Business Management - Productivity/Process Improvement

Whether you keep a very strong current ratio with large cash reserves in the business or you choose to keep it in liquid personal assets, do one or the other. You will sleep better and will be better prepared for emergencies. Equally important is to be in a position to capitalize on the great opportunities that are still out there in our industry.

If employees are happy, they will enjoy working there, and the end result is that customers see the benefits as well. Don’t be afraid to hear what your employees have to say. Most companies fear the worst, but these fears are unfounded. If done right it can be a very positive experience.

When I hear someone talking about how they're so busy that they had to neglect a task, I suspect the issue simply isn’t a priority for them. Business (busy-ness) is a false pretense that gives cover to someone who doesn’t feel comfortable telling you the truth.

Zoo Printing has un-veiled a new location in West Deptford, NJ. This new production facility shortens shipping times to the East Coast without requiring rush shipping or additional production costs. Combined with its locations in Southern California and Kentucky, Zoo says it can now deliver almost anywhere in the U.S. within one to two days using standard ground shipping.

In print, experts look not just to leaders like Joel Quadracci or Thomas Quinlan III, but also to leaders in other fields like Jamie Dimon and Eric Schmidt. Experts look beyond today and look beyond our industry, to develop a vision for what lies beyond.

Brokering or outsourcing has become more prevalent, especially for smaller firms that do not have the resources to keep up with rapidly increasing technology advancements. Also in recent years, “trade printers” have become more prevalent for certain types of work at very good prices. However, if the company brokering the work is not adding value to the job from other services performed, they are really in a potentially low-margin, commodity market.

Practice makes us better; it builds patterns and representations in our minds that enable us to see what others cannot. It makes us experts. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of your family by practicing a presentation aloud? If not, perhaps you should.

With the adoption of cross-media services, print no longer is a majority holder when it comes to media distribution. I view this as a time in the industry full of opportunity to reinvent ourselves to better serve the needs of brand owners in their pursuit of conveying a message at the right time to the right audience through unique media channels.

It seems color inkjet has charged past the innovators and is rapidly gaining traction with the early adopters. Many in the industry have been spending years on road shows, proselytizing in webinars and writing about it in magazines and online sources like PIworld.com. Now, it seems that people have been listening all along. And the conversation has changed.

Set your own “sequester” and have some fun with it. We all get too serious as managers, and if we create some fun around serious issues, they can become more manageable.