Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1479191
78 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 We have certainly felt the bitter sting of dependency on a country that is now, at best, a frenemy. at may be as good as it gets, espe- cially considering recent news headlines dem- onstrating that simply visiting an ally is looked upon as an act of aggression by our sworn fren- emy and sorrowful supplier of everything. But there is hope in embracing change and, for lack of a better expression, embracing one another. e biggest single strategy for surviving this new world (dis)order is to work with each other. We need partnerships and trusted rela- tionships with many more people at many more companies. • Instead of having one single supplier we need to develop relationships with many suppliers—just in case. • Instead of having only one strategic partnership, we need to develop many strategic partnerships—just in case. • Instead of having only one friend in our local governments, we need to have many friendships—just in case. Can we learn to trust one another? If not, we're playing a dangerous game when we see ourselves on an island rather than part of a com- munity. is is part of the just-in-case mentality. Of course, our businesses must function, yet we must develop new and innovative ways to handle whatever comes our way, no matter how challenging that may be. For example, we can be like two PCB shops that are eight miles apart and amicably share processes with one another in a "mi PCB casa es tu PCB casa" type of cooperative trusting partnership. Maybe we can emulate the quick- turn PCB shop that is sending orders and cus- tomers to their friends who have a production shop, which in turn does the same thing back to them. It works. ey win and the customer wins. I know of a laminate company that is encour- aging the OEMs to allow their PCB suppliers to substitute similar laminates to handle shortage issues. I also know of design, fab, and assembly companies that are now working in harmoni- ous, trusting partnerships to provide their cus- tomers with that critical, complete, synergistic solution they need today rather than tomorrow. ese trusted cooperative partnerships are happening right now. No longer can we afford to reside in competitive silos, playing a zero- sum game with winners and losers, because the result in a win-lose situation is we all lose. e best way to handle the challenges we face today, the challenges of a changing and unpredictable world, is to have many good and trusted friends, people who will have each oth- er's backs. I see this happening on our continent and in other regions around the globe, but it's not enough. is spirit of trusting cooperation must be completely global. We must find good part- nerships with people and companies around the world, just like the network of scientists did when rushing to develop the COVID vaccines. We need to behave like they did: working in an open and honest forum, sharing experiences, challenges, and discoveries to develop a vac- cine that literally saved mankind. Let's take a page from their playbook. We can find ways to work with our corporate partners in cooperative and trusting ways to handle the unpredictability of our new world disorder. PCB007 Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group, and an I-Connect007 columnist. To read past columns, click here. We have certainly felt the bitter sting of dependency on a country that is now, at best, a frenemy.