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Good Communication is
Our Key Advantage
Chuck Fienning
C H A I R M A N ’ S M E S S A G E
“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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SCORE
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continued on page 7
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.