By Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

NEW YORK (Reuters] – While the world has spun around differently the past two decades, Rich Kramer, the CEO at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is keeping the wheels turning.

“We launched even more products than we did before, and we did it all remotely,” said Kramer, who was named CEO in 2010 and is the second-longest serving CEO in the Akron, Ohio company’s 123-year history. “If you would have told me that we could have done that in 2019, I would say, ‘You’re nuts; it’s not possible,’ but we did it.”

However, remote workers can only do so much for the company.

“We have to come back together at least in part to be able to collaborate face-to-face, to whiteboard things, to look at somebody’s body language and say, ‘You don’t agree with me’ or to hear a great idea and that triggers another great idea,” Kramer explains. “You can maintain a culture through screens, but it’s really hard to advance a culture through screens.”

Kramer talked to Reuters about his recent learnings and what he thinks of the future for the automobile industry. Here are excerpts edited from Kramer’s interview.

Q. Q.

A. I was 18 when my first job was at a metal fabrication plant in Cleveland. My age was probably 18. This was my first job, other than cutting grass.

What I gained was a greater appreciation and understanding of the value of hard work. You are able to appreciate the hard work of others every day that makes this world possible.

Q. Q.

A. A. Roll By Goodyear had its beta in 2 test markets. This was a place in which you can leave your car while shopping and have the tires installed. A mobile van service was also offered that we could put your tires on.

What it is teaching consumers is that there’s a different way to buy tires. It’s not just about standing in line.

Once you find something that’s easy and you know is available that will be something that people will pursue. You may never want to return to the way you were before we come and fix your tires.

Q. Q.

A. Sustainability is our top priority. We must replace all petrochemicals from our tires. Tire inflation is another thing that we can focus on right now in order to make an impact on the environment.

Tire pressure (or low) is what most tires use to drive. If your tires were properly inflated, you can drive more miles per gallon. Tire inflating is responsible for millions of miles lost each year.

Also, we are transforming tires to make them intelligent and connected. We’re measuring temperature and air pressure, load and wear plus friction.

This data is then used to improve the vehicle’s safety and performance.

Think about when you’re on a wet road, going around a corner and your tires are worn. It is possible for your car to slip. What can you do? The only thing we can do for the autonomous vehicle world is to give this information to it to make the vehicle behave differently or stop it from stopping 30% sooner.

Q. Q.

A. Humility. These two qualities are what I am most focused on. On the humility side, always think about what you don’t know. You can learn from experience. Listen and don’t come in thinking you know all the answers.

Also, just be excellent at what you’re doing at the moment, and do your job better than anyone else. Do part of your boss’ job, if you can. Doing so with humility will make you a better advocate for future opportunities.

Q. Q.

A. A. Failure is more valuable than success.

When you’re down and you have to embrace the failure, only then can you really get to the true creativity to pick yourself up and move again.

It is this that you can find new solutions and innovative ideas. If you fail and you stop, you’ll never break through and succeed.