Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1265351
JULY 2020 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 63 time because they want to be the first to mar- ket when things rebound. Matties: From a leadership role, how has your role changed in the last couple of months? Berntson: There's not necessarily any leader- ship magic in this era; it's just communica- tion. How good an individual is as a commu- nicator is less important than the fact that they simply communicate with transparency, can- dor, and frequency. I have hosted global forums. Everyone with a computer terminal at our company can access these forums, and then we record them and make them available for anyone on our intranet site. The basic format shares the state of the business, what's going on with COVID-19 from our perspective, and what's happening around the world. Then we ask, "What are your questions?" I take questions on any topic related to our company or the COVID-19 situation globally. That has been helpful for us as a way to stay connected with each other. Matties: What sort of questions do you receive? Berntson: Some of the questions might be, "Will Indium Corporation support antibody testing?" We will support it in terms of our healthcare program plans. "But do we rec- ommend it? Will we implement it as a pol- icy?" Then, we have that dialogue, and that's where transparency and candor come in because I'm able to say to the group, "We don't really know if the antibody tests are sufficiently reliable, and we don't know what we would do with the results once we get them." What to do with the data is a real concern. Let's say 50% of my employee base comes in positive, and 50% comes in nega- tive for antibodies. What decision do I make based on that? Do I relax the social distanc- ing and hygiene standards all of a sudden? No. We still have to protect the other 50%. And, by the way, there's a question as to whether antibodies even work. That's a dia- logue we must have. Another question from people working remotely was, "Phase One of the re-opening of New York was May 15. Does that mean we all get to come back to work?" No, it doesn't mean that. If you can still work from home, you need to work from home. Then, we answer questions like, "How's the business going? The economy's shutting down. Are we going to be okay? Am I going to be able to still have a job? Will my family be okay?" I'm able to give an honest assessment, which is that there are challenges, but our company is strong. One of the big challenges I had in commu- nication is that we have so many exciting new programs because we support many niches. Because of that, I can spend a whole hour regal- ing my team about how many cool new things we have going on. And if you don't listen care- fully, you might think, "Wow, this business must be booming!" What I try to explain to the group, though, is that if you have a brand- new plum tree that you plant in your yard, it's exciting. You might even call your friend who loves fruit trees and say, " I just got a new plum tree," and get all excited about it. But that plum tree is not going to produce fruit for three or four years. It's going to take a while to mature, grow, and establish itself. Getting excited about planting the tree is what I often do because that speaks to our future health. But it doesn't mean the bounty of the harvest is going to arrive the day you plant the tree. It takes a while. Further, if your whole orchard is suffering because the economy is down, one new tree doesn't adequately compensate for a whole orchard having a tough time. That's where it gets more challenging for people to digest how we are actually doing because I tend to get excited about the new programs. There's not necessarily any leadership magic in this era; it's just communication.