Cover Story
Loud and clear
How Robert Laikin uses straight talk to set the tone at Brightpoint Inc.
By Mark Scott
Smart Business Indianapolis | August 2008
Page 1 of 4
Robert Laikin does not mince words when asked to explain the
significant slowdown in growth that Brightpoint Inc. experienced
from 1998 to 2002.
“It was my fault as the CEO,” Laikin says.
The wireless device distributor had grown swiftly in the years
prior, hitting $1 billion in revenue in 1997 and $1.5 billion in 1998.
The pace of growth slowed considerably over the next few years.
The industry was consolidating and markets were shifting as
Brightpoint sought to find its way through the changes.
When 2004 rolled around, the company was still looking to get
over the $2 billion mark in revenue.
When everything is going great and revenue records are constantly being broken, it’s easy to talk about the steps you took to
help your company reach those heights. But as the CEO, you need
to be just as upfront about the steps that didn’t work out.
“As the CEO, you have the responsibility to be the lead communicator of your company,” Laikin says. “Our customers know if
they have a problem, if our people aren’t doing what they promised
to do, they will get to the CEO who will either fix the problem or
be honest with them. ‘You know what, there was a weather problem with snow and there was nothing we could do.’ At least they
are going to get an answer.”
By looking beyond the numbers to find out both what drives his
employees to succeed and what they are lacking in their efforts to
do so, Laikin has good answers to give when the calls come in.
He makes it a point to stay in contact with his employees through
a variety of methods both in person and electronically. When the
media calls, Laikin makes time for interviews. When employees ask
direct questions, he provides them with a direct answer rather than
a response through his secretary.
Through it all, Laikin says he always speaks from his heart.
“If you don’t speak from your heart and tell people what you
stand for, you are going to be perceived that you stand for nothing
and that you are sitting in your ivory tower,” Laikin says. “Just
speak the truth. Speak what’s in your heart as CEO. If you do that,
you’re typically going to give the message of what you believe in.
If you can’t give the message of what you believe in, my guess is
the CEO doesn’t believe it himself.”
Sometimes, the message that Laikin wants to give doesn’t come
to him until moments before he speaks. Before a specific meeting,
Laikin and one of his trusted advisers, Anurag Gupta, will prepare
notes.
“I’ll get up to the front and get behind the podium, and I’ll look at
Anurag and I’ll smile,” Laikin says. “He’ll know what it means. That
means I’ve just taken the script and put it in a ball and I’m going to
shoot from the hip.”
While it’s from the hip, Laikin says the key is that it’s also from
the heart.
By believing in Brightpoint and conveying that belief to his 3,300
employees, Laikin has kept the company moving forward.
Brightpoint took in $4.3 billion in 2007 revenue and now has a
presence in more than 25 countries around the world.
“I believe people do business with people, not companies,”
Laikin says. “We tell our story as people, not as the company. We
tell the story and tell people about Brightpoint.”
