Principal of The Advertisement Center Explains How to Defeat the 'Vortex'

Bill Woods

In the May 2021 Graphic Communication Advisors Group (GCAG) article, Bill Woods, printing industry advisor and entrepreneur, introduces the concept of the “Vortex”— “those daily events led by clients, employees, the government, competitors, vendors, and banks that take up 100% of your time and energy.” In his article, And Now for Something Completely Different (or…defeating the Vortex), Woods provides creative advice. He said,

Our friends in the packaging side of the business have mostly enjoyed continued or increased demand despite (and in many cases because of) the pandemic. As with every business that faces competition, someone out there will spoil the party if you don’t continue to change and adapt. More and more generalist printers will turn to packaging as the panacea for lagging demand of traditional print products. Others will turn to inkjet…well, just because.

Woods points out that commercial printers are “still here,” but need to answer the questions: “Who are we, what are we here to do, and how do we make money at it?” Woods then poses that what would make the difference is “CEOs, owners, presidents, and managers stepping out of the ‘Vortex’ long enough to assess the business and purposefully change its direction”.  “Moving the company forward takes energy outside your normal activities,” he continued.

Harvey Levenson, Cal Poly Professor Emeritus, and coordinator of the GCAG said: “Woods ‘Vortex’ is an original concept that helps commercial printers ‘think out of the box’ in dealing with a shrinking client base. I recommend that the leadership of all printers facing this dilemma take Woods’ advice.” His full article is available at: https://hrlsite.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/bill-woods-article-gcag.pdf

Source: Graphic Communications Advisors Group