What Indiana Hoosier Football can teach food manufacturers about building a winning blueprint

For a long time, Indiana football was the easy win you tried to schedule for homecoming to make sure everyone had a fun weekend back at their alma mater.  Now they’re national champions and the last team you want to see on your schedule.   

Under second year coach, Curt Cignetti’s leadership and vision, Indiana went from historically overlooked to national champions in a way that forced everyone to stop and ask: How did they do that, and at Indiana? 

The answer wasn’t star power. It was culture, standards, preparation—and development. 

They Didn’t Chase Stars. They Built Players. 

Curt Cignetti didn’t rebuild Indiana by landing the most highly ranked plug and play recruits. He focused on fit, coachability, and willingness to learn. Then he invested—deeply.   

A perfect example is Wide Receiver Charlie Becker. 

Becker didn’t arrive as a featured receiver. He was far back on the depth chart but he was constantly being trained, coached and developed along the way.   

He listened. He learned. He absorbed coaching, understood the system, and earned trust rep by rep. Through consistent preparation and development, he worked his way up and became a go-to receiver on a national championship team. 

That doesn’t happen without: 

• Clear coaching 
• Defined goals and objectives 
• Honest feedback 
• Standards that apply to everyone 
• A system that rewards growth 

Indiana didn’t just find all-star players. They developed them. 

Just like Indiana didn’t recruit finished players, most food manufacturers don’t hire finished operators. They need to hire aptitude and attitude — and WorkForge helps provide the tools, training, and structure that turn every new hire into a Charlie Becker.   

We Don’t Practice Long — We Practice Hard 

“We don’t practice long — we practice hard as hell, and we only keep the guys who love it.” 
— Curt Cignetti 

That quote says a lot about what Indiana can teach food manufacturers about learning and development.   

Cignetti didn’t overwhelm players with endless meetings or unfocused reps. Practices were intentional. High-impact. Focused on what mattered most. Players weren’t buried in information — they were given exactly what they needed to execute, then expected to bring intensity and ownership. 

That philosophy translates directly to food manufacturing. 

Most plants don’t struggle because people don’t care. They struggle because: 

• Training is too long, too generic, or too disconnected from the job 
• Information is dumped all at once 
• Critical knowledge gets lost before it ever reaches the floor 

WorkForge takes the same approach Cignetti did: shorter, sharper, and more effective. 

We help manufacturers deliver: 

• Bite-sized, role-specific training 
• Information that’s easy to absorb and easy to apply 
• Reinforcement over time, not one-and-done onboarding
• Learning that respects how adults actually retain information 

Just like Indiana’s practices, the goal isn’t to do more — it’s to do what matters. 

When information is digestible: 

• People execute faster
• Mistakes decrease 
• Confidence increases 
• Standards stick 
• People learn the ‘why’ not just the ‘what’ 

Preparation doesn’t require more time. It requires better focus. 

And when people are set up to succeed — with clear expectations, practical tools, and training they can actually absorb — the ones who want to grow do exactly that. 

Culture and Standards Made Development Possible 

Player development only works when the environment supports it. 

At Indiana, culture showed up in the details: 

• How practices were structured 
• How mistakes were corrected 
• How expectations were communicated 
• How effort and improvement were rewarded 

Standards weren’t negotiable—and they weren’t reserved for starters. That clarity created trust. Players knew if they put the work in, the system would work for them. 

The same is true in food manufacturing. People don’t grow—or stay—where standards are unclear or inconsistently applied; they stay when leadership has established a vision, and implement the processes to execute the vision.     

Take it from WorkForge client Wendy Bushell, Chief People Officer at Palermo's Pizza:  “When training is easy to access and career paths are clear, employees don’t just stay—they thrive.” 
 

Process and Consistency from First String to Third String 

“The film room is where dogs are separated from puppies” is another defining quote from Cignetti on his philosophy.   

Indiana’s biggest competitive advantage wasn’t just talent—it was consistency that started in the film room. 

At WorkForge, we follow the same model by giving leaders the tools to turn preparation into a system. We standardize training, accountability, and performance so every employee—on every shift—is coached to execute the same way, with a skills matrix that makes it clear who’s ready to step in when needed.  

Preparedness Replaced Panic 

Because players understood the why, they could adjust when things changed. They didn’t freeze. They didn’t panic. They executed. 

Preparedness showed up when: 

• Starters went down 
• Game plans changed 
• Pressure increased 

Preparation created confidence—and confidence drove performance. 

The same principle applies on the plant floor. Teams that are trained, coached, and developed don’t fall apart when something goes wrong. They adapt and solve issues before they become major problems. 

How This Shows Up in Your Business 

Organizations that win consistently do the same things Indiana did: 

• Get the right people 
• Invest in their development 
• Establish clear standards 
• Build processes that scale 
• Prepare everyone to confidently perform  

The results follow: 

• Lower turnover 
• Less downtime 
• Stronger bench strength 
• A culture that reinforces itself 
• Reduction of hidden costs 

Where WorkForge Fits In 

At WorkForge, we help companies build teams the way Indiana built champions—by creating stability, enabling development, and supporting preparation.  In doing so, you’ll: 

• Reduce churn so development can happen 
• Build consistency across shifts 
• Support leaders who coach, not just manage 
• Create environments where people can grow into bigger roles 

Because development only works when people are given time, structure, and support. 

Google Us 

Curt Cignetti famously said in his introductory press conference, “I win. Google me.” 

We’ll save you the google search, but our results speak for themselves:  

• Wholestone Farms cut turnover by 25%  
• 96% of WorkForge learners say the training will help them do their job more effectively 
• PPC Flex cut machine downtime by 31% and their revenue per employee is the best it’s over been 
• Lifeline Foods doubled production  
• Palermo’s has created a waiting list for second shift and automated the assignment of training for 700 job roles