GLENAIR • Volume 26 • Number 3
Force Multiplier This past week, we hosted a big group at the factory from our field sales force in Europe. In addition to their classroom activities—mostly new product training and Glenair culture sessions—the team enjoyed touring our Southern California factories in Glendale, Arcadia, and Anaheim, as well as face-time with product managers, engineers, and members of the operations team. For most of the group, this was their first opportunity to visit the Glenair headquarters in over two years. During that time, we hosted numerous broadcast and on-line activities from our Glenair TV Studios—the in-house platform we use for monthly updates to the sales team and others. But as many of us observed this past week, there is no substitute for bringing the team to the factory. There is a great deal of mutual respect between our field sales force and the factory team, as both ends of the bench understand the value that the other side brings to the table. And I must say, one of the key ways we maintain this value at Glenair is through regularly scheduled training sessions that expose our field sales force to the people and culture of the factory. There is an old saw about the sibling wine- makers Ernest and Julio Gallo, and the friendly spirit of competition between them. Ernest managed the sales side of the business and reportedly liked to say that his goal was to sell more wine than Julio could make. While Julio countered it was his goal to make more wine than Ernest could sell. We have a bit of this same approach at Glenair, and we do our best to ensure each side in the friendly competition has all the resources needed to meet their responsibilities to keep their area of operation healthy and going strong. This next observation may get into the metaphysical weeds a bit, but I do believe it is true and worth sharing. And that is that this business of bringing the sales force to the factory—in this case all the way from Europe—has the mysterious effect of multiplying their numbers. What do I mean by this? Merely that the size of the force that sits down on day one of the training seems to miraculously expand by the end of the week. We are all familiar with the concept of a force multiplier. A long lever arm for example, leveraged against a fulcrum, provides an individual with the ability to lift a far heavier load than would otherwise be possible. In military applications, a force multiplier is an advantage—such as provided by advanced weaponry—that gives the unit the ability to accomplish far greater feats than would be possible without it. The Glenair STAR-PAN power and data hub is a classic example of a force multiplier, as it allows the guys on the ground to tackle longer missions, with greater safety and mission effectiveness. In other words, it multiplies their force, as if their very numbers were greater. We see the same thing happen when members of the sales team visit the factory. All the knowledge, skills, and company culture they obtain in the process literally multiplies their effectiveness in the field and their ability to provide value and service to our customers. Glenair is committed to knowledge, skills, and affective domain training and development. We believe it is one of the key ways we ensure our organization is well positioned to meet the complex challenges of our mission- critical interconnect business.
Publisher Christopher J. Toomey Managing Editor Marcus Kaufman Art Director/Editor Mike Borgsdorf Graphic Designer George Ramirez Editor Meghan Taylor Technical Consultant Jim Donaldson Issue Contributors Scott Meloche Indy Murillo Mathias Nataksui Greg Noll Tom Pfingston Ben Porcaro
Chris Van Soest Distribution Terry White
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QwikConnect is published quarterly by Glenair, Inc. and printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2022 Glenair, Inc. A complete archive of past issues of QwikConnect is available on the Internet at www.glenair.com/ qwikconnect
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