Bob Switz Cwol Article

Connecting With Our Leaders
Interview with Bob Switz,
President and Chief Executive Officer

This interview article featuring Bob Switz, President
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is the first in a
new monthly communications series entitled,
"Connecting With Our Leaders." Through this new
series, leaders will connect with ADC employees
through written, visual and in-person communica-
tion forums. This interview article is the first in
three events occurring in February, including a Q&A
roundtable webcast available via Broadband TV
(during the week of February 12) in which Bob sits
down with 20 ADC employees to answer questions,
and a Connect Coffee Break in which employees will
have a chance to drink coffee and eat bagels with
Bob (location-specific event only). Look for
reminders via ADCalmanac throughout February.

The Internal Communications team sat down for an
in-person interview with Bob in late December. The Four generations of the Switz family gathered for a family
below article features questions and answers explor- photo during this past holiday season.
ing his view on ADC, job, career accolades and per-
sonal life. Read below to learn more about our com-
pany's President and CEO.
What position did you begin at within ADC?
Name: Bob Switz
I began at ADC as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Title: President and CEO In this role, various departments reported to me,
such as Finance, Legal, Information Technology,
Where do you consider home (e.g., birth place, Facilities and Investor Relations. Subsequently, I
your roots)? assumed responsibility for Business Development
and also had Customer Service and Marketing
Given I've always been somewhat of a corporate Communications for a period of time. I also ran the
transplant my entire life, I view home where I Broadband Access Transport Group. And, just some
presently live. In terms of where I was born, that little known facts: Mike Day, Chief Technology
was in Middlebury, Connecticut - a small town of Officer, and I were the original founders of ADC
about 4,000 people at the time. In the course of my India, and Gokul Hemmady (our current CFO) and I
business career, I have lived in Canada, Connecticut were the creators of the ADC Venture Fund that
(in three locations), Florida and Arizona. I moved to ADC had for a period of time. In all, I've done
Minnesota on January 2, 1994. When I arrived it numerous things over the years, all of which were
was 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-40 degrees very interesting and very developmental.
Celsius), and when I left Arizona that afternoon it
was 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). What do you enjoy most about your current
role? The least?
How long have you been in your current posi-
tion? At ADC? The Most: What I like most about my job is the
diversity of the challenge and the major impact that
I began my position about three and a half years you can have as the leader of a company on multi-
ago. ple constituencies. That's obviously our customers,
employees, shareowners, communities, vendors,
etc.

Interview with Bob Switz, President and Chief Executive Officer

The Least: The least. There's lots of those. But if Career History: Name one challenge in your
you wanted to pick one item of the things I don't work career that may have frustrated you but
like, I would say it would be any decision that nega- produced a successful end result.
tively impacts our employees, particularly head-
count reductions. Anytime I have to make the deci- There have been many, but probably the most frus-
sion to terminate employees, it's a bad day for me trating challenge was trying to save a family busi-
because somehow it suggests to me that I have ness in spite of the family. One time in my career I
failed at something. One of my responsibilities is to was recruited to a small, private family-owned com-
bring development and opportunity to employees, pany in the luxury yacht business, joining them as
not take it away. CFO and a member of the board - and eventually
became the de-facto CEO. The company's founder
However, if conditions indicate that you have to do was a 70-year-old very, very successful man who
something in your business, and that involves a had built multiple companies successfully and had
reduction in force, you must take action. It's very turned this one over to his two sons who proceeded
painful, you don't want to do it and you know it will to mismanage it. I was asked to come in and return
be one of the worst days in your life (and it always the business to good health. I thought it would be
is in mine) but you also know that in the long run an interesting mid-life career change and left
you are preserving jobs because not making that PepsiCo, where I had a very nice job and a very
decision could lead to even greater reductions. nice future. And, the most frustrating thing about
the experience was doing all the right things to save
In relation to the more ongoing part of my job, I the company - to preserve the millions of dollars
don't like the increasing emphasis on regulatory the founder made and reinvested into the company
matters and the focus on the short-term that has - and then have the founder resist all of the neces-
become even more intense in the last few years, sary actions required to restore the company back
compared to previous periods. So, dealing with reg- to good health. But I absolutely knew that if we did-
ulatory issues that don't add any value or competi- n't take the required action, this very successful
tiveness to the company and having to be boxed man was going to lose everything he had built up in
into making decisions that are more short-term than life, including his home. We ultimately did fix the
long-term are elements of the job that do not have company and sold it to another large company in
appeal to me. the industry. The founder of the family didn't much
like that, but it kept all of them out of bankruptcy
What does your typical day or work week look and retained the family wealth. So they lived happi-
like? ly ever after and I was the big bad wolf. It was the
most interesting experience I've been associated
I am not sure there is a typical day, but the process with over my career. I viewed it as my second
has become typical. I routinely wake up sometime Master's of Business Administration (MBA).
in the 6 a.m. range. The day can end whenever it
ends based on commitments, travel and other What motivates you?
things.
Making big achievements and winning! When you
If I think about my work week in hours - I don't are given an opportunity to perform, you have to
count them all - I work at least 80 hours. When I take it, go with it and try to do the best you can.
go home in the evening during the week, I continue You can either be mediocre at it, or you can be bold
to work. I have dinner, do some personal things I and take some big steps. And in many respects, it's
need to do and then I'll probably work until I'm about the magnitude of the achievement, winning
done working. And, weekends are not exempt. I've and the rationalization in your mind that you're one
always reserved Saturday and Sunday mornings for of the best, because of what you have accom-
work. So that means when I get up, I have my cup plished. But understanding who or what the best
of coffee and I start working. Depending on what's represents is hard because there is no true way of
going on, I probably stop around noon. Then the measuring it. You must look at your accomplish-
balance of my day is mine until I decide to work ments in a balanced way and compare how it all
again. My wife, Joanne, does not like it one bit, but stacks up.
it is the devil she knows, and she understands the
demands of the job. So, it's a lot of hours because
the job doesn't stop just because I might want it to.


