AICC Boxscore 2013

C H A I R M A N ’ S M E S S A G E

Good Communication is Our Key Advantage

Chuck Fienning

“If the ship never leaves the harbor, you don’t need a Captain,” is one of my favorite leadership quotations. July 1984 was rough sailing for our family sheet plant, as our largest customer, one- third of our business, signed a multi-year corrugated contract with an integrated supplier. Our principal owner, my 68 year old retired dad took charge, reorganized the company, and installed me as CEO. My seven years in the business (1977- 1984) had been in customer service and sales. All of a sudden, I was the 40-year old apprentice captain of an unstable ship! Dad told me, “Son, I’m available by phone any time, and I can drive up here (Sumter, SC) from Hilton Head (SC) to help you out. Just don’t call me for cash. And … remember to COMMUNICATE!” Dad had to lay off people, and the 30 ‘survivors’ at Sumter Packaging Corpora- tion were nervous about the company’s future and their livelihood. Our strategic goal was simple: to survive. But how? The “word on the street” was that our fledg- ling company might not make it. I real- ized how important my dad’s last word of advice was: ”COMMUNICATE!” To me, there is no leadership skill that is more important than communication. If you can build a cohesive team that com- municates well internally and externally, you will defeat the competition and thrive in the marketplace. Straight away in 1984, my main job was to communicate

concern for our 30 work associates, confi- dence that we could ‘make it’, supremacy of our customers’ needs, the critical im- portance of teamwork, and a willingness to listen to ANY idea that might help the company survive. The threat to our sur- vival was a powerful motivator. Four man- agers (CEO, sales, customer service, and production) had a tactical meeting each week. Lunch hours with the managers offsite provided a time for daily coordina- tion. I held a plant-wide meeting monthly for the first year of survival and quarterly after that. We emphasized 100% on-time delivery, 100% conforming quality, and to- tal customer satisfaction as our goals. What counted the most, in my opinion, were face-to-face meetings with employ- ees, customers, and vendors. That’s the kind of leadership communication that Immediate Past Chairman Andy Pierson has emphasized. In 1984, we didn’t have digital communication, just a fax ma- chine and land-line telephones. But our team was ‘face-to-face’ every day. Many of those 1984 warriors, including me, are still on the Sumter Packaging team. One of my 2013 advisors, 1989-90 AICC Chairman Jim Davis of DeLine Box (and also Packaging Express), gave me a book to read titled The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni (Josey Bass Publishing Compa- ny, 2012). This book is about “why orga- nizational health trumps everything else.” The author makes the point that success-

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If you as a leader build a cohesive team that shares

the values of your company

and understands what to do, you’ll be a formidable competitor and a benefit to the whole world around you.

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