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![TMCNet: 'When it's tough, talk to your soldiers often' [The Charlotte Observer, N.C.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
'When it's tough, talk to your soldiers often' [The Charlotte Observer, N.C.]
(Charlotte Observer (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 11--The recession has CommScope chief executive Frank Drendel tapping long ago lessons and skills he's learned building the Hickory communications equipment maker.
The company traces its roots to a 1976 deal in which Drendel, 64, and his partners bought the CommScope product line from another firm. From sales of $8 million at that time, the company has grown to operations in about 35 countries and $4 billion in sales. Nearly 2,000 of its 13,000 workers are at facilities in Hickory, Catawba, Newton, Claremont and Statesville.
First step in downturn management, Drendel said, was maintaining spending on research and development. That's critical to keeping pace with the wireless and other rapidly changing technology driving its business.
"You're always trying to come out, when the recession ends, with a group of products that is ahead of the competition," he said.
CommScope designs and builds communications infrastructure, the backbone of systems that enable cell phones, cable TV, video conferencing and data transmission around the world. Company products, sold in more than 130 countries, include cable, antennas, connectors and cabinets.
Growth drivers include the move from land lines to cell phones and the increased use of iPhones and other smart phones that mean an added load on systems carrying videos, news stories, games, messages and directions to the nearest restaurant.
In December 2007, the company doubled in size with the acquisition of Andrew Corp., which added much of the wireless line.
Following that deal, the company cut jobs, as often happens. Then the financial downturn worsened, prompting more job losses. All told, CommScope cut about 2,000 jobs, mostly abroad.
Last year, CommScope froze salaries and suspended bonuses but continued contributing to the employee profit-sharing and 401(k) plans.
"We thought that showed our care, long-term, for employees," Drendel said.
He followed long-standing advice in the past two years as he stepped up employee communications and pressed top managers to do the same.
"My daddy always said, nothing sells like the truth," he said. And from his Army service in Vietnam, he recalled, "When it's tough, talk to your soldiers often."
Drendel's quarterly letter to employees is translated from English into seven languages and distributed globally. His video messages are part of employee meetings every six months. And following earnings each quarter, he and his top two lieutenants spend an hour or more on the phone with global managers discussing business details and the outlook. Drendel wraps up each call reminding managers it's their job to help employees understand where the company stands.
"No matter how bad it is, generally speaking, employees can handle it, if it's the truth," he said.
Drendel, inducted into the Cable Television Hall of Fame in 2002, is also a director of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. He draws strength from frequent talks with his industry peers.
"We have spent a lot of time together, trying to make sure we're all thinking through this properly," Drendel said. "The collective wisdom really helps you understand you're not alone."
He offers this advice: "Don't be so cocky you can't ask for help from a peer or a competitor."
To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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