Room or the company. If you're going to lead, your
trust has to be unimpeachable. I am not just refer-
ring to corporate theft or high-profile corruption. I
am referencing the underlying value that drives all
of your decision-making. There are so many deceit-
ful things you can do that are invisible to most peo-
Bob speaks to the ple.
Americas Sales team
during the Americas I know some people outside of ADC who have repu-
Sales Meeting this past tations of super-high integrity and I would dispute
November in that based on things I know. They are not neces-
Scottsdale, Arizona. sarily doing something illegal; it's how they view
What does winning look like?
life and the decisions they make. For example, you
make a decision in a company because you know it
Winning is, in my mind, strictly related to competi-
will raise the company stock price temporarily and
tive events and business is a highly competitive
then you can sell shares. Is that a decision of
environment. Is ADC where I want it to be? On a
integrity when you have alternatives that are better
deal, did I get the terms, conditions and price that I
for the company? It's that deepness of integrity that
wanted? Did I win? I look at winning in a balanced
leaders must have so that whatever they do, they
way because you don't want to win so profoundly
can look themselves in the mirror and know that it
that you've actually lost.
wasn't done just for them.
So what does winning look like for ADC? Like I said
And then after that, there are many other factors.
in the December 20 Town Hall meeting, there are
Intelligence always helps. However, it doesn't mat-
multiple ways of looking at winning in the industry
ter if your intellectual factor (IQ) is 115 or 145
and for ADC. The highest level of victory is probably
because business is more than just raw intelligence.
ADC being a $3 billion to $5 billion stand-alone
It's the IQ, Emotion Quotient (EQ), street smarts
company within the next three to five years. Then
and energy. Without energy, you'd be "out of shape"
there are other levels of winning below that. And
in a leadership role. You have to be empathetic,
then one may wonder what does winning for share-
resilient, flexible and have a sense of humor. You
holders look like? Most likely, getting a rate of
also must be more optimistic than pessimistic in
return that meets or exceeds their expectation with-
your thinking. I don't know too many people who
out much regard for how it was delivered. I'll know
follow pessimistic thinkers, although there are peo-
winning in our industry and for ADC when I see it.
ple who may listen sometimes. And, most impor-
Then I'll put it in the right bucket.
tantly, if you're going to lead you have to like peo-
ple. Leading is all about people and you have to be
If you were to define "success," what would
comfortable around people and all of their diversity
you write?
in order to be able to deal with the issues that come
along with leadership. Those are some of the attrib-
Success to me is a broad word. I look at success in
utes I think you must have within yourself, that
terms of a complete life plan. It's not just what I do
come together in a personal inventory of assets that
at work but all of the other things I do in life in
help you do your job.
some sort of a balance. At the end of the day, am I
good grandfather, father, husband and neighbor?
Name a leader you admire and why you
Am I objective about the world? Am I balancing my
admire them.
life properly between work and the other things I
want to do? It's all about the life plan that one cre-
I am kind of a hybrid. I haven't modeled my leader-
ates and how you are stacking up against that plan.
ship style after any one person. Over the years, I've
Everyone has a different plan.
worked with many characters, so I've seen a lot of
things I wouldn't want to be. But I've also seen
What are some important traits of an effective
some things that I wouldn't mind being. Certainly,
leader?
I've taken good counsel from people over the years.
My first boss had a significant influence on me from
I think leaders need to have impeccable integrity.
a fairly broad, philosophical perspective. I think he
That to me is an absolute must. I don't care if you
taught me how to develop wisdom faster than I
are the manager of Accounts Payable, the Mail


