially create significantly more value when points are redeemed strategically for travel. Chapters [00:00] Choosing between cash back and travel rewards [00:50] Introducing Colin Stroud and Go Somewhere [02:29] A different kind of Load It or Leave It conversation [03:03] Turning a passion for credit card rewards into a business [04:16] Colin's lifelong love of travel [05:06] Discovering unexpected travel destinations [05:40] The biggest credit card mistakes people make [06:01] Why the most expensive card is not always the best [07:22] Credit cards worth considering [07:35] Chase, Bilt, and maximizing everyday spending [09:15] Cash back versus airline and hotel points [09:53] The simplest credit card strategy [10:10] Why flexible travel points offer more options [11:30] Understanding what points are really worth [12:17] How travel rewards can outperform cash back [13:31] Getting more value from hotel points [14:16] Load It or Leave It [16:00] Who can benefit most from a rewards strategy [16:54] Final thoughts and connecting with Colin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings