President and CEO of Clearfield, providing optical-fiber management and connectivity solutions across North America.
In the past, change took time. Communication was slow and harder to send over longer distances. For 900 years, we lived in the Dark Ages, before trade and technology started spreading news faster. Then came the Renaissance, followed by revolutions, industrialization and the now-global communications at the touch of a button.
Technology got us through the pandemic and supported us through the subsequent economic fallout. Now, it’s shaping the future of work, life and business. Today’s most modern innovation might be obsolete tomorrow, just as today’s biggest societal problem might be solved by tomorrow’s innovation. Change and uncertainty have become nearly constant.
While public companies tend only to think about getting better every 90 days, looking long and being patient, prudent and disciplined will leave you more prepared to make better choices when sweeping changes hit. With a mindset that transcends short-term solutions and focuses on the long game, you can better steer through these swinging pendulums of change and come out stronger on the other side.
Just In Case, Just In Time And Now “Buy America”
The broadband industry knows the swinging pendulums of change. After the pandemic sped up the digital transformation, more people started doing most of their learning, working and shopping online than ever before. Smart broadband companies saw the writing on the wall and built up their inventory.
People without high-speed broadband started falling behind, and the government announced the release of $42.5 billion in funding for universal deployment to close the digital divide. Since then, broadband companies have been scrambling to prepare and make this next big pendulum swing a success.
Still, some states are concerned that the largest federal investment in broadband infrastructure in history may not be enough to cover their hardest-to-reach areas. Stakeholders are worried we will not have enough workers to complete the task on time.
At my company, we tackle these obstacles by crafting labor-light products that streamline the expansion of fiber footprints quickly and cost-effectively; our Clearfield College trains fiber technicians for good-paying jobs in construction. While making more efficient products might mean we sell fewer of them, and Clearfield College graduates might take their learned skills to another company, letting these short-term considerations drive our decisions would detract from our contribution to the greater efforts of the industry.
Now, the Build America, Buy America Act will require participating broadband companies to use the majority of federal funds on American-made products and labor. While the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has proposed a nonavailability waiver for some components harder to source in the U.S., “Buy America” will invariably raise the cost of deployment.
For my company, this has meant investing in a dual-operate model: building identical products in Mexico and the U.S. and training and sourcing more workers at each site. This may not allow us to lean out processes, but we can provide product offerings identical in form, fit and function from different points of manufacture based on the funding mechanism of the service provider.
Fortunately, we have spent the past few years preparing for the long game and have the balance sheet to accommodate these necessary changes. Companies that have been focused on short-term gains, however, may not be equipped to handle the shift.
Building Up In The Boom, Spending In The Soft
Thinking long means making smart investments, and a boom period is the best time to start planning for uncertainty. Take a step back, look further ahead and put that extra money into the balance sheet by being responsive to more customer needs. Plan for a balance sheet that will allow this soft period to be used as an opportunity for change and continuous improvement.
To illustrate the importance of this, consider my company’s experience: In 2022, we raised a lot of money and our stock price soared. Our gain in income became money to invest in more solutions and growth the following year. However, the stock market doesn’t seem to share our long-term approach, resulting in a depressed share price at this moment, but we are confident that while we wait for the federal broadband funding to hit, we have the balance sheet to weather the storm and are set up for longer-term success and adaptability down the line.
The Importance Of Communication
When the pendulum swings and companies get swept up in change, effective communication becomes crucial to keeping everyone on the same page and ensuring organizational alignment. Change can be frightening, which makes it difficult to lead people through it, but clear and transparent communication helps replace fear, uncertainty and doubt with trust and alignment.
When leaders make a regular practice of checking in with their people to communicate oncoming challenges and opportunities, they build a foundation of shared understanding of common goals that makes it easier for them to convey their strategies when faced with change.
Clear communication also means providing a platform for employees to voice their concerns, ideas and feedback. Before, most innovation only ever happened in the IT department. Now, to stay competitive, companies need to be aware of innovation happening across an organization and be ready to scale.
By encouraging open communication at all levels, you can find more ways to adapt to consumer needs and more places where you can improve efficiency. Listening to diverse employee perspectives allows you to make more informed decisions and navigate moments of change with agility and resilience, positioning your company for long-term success.
To stay ahead of technological advancements and societal shifts in a rapidly changing world, you need to be prepared for continuous adaptation. No one can predict which way the pendulum might swing next, but with change more constant than ever, you should embrace it with strategic investments and open communication.
By considering the long game, even when making short-term decisions, you can better prepare yourself and your company for the uncertainties that lie ahead.
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