would have otherwise. He was a very tempered For example, KRONE was a successful integration.
individual, extremely smart, but he never overreact- The numbers prove it, and we now have a global
ed, never got emotional. He approached every issue footprint because of the assets they provided.
very scientifically and treated it simply as a problem
to be solved by finding the best intellectual resolu- Career History: What would you define as your
tion he could. He was also very neutral when it biggest work accomplishment (either at ADC
came to corporate politics. And he never took peo- or elsewhere)?
ple or organizational sides. It was all about the
issue. He was a great intellect and a great diplomat I have been fortunate to have had many large and
as well as a person of exceptionally high values and rewarding accomplishments, but I would have to
ethics. In today's world, it's nice to have somebody say ADC is my biggest work accomplishment. When
like that as one of your first bosses. I maintained a I look at all of the challenges I've had in my busi-
relationship with this individual over the length of ness career - and I've had many, including the pri-
my career until he passed away five years ago. That vate business I touched on earlier and the oil indus-
is probably the person I absorbed the most from try crash in the early 1980s - I would say the sav-
and has had the most lasting affect on me. ing and resurrection of ADC was the probably the
biggest, most difficult and most rewarding accom-
How do you apply ADC's Vision, Mission and plishment. I could spend two days talking about the
The ADC Way in your role? How do you intricacies of what it took to get to where we are
encourage employees to use these key today, and I could write a book just about this
mantras in their positions? experience. In the end, I probably view it as the
most gratifying, the most rewarding and the most
In terms of The ADC Way, I try to live it. I try to challenging accomplishment to date.
utilize it as a guide in my thinking and to act it out
as best I can in the course of doing my job. And, I Who was the last ADC customer you spoke
encourage others to do the same. Regarding the with and what did you discuss?*
ADC Vision/Mission, we tried to make what we do
everyday at our company more understandable. I That was Deutsch Telecom. I spoke with them a
believe in leading by example, so people can look at week ago and, unfortunately, it was over a problem.
our stated principles and decide for themselves if I Our Automated Cross-Connect (ACX) product had
am following them or not. If I do, I hope people failed in some of their lab trials so they were not
absorb that and incorporate it into their own behav- very happy with us. I had a conversation with them
ior. and helped give them renewed confidence. I told
them we will fix the problem and do whatever it
What is a current project you are working on? takes to make things whole to keep them on their
What is your role and level of involvement in action plan and deliver the next release of this
this project? product with quality.

I get involved in a lot of things, but right now I'm *As of Friday, December 22.
really focusing my time on business development.
So, you can think of that as the next deal, whatever What do you see for yourself in the future?
it may be. There are quite a few things I'm involved One year? Five years?
with, but it remains the centerpiece of my focus
because growth, size and scale are very important Does the beach work? Actually, it's a great question
to our future success. and, to be candid, I'm still sorting it out. In the
past, I never had difficulty with figuring out my
What part of the deal do you like the most? future goals because my focus was very fixed on
what I wanted to do next, relative to my career end
That's a really good question. I like everything goal. At this stage, however, there are many options
about the process, including identification, analysis, of what I can do in the future and how I might use
negotiation and successful integration. There is a lot my time that I have not yet finalized on a specific
of excitement that comes out of finding, courting end goal. One year from now: I'm certainly going to
and negotiating. However, the more potentially be here. Five years from now: probably not. There
rewarding part of the deal is effectively integrating are many parts of my life that I would like to
and making it successful within ADC. That's a differ- expand.
ent level of excitement but very, very important.


I think the key is diversifying. The future to me is
one where I would like to have a diversified set of
experiences between family, business and charitable
activity, which incorporates flexibility such that I can
have a balanced life. Something more balanced so
that I can have some time to "smell the roses".

