President’s message: The benefits of moving - by Joseph Bodio

Lan-Tel Communications and Associated Subcontractors of Mass. chapter president" width="240" height="300" /> Joseph Bodio of Lan-Tel Communications and Associated Subcontractors of Mass. chapter president

Over the past few months, my life has been consumed by the daunting task of moving 33 employees and everything that goes with it to a new location just 200 feet behind our previous location. It might as well have been 2,000 miles with all the preplanning of new office space, preparation of moving materials and loading them up for shipment, securing new office furniture and equipment and most importantly insuring a seamless transition from our old outdated IT system to a new state of the art data center. I thought that after three previous moves to larger locations, I would be a seasoned veteran to take on the fourth move easily. The old adage of “plan for the best, prepare for the worst” somewhat played out but we got through it.

One thing I have discovered, whether it’s moving a house or a business, is that you always stumble across some interesting artifacts that have burrowed themselves into a corner or bottom desk over the years. The purging of my office forced me to discover some of these hidden gems and allowed me to be whisked away from the chaos for a brief moment to revisit the history of the company and what has transpired over 25 years. What had started as a two man operation in the cellar of my home has transcended into a beautiful new office with almost 150 employees giving a somewhat surreal feeling to this journey. What I have concluded is that the success of this company is derived from its people. The dedication and hard work of everyone involved along the way has afforded me this opportunity and for that I am grateful.

There is one philosophy that I have built my company on and I have never lost sight of - that being “maintain an open line of communication with EVERYONE in the company”. Some of the correspondence that I have found to guys in the field that seems meaningless now, might have had a profound positive impact on that person at the time.  To this day, I make it a point to reach out to as many of the workers in the field as I can – whether it’s a phone call, an impromptu gathering or scheduled event. I have never forgotten my roots and what has gotten me here and them knowing this is invaluable.

Although moving is a great time to reflect on the past, it’s an even better time to recommit to the things that are important in moving a forward, and building on success. For me, good communication is at the top of the list, and I recommend it to every business. Best of all, you don’t have to move to make it a priority!

Joseph Bodio is the president of the Associated Subcontractors of Mass., Boston and is president and CEO of Lan-Tel Communications, Norwood, Mass.