Derek’s Core: Never give up

“If you don’t do things differently, you’ll never progress,” according to Derek Sneideraitis, manager of Sales at DENSO.

But, doing things differently isn’t easy. That’s the fuel behind Derek’s core: Never give up.

“Never give up was the first thing to come to mind because placing blame or letting things go never sit well with me. It’s not in my fabric. I need the challenge. If you believe in something, you can achieve it.”

Working for DENSO, Derek has been able to put his motto into practice. Last year was an especially challenging year for him and his team. Derek recalls:

“We had several crises going on at the same time. Our customer was running into vehicle side issues, creating challenges and delays in launching their new flagship truck. They leaned on DENSO for support with only a few weeks notice . Jumping in to help fix another supplier’s issue isn’t the norm; it’s not something we planned on doing. But, the customer trusted DENSO and knew we were up for the challenge.

At the same time, my team was working on securing future business. It was an incredibly busy and trying time for the team. It really took the entire Global DENSO team to pull through. There wasn’t a map on how to get through it. Everyone really stepped up, came together, and relied on one another and DENSO’s core values to find our way through to the end.”

In the end, Derek’s team was able to achieve what they set out to do. They helped the customer launch its flagship, and secured future business, ultimately helping create goodwill and stability for DENSO business and production. The customer praised DENSO with letters of recognition and appreciation at its annual supplier event.

“With all the changes in the industry, it’s easy to give up after something doesn’t work out,” said Derek. “Having a ‘never give up’ mindset is important. We need to take ownership to move each other, and the company, forward. We’re in this together, and we have the core values we need to pull through. We are capable of great things.”

DENSO is committed to a culture where every associate’s diverse talents and strong passion enable us to contribute to a better world. What’s at your core? What are you passionate about? What drives and motivates you? We want to hear from you.