I would like more time to spend with my larger
family than I've had in the past. Regardless of what
I do, aggressively applying myself will be a part of
it. I think I'm deserving of a little more personal
leisure than I've had, so there are some things I
would like to pursue before I'm too old to do them.
That would be more golf, more motorcycle riding
and maybe some adventure trips. I'd like to find the
time to do more personal travel - the pleasurable
type. I would also like to do something intellectual Bob enjoys going on motorcycle rides in his spare time.
and something professional, and I'm not sure what
that is. I'll likely spend some time doing something Bossidy's book, "Execution: The Discipline of Getting
of a charitable nature, but it's going to have to be Things Done." On a personal basis, a book called
the right fit. If I have the time to focus on it, I can "Flags of Our Fathers" about Iwo Jima. My father
hopefully make a difference in something. I will served in the South Pacific and was wounded there,
expand my business boardships, and I have con- and my uncle was wounded twice in the Battle of
templated potentially starting a business of some Iwo Jima. Through the book, I learned about the
sort, maybe with my sons. After spending my entire things they experienced and chose never to talk
life in business, I'm not sure if I can just walk away about.
from it.
Do you have an embarrassing work moment?
When outside of work, what do you do for fun? What is it?
Personal hobbies? Activities?
There have been lots of those. Probably the most
I enjoy motorcycle riding when I have a chance, embarrassing occurred when I was a young "high
playing golf, downhill skiing, boating and, some- potential" manager. While I was preparing to pres-
times, playing basketball with the kids. I used to ent my first presentation in front of the company's
fish a lot. I think if I had the time, I would do more CEO and senior executive team my tie dipped into
of it, possibly take up fly fishing. I also like to hike. my coffee cup as I leaned over the table. I didn't
At our vacation home in Arizona, there are great realize this until I was walking up to present, so as
mountains, which are perfect for hiking. And, I like I was walking to the podium I squeezed out my tie
reading. I'm a voracious reader. Right now it's - hoping nobody would notice. In the end, the pres-
mostly of a business nature. Occasionally, I'll sneak entation was successful and we all had a few good
in something other than business. I particularly like laughs.
reading about factual things.
Tell us about your family life.
If you could name one favorite childhood
memory, what would you describe? I have two sons (Aaron and Ryan) and three grand-
children, two of whom are granddaughters (Ryley,
Christmas Eve at my Italian great grandmother's one year old, and Sephina, four months old) and
house with all of my male cousins, six boys separat- one grandson (Nevin), who is two years old. Aaron,
ed by about two years … it was bedlam! That night my oldest son, is 33 and lives in the Twin Cities.
was always a treat; great food that she prepared And Ryan, who is turning 31 in February, lives in
once per year with her magical recipes and the six Chicago. And of course there is Joanne, my wife,
of us raising heck … it was fun. and we've been married for 38 years. We are also
fortunate to have Joanne's parents with us as well.
Favorite book? We moved them from Connecticut to Minnesota just
before Christmas. Her father, Joe, is 93 years old,
I would say, on a business basis, I liked Larry and her mother, Rose, is 88 years old.


Bob plays Texas Hold’em during the ADC Cares Bob answers a question during the Americas Sales
Minnesota Community Campaign at World Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona in November.
Headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota in
September.
How did you meet your wife? a lot of fun and very rewarding. I've coached sports
teams with my children over the years as well. The
We met at a dance pavilion on a lake in biggest lesson I took away from those experiences
Connecticut. On Friday and Saturday nights it was a was that many of the motivational things, the per-
place where college kids congregated from all over sonal interface, the tender loving care (T.L.C.), the
the area. I met her one summer night. I was stand- hands-on kind of stuff you do with children to get
ing on the other side of the room, and she caught them pumped up and motivated, also pertain to the
my eye. I introduced myself and we spoke, but I adult professional workforce. The approach may be
came to find out she had a boyfriend. So I assumed different, but the principles are the same. We all
nothing would come of the situation. The following want to be respected and appreciated, children or
summer, she broke up with her boyfriend. One day adults, so it's transferable to many situations you
she told her mom that she needed to go to the are involved in.
beach and find a boy she was interested in (me). It
was a Sunday, and being from a strict Italian back- As I invest my time and money in the future, I'm
ground, her parents did not allow her to go out on going to do it in an environment where I feel the
Sundays, but thankfully she did. She found me and individuals involved appreciate it, and I can see the
the rest is, so to say, history. instant reward, which you can with youth.

Do you have any pet peeves? What are they? If employees take away one key message from
this article, what do you want them to remem-
I have an almost irrational distaste for politicians.ber?
We have sunk to a new "low level" of competence in
our elected officials. To watch so much energy, so I hope they take away whatever is purposeful,
much money and so much resource go into getting meaningful or inspirational for them and personalize
nothing done when there is so much to be done in it. It's different for everybody. What do I want
our country is appalling. employees to take away about me? Hopefully, they
should take away that I am person who believes in
What volunteer or community service experi- what I do, cares about the outcomes I create and
ences have you had, earlier in your career or cares greatly about the people I am responsible for.
recently, that helped you be more effective in Essentially, I am no different from them. I am just
your current position? another person who has pursued a path in life that
has taken me to where I am today. I have had all of
To be honest, I've found all of the adult volunteer my embarrassing moments, challenges and disap-
activities I've gotten into to be very frustrating. pointments that many other people build up in life.
They never gave me the gratification that I wanted In the end, we are all the same creatures. If they
to see out of volunteering. When I got involved with can conclude that I've had my great moments and
children, I always found that far more rewarding. not so great moments and can relate to any part of
this article in a positive way, then, that would be
I coached an inner-city basketball team of under- great.
privileged youth when I was in college, which was a

Bob Switz Cwol Article

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