Steve DeCollibus, Managing Editor, Semiconductor Packaging News

The tendency to sit tight and wait for something bad to happen during any kind of turmoil curtails momentum and depletes the collective will to get going. The burgeoning economic crisis is having that effect on all businesses including electronics.

Day by day more people are giving up , waiting for the axe to fall, or for the government to somehow miraculously save their position. I am sympathetic, having been through this a number of times during my career, I can intellectually understand why a response like this would be typical.

What I have learned and am currently witnessing is that these tough times present individuals, companies and governments with huge opportunities to move ahead and to create success.

We can only effect what we can control, most of the time it is our lives and careers, as we move up the ladder we may get some input into the strategic direction a company may take, we can do very little to control the rest unless we are willing to give up our careers and run for public office.

People and companies are surviving and thriving even in this economic mess. My friend Joe, one of the great salesmen I have known, was laid off four weeks ago, in less than three days he had two companies interested in him and has since been hired.

The reason he succeeds so quickly is because he treats everyone like his best customer, no matter who they are, the result is the people who interview him see his dedication to helping people understand what it is he is offering them, because he listens closely to what they are telling him they need. His dedication to the idea of helping people get what they need makes him a winner wherever he goes.

I spoke with a CEO of a growing PCB company last week about how his business was doing. He said it had dropped off a little, but that the orders continue to come in and that they will continue to grow. When I asked him how he was accomplishing this, he said, "It is simple, we answer the phone with a real employee, and we help customers solve problems 24/7, 365 days a year including holidays".

They are an automated high tech organization with state of the art capabilities and equipment, but they refuse to automate customer service. They are dedicated to seeing that customers get what they want when they want it. As a result, their business jumps during the holidays when their competition is taking time off. They behave the same way with their partners, sharing ideas and learning from them what is the best solution.

The CEO of a start up company that has invented a new and effective process that they are currently commercializing told me they had just received a large infusion of capitalization. This company came on the scene two years ago, and has kept their investors informed of every step that the company has taken to bring this product to market.

They have been forthcoming even in the rare cases when something failed. They have partnered with some of the largest OEM's in the business, listening to their needs and engineering the product to meet their potential customers needs. They have kept the industry at large informed with a steady stream of information, written to excite and entice engineers to get in touch with them.

I could go on with other stories, but I won't. There is a lesson in these three stories that goes like this; Listen to people, understand what they need, and help them succeed and even in tough times you will thrive. Oh yes, there is one other lesson here and that is to stop waiting for something bad to happen, it is more fun and profitable to make something good happen.

Lets get to work.